Mayor speaks on booths at the B.T.L. Park that went to family and friends

The B.T.L. Park is very near completion and it is extremely impressive. Take wide open spaces, full-time Police presence, colorful booths, adequate seating and aesthetics, fashionable and functional bandstand and the view, and what the Mayor has is a certifiable hit. But there are always nagging questions which accompany all major projects, like nepotism in the awarding of privileges, for example. It has become public knowledge that several Councilors and persons close to Councilors and to the Mayor have gotten booths at the Park. Because of the renovations and new facilities, the location promises to become the City’s new hotspot, which translates to big money for concession holders. It’s a valid concern, and one which was addressed by Mayor Darrell Bradley today.

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Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor

Darrell Bradley

“It is a fact that, and I was unaware of this initially, that my mother-in-law has a booth at B.T.L. Park. My mother in law doesn’t live at my house. She’s a person who plies a business. We have this thing where we put out an application…the application was circulated in many of the newspapers including the Amandala, the Guardian and the Reporter…we did this for about four weeks. Every single person who applied, we told them we’re going to place them at B.T.L. Park, the Memorial Park or the Sandlighter’s Promenade. We haven’t gone on with those other projects as yet. We have been delayed with B.T.L. Park and that is what delays us with moving ahead with the other opening of Memorial park and Sandlighter’s Promenade. What we intend to do and what we have done is that everyone who turns in an application process got selected as part of this program. The only other condition is that if you applied, you had to attend the training and you had to be a part of the CARILED initiative…so that as long as you applied, as long as you were willing to make the investment, as long as you were willing to participate in the activities, cause it was intensive, you were selected. And at the end of the day we assisted and it’s going on quite nicely. I made this point with Councilor Theus. Every single person should not be discriminated against. My responsibility here is to assure every member of the public that the process is transparent. There is no cherry-picking. There is no peddling of any influence. There was a public advertisement. Michael Theus is a private individual. My mother-in-law is a private individual. If those people want to apply for a booth that is being offered, as long as there is no decision-making that is impartial or threatens or impairs a person’s ability to be selected, or discriminates against a person, then that process is transparent and its fair.”

There are twenty-eight booths at the B.T.L. Park. The Mayor says there continues to be major interest in operating booths, but all spaces are taken.