G.O.B. to Receive an Additional Four Million in CARSI Funding

CARSI, the Central American Regional Security Initiative, is a program particularly designed to help create a more responsive police force, enhance public police cooperation, improve the judicial sector, modernize correctional facilities, and to assist with anti-gang programs with a focus on youth at risk. Today the media was invited to witness the presentation of a diplomatic note authorizing additional funds for the CARSI security initiative, a total since 2009 of twenty million U.S. dollars.  The particular note being initialled today is for a value of four point one million U.S. dollars.  Chargé de ‘Affaires, Bruce Matthews, handed over the note to Foreign Affairs C.E.O. Lawrence Sylvestre and Ministry of National Security C.E.O., retired Colonel George Lovell. This tranche, and the others before, have been targeted at priority areas identified by the Ministry.

Ret’d. Col. George Lovell, C.E.O., Ministry of National Security

“It is designed for us to strengthen in particular citizen security and the rule of law and order in Belize and in the region in particular. We do welcome what this CARSI initiative brings to our crime-fighting efforts, and for us to have a safe and peaceful society, as much as we can possibly have. We certainly cannot do it alone, and we do welcome all the contributions that our friends bring to bear in this fight against crime and violence, especially here in Belize.”

Bruce Matthews

Bruce Matthews, Chargé de ‘Affaires, U.S. Embassy

“We work with the Ministry of National Security. They define for us their areas of need, and then we discuss what projects would best suit those needs. Some of the projects we will put out for bid, and others will be directly managed. So there’s a variety, there’s a lot of flexibility in how we implement them based on the needs of the funds and the needs of the Ministry of National Security.”

George Lovell

Ret’d. Col. George Lovell

“We want to have a national communication system where we can speak to each other and it is not only those departments that are under my portfolio at the Ministry of National Security. We are looking at a national communication system where we can speak to all the emergency management systems – the ambulance systems, the national emergency management systems, we have Fisheries…we have Customs and Immigration and a number of other departments that are outside my portfolio that we definitely need to be communicating with on a day to day basis in order to make our country safe, and not only safe for our citizens, but also safe for the visitors that come in.”