P.U.P. Touts People-Centered Manifesto for CitCo Election
Coming off from a massive national convention and Wednesday’s successful nomination of mayor and councilor candidates, the People United Party launched the Belize City manifesto today. The event took place in the south side where the P.U.P. is devoting time and energy. The team is attempting to break the U.D.P. twelve-year run at City Hall. In its manifesto, “Always ‘bout the People,” the P.U.P. team commits to go beyond cleaning and maintaining of the city to becoming more accountable, create jobs, improve infrastructure and public safety and go green but the focus is on people. News Five’s Duane Moody was at the launch and files the following report.
Duane Moody, Reporting
The People’s United Party this morning launched its Belize City manifesto at the basketball court on Neal Pen Road, in an area of Port Loyola where several of its councilor candidates reside and where its mayoral candidate Bernard Wagner grew up. Entitled “Always ‘bout the People,” Wagner says the launch was strategically organized after Nomination Day and after months of campaigning because it is a true representation of what the citizenry is clamoring for.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate
“It was a homecoming for us; that it was important for us to connect back with my neighborhood, to connect back with how I grew up and connect back with the people, which our platform is essentially about the people, all about the people.”
Oscar Arnold
Oscar Arnold, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate
“They broke down to us the issues businesses were facing; the high trade license. The arbitrarily raising of trade licenses, property taxes for business that have been here…that have been doubled and in some cases quadrupled. So those are some of the problems that they have been having and they can’t get any answers as to how these numbers are brought about.”
Bernard Wagner
“People are sick and tired of people getting elected to office and not reporting back to them how you spend wi money, how much money unu generate. These are the types of things that are important and that people want to hear about.”
Early into the presentation, former Party Leader and Freetown area rep, Francis Fonseca rallied P.U.P. supporters at the launch. He says that the P.U.P. slate will secure a win because the country is tired of the corruption and arrogance of the United Democratic Party.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Area Rep, Freetown
“We have an opportunity to send a very clear message to the U.D.P. government that we have had enough of their corruption, enough of their arrogance, enough of their incompetence. So here in Belize City, my brothers and sisters, we have an opportunity after twelve years of this U.D.P. city council to say enough of the arrogance, enough of the corruption, enough of the incompetence.”
The manifesto looks at four key areas including governance, revenue as it relates to economic development and job creation; as well as social and physical infrastructure and the establishment of a sports unit within a proposed P.U.P. City Council.
Allan Pollard
Allan Pollard, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate
“We plan to put young people first and we plan to represent our young people. Belize City has always been recognized as the Mecca for youth and sports. The rich sporting heritage, when combined with our talented array of Belizean artists, provides an excellent enabler for our community’s rebirth. We, in the council, will establish a robust sports department within the council. We will revive the Belize City games, where constituencies could go against other constituencies.”
Candace Pitts
Candace Pitts, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate
“We will collaborate with the citizenry and the social partners to enhance existing programs which improve the standard and quality of life of our residents; to support programs and initiatives that provide parenting classes to city residents, particularly young first time parents; to support programs that provide grief therapy to families who have lost members to gun violence and other forms of crimes; to work with health authorities to provide outreach to families on the importance of preventative care, complete with public health fair; to launch an urban garden project so our families eat what they produce and produce what they eat.”
Micah Goodin
Micah Goodin, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate
“We believe that sanitation must be the vanguard of the city’s public health system. Sanitation and good traffic management, combined with proper infrastructure, saves lives and indirectly reduces health costs, lessens lost of breadwinners and lower costs to vehicle owners. We will partner with private sector to fund a south side multipurpose park, comparable to B.T.L. Park. The people in south side Belize City deserve beautiful parks too.”
With election two weeks away, Party Leader John Briceño says that it is time for a rebirth with the P.U.P. eleven at City Hall.
John Briceño
John Briceño, Party Leader, P.U.P.
“Thirty-three million dollars on a basketball court and we can’t even have wah game yet. And we people di live ina poverty, dehn di live ina filth. The streets deh noh got drains, dehn noh got jobs, we children can’t go to school. That is going to come to an end starting March the seventh, voting for Bernard Wagner and the P.U.P. We have had enough of the Barrow/Faber U.D.P. government; enough of the corruption, enough of the crime, enough of the incompetence, enough of the cronyism, enough of the U.D.P. It is time of the rebirth; it is time for Bernard Wagner and the people’s United Party.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
