Belmopan celebrates 32nd birthday
It may be the capital of a nation and newly designated with the status of city, but by any objective standard, living in the place called Belmopan more closely resembles village life. Jacqueline Woods reports on the celebration of its thirty-second birthday.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Seventeen years ago, Novelos Bus Company opened its terminal in Belmopan. But the increase in commuters and the demand for better transportation have caused the country’s leading bus line to expand its service. Today, ground breaking ceremony for Novelos new bus terminus took place in the nation’s capital.
Tony Novelo, CEO, Novelos Bus Lines
“When we first built our terminals, the concept was just offering shade and space to sit down and wait for the bus. This whole idea of just shade and sitting down is not meeting the demands of modern transportation. The public wants more facilities, they want more things to offer and make the day when they travel by bus so comfortable.”
Private entrepreneurs are also being invited to be a part of the development, as the terminal will have space available for anyone interested in doing business at the location. Prime Minister Said Musa says just like the Novelo family made the decision to invest in the country, he encourages other Belizeans to do the same.
Prime Minister Said Musa
“And that says a lot for the development of our country when Belizeans will not depend entirely on foreign investment. But our own people, the Belizean people invest their hard-earned work and money and confidence in our country, that is the real test of the development that is coming, the development that has taking place in our country. This new terminal for Belmopan will transform the city of Belmopan. It will ease the threat of terrible the congestion that we’ve had, it will make life much better, improve the quality of life for the people of Belize.”
The groundbreaking ceremony was just one of the activities held to commemorate Belmopan’s thirty-second birthday. The day’s event started with the commissioning of George Price Boulevard. The road was deliberately not paved for the ceremony because as Mayor Chanona explained, they wanted to show what kind of infrastructure existed when Belmopan was established.
Anthony Chanona, Mayor, City of Belmopan
“I think that’s evidently depicted here, some infrastructure, a lot of mud, a lot of water. And what we’re trying to do is to depict the legacy of vision and determination. And so with the launching of the George Price Boulevard, what we are saying is that work continues, and we task ourselves to work with the same vision and determination to grow Belmopan.”
“We need to appreciate what we have. It just didn’t come about, somebody had to work hard at it. And therefore it’s very important that Belmopan that has fifty percent of its population eighteen years and younger, that the young people appreciate the civic pride, all the work that went into building Belmopan that they can have a better future and their children can gave a better future.”
As some area residents celebrated the day, a handful of UDP supporters from Cayo South, decided to use the occasion to demonstrate against Mayor Chanona’s recent decision to establish sister city relations between the City of Belmopan and the City of Guatemala.
Anthony Chanona
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have to understand that Belmopan is the capital of the nation of this country. Belmopan represents the seat of government, and therefore there is an inescapable responsibility for Belmopan to take its position in the middle of regional integration and the national agenda to merge our country into the Mesoamerican sphere. What we need to do is not waste time with public demonstrations or scare tactics on this issue. Rather we need to sit down as intelligent people, discuss what these fears are, and I thought we did that last night.”
As the celebration continued, thirty-two trees were also planted to commemorate the day. Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
The George Price Boulevard will be a four-lane thoroughfare joining the Western Highway with the Ring Road in Belmopan. Its construction is being funded by the Belmopan City Council, with an additional thirty thousand dollars from RECONDEV. The road, albeit unpaved, should be ready for September twenty-first.
