Turn out the lights and light a candle. City Hall gets disconnected
City Hall was plunged into darkness this morning. That’s because the Belize Electricity Limited (B.E.L.) pulled the plug on the electricity supply at the start of the business day. B.E.L.’s workmen disconnected the meters and work was at a standstill when we arrived at City Hall. The disconnection was due to a thirty thousand dollar unpaid bill. Shortly after, Councilor Dion Leslie stopped by our newsroom to clarify the situation, which he said, was caused by bills dating back to 2003, which had not been cleared by the current council.
Dion Leslie, Public Relations, Belize City Council
Dion Leslie
“B.E.L. did go over and cut the power to the city council but it has been resolved. I believe that at this moment the power has been restored to the city hall. It all goes back to an outstanding bill that the council, not this council, the council in general had from 2003. We’ve been back and forth with B.E.L. in the past months to clarify the issue and finally the bill the bill was sent to the City Council, twenty-nine pages long, it was sent via email to the city administrator. She printed it out, gave it to the finance department to go over it, and to confirm that yes, we do owe this. We told B.E.L. that we’re not saying we don’t owe you, yes we will pay you, but of course we need to confirm that yes, we do owe this and yes these are our meters. It takes a little while to do that, and apparently B.E.L. only gave the council one day to do that and then they came in this morning to cut our light.”
Andrea Polanco
“Many people would say that there has been an increase in taxes across the board so why is the City Council unable to pay their bills.”
Dion Leslie
“This current council that’s in for the past two terms, we’re up to date on our BEL bills, we paid them last month in full and every month we pay them in full. At times we do trade off with B.E.L., like property tax and what’s not, we’ve been paying up in full, like I said, this is a bill that dates back to 2003.”
Andrea Polanco
“So we won’t be expecting anything of this nature, embarrassing, you would say, to the City Hall, occurring anytime soon.”
Dion Leslie
“Not any at all, it is embarrassing to the City Hall in some aspect, but in another aspect, it’s just a misunderstanding between B.E.L. and City Hall, which we have clarified and I can confirm that it won’t happen again.”
After working out payment, power was restored to City Hall and it was business as usual.
Honestly. 8 years and you still blame the previous administration? That is not even incompetence, dat da jus plain mr….!
You better start saving your money citco… I hope you can pay your lawyers because I am coming after you next…….Four lawsuits are on the way…. you wanted to dance…. lets dance!!!!
I wonder if that is how these people run their homes as well…
These senseless people in the government always think that they can blame all the problems on the previous government come on citco. people out here no stupid. responsible people always accept there wrong doings ok. How the hell unu wa mek da bill go up if unu classify unu self to be educated people well lets just put it dis way just say dat unu bankrupt with all the money laundering unu mayor the do ha ha ha. and the next thing this is that this is an example of how this government work if the previous government did something wrong they leave it as that caz they are not ready to do changes in no areas. Not even to pay a simple electricity bill well how about other serious situatins well this means they will wait for the previous government to come back and staighten things up. well thats easy we just want unu fi step down. No wonder why Belize no the prospa with the kind mentality these people have and dey the ina office and people blind enough to still accept them.
LOL the effect that Dave Fonseca has on Belize City Council and the effct that Said Musa has on Belize on a whole is just amazing at times. 2 men can respectively mess up a town and a country single handedly. Good thing that I got my bills and debts in check. I would hate to be Mr Barrow as Minister of Finance because he lone haffu find money fi things weh he nuttin even do. This is a message to future leaders of Belize….”Do not spend spend and spend money or run up unecessary debts as if the furture governemnts and generations of Belize will not have to pay 4 your mess while you have nothing to worry about once you leave office”
Dion, stop talking nonsense, you had more than a day to pay it. The bill was in dispute, not because anybody claimed the reading was inaccurate but just that it should have been paid by the other guys. The bill is 8 years old, it should have been paid long ago & you should have put up solar panels & reduced or eliminated your dependency on B.E.L. rather than end up being embarrassed this way.
AND THE BAND PLAYED ON……….ZENAIDA AND HER STAFF COULDN’T CARE LESS EVEN IF THEY WANTED TO. NEXT SCANDAL PLEEEEASE!!!
In every aspect this is embarassing Mr. Dion Leslie! It should have never gotten to this point: 29 pages? You would not have tollerated that from any citizen in back taxes!
Do not blame any other administration before you! Zenida really need to get her house in order!
Could this be politics? Hey! I was just saying!
Zenaida? Oh yeah, the mayor. Almost forgot about her again! She has nothing to say about any of these things going on? It is Belize City that she is the mayor of correct? I laugh every time I hear that name. I wonder if she grabbed her things and found the closest air conditioned place to retreat to. Hiding behind those big black sunglasses all the way. Lights out at city hall! Oh man.
I agree with you CEO….DISGRACEFUL! All these people in charge (we won’t call names) should be walking with “CANVAS BAGS”, NOT PAPER BAGS over their heads – these “GOLD DIGGERS” need not CUT holes to see or to help them breathe. These selected BELIZEANS DO NOT have any SHAME, don’t know the meaning of “em/barr/ass”…hope you all got that! How can they be talking about a bill from 2003. We are in 2011!
CEO, that lady might take “get her house in order” to mean something else. What else is there to take from the poor people? DO YOU THINK THE MANSION HAS L*I*G*H*S*?????????
WAKE UP BELIZE……..A LESSON WELL LEARNED – KEEP YOUR LIGHTS ON…..ELECTIONS COMING SOON…..TIME TO GET PEOPLE WHO CARE! PEOPLE WHO WANT BELIZE AND HER CITIZENS TO PROSPER….WE ARE TIRED OF THE STEALING & CORRUPTION.
EVERY DAY WE WONDER WHY SO MANY PEOPLE SHOW SO MUCH EVIL AND ANGER? IT’S BECAUSE THEY SEE THOSE IN POWER STEALING REAL $$$, SELLING OUT THEIR LAND AND WALLOWING IN CORRUPTION…I CAN SMELL THE SWINE!