Belize City mayor, councillors sworn in
It’s never been a real hotspot for media coverage, but today all eyes were on Belize City Hall, as for the first time in sixteen years the building was under the control of the United Democratic Party. Stewart Krohn reports.
Stewart Krohn, Reporting
The mayor and ten city councillors were sworn in today in a ceremony that was part business meeting, but mostly celebration. It was a mixture of old and new, with sober words from former Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel and spirited greetings from a surprisingly youthful set of recently elected mayors from across the country.
The tone of the afternoon’s event was set by U.D.P. Leader Dean Barrow, who reached out across party lines in what promises to be a familiar theme running up to the 2008 elections.
Dean Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.
?This is not a victory exclusively or even primarily belonging to the United Democratic Party. It is a victory that belongs centrally to the electorate, to the people of this country. … The responsibility that comes with the victory, of course, is for her lordship and the members of the Belize City Council to discharge the trust that has been placed in them with absolutely rectitude. There can be malice towards no one and there must be justice to all.?
?When there are personnel changes that perhaps will have to be made, please be fair to all involved and ensure that there is due process. We cannot operate on the basis of partisanship. The huge victory, especially in Belize City, meant that people who have not traditionally supported the United Democratic Party, it meant that people who have traditionally supported the People?s United Party, voted for us and we must always be conscious of that fact.?
As for Mayor Moya, she made it clear that the nuts and bolts of the city’s finances would be her top priority, beginning with the review of contracts for handling the city’s sanitation.
Zenaida Moya, Belize City Mayor
?The newly elected city council will have to take urgent measures to ensure that the revenue collection efforts are given the utmost priority. The council is in areas to the north and south side contracts to the tune of two million, seventy-four thousand five hundred fifty-two dollars and fifteen cents as of February 2006. The specific amounts are, for the B.M.L., the Belize Maintenance Company: one million, two hundred thirty-four thousand six hundred dollars. For the S.E.L. north: four hundred fourteen thousand, six hundred forty-six dollars and eighty cents. And for S.E.L. south: four hundred twenty-five thousand, three hundred twenty-five dollars and thirty-five cents. Of the one million, two hundred thirty-four thousand six hundred dollars outstanding to the B.M.L., nine hundred fifty-seven thousand, four hundred dollars is ninety plus days overdue.?
It is not clear at this time what measures, if any, will be taken to cancel or amend the existing sanitation contracts with S.E.L., B.M.L., and Belize Waste Control.
Laura Esquivel, Councillor
?I would like to hereby nominate for the position of deputy mayor, councillor Wayne Usher. Will you accept the nomination??
With Wayne Usher appointed as deputy mayor and various portfolios distributed among the eleven members, the new city council, like the old, will settle down well outside the spotlight to tackle the relatively mundane business of municipal governance. Hopefully, in the words of Senator Ambrose Tillett, to work hard, work smart and work for the people. From City Hall, Stewart Krohn for News Five.
Mayor Moya also announced that the city was facing a massive budget deficit. To help improve cash flow, at today’s outdoor meeting the council approved a set of incentives for residents to pay their property taxes promptly.
