Guest Editorial "Are our managers minding our business?"

Posted: 17 Dec 2009 in the Editorial Category

Being in the journalism field allows you the freedom to dialogue with a wide range of people from different ethnicities, age groups, nationalities, gender, political and religious beliefs. Being in the journalism field consumes you completely and whatever community residents are feeling and fighting for, in many instances, can become your passion and your fight. Being in the journalism field allows you the ability to talk to both parties and gain a better understanding of the situation at hand. However, with every story there are always questions that remain unanswered and many times, these questions remain unanswered. For whatever reason these questions remain, especially when it comes to politics, asking them are handled with a certain caress so as not to upset the waters. BUT, sometimes, these questions fester and they become louder, especially when they are being asked by person after person after person.
Case in point is a Council's responsibility. I was under the impression that a Council's responsibility was to properly manage the town much in the way a business is looked after, with the Mayor as the Manager and the Councilors as Department Managers, but all of them remain employees of the residents of the community who have elected them to serve. Ambergris Caye is the business and Mayor Paz sits at the forefront of the finances at the Council and possess the responsibility to assess profits and losses in order to carefully plan the town's next step.
We, the residents, are the owners of the business but we also share this with the tourism industry. Why? Well the town's revenue is garnered through the various taxes imposed by the Council. The town makes its money mostly through the tourism industry. If the industry is thriving then businesses thrive and residents can pay their taxes and the town thrives. If tourism is dwindling then businesses suffer, taxes are not paid, and the town suffers as well.
Now as a business, the town is not earning the revenue it enjoyed in the past. In various interviews with Mayor Paz, she has revealed that taxes are being neglected and are not being paid by residents. Because taxes are not being paid, street rehabilitation has been neglected. In her many electoral speeches, hoping to garner votes, it was promised, by this present administration, that the cobblestone project would continue and that the road from the Round-a-bout leading to the Boca del Rio bridge had already been financially secured and that work was set to commence shortly after elections. Months after, I sat once more with Mayor Paz and questioned her in regards to the cobblestone project which had been promised. Her response, "taxes are not being paid." And, once again we come to the business aspect - if a business is not earning the money then renovations can not be made. We understand.
HOWEVER, if the cobblestone project can not be afforded, is there an alternative to fixing this stretch of road? Thanksgiving weekend was probably one of the busiest weekends this island has seen in months. Delivering papers on this stretch of road was embarrassing on Thanksgiving Thursday. To see our guests, because that is what tourists are to this island, guests, riding down the street with their heads bopping side to side did not make me proud to welcome them to La Isla Bonita. After having received a few rain showers, the road was terrible with craters found every few feet. Guests arriving from North Ambergris Caye are welcomed by this horrendous sight and yet nothing is done to fix the situation. In the past, through interviews and calls on the Morning Show, Mayor Paz has explained that the roads can not be fixed when it's raining, well it did not rain for months and still nothing was done. The Christmas holidays are upon us, and we are still receiving a few showers, can we say that we are proud to welcome our guests to this beautiful home of ours?
A few weeks ago, the Belize Tourism Board announced a $6 million face lift for the island. A consultation was held at the San Pedro Lions Den to present the plans, my question is, since it is $6 million that will come out of tax payers' pockets (because the money to be used is a loan from the Inter Development Bank), shouldn't taxpayers have a say as to where they want $6 million invested? The project presented by Honorable Manuel Heredia is beautiful, there is no denying that, but $6 million could go toward paying Medina's Construction the approximately $700,000 still owed to them for cobblestone rehabilitation work which has already been completed, it can go toward cobblestoning the street from the Round-a-bout to the Boca del Rio Bridge and we would still have money for other projects that would give this island a much needed renovation for our incoming guests. Residents in San Mateo would jump for joy if some of that $6 million would go toward giving them the streets that they so desperately are pleading for. They would jump for joy to know that they no longer would they need to traverse the London bridges which are part of their everyday struggle in life.
Mayor Elsa Paz and her councilors were consulted prior to the presentation at the Lions Den. With $6 million couldn't they, who we elected to look out for the betterment of the island, have said, "let us better utilize this money in these other areas"? The town is a business, when assessing profits and losses, San Pedro Town is running at a loss, maybe it is time to start thinking about how we can win with the little means we have at hand and how best the people and the town of San Pedro can be served. If the manager to your business is not working in the way you, the owner see it fit, is it time to look for new management?