In December we told you about the potholes in San Pedro which were giving Belize's number one tourist destination an ugly black eye. When we ran our story, it was the business community directly appealing to central government for help. Well someone listened because the potholed plagued streets of the island will get a $5 million facelift. The tab will be picked up by central government and while the town council asked for the money in the form of a loan, the Ministry of Finance is giving it as a grant - meaning the island won't have to pay back.
If you are wondering why government would be so generous to a town led by a UDP Mayor and Council, well today Prime Minister Said Musa was in San Pedro to answer it. Musa says it came down to dollars and sense: San Pedro brings in fifty percent of the revenue from hotel tax and, in his words, you can't play politics with that kind of money. We have this video courtesy our colleagues at the San Pedro Sun.
Rt. Hon. Said Musa, Prime Minister
"We have realized that this project is bigger than anyone of us indeed. It symbolizes the need for us to recognize two things, the one I have mentioned which is the need for unity and cooperation but also it shows that there is a recognition on the part of our government that we can't play party politics with an issue like this, that San Pedro Ambergris represents a major factor in the economic life of this nation."
Under the MOU, the stretch of Coconut Drive from the Bowen and Bowen distributors all the way down to the WASA plant will be cobble-stoned. Of the $5 million, GOB will contribute $3.8 million while the Town Council will contribute another $1.17 million. Work has already started and it should be completed by the end of this year.
