Mayor Zenaida Moya today found out that it's easier to make a promise than to fulfill one as there is no solution to the financial crunch that the council finds itself in. In a meeting yesterday with the Prime Minister Said Musa and Minister of Local Government Jose Coye, Moya left optimistic that central government would be able to help them through the Belize Tourism Board. Today however the BTB was unable to meet the Prime Minister's promise to assist.
We contacted director of the BTB Tracy Panton for comment and she told us that the BTB does not have legal authority to re-direct government taxes. She adds that from the US$7 collected, the BTB gets US$1.60, PACT receives US$1.40 and the rest is shared between the tourism village operators. She adds that BTB was able to assist the former council through infrastructural projects and that was how they are able to assist this council.
In obliging Mayor Moya today sent the very letter of request that the previous council had made of the BTB in seeking their assistance which at the time secured CITCO some $670,000 between September 2005 to March 2006. Today Mayor Zenaida Moya says she will be drafting an identical letter of request to the BTB and will be affixing her signature to it to see what the BTB's response will be. Meanwhile the council is unable to meet its own bills. Moya told us that she is falling short in the 10's of thousands of dollars in meeting her council's everyday expenses which include salaries, fuel, electricity bills and phone bills. She adds that the financing for sanitation workers is still uncertain despite payday for them being tomorrow.
