And as we mentioned earlier, Rutley's visit to Belize included a trip down the Coastal Plain Highway, which was recently officially opened. The UK government, along with the CDB, assisted with funding the mean project back in 2019, when the PUP were in opposition. At that time, the current foreign minister - then opposition Senator Eamon Courtenay wrote to both of them objecting to awarding the 130 million dollar contract saying that it, quote, "is not according to law and they are aiding and abetting a criminal enterprise." End quote.
Well, four years later, the PUP boasted about the road's opening. Today we asked Courtenay and Rutley if the letter had come up during their visit.
Eamon Courtenay, Foreign Minister
"If you recall we made a complaint at the time, not only to the UK government, but to the CDB, in their own wisdom neither of them responded to us. When we were, when the government was elected, the project was well underway and therefore the issues we wanted to raise had been overtaken by events. I did not
raise that issue with Minister Rutley because the facts are where they are today. What we did discuss was the success of the road project in terms of building resilience, providing Belizeans with a more efficient way of going south and of opening up that area. The issue we were raising in opposition was a question of transparency, that was the issue."
David Rutley, UK FM For Americas & Caribbean
"All I can say is, having been to the road now, it's an amazing piece of engineering, it's making a huge difference to the community involved, I've got a business background but I know the most important measure on infrastructure is smiling faces. If people are smiling it's making a difference, and local communities were really welcoming of the way it was being constructed, it's built to last, it's built to be resilient, it's a huge improvement and I think it's a real credit to the government in the way that it's been implemented, on time, ahead of budget, and then some of those savings will be used to help local communities. I think it sets an incredibly high benchmark for other countries to look to figure out how we can have these projects which are complicated sometimes to deliver in that way and I've been really impressed, I think it's some good joint working, but the delivery, credit to the government and the project management team."
