Corozaleños Poor!

Dear Mr. Editor,

As a citizen of Belize and a Corozaleño I kindly request that you publish my letter.

It was indeed with great pain in my heart that I learnt through the recently published Poverty Assessment Report that the Corozal District is now considered the second poorest district in our nation.

When I first heard this I could not believe it! But better than that, there are some people in the Corozal District that fail to understand what has happened to a district that was considered one of the most prosperous for decades.  Among these people we have the three UDP Representatives who seem oblivious to this fact and the challenges faced by us Corozaleños on a daily basis.

Only two or there years ago, the Corozal District used to boast the lowest unemployment rate in the country.  The district was booming and business was being generated. Today all this has come to a halt. Workers by the score at the Free Zone, the Casinos and the Papaya Industry are losing their jobs daily.  And when they don’t lose their job outright the employers employ them for fewer hours; thereby reducing their salaries by up to about fifty percent.

It’s no wonder that we are now considered the second poorest district in the country.  As Corozaleños we believe that this is indicative of the lack of government leadership in the district.  We demand that the Government of Belize urgently addresses this poverty issue which can be done by ensuring that employment is generated.  Corozaleños are willing and able to work.

Since we are now considered the second poorest district, Corozaleños request that the NHI is rolled out to this district without hesitation and with urgency.  This is where the Minister of Health, who hails from our beautiful district and won the election on a platform of Reformed Health Care, could be instrumental.  In fact, if the NHI is to live its fundamental principles it should be rolled out to all the country.  The people of Corozal, like all other Belizeans, are desperately in need of good, effective and efficient health care.

We cannot wait for the Horizon in 2030! We need jobs, good health care and education, better roads, and more employment now!

Sincerely,

Leticia Vasquez

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