UDP Cronyism in San Pedro

This is not the first time I have mentioned that like the Belize City Transport Department, the San Pedro Transport Department is also in a complete mess. From all appearances, it seems that there is no order in the way the department is operated or it may well be a reflection of the UDP incompetence. I must say, however, that generally the traffic officers are the friendliest and most courteous employees at the Transport Department, but I wish I could say the same for the rest for those heading the office.

In the past, there have been regulations and laws that were implemented across the board for people who intended to bring in vehicles on the island. Fine, those laws are perfect because no tourist wants to come to San Pedro and be caught up in a traffic jam. But when the laws are applied to certain sectors of society then that is when I see a problem. One of the past Chairmen of the Transport Board, namely Harry Longsworth, was fired by Mayor Elsa Paz when he issued an order to impound a vehicle belonging to the driver of Manuel Heredia. The Mayor and the Area Rep gave Mr. Chi the green light to bring in his SUV on the island without a permit. Of course Chairman Harry would not allow that to happen even more so when it was exposed in the local papers. So when Harry sent a letter to the Police to impound the vehicle, the very evening Mayor Paz and Junior discharged Harry from his responsibility. Harry did not go down easy and in the months that followed, he sent weekly letters to island based media houses where he exposed Junior, Elsa and the UDP Town Council. Like the rest of San Pedro, I miss those letters, Harry.

With one hand on the Bible and the other on her chest, Mayor Elsa swore to the people that even after Harry’s termination, she would ensure that Chi’s illegal vehicle gets off the island as soon as possible. In fact the new Transport Chairman, one of the Guerrero brothers, went as far as to say that the vehicle was already on the barge and heading off the island. Some people swallowed that story hook, line and sinker but I didn’t. You see, Mr Chi is no ordinary man, he holds the keys to Junior and Elsa’s dirty works and even his personal secrets so there was no way in hell that Chi would be told to ferry his SUV back to Progresso.

Months after the incident, Chi’s vehicle remains on the island. Chi was told by the Mayor that if he gets an auto dealer’s license plate, she could allow him to keep the vehicle on the island. Chi’s vehicle remains on the island and is driven around town with one auto-dealers license plate. Strict orders were given to the transport officer to “not to interfere” with the vehicle owners. To the island residents, Chi is the first person to bring in a vehicle without an importation permit and allowed to drive around with an auto dealer’s plate. But Chi is just one case – many wealthy, non-Belizeans who are well connected to Elsa and Junior have been allowed to own and use as many vehicles as they want on the island. If you are not “well connected” to the UDP (Elsa and Junior in specific) chances of you allowed to obtain a permit for a vehicle or cart is slim to none.

The favoritism as to who can get a permit or not, is one of many failures at the San Pedro Transport Department, but the incompetence goes beyond that. The cronyism of the UDP is obvious and I sometimes wonder “what the hell” is inside the heads of Elsa and Junior. Government owned vehicles should be driven by a specific driver or the individual the vehicle was assigned to. Well in San Pedro, it seems that every family member or their crony can drive the vehicle/carts assigned to the Area Representative and the Mayor and even some councilors. The Mayor allows any one of her relatives to drive her government issued cart. The same with Junior Heredia; one minute you see his children driving in his government issued cart and vehicle then the other minute you see his children’s husbands driving around. There is no respect for the government assets by our local elected officials; they fail to realize that those vehicles are ours.

But what can we expect from these individual who want to run their show as they please without respect for the laws. In fact the Mayor is yet to say if she compensated the Town Council for the use of the Town Council trucks to fill her lagoon side bar (Zac Bajo). When a caller questioned her about her actions on a morning show, she quickly said, “I don’t know what the caller is speaking about.” Anyone can go around Zac Bajo and look at the transformation; from swamp land to high, sandy and solid land. Do you know who paid for it? Clearance of the land was done by the Town Council workers during working hours, transportation of materials was done using the Town Council vehicles and material came from the Town Council as part of the arrangement from those dredging for material on the south of the island. Do you know who paid for the beautiful transformation of Zac Bajo? We the tax payers paid for the expenses, if you don’t believe, ask the Mayor to prove otherwise.

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