Mike Singh vs. Belizean Tour Guides & Operators

It was a packed house on Tuesday at the Belize Biltmore Plaza when Belizean Tour Guides and Tour Operators gathered under their umbrella organization FECTAB (Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize) to send a message to the UDP government that they are unhappy with the way that they are running the Tourist Industry.

The contention is that a Jamaican outfit name Chukka Caribbean Adventures joined as majority owner with a Belizean tour company, Bakabush Tours. Immediately Chukka was offered the contract to provide tours to Carnival Cruise Lines by the executives of Carnival Cruise Lines. Chukka/Bakabush outfit has partnered with a prominent UDP henchman and Chairman of the Transport Board Leo Batty to provide all the transportation for the guest of Carnival.  This immediately boxed out every other red blooded Belizean that had their little bus that use to be rented when the local operators had the Carnival contract.

This marginalization of Belizeans in an industry they created and lived off for over fifteen years seem to have the full support of the Ministry of Tourism.

In a television interview on Friday CEO in the Ministry of Tourism Michael Singh stated that Belizeans were operating below standards which is why they have allowed a foreign company to operate in Belize. He went further to state that he believes this is a private matter and that government should not interfere in private businesses, yet on August 24, 2009 Dean Barrow government did a hostile takeover of BTL, a privately owned business.

What Michael Singh is saying is traitorous, because he is a public servant being paid by Belizean taxpayers and should be seeking to ensure that Belizeans benefit from the tourist industry but instead he is bad mouthing these hard working Belizeans that have made major investments in Belize. Unlike Chukka whose policy is to lease so when they leave a destination after the abuse the natural resources they have no baggage

The PR person for Chukka, Guy Martin claims that Chukka is paying all its taxes. Well that is easy to prove, just provide a copy of the contract between Chukka and Carnival to the media so all can calculate the payment rate.  But we should not hold our breath for that.

The other issue of contention by FECTAB members is that Chukka found a way to usurp the law and gain access to the cave using it without paying due to a technicality that was overlooked by the government. It has been almost two years that the government has been aware of the situation and has delayed correcting this anomaly. As a result all other Belizean tour operator that access the Cave Branch site has to pay a park fee while Chukka does not pay. Belize is losing millions of dollars as a result of this UDP government collusion or incompetence.

This was a government that tricked the Belizean people in February 2008 to believe that they got their back, well look whose back Mike Singh has and surely it is not the Belizean tour operator nor tour guides. Presently the government is stifling the economy with inactivity and nepotism and jobs are drying up. The cry of the Belizean tour personnel is that they are losing their jobs. Presently the government is standing in the way of almost 5,000 jobs being created on the Southside of Belize City, all that is needed is for them to give support for the construction of Belize Cruise Terminal which will enable all the ships to dock. Even Marc Melville, co-managing director of Chukka Tours agreed in his August 7^th,  2009 interview that Belize will benefit tremendously if it allowed for the building of a cruise terminal.

We believe the Belizean’s livelihood must be protected and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that it provides all the opportunities for Belizeans.  Do you hear Michael Singh and Manuel Heredia?

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