Another Million Dollars for Sugar Roads Eventual Repair

Sugar cane farmers across Belize are still anxiously waiting for the sugar roads to be repaired. Earlier this week, we reported that sugar cane deliveries have been crawling due to the terrible condition of the roads, which has severely impacted sugar production in the north. On Wednesday, Prime Minister John Briceno acknowledged the farmers’ struggles and assured the public that the roads will be fixed eventually. He explained that funds have already been allocated for the repairs, but the heavy rains Belize has been experiencing have delayed the process. Today, we asked the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, if there’s any timeline for these much-needed repairs. Here’s what he had to say.

 

On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“ I can’t give you a time frame of when the weather will fix right? Iit’s raining a lot. The Prime Minister this morning said, I think on a talk show, he said that he has okayed another million dollars for repair of sugar roads, but you cannot repair sugar roads when it’s raining. Right? We have done, we have given out contracts for contractors. If they continue work while it’s raining and roads are  destroyed again, they will complain again. And if we do that, it is not wise for us to take taxpayer’s money, throw it on sugar roads, erase the following day and tax the taxpayer money gone. So we have to be timely. We have to choose the time when to do right for us to fix sugar roads.”