Belize City Streets Still in Disrepair

Back in November, the Belize City Council wrapped up a study on damaged streets across the country, estimating that repairs would cost approximately one point six million dollars. Now, more than two months later, most of those streets are still in disrepair. So, what’s the holdup? Is the council waiting for central government to step in? With general elections around the corner, voters will surely be demanding these upgrades. Today, we asked Mayor Bernard Wagner when those repairs will finally begin.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City Council

“Bail out no, we are not seeking bailout. We are waiting for the rains to subside. I am glad that finally we are seeing some letting up in the rain. We do not shy away from the fact that climate change is here. But we as a progressive entity have to find the capital to do the retrofitting and rehabilitation of those streets. Flooding again requires, I always insist that flooding requires participation from residents. We will do our part. We have cleaned those drains on an annual basis. When you see flooding in the city, the water does not stay there long. It goes very quickly. I agree with you, we still need to fine tune the drainage system in the city. That is part of our agenda for this year, to focus on drainage, ensure that there are maintained, that they are connecting. You cannot just have a drain and it connects to nowhere. It must connect to the canals and it feeds into the river and the river into the sea. We have a pumping station that helps us to alleviate flooding in that downtown Belize City area.”