Orange Walk Candidates Promise Better Sugar Roads  

On Monday, we introduced you to some of the candidates from Orange Walk Central, North, and South who are running in the 2025 general elections. Tonight, we bring you the remaining three standard bearers from the United Democratic Party and the People’s United Party for Orange Walk North, South, and East. News Five’s Britney Gordon caught up with the candidates to get more details on their campaigns.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

It’s been over four years since Ramon Cervantes beat Carlos Zetina by more than one thousand, four hundred votes to become the Area Representative of Orange Walk North. Now, they’re facing off again, and while some think it’s anyone’s game, Cervantes is confident he has the votes. He shared with us the efforts he’s been making to secure support in his constituency.

 

Ramon Cervantes, Standard Bearer, OW North, P.U.P

“ We rehabilitated a lot of the sugar roads, the village roads. We are paving a very main road in Trial Farm Village, which is the largest village. We built a community center at the park. We have given, education, health, a lot of assistance in health, and lighted up, we have lighted up many of the football fields that have been left abandoned by the previous administration, and given a lot of support to sports, tournaments and competitions.”

 

Cervantes, affectionately known as “Monchi” by his supporters, stays connected with his constituents by attending events and visiting homes. However, his opponent, Carlos Zetina, disputes this, claiming that if elected, he would have a stronger presence in the community. Meanwhile, in Orange Walk South, German Tillett is calling for better infrastructure. Drawing from his experience as a sugar farmer, Tillett explains that farmers have been struggling for years due to the poor condition of the sugar roads.

 

German Tillett, Standard Bearer, OW South, U.D.P.

“We have an area representative who is from Orange Walk Central, who is representing Orange Walk. And that is the things that needs to be fixed for us to get some better assistance here in Orange Walk. You see the road infrastructure that we have here. We have more than four years that no grader, nothing has come to fix the road here in August Pine Ridge. There’s a culvert that was put right there. We were speaking to the family that is beside the culvert. That the drain, it’s not even fixed well so that the water can flow.  So we have many things here. August Pine Ridge is a big area. It’s a big village. And it is very abandoned here by the representatives.”

 

Moving over to Orange Walk East, standard bearer Kevin Bernard is confident that he has built a strong connection with the people of Orange Walk. Reflecting on his time as mayor of the namesake municipality, he believes these bonds will help him in the upcoming election.

 

Kevin Bernard, Standard Bearer, OW East, P.U.P

“One of the things that I have done and I think the people of Orange Walk East appreciate is the fact that I have always been there for them. We have brought infrastructure improvement, we have improved our parks and playgrounds, we are constantly working on road infrastructure. We have always assisted in  education and health so we have always been there for our people. So we have been there for our people.”

 

The United Democratic Party still hasn’t revealed who will run against Bernard in the 2025 elections. With nomination day just around the corner, it’s unclear if they’ll even appoint a candidate for the constituency. Bernard shared with us the areas he plans to improve if he’s reelected.

 

Kevin Bernard

“We want to make sure that we continue to build on the road infrastructure in Orange Walk. However, there are other areas of health that we are looking at expanding. Community, community health services, for example, Carmelita. We need to make sure we can bring that to the people there, we are very committed, and I am committed to making sure that the main road into Santa Marta is paved. We are already working in Palmar. We want to make sure that our rural communities are also addressed. We have done a lot in Orange Walk Town, with the municipalities, but my vision has always been for us to improve the rural community, and more the communities as well. Apart from that, of course, we have to provide much more social services to the people. Education is very important.”

 

Tillett promises to enhance the healthcare system in his constituency. He points out that residents of Orange Walk South often have to go to great lengths to get emergency medical help.

 

German Tillett

“We have a healthcare system facility right here in August Pine Ridge. If you go right now to the healthcare facility, it is abandoned. We have some persons right there, but we have many doctors here in Orange Walk, so doctors that can, we can be able to provide them with a job so that they can be able to provide us with a service for the community here, not only from August Pine Ridge but Trinidad and neighboring villages. You see right now, what is the problem? If an accident happens here in Agaspan Ridge or in San Felipe, We need to call an ambulance and it takes more than half an hour or an hour for them to reach right here. But with the facility that we have here, if we have proper, a proper ambulance, a doctor and everything, we can be able to save lives. Because every minute counts,”

 

Cervantes says that he is humbled by the support shown and promises more improvements to public facilities and roads.

 

Ramon Cervantes

“We’ll continue the paving of streets and overhauling some of the sugar roads so that people can bring their produce in comfort, that the villagers can travel in comfort, and even in the villages, the streets, that is one main thing that we need. Keep improving the sports facilities by putting bleachers. We have put lights, so we need to put more bleachers, more lighting. So that is what we will get ahead of.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.