PlusTV Mayoral debate brings out the best in candidates
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On Tuesday night PlusTV held its first Mayoral Debate for the City of Belmopan. The event was aired LIVE on PLusTV and included participation from all five Mayoral Candidates. Those candidates were Incumbent Mayor Simeon Lopez for the UDP, Mr Jorge Flores for the PUP, Paul Morgan for the VIP, and two independent Candidates; Mr Roody Wade and Mr Marlon Skeen. The event lasted just over 2 hours as candidates answered 15 questions submitted by residents of the capital City. We have some highlights for you as candidates answer different questions posed to them. Here is Incumbent Candidate Simeon Lopez answering a question on Unaudited Financials for His city council.
Mayor Simeon Lopez, Mayoral Candidate, UDP
I am amazed at that accusation. The firm of Cedric Flowers, even after the pass Mayor Mr. Chanona left from City Hall, has always been engaged in doing up to date financial auditing of this council. We have that audited. You can check with the Ministry of Local Government. When we have our public meetings you don’t go to public meetings. It was not audited at that time, but it gives you an idea of what the income and expenditure up to that date is. However, the audited statement is there and it is up to date. Even under Mayor Chanona, the firm of Cedric Flowers used to do it and we continue in that firm. So there is no truth to the fact that it has not been audited for five years.
Here is Independent Candidate Roody Wade answering a question on Illegal squatting on City lands.
Roody Wade, Mayoral Candidate, Independent
The way I look at it, my experience is that due process has not been followed and as far as illegal squatting is concerned, I am not for illegal squatting. You have a lot of born-Belizeans here that I know for almost my entire life and they still don’t have a house lot. However, this is what the politicians use. We have to blame the politicians, because they have the system like this, where they encourage illegal squatting. I think that if we follow the law and follow due process, we can solve the immigration issue. Not to mention, this past month we saw the outcome of that with all the illegal immigration work that has been done lately. Like I said, it boils down to the politicians.
VIP’s Paul Morgan among other things, spoke about how his party, if elected, intended to grow Belmopan’s infrastructure.
Paul Morgan, Mayoral Candidate, VIP
I would like to speak a little bit about growing and how we grow Belmopan, rather than simply expanding it. There are two words we need to keep in mind: materials and methods. Even the ladies on the street who I believe have never gone to engineering school, like myself, understand that you can’t put mud on the road and expect that when it rains it will not get soft. Method – we need drains, you can’t put mud on the road and don’t dig drains – the water will settle there. The VIP will do something different for Belmopan. For the first time in Belmopan you will be seeing a couple stone streets, because on all these side roads, you need not run very fast on them, actually the speed limit is very low. Therefore, we are going to demand and push a couple of stones side streets. We are going to projectize every single street. I could tell you Brother Wade, there are eighty miles in Belmopan and for those eighty miles, at least we will have a plan.
Marlon Skeen, another independent Candidate, answered the question regarding the increase of bars and nightclubs in the City of Belmopan.
Marlon Skeen, Mayoral Candidate, Independent
I agree that we need to get back to basics. When you go into the Maya Mopan area, at almost every street corner there is a bar. When you come into Belmopan and you pass that roundabout, there is a bar on either side. What message does this send to everyone? Once upon a time Belmopan was thought of as the family place; they used to say Belmopan is boring – I loved that era when that was said, because it was safe, peaceful and calm. It was nice. What message do you send as a City Council to have bars as you come into Belmopan and one of them looks much than a bar to me. Something really needs to be done about that. Now, we do need to be cognizant that people do need to make a living, but they must follow the rules of the land. They must follow the rules of the town or municipality. The City Council itself should do very due diligence before they issue licenses to those people and I would say that licenses for those things should definitely be taxed much higher than a traditional trade license.
PUP’s Jorge Flores spoke on what he would do to curb under-age drinking and how he would provide alternatives for Belmopan’s youth.
Jorge Flores, Mayoral Candidate, PUP
If there is under-aged drinking, then something is wrong; that means that the laws are not being applied. This is because it is illegal, as we all know, to sell liquor to under-aged persons. However, given that, we are saying we must find alternatives and in so doing, we must engage the residents and the churches to provide extracurricular activities. We have one of our candidates who is a social worker with a degree from the University of Belize and she will be charged with the responsibility to create other activities to involve our youth in programs. We will bring in programs such as the Rotary and the Youth for the Future.
The event, moderated by Rise and Shine’s Louis Wade with help from TimeKeeper Patrick Andrews will be reaired TONIGHT at 8pm and through the weekend.
