24
J. A. Rebel
UP
The Belize Times
Wake up and Smell the Coffee! For months now I have been hearing the islanders of San Pedro and Caye Caulker asking about the whereabouts of their area representative Manuel “Junior” Heredia. Some are even asking whether Junior attends House of Representatives meetings or not. The truth of the matter is that he does attend house meetings, but the sad thing is that he never talks and defends the interests of Belize Rural South, even when the PM and his colleagues make decisions which hurt the constituency. The “son of the soil” as he calls himself has other interests – like being very good to himself, his family and his close friends, if you know what I mean. Junior is also the minister with the most frequent flyer miles, almost on par with the Prime Minister and his Minister of Foreign Affairs. And something else Junior does very well is continuously pat himself on the back for his little baby steps and insignificant accomplishments in the area of tourism – that is where I draw the line. I want to point out and educate Junior Heredia that it was under the People’s United Party (PUP) that a robust, vibrant and self sustainable tourism industry was created. During the 10 years of PUP government, tourism arrivals ballooned from 130,000 in 1998 to over $1million (with an M) in 2008. The increases in both overnight and cruise tourism generated and increased tourism revenue from $100 to $600 million. It was under a PUP government that the cruise industry was developed in Belize, paving the way for a Fort Street Tourism Village. Overnight tourism increased after the then PUP government successively managed to increase flights to Belize with the introduction of Delta, American, US Airways and Continental airlines. With the increase in air traffic, it brought along an expansion to the international airport runway to accommodate long-haul flights from different parts of the region. With an increase in tourism arrival, it created an environment that enabled the expansion of the hotel industry all over Belize but most importantly in San Pedro Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker and the Placencia Peninsula. While the tourism industry was growing, it demanded that government invest in training personnel in the tourism industry. That paved the way for the training of thousands of Belizean in different tourism disciplines including tour guides, beverage and food handlers, waitressing, front desk and the list can go on. In fact the then government went even further in
introducing the concept of tourism into the primary and secondary school curriculum. It was under a PUP government that Tourism related courses were added to the University of Belize programs. This created the opportunity for hundreds of new jobs. But the government did not stop there; it went further and continued to invest in the tourism industr y. Through the revenue generated from the tourism industry, various archaeological sites such as Xunantunich, Altun Ha, Lamanai, Cerro Maya and many others were improved and enhanced. T he government saw the importance of establishing the first ever Museum in Belize, enhancing the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts and building houses of culture in the different districts. It was a visionary PUP government that promoted Belizean artists such as Andy Palacio, thus promoting Belize’s rich and diverse culture. And as visitors began to discover Belize and its richness, it was evident that our infrastructure such as the ports of entry, our parks, our islands, towns and cities needed to be improved. Hence government wasted no time in finding and allocating funds to INVEST in building better ports of entry facilities, enhancing the attractions in our municipalities, building the new Southern Highway, paving roads and building bridges and even cobblestone streets in San Pedro Town. Yes, Junior and Elsa, it was the PUP government that found the monies to hand over to Elsa and a UDP Town Council to enhance San Pedro Town. The long and short of things is that it was a PUP government that propelled the tourism industry. The figures will show that under the UDP tourism was a virtual non-entity, while under the PUP it became one of our biggest revenue earners. So when Junior gets up and says that it is only under Junior Heredia that things happen in tourism, I am forced to ask in which country he is living. It is time for Junior to wake up and smell the coffee. Where is Junior Hereida’s list of accomplishments in two years? What has he done besides travelling all over the world? Where is his interest for San Pedro and Caye Caulker? Instead of continuing to build a vibrant tourism industry, Junior is only making things worse for the industry. Get real, Junior Heredia and stop making a fool of yourself! San Pedranos are looking for you and so are the residents of Caye Caulker. Put up or shut up Junior!
sunday, march 7, 2010