BELMOPAN, Thurs. Mar. 25, 2021– On Wednesday, the newly elected mayor of Belmopan, Hon. Sharon Palacio, delivered a speech in which she outlined the state of the Belmopan City Council’s finances and charted a roadmap for the development of the capital city. Palacio said that when she examined the financial records of the Belmopan City Council, she was perturbed by the degree of local government borrowing. “The council owes Social Security, my people, to the tune of five hundred and eighty-six thousand, six hundred and four dollars and fifty-one cents ($580,604.51); Income tax, a hundred and eighty-eight thousand, six hundred and ninety-one dollars and 21 cents ($188,691.21),” said Palacio. She also noted that the Belmopan City Council is indebted to many service providers and contractors.
Palacio stated that not only were the council’s finances in deplorable condition, but so were the storage containers. “One storeroom is a 20-foot container. We were told that this storeroom was a place that we would not like to visit, but visit we did, and we confirmed that indeed it was moldy, unsanitary, infested with rodents and woodlice,” Mayor Palacio said.
The unsanitary conditions of the container stemmed from negligence, she asserted. She observed that “all that was needed, was to fix the top of the container to prevent rain and pests from entering that space.” Instead, the previous administrators allowed the site to become a breeding ground for rodents and woodlice infestations.
Among other problems, absenteeism was pervasive under the management of the previous city council, Palacio further revealed. The City of Belmopan mayor stated that the previous employees found various “loopholes to trick the system.” Many persons who have never worked were on the council’s payroll, she said, and, according to the Belmopan mayor, others in the council’s employ lacked job descriptions, and those who had such descriptions “circumvented established protocols, procedures and processes”.
The days leading up to the election allowed the Belmopan City Council ample time to carry out fraudulent land transactions. Palacio said. “We have parcel 6302, which is in the process of being subdivided into five hundred eight parcels of land as of 1st March. Three hundred and three have been assigned, 17 have been purchased outright, and twenty-one have been reimbursed, and six are pending reimbursement. Philip Goldson Boulevard was previously divided into twenty-eight parcels; all but one have been sold or traded for works done,” she detailed. Despite becoming aware of these transactions, the Belmopan City Council is unable to follow a money trail.
Mayor Palacio then segued to her plans for development of the capital city. “We will ensure that all employees have a clear job description and a copy of our updated organogram …. Payments will only be issued to persons that are working for the City Hall or those involved in legitimate transactions. We will carry out a general cleanup day,” pledged the mayor.
“We are actively investigating all loopholes…. We have not uncovered all that we know are there, but we will not rest until every stone is unturned. To fix the problems, we must part ways with corrupt individuals and non-committed employees,” she went on to say.
Additionally, Mayor Palacio outlined the creation of the first urban planning department, which will be tasked with city development planning to meet the demands of the growing population. Part of the council’s plans includes the integration of the services of the police department into the City Hall’s system and the establishment of progress hotlines to allow rapid responses to citizens.