The matter of Belize City Council’s $9 million debt and whether it was accrued in legitimate, above-the-board transactions continues to be the topic of debate even in the last days before voters go to the poll to decide whether they will re-elect a United Democratic Party (UDP) Council or replace them with a People’s United Party (PUP) Council.
Last week, we reproduced City Hall’s debt list, and one of the names on that list is Triple “B” Heavy Equipment Ltd. There have been allegations raised against the company, claiming that it is merely a shadow company milking money from the purse of Belize City residents.
However, Benson Ramclam of Independence Village visited our newspaper today, saying that he is the owner of the company, and everything he has done is fully above board.
Ramclam says that if his company were being used to run a scam on the Council, he would have gotten his money. Instead, he said, he has not been paid the bulk of what is due to him. He reports that out of the entire $220,000 he billed to the Belize City Council, he has been paid only about $15,000.
Back in December 2008, said Ramclam, his company did works primarily in Belama, on Thomas Vincent Ramos Street, Superintendent George Arthur Street, and Albert Hoy Street, as well as Gentle Avenue in Kings Park, a portion of downtown and the Coral Grove area.
According to Ramclam, he has been in the profession since 1985, and he was incorporated in 2002 (registered through the General Registry then located in Belize City). He said that he also did work under the PUP administration, on the Caye Caulker Airstrip and the South Side Poverty Alleviation project, and he has begun work on the Crooked Tree causeway.
Ramclam says he just wants to clear his name.