Minister of State in the Ministry of Works, Hon. Edmund Castro, has been having some rough times in his division lately. Sure, he did well in the Village Council Elections in the Belize River Valley, but the Minister has been under sustained pressure by a kind of menacing vandalism that saw a hog's head placed on his desk, new floodlights stolen form village football fields. And now an excavator being used by his work crew on the Bomba Road has been sabotaged.
He called us today to see that a heaping serving of brown sugar that was poured into the excavator's gas tank.
Hon. Edmund Castro
"When they went to Bomba they found out that the excavator was stalling and when they checked they found out that the excavator tank was full with brown sugar which clogged up the line all the way to the fuel pump. This is a clear indication that this is sabotage to me. Its strictly political why they would sabotage the equipment that is helping the poor farmers in the area. Everybody knows heavy equipment is not a cheap venture in terms of replacing or repairing of parts. So we don't know to what extent this excavator, that is not even ours, that was loaned to us by a stranger, because they see that we are working in the area and we are trying to do good for our people, so they loaned us this excavator out of their good heart, only to find out now that the excavator has been sabotaged with brown sugar. That wrong."
"Several people were working on that project trying to fix those roads. So now we can't continue have them, because basically there's nothing to do until we can figure out what is the ultimate cost of repairing this excavator. "
"When you look at the graffiti that is on all the bus sheds through Belize Rural North that was there before, then there was a hog's head on my desk. And the lights were installed in Scotland Halfmoon, St. Paul's Bank and only were up for about 48 hours and someone went in there and stole the lights from the poor people of Scotland Halfmoon and the poor people of St. Paul's Bank. The lights disappear within 24 to 48 hours. Its a clear indication that whoever is behind this, its political."
Jules Vasquez
"It might simply be someone who you have failed to deliver to, or someone who feels that you have wronged them in the execution of your official duties."
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Well its obvious, Jules, if anyone will blame me for fixing the famers' road then I will take the blame."
Castro says it will cost $10,000 just to repair the fuel system. If the engine was damaged, it will cost thirty thousand dollars. And as he mentioned, the excavator was on loan.
He says that the theft of the lights, the hog's head, and this have been reported to police but nothing has come of the investigation.
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