7 News Belize

BWC: We Can’t Continue To Work For Free
posted (December 6, 2013)
So, what does the Management of the Belize Waste Control have to say about City Hall's inability to pay them the money that they earned? Well, that's what we went to find out from the Owner of the company. This afternoon, we spoke to Anthony Griffith, and he told us that Mayor Darrell Bradley has made MANY empty promises that he hasn't kept, and he expects them to continue to work with getting paid. Here's how Griffith explained it:

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"You tell me after 15 weeks going back from August to December; you can't do anything but a couple payments? You have no intention of doing it. You don't care. Listen, the Mayor have made promises to us over and over again, hasn't kept one. This arrears was back from last year. He was to do a payment plan in January 2013 to catch up from 2012, but he never did. It just keeps getting worse and worse until it reaches this point."

"He came here (he didn't talk to me, he talk to my daughter) I think sometime in February - he came here and he was supposed to give a payment plan I think it was a Thursday evening or Friday and 2 payments. The 2 payments came through and also he promised that the Monday he would have 3 more payments for us. We are still waiting for the payment plan; we are still waiting for the payment up to today. Back in January he was supposed to give us a payment plan for going back to 2012 arrears, but he never did. It's not normal business that he's talking that the City Council always owing us. This became a problem when they took over City Council, Zenaida and him. Never had I had this problem for many years with PUP. We got paid on time. We have it with them now, they start this phrase "high season and low season." I've never heard that before."

Daniel Ortiz
"You have to pay your workers; you have to pay your creditors."

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"I have to pay salaries, taxes and social security on money that I haven't received which is ridiculous, but I still have to pay it. I have to pay maintenance, all these things add up and it's been going on for months, not for weeks."

Daniel Ortiz
"What happens when, let's say for example, you tell your workers 'guys, I can't pay you.'"

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"I can't do that. I've never done that. I've got to find the money to pay them. I got to find the money to do the job for then city that they are supposed to pay me to do."

"How would you like, you know, working for somebody and you come for your pay and nobody doesn't want to see you, like the are running away from you - like you have a contagious disease, they run away from you. They would never picked up the phone and say Mr. Griffith or Belize Waste Control I can't pay this week, I'll pay next week or whatever - never. We can't make any plans, give me a payment plan. He has never done that."

"I don't give a damn what he said, he's not telling the truth."

Daniel Ortiz
"What is the current status sir? How do you guys weather this situation where he is saying that he will catch up on whatever he owes?"

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"We have heard that before okay. It's not the first time, it never materialized."

And the topic of that 2.3 million dollar arbitration award also came up in our conversation with Griffith. He says that his company has written off a million dollars on the debt, to show good faith, so they are only going to be paid 1.3 million dollars. That's a lot of money to make peace with City Hall, and he says that they have shown him nothing but contempt when he tries to collect what is owed to him on the current 776 thousand dollars that he is owed, and which keeps climbing:

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"That is true, but he didn't give you the rest of it; the judgment was for 2.2 million dollars. We write off 1 million dollars to him and he has to pay the rest. He didn't tell you that and the court ordered him to do it. We could have been a real hard case and insist on our money. But we decide to make peace we deduct 1 million from the bill. He didn't tell you that."

Daniel Ortiz
"One million is a lot sir. How did you...."

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"But we did it for peace to try work along with him. We did it."

Daniel Ortiz
"You believe that you guys are being given shake for that?"

Anthony Griffith, Owner - Belize Waste Control
"Hell no, we are not given a fair shake; when you are going to work us like this and don't pay us. We keep the city damn clean."

According to Griffith, they will continue to do their job and try to keep the city clean with their dialed back operation. He says that he has an obligation to City residents, and will try to do his duty until his company can no longer operate. Bradley has told us that his council will catch up with the payments after the tax revenues come in. We'll keep following the story.

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