It hasn't been the best two weeks for Belize Rural North Area Representative Edmund Castro. He was absent from the house last week when the Leader of The Opposition pounced on his alleged abuse of Belize Airport Authority Funds. Since then, the Prime Minister has called those acts wrong and distasteful, and the BAA has been moved away from Castro's ministry of transport.
And today, he had to face the music in the wake of a calamity on the Crooked Tree Lagoon that cost the loss of a life. Really, what happened was a most unfortunate accident - and one Castro had nothing to do with but when we went there today - many fingers were pointing at him. Why? Well, they say he should have built up the causeway and that would have pre-empted this extended use of the Coast guard vessels and the exposure to associated hazards.
Today we asked Castro about that:...
Jules Vasquez
"As the Area Representative you took a pounding out here today. People are blaming you, they are saying that if you had fixed the cause-way 5 years ago when you first won and like they told you to do - that's real. How do you respond to that. I 've seen people through the side of their mouth and through the front saying that it's your fault."
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Basically Jules, and everyone knows throughout this country who want to be reasonable that the government of Belize or the area representative never send the rains. We have been experiencing rains in the country from I think August. We have a whole lot of rain that falls in this area and even when it's not raining in this basin here - the Crooked Tree Lagoon serves as a basin for the rest of the country basically, so even when it rains out west, the water still has to pass through the Crooked Tree basin to sea. So, it is quite unfair for people to be blaming the government of Belize or blaming myself for the flood situation that we are having at this time."
Jules Vasquez
"However, but you could have fixed it earlier."
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Let me say this: it's not the first time that we experience top gallon flood in this area and with governments' constraints and budgeting still we started to work on the cause-way. The areas that we were able to completely out of water during this top gallon flood, so we know exactly the amount of material and amount of work that needs to get done for the Crooked Tree cause-way. Nothing happens overnight and we will continue to do our best to raise the cause-way as soon as the rains recede and its workable and we will use the recommendation from the Ministry of works."
Jules Vasquez
"Isn't it true though that a life had to be loss and many injured for there to be urgent action."
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Not really. If you listened to the Prime Minister press conference, it wasn't tomorrow or yesterday, it was over a month ago when we were taking the pounding from the type of weather that we had experience in the country. He had committed that he would give us some money to assist on the road in Crooked Tree and throughout the Belize District. We have other areas that are impassable too during the flood time such as Gracie Bank and Davis Bank - those areas. The people in the Maypen area, we are still working on trying to put up the bridge and dump the road. The people along the old Northern Highway still experiencing some big pot holes in the area because as soon as you fix one it rains the night, then you have to go over the situation. You have the people in the Bomba area that experience complete cutoff from vehicular traffic in the same period. If you look on the Northern Highway in the Lords Bank area junction, the grade it and fixed it as best as they could and it rains one night and it's a mess. It is difficult, no one ask this amount of water in a short period of time, but that's the reality and we have to work with what we have."
Jules Vasquez
"Minister, moving in to other subjects; how fo you respond to the recent flop about your activities along with the Belize Airport Authority?"
Hon. Edmund Castro
"Jules, right now we are taking a pounding with the situation here at Crooked Tree and we need to respect the people of Crooked Tree that are going through the mourning. Let's give respect to those and wish them well - the students who are in the hospital at KHMH or those at the Northern Regional Hospital."
We also asked him about the airport authority scandal - but out of respect to the grieving in Crooked Tree, he declined comment - choosing instead to stick to issues relating strictly to that community.
And while he's been taking a beating in the public, we'll note that his opponent Arhtur Saldivar'S efforts to gather signatures for a recall has faded into obscurity since he launched it in October.
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