7 News Belize

Petrocaribe Will Roll In Rural Areas
posted (April 29, 2015)

And Government as also recently signed off on contracts which will extend Petrocaribe spending on infrastructure form strictly urban to rural areas. The Prime Minister outlined the areas that will be getting attention:…

Hon. Dean Barrow – Prime Minister of Belize

"The rollout to the rural areas begins now. Mr. Gentle, the CEO of Works, is here to tell you about the contracts that we have just gotten through signing. There are these contracts signed for Petrocaribe projects in Belize Rural Central, Toledo East, Stann Creek West, Corozal Southwest, Cayo Northeast, Cayo North, Orange Walk East, and Orange Walk North. So Petrocaribe is coming to Trial Farm, Ladyville, San Narcisco, Bella Vista, Succotz, Independence, Esperanza, Bullet Tree, and Carmelita, and it I will not stop until every village constituency – not every village – every village constituency in the entire country would have received its fair share of Petrocaribe."

A fair share for villages, and even a Petrocaribe prayer for the churches. That's one more petro powered initiative the PM discussed today:…

Hon. Dean Barrow – Prime Minister of Belize

"I'm happy to see Pastor Howell Longsworth in the audience because I have a letter from Bishop Phillip Wright on Anglican Diocese of Belize Stationary, but writing on behalf of both the Belize Council of Churches and the Evangelical Association, as a follow up to our conversation - the conversation between him and myself – regarding the support of your administration for the construction of an Ecumenical Chapel on the grounds of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City. That's a consummation devoutly to be wished. The Government will finance the entirety of the construction out of Petrocaribe Funds. And the Churches know the source of the funding, and are comfortable."

Jules Vasquez

"The Churches voted against the loan motion when it went to the Senate, and now you are building a chapel. Is it that you are trying to bring them around?"

Hon. Dean Barrow

"No sir, I was told by two of the leaders with whom I spoke that that vote that came after discussion with the officials – Pastor Longsworth is right here – and was certainly not a vote on the instruction of the churches. That seems to have been an individual vote on the part of Father Leslie."

And so with Petro-bucks going in all directions – we wondered is the Barrow Administration trying to make it so that no once can in conscience reject the Petro Caribe programme and all that it entails? Here's what we asked him:..

Jules Vasquez

"Is it that you are trying to make everyone complicit in the spending, and in so doing, by slathering it on so heavily, is it in fact manufacturing consent, or purchasing consent?"

Hon. Dean Barrow

"Well, first of all, Jules, I didn't just come up with this list, you know. I said contracts have been signed and the way we do things, contracts aren't signed from one day to the next. I don't know how you can make it accusatory if people in fact want to participate in sharing the Petrocaribe bounty, in benefiting from this great big windfall. But, if you are accusing me of trying to purchase support. Be very careful because you are also accusing those that are supporting of having been purchased."

One thing Petrocaribe money isn't buying is the new helicopter for the BDF – we'll have that saga later on in the news.

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