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Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Let me celebrate all Garinagu - all of the Garifuna nation. Our keynote speaker truly said 'It is Garinagu that in a real sense have educated this entire country of Belize. It truly has been said that the contribution of Garinagu to our Belize cannot be overstated. We cannot ever emphasized too much the tremendous value of the Garifuna contribution to what is this Belize, the jewel that belongs to all of us. While the country now known as Haiti was the first black republic in this hemisphere. And while a great deal is rightly made of that. Always remember that before there was Dessalines, Cristoforo, there was Joseph Satuye. One particularly vital part of Garifuna culture, Garifuna music lives on in the presence of so many brilliant current day Garifuna performers. Pen Cayetano is still very much with us. I know that last night there was a huge concert here I believe at Why Not Island where Chico Ramos and Supa G and Reckless I believe and Mime and all those who continue to ensure that with respect to this phenomenon known as world music, our Belize, Dangriga and our Belize occupies a special place on that map."

And more than just praise for Garifuna artists, the Prime Minister also announced that an African-Belizean artists Steven Okeke would finally be getting paid for his TV Ramos sculpture.

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I know that there is a bust of Thomas Vincent Ramos that has been done by the sculptor Okeke and it seems that there is some difficulty with findings the funds to pay the sculptor for his work. The Government of Belize will be pleased to make a significant contribution towards the balance of Mr. Okeke's fees and I only don't say that we will pay all of it, because I must reserve some funds in particular for the Gullisi Primary School. There is nothing more important with respect to Belize's cultural front that the retention of the Garifuna language. We cannot afford to lose that language and I fear that with the onslaught of modernity, too many Garinagu children are not being brought up to speak the language. Retrieval and preservation must continue to be watchwords and in that context it pleases me greatly to commit a significant contribution to the Gullisi Primary School."

Okeke says that after a telethon raised a few thousand dollars, there is a remaining balance of 27,500 dollars to pay for the sculpture.

But there's no balance remaining for a new road to honour the same TV Ramos. That's now a concrete avenue - the mayor Francis Humphries explained:..

Francis Humphreys, Mayor - Dangriga
"To my colleague Frank Papa Mena for lobbying mightily to ensure that today we can formally say to culture capital Ramos Road is no more. It is Thomas Vincent Ramos Avenue."