Do you think the GOB should drastically make improvements on our, countrywide, infrastructure?

i made a general statement on the pie issue. but even if the moneys barrowed from international instutions, are accounted for as you say they are, its not hard to estimate the cost of a nail per say at 5c and put it down as 25c. it either case, it the same thing. they what happens to the 20c? it becomes part of the pie.

"A dog never bites the hand that feeds it (GOB being the DOG)."

"Mek eh cum once wid mi finga, twice wid mi tounge aah den fit een di head"

the completion of roads and buildings.
The Southern Highway is not completed because GOB and the Kuwaiti Fund continue to differ over some changes in the loan agreement that the lender wishes to impose. The Kuwaiti's wish to "impose" their contractors on Belize rather than using the contractors who have done the rest of the work.
GOB has been lapsed in the maintenance of many of its buildings and should be roundly criticized for doing so.
If the truth seem to defend GOB or go against your opinions then so be it.
A lot of what I know I got from the news, and may be I have a talent for paying attention and remembering stuff that other people don't pay attention to or forget.
All the contracts for the paving of our highways, and even their openings, were the subject of news articles and ceremonies. It seems very few people paid any attention, especially Belize City people.
"On the internet nobody knows you're a dog!"

The Hummingbird Highway runs into the Southern Highway, the Southern Highway is not completed, you happy now buddy.

OK, being that you obviously have access and time to check out all this info. why is it that the "Southern Highway" is not completed, along with many other projects in the country, i mean come on, look at some of the Government Buildings, some of them a literally falling apart.

"Mek eh cum once wid mi finga, twice wid mi tounge aah den fit een di head"

that after all this time you continue to perpetuate the myth that money borrowed from international financial institutions for infrastructural development was "stolen", "squandered" or otherwise misappropriated.
I'm disappointed because it is disrespectful to some of our most hard-working, skilled and honest citizens.
Again, I shouldn't be but I'm disappointed that javaman doesn't know his nation's geography. The Hummingbird Highway doesn't extend to PG, for example.
Belize spent nearly BZ$1 billion developing its highway system. Most of the money came in the form of loans from institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Kuwaiti Fund, and was disbursed under very strict conditions to ensure that there was no corruption. The contracts, certificates, disbursements et cetara are all available to any member of the public who wishes to examine them. The process is so thorough that the contracts etc fill almost an entire room. Now I know you guys are highly trained and experienced persons who can build us better highways and bridges for less, and I expect that the next time bids are sought for infrastructure projects, your tenders will be the lowest and best.
And oh, when your bids are accepted, please let us know which public officials asked for bribes etc.
"On the internet nobody knows you're a dog!"

all parties envolved has to collect a piece of the pie. after everybody collects there's not much left to do the project.

"A dog never bites the hand that feeds it (GOB being the DOG)."

"Mek eh cum once wid mi finga, twice wid mi tounge aah den fit een di head"

the money allocated which is well over the price of cost, runs out before the job is done.

meaning a $1,000 project actual, which is a $5,000 contract, but that moneys runs out, and the project is left half way.

"A dog never bites the hand that feeds it (GOB being the DOG)."

There is so much projects in and around Belize that is half finished, for example:
- The Hummingbird Highway: not finished all the way to PG.
- Police Station in Placencia: barely even has a frame up.
- Hummingbird Highway: not properly marked i.e. lines, reflectors etc. I lost a relative this year cause of that, but why should GOB cares, its just some dead person, right?
- The Western Highway: deteriorating rapidly, in need of repairs.

Economics 101, an country with a strong, planned out infrastructure can grow rapidly in all other areas. Nicaragua, for instance, realized that thier tourism industry is booming, thus they set forth to spend some serious portions of thier GDP to upgrade roads, bridges etc. and build new ones etc.

But, i guess a lot of the people in our government did not take economics 101 or chose to throw it out the window.

I personally think we are a mediocre country with mediocre people, capable of so much more, but settle for half-ass jobs.

"Mek eh cum once wid mi finga, twice wid mi tounge aah den fit een di head"

The contract and contracting procedures spell out quite clearly what everything costs, and in what quantities, and when it should be done, by whom, and with what and so forth.
It is examined and scrutinized by engineers and GOB procurement persons to ensure that it is within reason, and that the contractor is using current prices.
The contract was awarded to the lowest tender of four experienced contractors who submitted bids. Now you're telling me that you could build TWO (NOT ONE) two ramps of comparable or better quality for less than the $11,000.00?
And you do so by grabbing some sand from there or there and using some old form work and cheaper steel and so forth?
I don't pretend to be an expert at any type of construction, but I respect the people who have proven they are, through a visible track record of having built buildings et cetera.
And BTW, FenP, GOB pays the same for fuel that everyone else does. It is procedural in the sense that they're kinda taking money from one pocket and putting it in the other, but it is done to assure more accountability and transparency.

"On the internet nobody knows you're a dog!"

Goverment owns land, land has sand =sand is free. Goverment already has trucks and such, and they get gas cheaper than we do or any contracor for that matter. Cement is realitivey cheap those things look like they have mabye a couple of yards of cement say 1k which is realy high I know. Formwork well you could make a set out of stell and reuse it over and over mabye 1 k for a one time expense. you need a little and I mean a little steel in the ramp some of that 4x4 netting maybe say 1k say 2k for labor which is crazy for about a 4 hour job total less than 5k and the next one will be cheaper cause you have that reuseable form work.

That firestation deal is another one. Dude there is so much waste going on even if only a fraction of what is touted as waste is true it adds up to alot of money.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it, and serve it to the people that piss you off. And supa-fly koncas has some fries if you want some! (No ideal what he might have done with them though :)

What you think and believe and what may be the reality can be two different things.
If you complain Belize is too expensive then how do you make it less expensive? Do you pay people less? Do you tax less and provide less services? What is the alternative? Where is the alternative?

"On the internet nobody knows you're a dog!"

It's about how it's spent and the results. Iv'e been told the gov pays 10k per for those be damned pedestrian ramps no way it should cost so much.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it, and serve it to the people that piss you off. And supa-fly koncas has some fries if you want some! (No ideal what he might have done with them though :)

of Revenues and Expenditure for Fiscal Year 2005/2006.
It tells you in detail how much GOB is spending on infrastructure this year. After that I suggest we read the same for the last 6-7 years and figure out how much was spent on infrastructure development, and then decide if we should spend more there, and less on education, health et cetera.
"On the internet nobody knows you're a dog!"

I just don't think the people trust the goverment to spend the money wisely and it would take a tax hike to pay for it as the debit service eats up most of the GDP right now.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it, and serve it to the people that piss you off. And supa-fly koncas has some fries if you want some! (No ideal what he might have done with them though :)