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What is the full name of the young lady who was the moderator?

The idea that San Pedro has an employment problem has been conjured up by propaganda from the South beach PR. I'm not at all convinced that San Pedro has a large amount of out of work leagal residents that want jobs. Every society has people out of work by choice or circumstance and 10% is an acceptable number for an average city. I've never seen any stats for unemployment in San Pedro.
Persons immigrating legally or not to San Pedro from depressed areas looking for jobs indicate we have more jobs than the population can fill.
So whats the logic in creating more, isn't that just going to invite more immigration from these depressed areas and are they the kinda people we want to fill the south end of the island with?

I don't believe we have lack of employment for employable people either. I think the national rate of unemployment was posted recently in the central statistics.

But we are a developing nation, and as such sensible and responsible development is good.

As we are all aware, with progress and development come a myriad of related problems that need to be dealt with. Illegal immigrants, their families, lack of schooling and healthcare. The damage to the environment is huge - especially considering we are attempting to be an eco-friendly destination.

But again, yacking on this board isn't actually making a difference - there are avenues to be traveled to lodge your concerns and complaints in the right departments.

Scubaldy, I'll get the moderators name to you early next week. Someone gave it to me but I didn't write it down.

We have a major problem with immigrants -they are coming from Guatamala,Honduras,S. Mexico,Salvador etc. -they can squat here -they get free food and education-this is not helping Belize -we should stop looking after illegals immediately but the churches do not want this to happen -when the gangs start -it will be very difficult to stop them growing

one positive thing that came through at the meeting regarding the Southbeach development, is that the Department of the Environment wants our comments. Since not everyone had a chance to voice their questions and concerns at the public meeting, they encouraged submission of any other questions and comments, either there at the meeting in writing, or to call, fax, or email the DOE.
I've already sent a few emails. they asked for input......let's give it to them.

Department of the Environment
phone: 822-2816, 822-2542
fax: 822-2862
email: envirodept@btl.net


the southbeach EIA can be found at: www.doe.gov.bz/EIAs.html

I agree with the assertion that it will be built, and to Jeff's current plans. He may tinker a bit around the edges, but only enough to make it appear that he's listening and acting accordingly.

Jeff Pierce has no choice. He's been marketing this place for many months as if it were already approved, and AFAIK (I'm not party to his commercial dealings) he has sold or contracted to sell units that cannot be built unless this plan IS approved. He did it this way because he knows how the system works here. When you're working at his level you don't do things the public way - you go to the people who matter via the back door, sweet talk them, pay whatever it takes to whoever it takes (a few million are lost in the noise of his future profits on this deal).

Then you build it, sell it, and then get the hell out of Dodge City before the general public wake up to what has been done, to what the true ecological cost has been. Look at Reef Village, another of his brain children, but in scale a mere precursor to his coming masterpiece - does anyone seriously expect that Jeff Pierce will put his hand in his pocket to deal with the major problems he's generated? The road, sewage, the mudflats where there used to be mangrove?

He may well spend a few thousand to make it look as if he is doing something, especially while he feels he still needs to win over public opinion to get South Beach under way. Look at the "thousand dollars" he recently said he spent on fill for the road. Purely cosmetic, swept away by the next high tide. Not the hundred thousand needed to construct a proper road past his mudbath.

If he won't even put right a mess that he directly created on just a few hundred yards of road, does anyone SERIOUSLY think he'll carry out the promise made on his behalf at the meeting that he would upgrade and maintain the ENTIRE road from South Beach to town? Is that a pink pig I see flying past my window?

No, long before the next hurricane which REALLY exposes what he's done he'll be off. Not to another country - he knows how easy it is to get rich from Belize - but to another part of our country that he feels is ripe for exploitation.

Am I cynical? You bet. Am I unduly cynical? Well, what do you think?

Given that this country apparently remains so corrupt that he CAN know with certainty that his project will proceed to completion, the best we can hope for is that all the support activities (such as the road work) are built into his contract and have to be done first, or the money for them put into escrow if early completion isn't practically feasible.

Of course, the ideal would be for the prescribed legal process to be enforced impartially, but who thinks that will happen?

One point that hasn't been made, most noticeably not by the police superintendent who attended the meeting. With such an enormous influx of itinerant workers, can we expect petty crime levels in the south of the island to rocket? What happens when the project is nearing completion, and those people who have made this place their home (though exactly where I have no idea - I've seen no mention of temporary housing being erected for the workers) lose their jobs and income, what about crime levels then?

I had a list of questions I wanted answered but once I was at the meeting, I knew they would not get answered there. I will write a lengthy letter to DOE.

I am not against development or even development of this area. I am against the SCALE of this development which is roughly the size (if not bigger) than San Pedro Town. Out of the over 500 acres that is going to be developed, the plans are to only leave 14 acres in its natural state. In this eco-sensitive area, I find that especially disgusting and shows this development is about greed and not what is best for the island or the country.

I am not delusional, I know South Beach will be built, I just hope the plans can be altered.

Just my 2 cents.

JZB the only positive thing i see in the project is someone finally got South right.
;-)

When you write to DOE, be sure to let them know that you are a voter.

Will do.