Perez Accuses Zetina of “Blue Koncas” Politics

Tensions flared today in Belize Rural South, after Area Representative Andre Perez fired back at UDP caretaker Gabriel Zetina. Perez accused Zetina of having what he called a “blue Koncas” mentality, saying Zetina is tearing down the newly opened San Pedro Artisan Market simply for political points. Perez insists the project is meant to uplift local artisans and says Zetina is wishing failure on something designed to improve livelihoods on the island.

 

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“Let me answer this way. Two things, it just happened like two weeks ago that we inaugurated this beautiful artisan market. Thanks to BTB and thanks to Minister Mahler, we did this vision. The buildings are very beautiful. The buildings in a setting where we have a beautiful sunset. Now, where you went there and I saw the curtains are closed up, it’s starting. What I want to ask you is that maybe you should have, instead of interviewed that person who you interviewed and he was standing in front of you and standing about the place and everything, without giving any kudos or any kind of giving some time for this to unfold, perhaps you should have interviewed him in front of where the present stalls where these artisan markets. That’s a horse stable. That is not conducive to doing business. So that is where you should have interviewed that gentleman to answer you these questions. What we’re doing is we are uplifting these vendors to go to a better place. Now, we need to do more, of course, working in tandem with the Town Council. We want to do events on the weekend, call it a market day, call it a festivities or not, and that is going to enhance. So, it’s only two weeks. So, it is unfair for anyone to call it and say that it’s not going to, it’s not working. I think that is actually the proverbial blue konkas, that what they can do is spoil. That’s what I call that. So we need to give it some time. It’s just two weeks and the buildings are very beautiful and I’m sure that those that have gotten those buildings are going to benefit in the long term.”

 

We will be following up with those artisans to hear their thoughts on the project.

 

Perez Rejects Claims of Caye Caulker Absence

 

We continue with the latest political dust‑up in Belize Rural South. Area Representative Andre Perez is pushing back hard against claims that he rarely sets foot on Caye Caulker. At Tuesday’s opposition press conference, island resident Samira Martinez called on the minister to spend more time on the island and address local concerns. Well, Perez isn’t having it. He insists he’s been on Caye Caulker regularly and dismissed the criticism as, quote, “a pile of hogwash.”

 

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“I want to shoot that down instantly and call it a pile of hogwash. In fact, I was just talking about it, somebody brought that up to my attention, and I’ve been speaking to my people. I believe that since the beginning of the year, I have been six times to Caye Caulker. That’s since January. I’ve been visiting Caye Caulker for many different occasions, for the high school, for the village council meetings. So, whosoever came up with that story there is just trying to create political mischief. I’ve been there longer than anything. In fact, in the past five years I was there, I visited that place almost every month. And of course, the needs are very high. Of course, the Bahia Puesta del Sol, we are working on a project actually to bring in material from San Pedro to Caye Caulker, which is the raw materials. Because, you know, the cost of, and I’ve said it before, and I did discuss that publicly, about the cost of delivering the raw materials that is needed for the streets. You know, we have to look at it smart. So, the material is available in San Pedro, and we want to bring that to Bahai, which already is in process, it’s working. And then in return, we’re going to take some from Caye Caulker to San Pedro. So, it’s a hand-wash-hand situation. So, I don’t know where they’re getting this idea that the minister is missing in action. I think that is false.”

 

Perez Advances Caye Caulker School Projects

 

Amid all the political noise in Belize Rural South, Andre Perez actually spent part of his week on the ground in Caye Caulker. His stop wasn’t about defending himself, it was about the future of education on the island. Perez visited Ocean Academy High School alongside Ministry of Education officials to hash out details on the long‑awaited primary and high‑school construction project. He says those talks are moving forward, and there’s a big change coming once the new campus is complete: Ocean Academy will get a new name. The plan is to officially rename it Caye Caulker Government High School when the construction wraps up. It’s a shift Perez says reflects the community’s growth, and the government’s commitment to supporting students on La Isla Cariñosa.

 

Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“True to our promise held last week when we had a meeting with the parents and the teachers, you know, the community at large, they were very concerned about the issues affecting the Ocean Academy. So we had the team from the Ministry of Education to visit, do a site visit and actually make all the plans on what they’re going to be building. At the heart of it is that while we do expect to start the building of the high school, it’s going to take an entire school year. So the issue was actually planning out and say, can we have something on the side to mitigate? And that’s a discussion that we held, in building a temporary building or whether we build it on site or maybe find somewhere else that is going to be more time-saving and cost-saving as well. So the option that was discussed is perhaps considering building a temporary structure on the primary school, the Catholic school. So that’s an option that’s being discussed. But in the end, it was very, very fruitful. I believe the community came out really happy that we are making great strides in building the school next school year. Hopefully by next year, we have that high school ready for Caye Caulker.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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