Belmopan Council Reflects on Gains, Revenue Struggles

As the year winds down, Belmopan City Council is gearing up for its final meeting this Thursday, a chance to look back at wins and challenges. The council says it’s made big strides in services and community engagement, but turning a profit is still out of reach. So, what’s holding them back? Mayor Pablo Cawich points to one major hurdle, getting residents to pay their taxes. Here’s what he had to say about the city’s performance and that ongoing challenge.

 

Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan

“Profits are not really realistic. So the answer to that is no. We did not, we couldn’t turn out a profit. But in terms of success within the city administration? I would say definitely yes. We believe that this year was a very good year for the Belmopan City Council. We managed to improve, in my personal view, a lot of the services that we offer, a lot of the way how we are trying to collaborate with the residents. We are hoping that next year a lot of these movements will be visible because some of the things are not visible as yet. Everything takes a little bit of time to show itself. I do believe we did have a successful year, but not financially wise. We do have many residents who are still not paying their taxes. I must say. The performance in compliance has improved a bit, but it’s still not to a sustainable level where you can say, okay, people are compliant.”