San Pedro Taxi Operators Meet Local Leaders After Water Taxi Terminal Dispute

Taxi operators in San Pedro Town have met with the island’s local leaders to address concerns raised by cab drivers in last month’s protest. On January 10, over a hundred cab drivers picketed in front of the San Pedro Town Hall to demand a meeting with Mayor Gualberto Wally Nunez. The islanders claimed they were being prevented from operating at the recently relocated San Pedro Express Water Taxi terminal. The group alleged they were being pushed out by foreign businessmen who partnered to ferry the passengers. The taxi federation then demanded to discuss their concerns with Nunez but faced difficulty arranging a meeting. Since then; however, the federation has spoken with the San Pedro Town Council and Belize Rural South Area Representative Andre Perez about the issue. Perez appeared on The Morning Show today and explained how the matter is being addressed. 

Andre Perez, Minister of Disaster Risk Management: “We met with them once, we’ve met with the golf cart rentals and they understand that they need to work together and of course we are going to meet again with the federation whereby we’re going to be creating spaces for them whereby they can operate and that’s for the water taxi. The biggest thing is the water taxi terminal, it’s a huge place, it’s very lucrative market but we’re saying is we can’t just leave one golf cart rental to do it. We can’t say just one taxi association so we’re reaching out to both to work together. The federation is going to be a space where they’ll be sorting out within the association and the same thing with the golf cart rental companies and owners have agreed that in the area there’s gonna be just a certain amount of golf carts, a certain amount of taxis and it comes in by terms but there will not be any parking on that street to block the traffic so that is also important. So there’s a piece of the pie for everyone it’s just that asking you to collaborate. That mind of individualism in this day and age that is rearing its ugly head across the world. We are saying it cannot happen in Belize and certainly we don’t need it in San Pedro and Caye Caulker. When I speak about individualism it’s that you just want to be about my business and nobody else it can’t work, This “That is only for me and nobody else.” It can’t work. “This business is only for me and nobody else.” It can’t work. That type of mentality, we have no space for that. And I’ve said it as a leader, as an area rep if you come with that mind then you and I can’t talk. You come to me and talk you speak for everybody and I’ll work with everybody. But I cannot come in here and sit down in a meeting and just make provisions for one specific person and leave everyone displaced, that cannot happen.”

Perez noted that the issues will take some time to hash out.