The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News.

An open letter on infrastructure, public safety and economic justice in Belize City

By Lennox Lamb: Dear Minister Julius Espat,

I hesitated before writing this letter because I have great respect for you and for the responsibility you now carry.

Someone who knows you well told me that you are amenable to honest advice and constructive input. That encouraged me to speak plainly—not in criticism of the development taking place, but in the hope that its benefits can reach even more of our people.

Today, you sit at the intersection of two of Belize’s most important responsibilities. You are responsible for infrastructure development while also carrying responsibility for public safety and the police.

That presents an extraordinary opportunity.

For years, we have treated infrastructure and crime as separate issues. One ministry builds roads and bridges. Another deploys police officers. But studies of Belize City’s gang problem consistently identify unemployment, interrupted education, limited opportunities and social exclusion among the conditions that leave young people vulnerable.

Police can suppress violence temporarily. Meaningful employment can help prevent it.

The Development Is Everywhere

I regularly travel the Philip Goldson Highway and the George Price Highway. I see the widening, drainage and rehabilitation works. I see the bridge projects beginning across Belize City. I see the barricades near the Baron Bliss Lighthouse and the development taking place around the city.

The investment is visible.

According to the Prime Minister’s 2026/2027 Budget Speech, approximately BZ$84.1 million has been allocated under Capital II and Capital III to highway and bridge projects connected to the greater Belize City corridor.

That amount includes some works extending beyond the immediate area between Boom Junction, Hattieville and Belize City. It is also a single fiscal-year allocation, not an exact projection of what will be spent inside this geographical area over the next two years. Nevertheless, it demonstrates the considerable scale of the investment now taking place.

The full lifetime value of the active highway and bridge projects appears to be at least BZ$196.5 million, even before the complete cost of the Baron Bliss works is known.

Beyond that is the proposed Port of Belize expansion and cruise-port development, publicly valued at approximately US$450 million—or BZ$900 million. That project is not yet confirmed as committed expenditure, but if it comes on stream, it would add another major concentration of economic activity to this relatively small area.

The machinery is arriving. The concrete is being poured. The money is beginning to move.

The question is: how widely will the benefits be shared?

I would respectfully ask whether the Ministry could provide information showing how many workers on these projects come from Belize City and the surrounding Belize District communities.

How many are under 30? How many are apprentices? How many young people from the city’s Black and brown working-class communities are being given an opportunity? How many local businesses have received subcontracts? How many workers are gaining skills that will remain with them after construction ends?

Publishing that information would allow the public to see not only what is being built, but also who is being developed through the process.

The Projects Are Spread Across the City

I understand the immediate concern that rival groups and people involved in territorial conflicts cannot simply be placed together on one worksite.

But these projects are not all on one worksite.

They stretch from Boom Junction and the Ladyville corridor into Belize City, from Hattieville along the George Price Highway, across the Belcan and Swing Bridge locations, and into the Baron Bliss and Fort George area. If the port development proceeds, there could eventually be another major employment zone on the city’s southern side.

That geographic spread gives us options.

Young people could be assigned to different projects, shifts and training groups based on where they live and any legitimate security concerns. Transportation could be organised. Conflict assessments could be conducted. Credible intervention workers could be attached to the programme.

Nobody needs to be carelessly placed beside somebody with whom there is an active conflict.

Distance alone will not resolve gang disputes, and careful supervision would still be required. But this should not become an automatic reason to exclude young people from the opportunity.

We manage complicated engineering, financing and traffic-diversion plans. I believe we can also manage the human side of development with seriousness and care.

They May Be Unskilled—So Train Them

Another concern will be that many of these young people do not possess construction skills.

That is the point.

This is the opportunity to train them.

Not every person must enter a project as an engineer, certified welder or heavy-equipment operator. Somebody can begin by learning how to use proper protective equipment, read a tape measure, use a level, interpret a basic drawing, mix concrete correctly, tie reinforcement steel, maintain a work area and follow site-safety instructions.

They can learn punctuality, teamwork and discipline.

From there, some can progress into masonry, carpentry, electrical work, welding, plumbing, surveying and equipment operation.

These would not be temporary handouts. These are skills that can transform a person’s earning power forever.

A young man can enter as an unskilled labourer and leave as an apprentice. An apprentice can become a certified tradesman. A tradesman can eventually become a contractor and employ other people.

That is meaningful transformation.

An Opportunity After LIU

The suspension of the Leadership Intervention Unit work programme creates an opening for something better.

I am not writing out of sympathy for a programme that had moved away from what it was originally orchestrated to accomplish. To be honest, I am not sad to see that version of the programme suspended.

William Dawson was my best friend. I was also one of the key people involved in shaping the original spirit behind what he wanted to accomplish.

That fuller story deserves its own article, and I will tell it at another time.

For now, it is enough to say that William’s dream was not merely to place young men on a list and periodically give them money. His dream was to reach people society had written off and connect them to responsibility, dignity, skills and legitimate opportunity.

Minister Espat, there is now an opportunity to honour that spirit by creating something meaningful for Belize City’s young people.

The answer does not have to be a revival of the old arrangement under a different name. It could be a new intervention connected directly to the development already taking place around us.

Belize Has Done Versions of This Before

No idea is entirely original.

I remember when former Minister of Works Hubert Elrington used public works as a place where people from different backgrounds could contribute. Gang-involved men worked alongside students, and prisoners worked alongside other members of the community.

Those who remember that period know what I am talking about.

It may not have been perfect, but it demonstrated an important principle: public infrastructure can build more than roads. It can help build discipline, skills and human beings.

What I am suggesting is a modern and properly supervised version of something Belize has attempted before—only now there is considerably more money, more development and a greater opportunity to produce lasting results.

An Infrastructure Inclusion Initiative

Minister Espat, people consider you unconventional. Some call you revolutionary. You are known for thinking outside the box and challenging the way government traditionally operates.

This may be an ideal opportunity to use that reputation to create something lasting.

Would your Ministry consider establishing an Infrastructure Inclusion Initiative connected to these projects?

Such an initiative could include:

• Published local-employment and apprenticeship targets.
• Paid, project-linked training through ITVET and other institutions.
• Separate work groups and sites where genuine territorial conflicts exist.
• Second-chance pathways for former gang members and people returning from prison.
• Smaller subcontracting opportunities that local tradespeople can realistically compete for.
• Assistance with registration, insurance, bidding and financing.
• Periodic public reports on employment, training and local subcontracting.

The procurement stage would be important. For contracts that have not yet been tendered, lawful employment and apprenticeship requirements could be included in the tender documents.

For contracts already awarded, the Ministry could explore what commitments may be negotiated with contractors and international financiers within the existing procurement and financing rules. A separately funded apprenticeship programme could also operate alongside the construction works.

This should not become another political list or temporary payroll. Recruitment should be transparent. Contractors must remain responsible for safety and performance. Participants must also understand that receiving an opportunity to work carries an obligation to work.

This Is Economic Justice

Economic justice does not mean placing unprepared people on dangerous construction sites.

It means preparing people to participate.

When millions of dollars enter one small geographical area, the benefits should not remain only with financiers, large contractors and established companies.

A young man employed on a bridge project buys food from a neighbourhood shop. He pays rent. He uses taxis and buses. He supports his children. A food vendor gains customers. A truck owner receives hauling work. A small contractor purchases materials and may employ another worker.

The money begins to circulate.

That is how neighbourhood businesses grow. That is how families become more stable. That is how infrastructure investment can help reduce desperation and restore Belize City’s economic vibrancy.

No employment programme will solve every gang conflict, just as policing alone cannot resolve every social condition that helps violence to grow. But a coordinated effort between infrastructure, public safety, education and community intervention could give some young people a different direction.

The roads will eventually be completed. The bridges will open. The machinery will leave.

The real measure of success will be what remains in the people.

Will Belize City be left with trained welders, electricians, equipment operators, foremen and small contractors? Will people once considered threats become taxpayers, tradesmen and employers?

Or will hundreds of millions of dollars pass through Belize City while the people who need opportunity most remain behind the barricades, watching?

Minister Espat, let us build the highways and bridges.

But let us also build people.

That would be infrastructure development.

That would be meaningful crime prevention.

And that would be economic justice.

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