‘IL BEN COMMUNE’

INTRODUCTION
The gap between rich and poor in Belizean society is widening at warped speed with no sign of the former slowing down or the latter catching up. The most recent report on poverty reveals that approximately 42% of a population of merely 330,000 people is considered poor existing with less than ten (10) dollars a day. The unemployment statistics illustrates that of the 57,000 or so Belizeans capable of working, twenty-three (23%) percent is unemployed. It is widely appreciated that the design of a pastoral state fashioned for us during the heyday of colonialism is still the predominant feature of the present economic structure. The inherent limitations of this primitive economic structure has been compounded by policies devoid of comprehensive national understanding and the result has been piece-meal and transient movement in specific areas of the Country in specific “industries” but never at the same time. The result has been the politicization of limited opportunities which have had the effect of scaring away the flower of youth and talent to developed countries and the crowding out of homegrown labor in favor of cheap labor from neighboring countries.

The people of Belize are trapped in a cauldron of suffering with no end in sight. Rising unemployment has been matched only by escalating misery and violent crime. We live in a country where for too many the likelihood of being gunned down or maimed on the street exceeds the likelihood of getting employment. For the fortunate few who are actually employed escalating prices for essential items has made the choice of which responsibility to address a daily contest of “Russian roulette”. It is difficult for the average Belizean to make a complete appraisement of the problem we are in as it is one of such great complexity that in spite of blitzkrieg media coverage- the mass of facts presented merely scratches the surface. Everyone can appreciate that the situation we find ourselves in as a country is very serious. We are facing economic, social, and political deterioration of a very grave character.
We have had our fill of the palliative now it is time to administer a cure. Political passion and prejudice have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on the part of our people to face up to the vast responsibility which history has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined can and will be overcome.
This advanced to provide the basis upon which a new Belizean Economic Structure may be built to provide for immediate and long-term economic and social development based on replacing the vicious circles of poverty caused by diminishing return activities with the virtuous circles of economic development created by increasing return activities predicated upon the comprehensive development of our 240 mile coastline while maintaining the balance between development and the environment.

THE PLAN
“The formula for the construction of state was to industrialize, invest heavily in infrastructure and create free trade within nation borders… the question is not race, but economic structure. Yet the fact that the Europeans forbade manufacturing industries in their colonies with few whites – whereas the colonies with many whites industrialized and got independence makes development appear like a racial issue” _

The 240 mile coastline of Belize connects two of the major markets of the region at their most affluent points (i.e Mexico and Guatemala). Quintana Roo, the southern most state of Mexico which ranges from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Chetumal to Merida, Cozumel(Yucatan) etc. boasts a population of approximately seven million (7,000,000) people, with an estimated per capita income of USD $9000.00. The economic structure of the state is marked by the synergies existing between multiple productive sectors and their respective professionals, this range from the rural farmer to light manufacturers of juices and packaged food items to tourism providers in both, leisure and medical tourism as well as craftsmen and artists of varying skill levels. The crime and unemployment rate for the state of Quintana Roo is the lowest in the United States of Mexico.
The province of Zacapa and its surrounds located on the north-eastern plains of Guatemala comprises the cities of San Jose, Puerto Barrios and Chiquimula as well as the population centers of Rio Dulce, Livingston etc. this region is a mere 60 miles from Guatemala City. The region boasts its country’s premier port facility which also acts as the favored port for producers in northern Honduras and eastern El-Salvador. The town of Rio Dulce boasts the highest concentration of luxury boats and yachts in the region. The per-capita income of the approximately one million five hundred thousand (1,500,000) people that occupy the province and surrounds is estimated to be USD$4800.00.
The Gladden Plan proposes: the construction of a Rapid-Transit International Super Highway comprising two (2), double lane, concrete and asphalt roads a distance of fifty (50) feet apart where possible, extending from the Hondo River at the established (present) border crossing with Mexico to the Sarstoon River, where a new border crossing with Guatemala should be established to facilitate overland commercial transportation. A total width of eight hundred (800) feet should be earmarked for road development for as far as possible and wherever practical along the two hundred and forty (240) mile coastline (please note: the effective linear distance represented along the coastline is 175 miles). For the Expressway to provide optimum developmental and economic impact it must not be established more than three (3000)- four thousand (4000) feet away from the actual coastline. In real terms, this totally new infrastructure entails the construction of 350 miles of road with enough reserve to construct another 350 miles more when needed.
The Gladden Plan proposes: the designation and preparation of five hundred (500) acres of land for Industrial Park Development on the western side of the Expressway- (no closer than 1000 feet) – in each of the four (4) coastal districts the Expressway is projected to traverse. The three coastal towns of Corozal, Dangriga and Punta Gorda should be expanded by a series of bypasses, within which the Industrial Park for each of those three district towns should be established to allow for their growth and distinction as cities. Belize City will be expanded by a bypass at mile 14 on the existing Northern Highway where the Expressway will deviate from the coast to connect at the Burrell Boom/Hattieville road before re-engaging the coastline at the Sibun bar.
The Gladden Plan proposes: The establishment of an International Berthing and Ports facility utilizing the combined advantages inherent to the Island of Robinson’s Point and the Sibun Bar located on the mainland nine (9) miles south of the present boundary of Belize City. The three natural maritime channels within the vicinity of Robinson’s Point ranges from a depth of eighty (80) feet at the low end of the spectrum to one hundred and eighty (180) feet at the high end of the spectrum. This natural geological feature accords Robinson’s Point the highest distinction in the region for Maritime ports development as there is no issue of siltation-so dredging and its deleterious effects are never required and the channels are natural passages that are wide and easily navigable from either direction North or South- thus eliminating the need for pilots and negating the probability groundings on the Reef for any vessel including any of the largest known maritime vessels in the world. As Robinson’s Point is a mere 3 miles from the Sibun Bar, a floating pontoon bridge may be erected to connect to the mainland Port.
The Gladden Plan proposes: The development of a Dry Canal or Overland Trade Link between the Atlantic and Pacific Seaboard via Belize and Guatemala as a viable alternative to the Panama Canal. The Dry Canal concept is not new but neither Colombia or Nicaragua where attempts have been made to accomplish the feat are as ideally suited as Belize and Guatemala to actually have this venture be realized. The overland link shall connect the International Port Facility at the Sibun bar on Belize’s Atlantic Coast to the Port of San Jose on Guatemala’s Pacific Coast. Cargo destined for the Pacific rim or the Atlantic basin would be transported via container trucks on the superhighway or by way of high-speed rail negating the need for the lengthy, expensive and arduous maritime journey around and through the Panamanian isthmus.
The Gladden Plan proposes: The establishment of four (4) three hundred (300) acre wind turbine farms; one (1) for each of the four coastal districts the expressway traverses, in an effort to capitalize on available wind energy resources to provide green/environmentally friendly renewable electrical energy production to power the coast and nearby cayes (islands).
This is the skeletal framework upon which the comprehensive plan to move Belize from Third world to First will be developed. “…may all our endeavors tend to Peace, Social Justice, Liberty, National Happiness, the Increase of Industry, Sobriety and Useful Knowledge!…..” Taken from The Belizean Prayer. George Price’s blueprint for Economic Independence, the second phase of his vision of an Independent Belize.