Photo: Thomas Shaw, president of Belize Bus Association
by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 27, 2023
It is out! The press release with the key points of the agreements between the Ministry of Transport and the Belize Bus Association (BBA) has made its way into the hands of the BBA’s president, Thomas Shaw.
Following last week’s much-anticipated meeting between the BBA and the Minister of Transport, Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, regarding the ongoing bus issues, Shaw made his request known for a formal press release based on all the key points agreed upon during the meeting as a way to seal the deal. This release was to be out no later than that same Wednesday, February 22; at least that is what he told the media immediately after the meeting. However, Shaw later extended this deadline to Thursday, with the warning that plans were still in motion if the Ministry didn’t keep its end of the bargain.
In the meantime, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) had publicly made known their support for the BBA and its movement to improve the bus industry. In fact, on Thursday night of last week, the BBA and the NTUCB met to discuss the common ground between both organizations while working on a way to form one association and a plan of action if matters with the Ministry were not resolved.
Finally, two days later, on Friday, despite not being publicly released, Shaw received his document, but was immediately disappointed to see some discrepancies. Shaw’s immediate response was to call a members meeting on Sunday.
See also
On Monday, Amandala reached out to Shaw regarding the outcome of this meeting, and he briefly highlighted a key issue that was discussed.
“Yes, we held our membership meeting yesterday,” Shaw said. “After laying everything on the table on what transpired in our meeting with the minister, our members were not in agreement having the chairman of the Transport Board go on six months’ probation; they want him to be completely removed from the Board.”
One big question is, what will be the BBA’s next move after once again being left unsatisfied with the status of the industry? This is a question we asked Shaw, but could not get any further comments.
Discussion about this post