By: Omar Silva

National Perspective Belize I Digital 2026

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City: Friday 16th January 2026

Let us stop pretending.

• This is not “underdevelopment.”
• This is not “oversight.”
• This is not “limited resources.”
• This is contempt for the working class.

The Orange Walk Bus Terminal — the primary transportation hub for thousands of Belizeans — sits as a public embarrassment just minutes from the Prime Minister’s home. And what does it say about governance when those in power live nearby while the people they represent are forced to commute in degrading conditions?

Gravel for floors.

Wood scraps for structures.

Dust for lungs.

Sun and rain for shelter.

Chaos instead of order.

Neglect instead of service.

This is not accidental.

This is structural disregard.

The Daily Humiliation of the Belizean Commuter

Every morning, Belizeans wake up early, sacrifice time, stretch thin pay checks, and contribute to this economy. And how does the system repay them?

By forcing them to:

• Stand in open gravel lots
• Wait under broken sheds or trees
• Inhale dust and exhaust fumes
• Endure heat and rain without protection
• Navigate confusion instead of structured systems

There are no proper waiting areas.

• No organized queues.
• No proper seating worthy of human dignity.
• No real decent sanitation facilities fit for public use.

This is not how a government treats citizens it respects.

This is how a system treats people it expects to endure silently.

Relics on Wheels: The 1980s and 1990s Still Carry Belize

Across Belize, the backbone of public transportation remains Blue Bird buses manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s. Not because they are safe. Not because they are efficient. But because the state has refused to modernize the system.

These buses are old enough to have transported parents — and now transport their children.

• Where is the national modernization policy?
• Where is the investment in safer fleets?
• Where are the commuter standards?
• Where is the Ministry of Transport’s accountability?

Nowhere. Because the working class is not a priority.

Inside the Terminal: Disorder Where Structure Should Exist

Walk under the makeshift shelter of the Orange Walk Bus Terminal and you will not find a coordinated transport system.

You will find:

A secured Concession booths occupying public coordination space

• No ticket booths
• No official scheduling office
• No centralized control system
• No professionalism

Instead, ticket sales are handled by the on-bus conductor /ambulant vendors in other Terminals walking through crowds shouting destinations, negotiating fares, competing for passengers like a street hustle.

This is not a national transportation system.

This is organized dysfunction.

And it exists because government allows it to exist.

Twenty Years of Use. Zero Years of Vision.

The Orange Walk Bus Terminal occupies a portion of the Public Works Compound. It has been functioning in this same disgraceful condition for nearly twenty years.

• Twenty years of commuters.
• Twenty years of dependence.
• Twenty years of neglect.
• Twenty years without meaningful upgrades.
• Twenty years without infrastructure planning.

That is not forgetfulness.

That is policy abandonment.

Ministry of Transport: Existing in Name Only?

Belize has a Ministry of Transport. On paper.

But in reality, what does it do for commuters?

• Where are the national standards for terminals?
• Where are the minimum infrastructure requirements?
• Where is the enforcement of safety, order, and dignity?
• Where is the strategic plan for public mobility?

If the ministry is invisible in the daily lives of commuters, then its existence becomes irrelevant.

Power Lives Nearby. Neglect Lives With the People.

This is perhaps the most painful reality:

This terminal is 4 minutes from the Prime Minister’s residence.

Meaning the Prime Minister knows.

• The Cabinet knows.
• The Ministers know.
• The Area Representatives know.

They simply do not care enough to act.

And if this is acceptable in their own constituency, then the message is brutally clear:

The suffering of working people is not a political priority.

This Is Not About Politics. This Is About Dignity.

• This is not a party issue.
• This is not red vs blue.
• This is not opposition rhetoric.

This is about whether Belize’s working class deserves to be treated as human beings.

Every country that respects its citizens invests in:

• Proper terminals
• Safe infrastructure
• Organized systems regarding public ammenities
• Commuter dignity
• Accessibility and safety

Belize’s working class receives none of this.

Instead, they receive gravel, dust, disorder, and neglect.

The Verdict: A System That Has Failed Its People

A government that cannot provide basic transport infrastructure has failed a fundamental test of governance.

Not because money does not exist.

But because priorities are elsewhere.

Belizeans were promised transformation.

They were promised progress.

They were promised dignity.

What they experience instead is systemic disrespect.

And the working class feels it every single morning they stand in that gravel waiting then in the bus towards their destination.