Briceño says Belize is in Recession

John Briceño

Briceño claims that the U.D.P. has deliberately refused to admit that Belize is actually operating in a recession, and there is no sign of the best that was to come but never did.

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“The truth of the matter is that for each of the past two consecutive quarters of 2015, the economy shrank. In the second quarter of 2015, the economy shrank by one point six percent.  In the third quarter of 2015, the economy shrank by one percent and for the fourth quarter, the SIB is yet to announce the figures. But if you go by the Prime Minister’s announcement that overall the economy grew by one point four percent in 2015, then there has not been any growth since the first quarter.  Economists define a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The Prime Minister knew this situation fully well when he unveiled his election promise of “The Best is yet to Come.” So now the Prime Minster comes up with another slogan, “a period of stability in a time of change. The only stability we are going to get Mr. Speaker is continued “haad times” and the only change we will get is change for the worst.  Mr. Speaker the last external trade bulletin from the Statistical Institute of Belize spells out the disastrous state of our economy. Exports for January 2016 are down twenty-nine point five percent; drilling down just a little bit deeper, marine exports shrunk by seventy-nine percent; banana exports shrunk by thirty-four percent. Sales of orange concentrate shrunk by thirty percent.  These were only partially offset by some sales in petroleum of three million dollars and increased sale of volumes of sugar.  By any standard, local or international, it is clear that our economy is contracting.  Mr. Speaker, we are in a recession.”