How Would GOB Pay Seven-figure CWU Compensation?

The means by which the seven-figure sum would be defrayed has raised several questions, including the passage of legislation to facilitate the payment.  According to PM Briceño, it will not be necessary as government would simply include that figure in its budget for the 2022 fiscal year.

Prime Minister John Briceño

John Briceño

“That is not true, you do not need legislation.  What we will do is that we will also include it in the budget, you know that the legislation [states] that it is about payments of over five million dollars.  So that one point five million dollars will be included in the new budget.  Yes, we will pay it in advance because it is something that we felt that needed to be done and at the same time to be able to ease the tension that was taking place at the Port of Belize.  We wanted to make sure that we can settle that without any sort of bloodshed or any kind of violence.  If you look at how the previous government handled these matters, you know, here at PBL, in 2020 I think it was that the police went in there and many of the stevedores were brutalized.  And the same thing applies to BSI, when they decided to protest in 2009, again the previous government sent in the BDF, they sent in the police and brutalized people and unfortunately a life was lost.”