Another Loan May Be Too Much for Belize, Warns Lizarraga

Mark Lizarraga

The Government of Belize has contracted with the Republic of China (Taiwan) for fifty million Belize dollars in general budgetary support. While the money is being borrowed from a Taiwanese commercial bank, it is being underwritten by the Government of Taiwan. The House had passed the motion without comment on Friday, but the Senate, especially Senator for the Business Community Mark Lizarraga, considered it more closely at today’s meeting of the Senate. He told us that it represented a further denting of Belize’s financial bulwark.

Mark Lizarraga, Business Community Senator

“The bank that is issuing the loan, based on the documents that we have and again in the absence of a lot of details, but based on the documents we have, it certainly shows that they are a commercial bank. But it could be – the explanation that was given was, they are acting on behalf of the Government of Taiwan, or the Government of Taiwan may have accounts with them or whatever. The rates are not onerous rates; but what my concern was that we continue to add this debt burden to an already overburdened business community and citizenry; I mean, how much more can we bear? We are already at the point that Government is consuming thirty percent of our G.D.P. in tax revenue, and now we hear that the revenue needs to be increased – it depends on who you listen to – between one hundred and two hundred million dollars in the next fiscal year, I don’t know where they are going to get that money from. But certainly at this time we have to be cautious about how we continue to add debt burden on our country and our citizens, and that was the point I was trying to make.”

The motion was passed in all its stages.