Not So Fast on IMF Prescriptions Says Opposition Leader

Patrick Faber

The prescription by the International Monetary Fund for Belize to implement stringent measures to turn the economy around is being rejected in favor of a homegrown economic recovery plan.  While the Briceño administration intends to do things its way, Opposition Leader Patrick Faber says that the ideal approach to breathing new life into the dying economy begins with striking a healthy balance between both prescriptions.

Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition

“What the IMF proposes is quite often very, very draconian as far as we see things and while that kind of prescription coming from the IMF, we in the UDP administration have long withstood that too, but you’ve got to be serious about what it is you’re trying to do in a homegrown plan and it is evident that our government right now does not have that kind of plan.  The IMF prescribes a lot of things, including cutting the number of workers for instance, let’s say in the government workforce.  PUPs clearly aren’t trying to do that, they had an opportunity, they have in fact retrenched hundreds of government workers.  This has nothing to do with the pandemic, they did this out of the vindictive nature of politics that they practice.  If they were genuine they didn’t have to hire back new people.  Dehn fire people fi hire new people.  They created new executive posts at astronomical salaries, seventy-five thousand dollars and up.”