Inflation is Heavily Felt in Rural Communities

Higher prices on goods and fuel are taking a serious financial toll on all Belizeans. Across the country, an increase in the cost of basic commodities is impacting the ability of families to purchase food items.  It is an economic situation that is most felt in rural communities. During the U.D.P.’s press conference on Wednesday, caretaker Tony Herrera discussed the crippling effects of inflation.

Tony Herrera

Tony Herrera, U.D.P. Caretaker, Corozal

“We have an average of twenty-seven percent increase in fuel. What does that do to our villages, especially up north for which I can speak eloquently about. Let’s go to the fisherman. The fisherman first of all has to travel all the way from Sarteneja, Chunox, Caledonia, some from Ranchito, Calcutta and they have to travel first all the way to the city which they burn fuel and then from there they gotta travel to the sea.  So that brings an extra cost to them and not only to them but to a lot of laborers that have to travel from all these remote villages to the city, to the towns to work.  Everybody is aware of the increase of the bus fares. This increase has affected all the common people in these villages. Why? Because there has not been an increase in their salaries, so when the increase on the high cost of fuel, food items, basic food items. Our main protein source, beans, has gone up so much. Our staple, the chicken has been up. So those are things that affect every one of us at the village level. Now, I would like to touch a little bit on tourism because I hear the government of the day say that tourism is robust, it’s bouncing back and stuff, yet we have so many youths, I would say young tour guides who are unemployed at this moment. Only in Sarteneja, we have an average of seventy young tour guides who are unemployed. So how come we can accept that the tourism industry is bouncing back and is robust? I don’t see where.”