Delegation returns from IMF meetings

A Belizean delegation has returned from Washington where members attended the annual general meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The head of the group, budget and planning Minister Ralph Fonseca, told officials there of his government’s intention to get the nation’s economy moving in a way which would create jobs within an environment of fiscal discipline. Meetings were also held with other multilateral funding organizations as well as private investors. During the next year government expects to initiate some ninety million dollars in development projects, including the Orange Walk bypass road, Burrell Boom Road, continuation of the Southern Highway, improvement of drainage in district towns, secondary education and skills training, health reform, women’s training program and a major project in the tourism sector. Others comprising the delegation were Central Bank Governor Keith Arnold, Economist Sidney Campbell, Financial Secretary Jaime Alpuche, P.S. Yvonne Hyde and UN Ambassador Michael Ashcroft.