Price Regulation on List of Food Items to Improve Cost of Living

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

Against the backdrop of that meeting is a list of food items that the Government of Belize has chosen to regulate prices in an effort to provide some level of relief for the cost of living and improve the quality of life for Belizeans. It has been met with pushback by the private sector, but in a one-on-one interview with Minister of Human Development Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, she says it is the responsible thing to do as a government.

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development

“The Prime Minister, Minister Chris Coye, Minister Abi Mai, all of us are aware that there has been some pushback on the part of the business community not wanting to see the price regulation on the basket of food items and non-food items. Now, we have not done it in a way where there has been absolutely no consultation. There has been consultation, but the government has to be the one to make the policy. And if it were left to the importers, the wholesalers and the retailers, all their mark-ups would just continue. Now as government, being responsible and addressing the high cost of living – the skyrocketing in some cases – we have to do what we believe is the responsible thing. And the responsible thing is for us, maybe not on a permanent basis, but at least a measure that we can carry out for a period of time in consultation with the business community, etc., let’s give it a try. Let’s give it a try, but it will mean that we have to be serious about the monitoring and about the policing.”