E.U. makes grants for bridge, bananas, poverty reduction
In Belmopan today, Minister of National Development, Investment, and Culture, Mark Espat, officially received a check valued at more than three million Belize dollars from Head of Delegation of the European Commission, Gerd Jarchow. Present during brief signing ceremonies in the Cabinet room this morning were Minister of Agriculture Mike Espat and Minister of State Rodwell Ferguson, as well as representatives of the ICON Institute. The monies are part of a financing agreement for the Poverty Alleviation Project Coordination and Management Unit agreed to in October by Prime Minister Said Musa. That project is designed to focus on Belize’s rural communities with an emphasis on fostering traditional and non-traditional business initiatives especially for women and young people. The total value of the project is estimated at approximately fifteen million Belize dollars.
This afternoon ambassador Jarchow took part in a ground breaking ceremony for a new bridge on the Hummingbird Highway. The E.U. will contribute one million Euros–or around two point four million Belize dollars–to replace the one-lane Silver Creek Bridge with a new two-lane span. Contractor for the project is Cisco Construction. Before motorists get too giddy, however, it should be noted that the presence of the new bridge will do nothing to eliminate the extremely dangerous curves that surround it.
Bananas are also a big part of the E.U.’s brief in Belize and an agreement was signed today under which over six million Belize dollars will be provided to the banana industry to improve efficiency. Under this particular grant, programmes will be established to reduce the amount of fertilizer used, thus lowering production costs. Funds will also be earmarked to monitor negative environmental impacts and promote poverty reduction in the banana belt.
In related news, the European Union announced plans to implement a quota system for banana imports from A.C.P. countries. The plan would keep the reduced tariff of one hundred and seventy-six Euros for non-A.C.P. bananas introduced on January first but at the same time establish a duty-free A.C.P. quota of six hundred and fifteen thousand metric tons for the ten months beginning March first. The E.U. is attempting to comply with World Trade Organization rules, but at the same time fulfil longstanding obligations to help former colonies. Leading Latin American banana producers like Ecuador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are expected to vigorously challenge the arrangement and demand easier access to the E.U. market, which at four million tons, is the world’s largest.
