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The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a loan for thirty million Belize dollars to support the sustainability of Belize’s micro, small and medium enterprises. According to the I.D.B., this program will benefit two hundred businesses in the agriculture, fisheries and tourism sectors which have been deeply affected due to their vulnerability to the COVID-19 crisis. […]
Written on August 6, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Regional / International |
Comments Off on IDB Funding to Protect Employment in Belize
As many as seven hundred and fifty businesses in various sectors across the country have signed up to participate in Belize Bank’s new E-Kyash platform. It’s an online system that allows users to transfer money, purchase items and pay bills online using a mobile application. This morning at the Radisson, the app was debuted ahead […]
Written on August 5, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on E-Kyash Makes Banking History in Belize
What does the introduction of E-Kyash mean for government’s transition to e-governance? In attendance at this morning’s launch was Minister of Sports and E-governance, Kevin Bernard. He says the new app is in line with the digital transformation of public services that are offered by the Vital Statistics Unit, as well as the Lands Department. […]
Written on August 5, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on E-Kyash and E-Governance; What Do They Have in Common?
This week there were reports that the price of flour would be going up, or that certain brands were returning to pre-COVID prices. The rumors created a domino effect with some food vendors raising their prices, while others are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. But when News Five checked with the Bureau of Standards this morning, […]
Written on August 4, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Bureau of Standards Says Don’t Believe Flour Price Hike Rumors
The press also asked about the company’s decision to move its sugar loading operations from the Port of Belize to the Big Creek Port. The company asserts that this will be good for the industry and ultimately the cane farmers who will reportedly see greater returns. B.S.I./A.S.R. says the decision was not influenced by any […]
Written on July 30, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Big Creek Better for Business Says BSI/ASR
If you feel like you have been paying more for basic necessities lately, you are right. Belizeans have been paying more for transportation, food, electricity, water and gas, according to Statistical Institute of Belize’s latest data. According to their findings, commuters paid eleven percent more for transportation in the month of June, compared to June […]
Written on July 29, 2021 | Posted in
Economy |
Comments Off on Transport, Utilities, Food Prices Up
Also on the brighter side, this month Belize’s imports have almost doubled compared to this time period last year. In June of 2020, Belize exported one hundred and three million dollars worth of goods, while June 2021 saw one hundred and eighty-nine million dollars in exports. So, what changed? The Commercial Free zone reopening brought […]
Written on July 29, 2021 | Posted in
Economy |
Comments Off on Imports Almost Double, Exports in Steep Decline
The Port of Belize Limited is slowly bouncing back after taking a major hit to its bottom line in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sugar exports were down and cruise ships stopped coming to Belize. This led the Port of Belize to terminate a significant portion of its staff in order to […]
Written on July 26, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Port of Belize Limited C.E.O. Discusses Revenue Challenges
C.E.O. Lane also addressed the negotiations between P.B.L. and the Christian Workers Union since talks resume on Wednesday. Lane says a first meeting will be held to discuss the staff Collective Bargaining Agreement and then another meeting will discuss a request from the union for sugar redundancy packages, with the move by A.S.R./B.S.I. to the […]
Written on July 26, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on P.B.L. and C.W.U. to Meet this Week
The Public Service Union is speaking out following a leaked letter that guarantees C.E.O. salaries and allowances will not be touched. The document, from the Office of the Prime Minister, dated July second and signed by Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie is addressed to all Chief Executive Officers in Ministries of the Government of Belize. It […]
Written on July 22, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on No Cuts for C.E.O. Salaries?
The P.S.U. is now seeking legal advice because the Public Sector Emoluments and Allowances Bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives on May twenty-eighth and in the Senate on June fourth, instituted salary cuts across the board. Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U. “My immediate reaction when a copy of the letter was sent […]
Written on July 22, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on P.S.U. Prez: Cabinet Secretary Does Not Have Authority Override Legislation
The Public Service Union has also written to Governor-General Froyla T’zalam, expressing concern over the Governor-General Conditions of Service Amendment Bill, 2021, which provides for an increase in salary, duty allowance and insurance coverage for the GG and her immediate family. In the letter, dated July fifteenth, the P.S.U. says that while it supports the […]
Written on July 22, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on P.S.U. Asks GG Not to Accept Salary Increase at this Time
There is some not-so-welcome news tonight for Belizean commuters. The Ministry of Finance announced today that effective Thursday, July twenty-second; the pump price of two fuel products will change. Regular gasoline is going up by thirty-eight cents to eleven dollars and thirty-seven cents per gallon; diesel will increase by six cents to ten dollars and […]
Written on July 21, 2021 | Posted in
Economy |
Comments Off on Regular and Diesel Gas Going Up
In news from this week’s Cabinet meeting, the Prime Minister is in the United States to meet the U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres for discussions on climate change, Belize’s work on the Economic and Social Council, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory, which is now before the International Court of Justice. Deputy […]
Written on July 8, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment,
Featured,
Health |
Comments Off on Four Seasons Resort Coming to Caye Chapel; Entertainment Zone at Northern Border
President of the Belize National Teachers Union has sought assurance from the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Christopher Coye, that financial institutions will continue to offer forbearance on loans to teachers and public servants. This became necessary after several teachers were reportedly told by their financial institutions that they were not aware […]
Written on July 8, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Teacher Loan Forbearance Not Being Honored
What’s in a name you ask? Plenty apparently, so don’t call it “grocery bags” – it is now “food assistance”. The programme has a new name since it was rebranded. According to Minister Dolores Balderamos Garcia, the seventy-five to eighty dollars grocery kits are about to start rolling into homes across the country. But this […]
Written on July 8, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Grocery Bag Becomes Food Assistance
Among the complaints raised by public officers facing salary cuts and increment freezes is that G.O.B. is not doing enough to come down on tax evasion. On Friday, a bill was introduced to amend the tax administration and procedure act. It would allow the government to publish the names of tax defaulters and make provisions […]
Written on July 5, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places,
Politics |
Comments Off on G.O.B. to Publish Names of Tax Evaders
For years, Cemento Progreso has been imported into Belize from neighboring Guatemala. The powder for concrete has been used extensively in the infrastructure development and housing construction of the country. Following a visit to Belize, on the heels of the opening of Santander Sugar in Cayo District, however, the Chief Executive Officer of the company […]
Written on July 5, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Cemento Progreso Launches New Factory in Belize
The formal exportation of cattle to the Mexican market was further realised today when the process of transporting hundreds of head of cattle to that neighbouring country began. The Mexican government is now accepting livestock from Shipyard, which will now serve as a hub for its exportation. It’s an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture […]
Written on July 1, 2021 | Posted in
Agriculture,
Economy,
Featured |
Comments Off on Shipyard Now Certified to Export Cattle to Mexico
You may be missing conch for a while with the Queen Conch season closed right now, but today the 2021 lobster season officially opened. We head to San Pedro where a group of fishermen just before midday revealed their first catch for the season. Approximately four hundred pounds of fresh lobsters were being cleaned and […]
Written on July 1, 2021 | Posted in
Agriculture,
Economy |
Comments Off on 2021 Lobster Season Officially Opens
Belize’s economy shrank for a fourth consecutive quarter, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest Statistical Institute of Belize data shows that Belize produced sixty million dollars less in goods and services in the first quarter of 2021, accounting for an eight percent decrease in the economy. Belize’s largest economic sector, tourism, continued […]
Written on June 30, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Pandemic Causes Economy to Shrink for a Fourth Quarter
The Turneffe Atoll Sustainability secured a one-point two-million-dollar blended finance facility to strengthen the management of Belize’s marine protected areas and contribute to its blue economy. TASA is one of the first N.G.O.s in marine conservation to secure this type of innovative financing that uses a smart business model to support conservation efforts and generate […]
Written on June 25, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment |
Comments Off on Funding Secured for Marine Protected Areas
Executive Director Valdemar Andrade says the one point two million dollars blended financing will also be put back into the management of fisheries and by extension the marine protected areas which will have a positive impact on the economy through fisheries and tourism. Andrade explains how they will implement the sustainable revenue-generating initiatives. Valdemar […]
Written on June 25, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment |
Comments Off on Andrade Says Funding Will Have Positive Impact on Fisheries and Tourism
We also got a chance to ask PM Briceño for his thoughts on comments made by Doctor Jaime Guajardo, the I.M.F. Mission Chief of Belize about the International Monetary Fund’s 2021 Country Report on Belize. PM Briceño says the IMF has recognized how determined Belize is to rebuild the economy. Prime Minster John […]
Written on June 23, 2021 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured |
Comments Off on PM Says GST Hike Not on Table…for Now
Statutory Instrument Number fifty-seven of 2021 may have been passed and slipped under the radar of most people, but not the fisher folk community who today, came out expressing their discontent with the access it gives to foreign nationals to fish within Belizean waters. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting Back in […]
Written on June 22, 2021 | Posted in
Agriculture,
Economy,
Environment,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Belize Federation of Fishers and Others Condemn S.I. 57 of 2021
