To ease the foreign exchange crunch, G.O.B. is also turning to the International Financial Institutions. During his video presentation today, Prime Minister Dean Barrow informed the public that the COVID-19 aid, all to a tune of one hundred million U.S. dollars, which was committed in March, will start flowing starting next week and carried over […]
While the Prime Minister has launched the first of a kind treasury note to raise U.S. thirty million dollars, Opposition Leader John Briceño today told News Five that the economy is crumbling beneath Barrow’s feet. He says that the country’s foreign reserves have been limited to two or three months. Banks are cutting down on […]
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic toll on the tourism sector. Tourism receipts, which represent up to forty percent of foreign exchange earnings, have plunged due to the downturn in the industry. Earnings in the export sector have also declined. It is resulting in a foreign exchange crunch at commercial banks, which are now […]
With tourism taking a hit, the economy is in the throes of a severe depression and despite the gradual opening up of businesses, including hotels and restaurants, there is not enough money circulating internally for a timely recovery. But what is the plan of action to ensure that there is a steady rebound in the […]
The prolonged closure of the P.G.I.A. is resulting in the sustained hemorrhaging of many businesses in the tourism sector, the supply chain, those that are not directly tied to the travel industry. Across the region, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Saint Lucia are beginning to opening up their airports in June to allow for international […]
The Philip Goldson International Airport will not resume operations to allow for the arrival of flights from other countries on the initially scheduled July first timeline. That announcement was made on Friday by Prime Minister Dean Barrow who informed that government had to revisit its position at the eleventh hour based on recommendations made by […]
With ninety-eight percent losses being incurred by one carrier alone, the cost of delaying the reopening of the P.G.I.A. is staggering. Investments have been made to improve the overall efficiency of Tropic Air, but with only a trickle of revenue coming in, the airline company is tethering on the brink of financial collapse. According to […]
You’ve heard that Tropic Airlines is looking at a second wave of lay-offs and the matter is also under consideration at the Philip Goldson International Airport. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the P.G.I.A. is being held to determine what’s next. But word is that with little revenue coming in, airport staff may […]
The tourism industry, from airlines to hotels to tour operators, continues to be battered by the corona virus pandemic. Hotels, restaurants and the value chain were hoping that further losses would be minimized with the re-opening the Phillip Goldson International Airport. But on Friday, the PM said that that international travel is not resuming on […]
Former Minister of National Security John Saldivar, a trained economist and aspirant for leadership of the United Democratic Party, has put forward a proposal for Belize’s economic recovery post COVID-19. The Belmopan area representative, who was forced to step down as the newly elected U.D.P. leader in February amid the Lev Dermen scandal, proposes five […]
The wage bill for public officers has ballooned significantly since the United Democratic Party first assumed office in 2008. The cost of paying salaries for teachers and other public officers hangs heavy as one of government’s biggest financial responsibility. Saldivar proposes a streamlining of the public sector to modernize its operations. Likewise, he proposes tax […]
The Prime Minister today announced a measure to assist the ailing tourism sector. The Development Finance Corporation has been tapped by government to assist with the financial recovery of the embattled industry where earnings have plunged by a hundred and sixty-four million Belize dollars between January and April due to the coronavirus. D.F.C. will be […]
The price of fuel is creeping up again. Regular fuel will go by forty-six cents at midnight on Saturday to retail at eight dollars per gallon. This is the second time in a week that the price of regular is going up. On May twenty-third, it went up by thirty-six cents, which means that in […]
The pandemic has pushed employment numbers up and a full economic recovery will take time to occur. Most businesses project two years to be able to recover. Eighty-three thousand persons applied for the Unemployment Relief Programme and forty-five thousand have been approved. The programme is floundering because applicants continue to fill out forms with inaccurate […]
The massive relief effort to assist thousands of destitute families with food supplies during the economic hardship that has befallen the country since the initial wave of COVID-19 is ongoing. Much like the unemployment relief programme, government is working to serve the needs of all Belizeans who qualify for food assistance. While assessments have been […]
The PM said today that the Belize dollar remains strong. But while the foreign exchange position is holding, there is a need for additional foreign exchange in the very near future, so this is prompting government to get the ball rolling on the budding hemp industry. While there are a few pilot projects presently being […]
Earlier today, Financial Secretary Joseph Waight sent out a circular reiterating government’s position on the forgoing of increments for public officers. In the bulletin which was issued to the Office of the Governor General, Chief Justice, the Auditor General, C.E.O.s and heads of department, the FinSec reminded that the increments will be forgone until retirement […]
COVID-19 has not only overwhelmed health systems and claimed the lives of one hundred thousand people, but it also continues to halt economies. An IMF Blog post in April states that the growth in the region is projected to contract by six point two percent in 2020, stating, “This would be the deepest recession in more […]
The tourism industry collapsed in a matter of days as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As far as it is known, one major airline, Southwest is not scheduled to fly to Belize until next year. When Belize closed its border points and the P.G.I.A., the visitors stopped coming and the hotels have had to […]
The numbers from the Statistical Institute of Belize show that the economy shrunk considerably. It declined by four point five percent in the first quarter of this year. Prices of goods and services remain pretty much the same when compared to last year. And domestic imports and exports are down by thirty point four percent […]
It’s been forty-five days since there has not been a confirmed case of COVID-19 recorded in Belize, a fact that has placed Belize in a unique health position on this side of the world. But even as most businesses have been allowed to re-open, companies who trade in non-essential services, have been experiencing declining revenues […]
While we were with the Belize City Mayor today, the media asked for an update on the revenue streams at the Council. In April when the state of emergency was declared, economic activity came to a screeching halt at City Hall and there was merely a trickle of income. More than four hundred staff members, […]
A week after its leaders were arrested for holding an illegal protest, the FECTAB executive held a press conference in Belize City. And because of social distancing and the size of gatherings, a limited number of media workers were allowed inside. But as we reported on Thursday there is a rift within the organization with […]
As we reported on Thursday, FECTAB was founded in 2010 by Tom Greenwood, Yhonny Rosado, Troy Gabb and two others who have since defected from the organization. Gabb is now the project coordinator for the Stake Bank Cruise Port, an endeavor being undertaken by the Feinstein Group of Companies. There are some within the organization […]
Is FECTAB a legally recognized organization, despite not submitting its articles of association and its by-laws to the Companies Registry for over ten years? Since its establishment in 2010, FECTAB has only licensed its name. All other processes to complete its legitimization have been suspended and therefore brings into sharp focus the validity of FECTAB’s […]
