The price of regular gasoline went down in April by just under three dollars per gallon when crude oil plunged to historic levels on the international market. But the savings came at the start of the state of emergency and as you know travel ground to a halt. Tonight at midnight, the price of regular […]
We have been reporting on the economic woes of the transportation which has been battered by the COVID 19. A full recovery for the industry is a few years away, as buses, water taxis and airlines are operating well below capacity during the coronavirus crisis. Tropic Air the biggest domestic airline has reduced its staff […]
As it stands, the state of the bus industry will get worst in the weeks ahead before it gets any better. In the summer months passengers commute less than they would during other times of the year. Increasing bus runs will not necessarily improve the situation going forward. Ewart Metzgen, Secretary, Belize Bus Association […]
Today, five of the BPOs in Belize shared their experience on how; they have been able to navigate the turbulent COVID-19 business climate. A few of the call centre lost minimal business as a result of the impact in other parts of the world – but at home they have been able to retain most […]
The once booming tourism industry has been hardest hit as COVID-19 continues to wreck havoc to the economy. On Tuesday night, we reported that Tropic Air is cutting staff; today the local airline confirmed that it has informed the Ministry of Labour that it is letting go as much as sixty percent of its employees, […]
The cut backs are not exclusive to the domestic airline industry; every sector has had to make adjustments, including telecommunications. Over at Digi, a tiered approach to cuts in salary is being implemented; general staff are taking a fifteen percent cut, managers twenty percent and Heads of Departments twenty-five percent. This will initially last for three months […]
As you have heard, the economy continues to shrink and with it, hundreds more join the unemployment numbers. Government is struggling with an astronomical monthly wage bill of forty-five million dollars and another forty-five million dollars in operating expenses. The Public Service Union and the Belize National Teachers Union have agreed to forego increments as […]
Still on the economic downturn…last week, Prime Minister Dean Barrow famously said that he intends to borrow and borrow to keep public officers employed. But the PM also warned that the next leader of the country would have to address the issue of the massive wage bill, as high as forty-five million dollars monthly, and […]
Minister of Education, Patrick Faber says that there will be cuts in some of the services that his ministry offers in the days ahead, as a matter of priority to deal with the financial crisis. One of the biggest recurrent expenditures of the Ministry of Education is spent on salaries for teachers. But like the […]
And while public officers and teachers are forgoing their increments, will they face retrenchment? At his press conference last week, the Prime Minister said he will borrow as long as he can to avoid retrenchment. But PM Barrow predicted that whoever succeeds him as Prime Minister will have to speak to the IMF and IFIs […]
It is a big day of news. So we start with the negotiations between the Prime Minister, the Public Service Union, and the Belize National Teachers Union. That matter is back to square one and the unions are consulting on a position before the deal can be sealed. Union leaders met with the Prime Minister […]
According to the Prime Minister, foregoing increments are required and if the unions continue to reject the proposal, the next step would be to proceed to amend the Public Service Regulations to allow the minister to alter salaries, emoluments, and allowances. This is viewed as a threat by the P.S.U., which says that while the […]
With a burgeoning deficit of over three hundred million dollars, Prime Minister Dean Barrow says that the time has come to trim emoluments and pensions which stand at a whopping six hundred and eighty-eight million dollars. The international financial institutions have been advising his government to do so for quite some time now, but the […]
Back in March, the Prime Minister announced that he had secured financial aid from international financial institutions for government’s COVID-19 response. He said that it would come from international institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The funds would total roughly a hundred and forty million […]
The tourism industry is practically on life support. It accounts for about forty percent of the gross domestic product and is a huge foreign exchange earner. And while domestic tourism is back in play, it can never meet the millions of dollars in revenue from international tourists. There has been talk in the private sector […]
The tourism industry is at a standstill and Belize is one of three countries in the region to become the biggest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, further measures were announced to spur internal tourism going forward. But the Phillip Goldson International Airport is NOT to reopen before July first for international visitors. Tourism is […]
Late on Wednesday night, the long awaited prices for LPG were released. If you have been following the LPG war, the prices is a thorny issue for the ex-importers of liquefied petroleum gas. The National Gas Company, is now the sole supplier but the five former importers believe they can import LPG at prices lower […]
An LPG dispute has been taking place for some time. Tonight, there is an answer to one of the thorny issues involving prices. Before a release from the Belize Bureau of Standards, Southern Choice Butane Limited held a press conference to reaffirm that it had ran out of its supply of LPG. It is also […]
Southern Choice Butane Limited is one of six former LPG importers whose license has expired. That company supplies thirty-percent of the industry in Belize. Today, Zeta Gas Rep Ernesto Wu also spoke about the impact that the situation has on its staff across the country and the clients to whom it provides LPG. Ernesto […]
The commercial operation start date for the National Gas Company was set as May first – but it is thirteen days past that. So, what’s been the hold up? Is the N.G.C. not ready to distribute or are they stalling on purpose as it speculated by some quarters in the industry? Well, Managing Director Doctor […]
As you heard just now, Doctor Canton says that the price setting exercise will help to determine the wholesale price for local distributors. That price, up to the time we spoke with Canton this morning, was not released as yet but he pointed out that globally LPG prices have been increasing. Doctor Canton says that […]
The Public Service Union and the Belize National Teachers will meet with the Prime Minister, Dean Barrow on Wednesday to iron out issues regarding the government’s proposed cost-saving measures. G.O.B. is proposing that public servants including teachers forego their increment while ministers give up a month’s salary. Ministers, C.E.O.s, and Heads of Departments will also […]
A joint meeting between Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the Public Service Union and the Belize National Teachers’ Union is scheduled to take place on Wednesday. The meeting will revolve around G.O.B.’s cost-saving measures proposed to these unions and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers, which according to the Prime Minister, is in support of […]
Also on Friday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow stated that ministers, chief executives officers and heads of departments will also be making a sacrifice which is much more than what public officers are contributing. P.S.U.’s Dean Flowers says that the Prime Minister needs to check his facts before going before a microphone. Dean Flowers, First […]
The Belize National Teachers’ Union is yet to form an official position on the government’s cost-saving measures proposal. The waiving of increments will also affect the thousands of teachers and the National President, Senator Elena Smith agrees with the P.S.U. In speaking with News Five today, Smith says that for years the government was being […]
