As of midnight tonight, three fuel products will see a notable decrease. Premium gasoline will decrease by forty-one cents. The new price will be eleven dollars and thirteen cents per gallon. Diesel will see the biggest decrease, falling from ten dollars and twenty-five cents to nine dollars and seventy-nine cents- a decrease of forty-six cents. […]
The 2014/2015 Audit Report highlights a number of inconsistencies where it concerns proper accounting of public funds. Those discrepancies were flagged by Auditor-General Dorothy Ann Bradley who tendered the report back in January to the Office of the Prime Minister. In that document are several references to the importance of the Public Accounts Committee, as […]
Espat, who has been at the helm of the Public Accounts Committee for the past seven years, says that there is an obvious lack of accountability in the manner in which government spends the people’s money, a point that the auditor-general points out in her report. Julius Espat, Chair, Public Accounts Committee “The auditor […]
A huge part of the problem, says Espat, is the fact that there is no oversight for the expenditure of public funds where contract officers are concerned. According to the PAC chairman, there is no political will for government to be held accountable. Julius Espat, Chair, Public Accounts Committee “We are at a point […]
In January of this year, Auditor General Dorothy Ann Bradley submitted to the Prime Minister’s office her financial reports on the accounts of Belize for the year 2014/2015. In the report, Bradley speaks of several glaring financial discrepancies believed to have been caused by the inadequate performance by finance officers, accounting clerks, and government departments […]
In fourteen days, the new social security contribution and pension scheme is set to take effect. The People’s United Party, however, is not happy about it. Cabinet has approved the new rates which are yet to be legislated. Those new rates will be rolled out in three phases. On July first, the new rate will […]
Late night food vendors in Belize City are being shut down at midnight on the south side and by two a.m. on the north side. From what we are told, this is a directive from Commissioner of Police Chester Williams in an attempt to curb crime. But for vendors, this policing strategy is threatening their […]
Effective July first, employers and employees will begin paying a higher contribution to the social security fund. The new contribution and pension reform, approved by Cabinet, is essentially to save the Social Security Board from crashing. The new rates will be phased over the next three years with an initial increase of point five percent […]
According to S.S.B.’s Chief Executive Officer, Doctor Colin Young, the new pension and contribution scheme will not impact existing pensioners. As it stands now, the fund is approaching the ‘period of equilibrium’ where total expenditures equal total revenue and in order to avoid arriving at that stage, Doctor Young says that there is consideration for […]
As of midnight tonight, the pump price for premium gasoline will increase. The new price will be eleven dollars and fifty-four cents, an increase of twenty-four cents and six cents less than the twelve dollars margin. Motorists may find a bit of relief with the decrease in price for diesel. The pump price for diesel […]
The month of April saw a decrease of five point seven percent in imports, while exports went up by as much as eighty-one percent. The total value of goods brought into the country stood at one hundred and forty-seven million dollars which is a decrease of almost nine million dollars from the previous year. In […]
As a micro or small business entrepreneur, the main objective is to develop your product or service to international standards. But that comes with limitations in terms of capital to finance the expansion and even the costs associated with the importation of items to improve your products or services. Well the government is looking to […]
The Economic Development Council is the bridge between the business community and the government and advocates for and supports policy reform to make it easier to do business in Belize. The MSME Enhancement Programme is the second phase of an initiative that will see G.O.B. invest some three million dollars and will make business more […]
In the second phase of the programme, countrywide consultations will be held with entrepreneurs on steps that must be taken for successful applications. The Small Business Development Centre, an arm of BELTRAIDE will furnish entrepreneurs with all their business needs, says BELTRAIDE Executive Director, Doctor Leroy Almendarez. Dr. Leroy Almendarez, Executive Director, BELTRAIDE “If […]
Empowered for Work and Self was the theme for a mentorship networking session held today by BELTRAIDE at the Biltmore Plaza. Through the Small Business Development Centre, female entrepreneurs were engaged to become part of a SHE-Mentor programme in which budding entrepreneurs can acquire knowledge and support on their path to having a successful business. […]
The month of May is being celebrated as education month under the theme, “Financial Literacy, a Pathway to a Productive Life.” As the month winds down, there are continued activities across the country to teach children how to save. The District Education Centre in Belize District ended its week with a challenge for four primary […]
Come midnight on May twenty-second, the price of regular fuel will decrease by thirty-nine cents, falling from ten dollars and eighty-seven cents to ten dollars and forty-eight cents per gallon. The pump price for kerosene will increase by two cents from seven dollars and eighty-one cents to seven dollars and eighty-three cents per gallon. Over […]
A settlement between Atlantic International Bank Limited and the Federal Trade Commission is still being pursued as a consequence of the Sanctuary Belize debacle which resulted in foreign investors losing hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in a Ponzi Scheme. Earlier today, PM Barrow provided an update on the matter, informing that a meeting was […]
If you went to the gas stations today you may have noticed a slight increase in the cost of diesel oil. That increase is because the price for diesel went up by three cents at the pumps last night. The cost per gallon jumped from ten dollars and forty-three cents to ten dollars and forty-six […]
An online report is announcing that the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Economic Development, Petroleum, Investment, Trade and Commerce has approved a production sharing agreement with Fire Creek Resources Belize Limited, an affiliate company of FCRL based in Calgary, Alberta. According to the company’s C.E.O., Dean Casorso, the P.S.A. gives the company “the […]
The Economic Development Council, Compete Caribbean and the Inter-American Development Bank hosted a one-day workshop to discuss using innovation within the private sector to achieve exponential growth in Belize. At today’s event, a partner from Innovation Agency in Medellin, Colombia shared how technology and knowledge were used to transform Medellin. The city was considered dangerous, […]
Learning about dollars and cents starts at an early age. In Belize, a forum on financial literacy is held annually to teach young students how to manage money and make sound financial decisions. News Five’s Duane Moody reports from the Ramada Belize City Princess. Duane Moody, Reporting Students, parents as well as educators and […]
Fuel prices see another hike as diesel goes up by seventeen cents at midnight tonight. The new pump price increases from ten dollars and twenty-six cents to ten dollars forty-three cents per gallon.
There will be no increase in the cost consumers pay for electricity for 2019-2020; that’s at least for now following a decision from the Public Utilities Commission. Back on April first, Belize Electricity Limited submitted a proposal of the P.U.C. that the cost of electricity remain at forty-one cents per kilowatt hour for the period […]
According to P.U.C. Chairman, John Avery, the projection is that B.E.L. may require two hundred and sixty-five million dollars to cover all its expenses for this tariff period, ending June 2019. The current rates are expected to yield about two hundred and twenty plus million dollars. Avery believes that when the next rate review is […]
