Belizeans have endured seven price hikes in transport fuels since the start of the year and the government has warned that more may come as the world price market fluctuates. But how much is outside factors to blame for the recurrent increases? Not as much as the government’s own take according to studies of figures […]
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives has been making moves after a stuttering start due to several meetings being canceled. A report on the most recent Auditor General’s Report of 2012-2013 is due but according to Chairman Julius Espat, the consensus is that the government’s system of accountability and transparency in public […]
Fuel prices went up again on Thursday for the umpteenth time this year, and the third in a month, with premium now selling at eleven dollars and sixty-seven cents per gallon. The Chamber of Commerce today issued a release on the hike calling on the government to immediately review and reshape its fuel tax strategy […]
Want a job? There were at least seven hundred and fifty available at different levels of experience and pay scale today at Swift Hall on the compound of St. Martin de Porres R.C. School and Church. The first ever BELTRAIDE Career Fair united thirteen prominent employers in four different industries with hundreds of job-seekers in […]
For a third time this month gas prices are seeing yet another increase at the fuel pumps. Premium gasoline has gone up by thirty-one cents, from eleven dollars and thirty-six cents to eleven dollars and sixty-seven cents per gallon. Regular gasoline sees a twenty-one cent hike to eleven dollars and thirty-five cents a gallon. While […]
Tonight there is grim news in the offshore industry. Indications are that Choice Bank, an offshore bank operating from Belize City, is winding down due to a cash flow crisis involving the prepaid card component of its international banking business. After ten years in operation, the banks website claims it is the largest international bank […]
The prices of fuel at the gas pumps are up yet again. Those increases come almost two weeks after the last hike and will see the cost of premium gasoline decreasing nominally. The overall increase is being attributed to an uptick in the cost per barrel of oil on the world market, however, PM Barrow […]
News Five understands that the persistent issue of correspondent banking was also a factor in government’s decision to source fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast. Admittedly, G.O.B. has also been facing problems with servicing its debt to Venezuela. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “That no doubt was part of our decision not to place anymore […]
Your cable bill is going up as of June first, and the recent push by international content providers to regulate signal piracy is the primary reason why. A few weeks ago, representatives from HBO Latin America were in Belize negotiating a copyright licensing agreement for their content with the Belize Cable Television Operators Association and […]
Barely two weeks after the last change, there are further changes to report tonight in relation to fuel prices, which take effect at midnight on Wednesday. Premium gasoline moves down from eleven dollars thirty-nine cents to eleven dollars thirty-six cents, a difference of three cents, and kerosene moves down to seven dollars and seventy-five cents […]
There’s news about a reduction in gas prices tonight, but don’t jump up and down – because it’s not in Belize. The Jamaica Gleaner reports that prices in that island nation go down by sixteen Jamaican cents effective midnight Thursday. It’s important to note that Jamaica’s gasoline is manufactured by its state-controlled oil refinery, known […]
At the beginning of April, just after the Easter break, we told you about a request made by Belize Electricity Limited to take up electricity rates. At the time, B.E.L. said that this was as a result of increases in the cost of power purchased from producers and the company proposed an increase of seven […]
External trade has contracted in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Statistical Institute of Belize. Belize sold nearly twenty-five million dollars less goods for January to March of 2018 than the same period in 2017, and all major exports saw decreased earnings. Sugar recorded a net loss of seventeen percent despite a four […]
Gas is going up again! For the third time this year, there are increases to report at the pumps – and an erroneous release from the Bureau of Standards actually misstated the level of increases reported. Still, the corrected press release shows an uptick of thirty-nine cents for regular gasoline, which pushes it past the […]
Tonight we can report some relief in the price of diesel fuel for the coming weekend. As of Saturday morning, prices for diesel in Belize City go down to ten dollars and one cent, a decrease of twelve cents from the current price of ten dollars and thirteen cents. Meanwhile, there is a slight increase […]
There is no reprieve for consumers as prices for essential goods keep going up. Fuel went up just before the Easter and your light bill is likely to go up soon enough by as much as seven percent. Tonight, the news is that you will be spending more for the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas […]
Just in time for the Easter holidays, the prices of fuel went up driving the cost of living further up. The news tonight is that the cost of another utility may likely hit consumers where it hurts the most; in their pockets. The Belize Electricity Limited says it has made a submission to the Public […]
The General Revenue and Appropriation Bill and nine others were brought to the upper chamber of the National Assembly, the Senate, for debate. With the galleries empty, it can be argued that the true debate – rather than the mud-fest in the House of Representatives – took place today. It began with Business Senator Mark […]
The Business Senator also zeroed in on how much the Government has had to borrow just to balance the budget. This year’s figure is some one hundred and eighteen million dollars, mostly sourced from Taiwan and draw-downs of previously approved loans and grants. Senator Mark Lizarraga pointed out that as long as Government devotes funds […]
Complaining that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other social partners had been ignored during the preparations for the announcement of the Budget, Senator Lizarraga reiterated that the frightening national debt and size of Government urgently needs to be addressed. While some have suggested that it may involve retrenchment of public officers, Lizarraga calls […]
Leading the government’s response was senator and Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte. His Ministry is responsible for managing the country’s legal and judicial services and is the focal point for such things as the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission and other projects. Often, as in the case […]
Just in time for Easter and for the first time in recent memory, there is a uniform increase in fuel prices. The latest price increase takes effect at midnight tonight, just before commuters take to the highways for the Easter break. The additional General Sales Tax on kerosene has not come into effect, but prices […]
Late Friday evening, Prime Minister Dean Barrow wrapped up a marathon two days of debate over the 2018-2019 General Revenue and Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly. He opened the first part of his address by responding to allegations concerning the state of affairs at Belize Telemedia Limited. During his Budget presentation, Prime Minister Barrow […]
The Prime Minister spent a few minutes of his closing statement listing key investments either underway or coming soon that he says will prop up the Belizean economy. From a Four Seasons Hotel in Caye Caulker to agricultural projects in Cayo and Stann Creek District, the Prime Minister argues that there is no shortage of […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has described his 2018-2019 budget as one of consolidation. A point of pride, he said, is that the hallmarks of his administration, such as the pro-poor programs have not been touched. As for infrastructure, he offered a counter to the Opposition’s suggestion that people can’t “eat” streets and drains. Prime […]
