Prime Minister Dean Barrow has emphatically rejected the recommendation of the International Monetary Fund to increase the General Sales Tax to fifteen percent. That proposal from the UN financial agency succeeds what is known as an Article Four Consultation during which the IMF meets annually with each member government. An assessment of Belize’s economic health […]
The annual assessment by the IMF seeks to forestall future financial problems that member countries may face; however, its conditions have been broadly debated. It is argued that the IMF’s policy prescriptions present standardized remedies that are not sufficiently tailored to each country’s individual circumstances. So where does PM Barrow stand on criticisms that his […]
The Annual General Meeting of Belize Electricity Limited took place on Wednesday night and the news is that the company continues to perform well for shareholders. With electricity rates largely steady, the company earned twenty-seven point three million dollars, of which twenty-point-three million was diverted to dividends. B.E.L. says fifty-six percent of all its electricity […]
There are changes to gasoline fuel prices to report tonight, and they are a mixed bag. Regular fuel is going up to ten dollars and eighteen cents in Belize City from nine dollars eighty-seven cents that is an increase of thirty-one cents. Meanwhile, diesel goes down a cent to eight dollars and ninety-six cents while […]
The Ministry of Health recently announced that it will take over all processing for importation of pharmaceuticals into Belize. Considering past problems involving the drug inspectorate it seems a strange move. But the Customs and Excise Department, which also has a role to play in safe importation of these goods into the country, has been […]
The International Monetary Fund has concluded its annual Article Four consultative visit to Belize, held from June sixth to fifteenth. It has issued its preliminary findings, which speak of a weak economy. The summary of their conclusions is as follows: “The economy is expected to return to positive growth in 2017, but the medium term […]
There is another round of costly litigation coming our way, and once again it has to do with Belize Telemedia Limited. The Government of Belize paid half of the settlement figure last year, although it was delayed due to miscalculation over the value of the currency in which it was paid – U.S. dollars versus […]
Without a doubt the matter will be going to the CCJ, which FinSec Joseph Waight says is provided for under the settlement agreement signed in Miami, Florida in 2015 between Lord Michael Ashcroft and Prime Minister Dean Barrow. Ninety-five million U.S. dollar is about one-third of Belize’s current foreign reserves, but there is no justification, […]
According to a U.S. court decision, the eighteen-point-five million U.S.-dollar arbitral award for the Belize Bank Limited against the Government will not be reconsidered. It leaves only an injunction granted in Belize in February on which a decision is expected in a few weeks’ time. The Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit on […]
As much as one hundred and thirty million U.S. dollars is being sought by the former owners of Belize Telemedia Limited from the Dean Barrow administration. It is the final figure for legal costs arising of the settlement of the takeover of B.T.L. in 2009 and again in 2011. These costs were to be claimed […]
The Government and particularly the Prime Minister have in the past tried to shove off at least part of the responsibility for the B.T.L. debacle to the shoulders of the P.U.P. But the party has resisted such insinuations, each time squarely pointing the finger back at Barrow himself. Party leader John Briceño did so again […]
There is also the question of economic shock caused by the B.T.L. payments. The Government recently re-negotiated the Superbond, but has accumulated close to a hundred million dollars in debt from unpaid arbitration awards to several companies, which it is refusing to pay. The national reserves are hovering above danger point as the country waits […]
A release sent out by the Statistical Institute of Belize on Wednesday shows that the prices of goods and services regularly purchased by households were up by two point two percent for the month of April, when compared to April of 2016. An inflation of one point nine percent was recorded for the first four […]
The Belize Federation of Fishers and the Department of Fisheries are training fishermen for deep-sea fishing. The training is a part of a project being implemented over the last year that seeks to show the fishers the gears needed, as well as the practical skills to fish in deep waters. News Five’s Andrea Polanco was […]
A few weeks ago, Quality Poultry Products of the Cayo District became the first company to certify to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points standard, securing a potential place in the regional market and boosting their brand’s reputation for safe, nutritious and tasty poultry. Today, northern competitors Caribbean Chicken did the same, completing an eleven-year […]
Fuel moves Belize, but the question tonight is whether the country may grind to a halt as a result of rising fuel prices. According to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the legislated fuel increase in excise taxes is for twenty million dollars spread out over the 2017-2018 financial year; the subsequent increases are a result of […]
Around twenty-one million Belize dollars was paid out to settle the final costs of the re-arrangement of the Superbond Three point O, which took about five months to negotiate. The figure was announced by Prime Minister Dean Barrow in an official statement during today’s meeting of the House of Representatives. It was in response to […]
Premium fuel has gone above eleven dollars for the first time in several years but there is no change in the price of regular gasoline and a slight reprieve for diesel fuel. Fuel was one means of the Government acquiring revenue in the recently passed Budget, but according to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the increases […]
Fuel prices keep going up. At midnight on Wednesday, prices shot up again, for the third time since the beginning of the new financial year. This time, the price of premium is above the eleven-dollar mark. It is retailing at eleven dollars and four cents per gallon in the city; that’s a forty-six cents increase […]
Back in September we told you about the launch of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). The United Nations Development Programme, with support from the European Union and other partners, is financing this initiative. A one point six million dollar package will be invested over the next two years on a biodiversity finance strategy to ensure […]
The Central Bank of Belize is hosting a two day “Know Your Money” presentations to be conducted by international De La Rue International which prints the Belize currency notes. The sessions are intended to educate participants on the design and security features of the notes and on effective counterfeit detection techniques. News Five spoke with […]
There were some sweets offered to the businessmen by Prime Minister Barrow in his address, which he couched as offering a listening ear and helping hand to the business community. Foremost among the plans is what P.M. Barrow calls a targeted tax cut for producers paying import duties on packaging and labelling materials. The Economic […]
The recently passed General Revenue and Appropriation Bill prescribed increases in taxes totalling eighty million dollars to cover a shortfall, while limiting cuts in expenditure. Prime Minister Dean Barrow pointed to his statement in the Budget presentation of a ‘bold, Belizean recovery’ in addressing the Chamber. He pointed out that Belize’s economy had grown steadily […]
On Friday, we told you of plans by Dario’s Bakery to lift prices for meat pies from a dollar to a dollar twenty-five beginning today, Tuesday. Tonight, our viewers in Belmopan and San Ignacio/Santa Elena should note that beginning today, there are no more sixteen-ounce loaves of bread from Casa Pan Dulce Bakery, which are […]
If you’re a fan of the world-famous Dario’s Meat Pies you may want to stock up this weekend. Prices for the tasty treat go up on Tuesday from a dollar to a dollar and twenty-five cents at the bakery itself on Hyde’s Lane. Street vendors and other outlets will raise prices accordingly as well. So […]
