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In his usual inimitable style, Mesopotamia area representative Michael Finnegan hit back at the Opposition’s defense of the loans they made under their administration which have become the Superbond. Referencing an old Supreme Court case, Finnegan described the other side as being “giddy-a-giddy” – or crazy for power – and hoping the Belizean people will […]
The House of Representatives met in Belmopan today with passions running high for the second reading of the General Revenue and Appropriation Bill, otherwise known as the Budget, which is typically debated for two days. Though slightly less antagonistic than usual, members of the lower chamber held nothing back, especially the Opposition, which has been […]
The 2017 budget is being debated in the House of Representatives where parliamentarians are both criticizing and defending the fiscal plan. But what are the economists thinking? While there have been expert opinions shared with the media, economist Ervin Perez, who has been a prominent voice in the recent Super Bond discussion, has offered his […]
The debate begins this Thursday in the House with the budget rebuttal by the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño. The P.U.P. Area Representative Kareem Musa will also go on record in the House of Representatives sometime over the next two days, debating specific points in respect of the 2017 budget. Musa has publicly criticized […]
Musa also points to what he describes as an odd proposition being made by the Prime Minister where he puts forward that there will be a turnaround of the economy and a projected primary surplus of three point four percent. This is in light of the fact that government has been operating in the red […]
In financial news….The government has been celebrating the restructuring of the Super Bond 3.0. But the credit rating agency, Standards and Poor’s Global ratings, is downgrading Belize’s long-term currency rating from CC to SD. According to the agency it downgraded the rating from eminent default with possibility to recover to Selective Default as part of […]
Written on March 21, 2017 | Posted in
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The 2017 budget which outlines government’s projected expenditure for the upcoming fiscal year will be debated in the House of Representatives at length on Thursday and Friday. Ahead of that examination by parliamentarians on both sides of the floor, a number of economists have perused the financial plan and concerns have been raised on several […]
Will Belizean cane sugar remain viable on the European market in 2018? A gradual shift to cheaper beet sugar produced within the European Union will force stakeholders in the local sugar industry to become more competitive with the quality and prices of cane sugar produced for export. Earlier today, an article published by Bloomberg Market […]
Written on March 20, 2017 | Posted in
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According to Alpuche, the effect of European producers boxing out the competition can be devastating to local farmers if they do not diversify their crops. Jose Alpuche, Minister of Agriculture “There was also an issue of diversification of the sector itself and into other byproducts, rum, and ethanol but although ethanol is not an […]
Written on March 20, 2017 | Posted in
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The fiscal year 2017 commences on April first and the budget for the upcoming financial calendar has been presented by the Barrow administration. While the annual financial plan will be debated at the end of the week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington says that his government department will feel the pinch but won’t negatively […]
Written on March 20, 2017 | Posted in
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Belize’s debts have climbed over three billion dollars for the first time, much of it owed externally. A full third of that is attributed to the Superbond, the package of development loans negotiated by past administrations that were bundled to avoid heavy payments. Coming just behind are monies owed to the international development banks and […]
Written on March 17, 2017 | Posted in
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The University of the West Indies’ Pro-Vice Chancellor for Planning, Professor Densil Williams, is in Belize in connection with activities for the installation of Dr. Luz Longsworth as Principal of the Open Campus of the U.W.I. Professor Williams is executive director of the Mona, Jamaica campus’ School of Business and Management with a concentration in […]
Written on March 17, 2017 | Posted in
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The first serious objection to the bundle of tax measures introduced by Prime Minister Dean Barrow and the government at Monday’s budget presentation was raised by the Belize Tourism Industry Association a day later. They and the Association for Protected Areas Management Organizations argue that the Protected Areas Conservation Trust needs the money to urgently […]
News Five has uncovered information of an unreported, unexpected increase in the excise tax on rum, reported to us at as much as a hundred-percent increase. It has been proposed to raise the tax from ninety to one hundred and eighty dollars. News came as late as Wednesday when the Customs Department was handed an […]
Written on March 16, 2017 | Posted in
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On Monday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow said that Superbond Three point Oh was a done deal. Financial Secretary Joseph Waight this evening confirmed to News Five that some eighty-seven percent of bondholders have now subscribed to the new terms and conditions. The custodian of the offer has so informed, but Waight says that a formal […]
News Five has begun its review of the 2017-2018 General Revenue and Appropriations Bill, also known as the Budget, which is scheduled to be debated on the second reading on Thursday, March twenty-third and Friday, March twenty-fourth. The Government of Belize is projecting a primary surplus for the first time in several years of just […]
The much anticipated 2017-2018 Budget was considered a crossroads for the Government and people of Belize. The country faces heavy external debts including the Belize Telemedia Limited settlement and arbitration awards as well as a weakened economy and low investor confidence; not to mention, the costs of the re-negotiated Superbond and the need to meet […]
His formal remarks will be made in the coming Budget Debate, but today Leader of the Opposition John Briceño offered his first review of the Prime Minister’s Budget, and to say the least, he found it unbelievable. Barrow, Briceño said, offered no explanation for how the Government is able to achieve a primary surplus of […]
Those who enjoy the vices of beer and cigarettes will have a bone to pick with the Prime Minister. But what could cause a potentially larger problem is the reduction of the threshold for payment of the General Sales Tax on electricity bills. Presently, the twelve-and-a-half percent tax is payable on bills above two hundred […]
It’s now official: Superbond 3.0 is a go. Though the Consent Solicitation Offer has been extended to Wednesday of this week, Prime Minister Dean Barrow confirmed that a three-quarter majority of bondholders agreed as of Friday to the new terms – just under five percent interest semi-annually and five soft bullet payments due between 2030 […]
This evening, it was announced that there is another, possibly final, extension of the Consent Solicitation Offer for the Belize U.S. Dollar Bonds due 2038 or the more common name Superbond. This time the extension is for five days until Wednesday March fifteenth, up to five in the evening New York time and three p.m. […]
As is often the case, the Government has tried to shift blame for the results of the Superbond on the P.U.P. as their predecessors in administration. Alleged “failed” projects cited as proceeds of the Superbond range from the former satellite city Mahogany Heights, to Galleria Maya. But the real purpose of the loans, according to […]
At what cost does the renegotiation of the Super Bond come to Belizean taxpayers? It’s a question that remains to be answered definitively, in dollars and cents. The proposed offer is expected to be approved by bondholders; however, the price tag for doing business with the Creditor Committee will cost a pretty penny. That figure […]
The additional expense, as we’ve mentioned, will be placed squarely on the backs of taxpayers. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington, it was necessary to restructure the Super Bond in order to save the country from what would have otherwise been a sinking ship. Isani Cayetano “While that achievement is being lauded, […]
The budget for the financial year 2017/2018 will be tabled at the House of Representatives this coming Monday. It is known that government will have to do belt-tightening and increase revenues through various forms in the range of a reported seventy million dollars. Prime Minister Barrow, during a press conference on Wednesday, allayed all fears […]
