On March eighth Prime Minister Dean Barrow presented the budget for the 2016/2017 fiscal year under the theme – Stability in the time of change. He claimed that it was a bold statement by a government which had served the people well, and would continue to do so even when faced with real challenges. One […]
Briceño claims that the U.D.P. has deliberately refused to admit that Belize is actually operating in a recession, and there is no sign of the best that was to come but never did. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “The truth of the matter is that for each of the past two consecutive quarters of 2015, […]
The Leader of the Opposition, to bolster his argument of economic crisis, used the figures on employment between 2008 and today. Not surprisingly, Area Representative for Belmopan John Saldivar used unemployment figures during that same period to bolster his argument that the economy was looking good and getting better. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “Since […]
Saldivar, who publicly announced today that he intends to contest for the vacant post of first deputy leader in the U.D.P., boasted that if Briceño’s statistics and assertions are valid, the U.D.P. would never have won an unprecedented third term. He maintained that the people of Belize are still in a very loving, long-term relationship […]
But with all that said, Briceño ended his presentation to kick off the debate by extending the hand of cooperation, claiming that his party is prepared and able to assist the government in tackling issues which affect Belizeans across the board. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “We will help on initiatives that bring meaningful relief […]
In terms of the specifics as related to the Ministry of National Security, Belmopan Area Representative John Saldivar revealed that as it has every year, the budget for the departments under his portfolio will grow. Among other projects this year, Saldivar boasts that the Forward Operating Base will be completed in this fiscal year, thanks […]
Lake Independence Area Representative Cordel Hyde was the third to weigh in on the 2016/2017 budget. It is his first address in the House since elections of November, 2015. In fact, it is his first address in the House in over four years. Representing Lake I, one of the most impoverished areas of Belize City, […]
Hyde claimed that for all the rhetoric surrounding its presentation, and for all the money this government says it has spent, that money hasn’t reached the people who need it the most. Cordel Hyde, Area Representative, Lake I “Life for the elites and the chosen few has been so much better, while life for […]
Representative for Collet Patrick Faber spoke at length today, but interestingly the major portion of his presentation did not touch on the Budget for the fiscal year 2016/2017. He instead spent much time on the 2006 budget presented by then Prime Minister Said Musa. It wasn’t exactly clear why Faber chose to revisit a ten […]
Faber didn’t comment on the obsession, but he did take time to revisit the now infamous Petrocaribe-funded pibil and barbecue fest in Corozal. The young Minister has taken flak for using Petrocaribe monies to fund a party trip for Collet residents in Corozal. But as he pointed out in the House today, he’s still sitting […]
In his presentation, Musa took on the deficit in the 2015/2016 budget – a one hundred and eighty-two million dollar gap between revenue and actual expenditure. It’s an unprecedented deficit in the region of five point one percent of GDP, and Musa says that it is the hangover from what he called the bazaar spending […]
Today, Citrus Products of Belize Limited was expected to have released last week’s fruit payment to growers since there is an existing delay with Heritage Bank awaiting approval from the Central Bank to release the remaining funds. In light of the setback, CPBL was not in a position to release last week’s fruit payroll on […]
Where the dreaded loss of correspondent banking relationships is concerned, PM Barrow says there is little to report following the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting held in Placencia recently. Coming out of that meeting a decision was taken to send a high-level mission on a round of meetings with federal regulators and other pertinent agencies. […]
Barrow’s administration has come under fire for recently increasing the import duties on fuel. That action in effect caused Regular and Diesel pump prices to go up, even as the acquisition costs went down. While it wasn’t a popular decision, PM Barrow maintains that it was better than any other taxation alternative. And it’s been […]
Imagine you’re a retired pensioner in Belize, collecting your monthly check. It’s your only income. That’s what you use to buy groceries, to pay your rent or mortgage, to pay utility bills. Basically everything revolves around that money which comes in around the fifteenth of every month, like clockwork. And then in mid-February you go […]
So what’s behind this crisis for pensioners early in the New Year? Well, there are only two things in banking that have changed significantly and recently – one is the loss of correspondent banking relationships and the other is the transition of First Caribbean to Heritage Bank. We asked Duncan if either, both, or none […]
The issue of the loss of correspondent banking has been affecting the way business is done in Belize and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Earlier today, Steve Duncan, the Managing Director of Heritage Bank spoke to News Five about the impacts being caused by the severing of relations by U.S. banks. The Government has led a […]
One month ago, First Caribbean International Bank closed its doors for the last time in Belize. The operation and assets of that bank were taken over by Heritage Bank, previously a much smaller operation. Today, we asked Duncan for an update on the transition. The bank had promised a seamless one, but the sheer size […]
Images of a recent shark kill prompted outcry from conservationists as well as from fisher folk. There are various challenges facing the fishing industry, including the use of gill nets but the main threats come from the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. While some inroads have been made to curb these practices; the agencies that […]
In mid-January, Prime Minister Dean Barrow went on record, during an exclusive interview with News Five, to say that he was giving serious thought to the idea of a major financial investment in a cruise terminal in Belize City. The facility would be erected in Port Loyola, on a property adjacent to Port of Belize […]
Even though there are economic differences, ministers from Caribbean countries have signed on to a development agenda. The agreement was signed today during a Caribbean Growth Forum held at the Radisson. The private sector and civil society from the Caribbean are looking for ways to exchange views on national reforms for sustainable growth. News Five’s […]
The new shipment of fuel is in, and the acquisition cost, or C.I.F., is down, which means that pump prices should automatically go down. But they won’t, because GOB has decided to hike up import duties on fuel – AGAIN. The notice came in the form of a release today which states that based on […]
The Caribbean Development Bank held its 2016 media conference today at its headquarters in Barbados. President William Warren Smith opened the conference outlining the major issues that the Caribbean region is being challenged by. These include the current state and uncertainties of Caribbean economies and he outlined how the C.D.B. can help in building resilience […]
We have been reporting extensively on the loss of correspondent banks which was top on the agenda of the Twenty-Seventh Intersessional Meeting which concluded in Placencia on Wednesday. The ‘de-risking’ by the US banks is affecting negatively critical services such as remittance transfers, credit card settlements and has the potential to severely impact the tourism […]
PM Gaston Browne’s mission is to knock at all doors including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the United States Congress. At the CARICOM inter-sessional, the Heads of government also agreed to write to the US President Barak Obama. Gaston Browne, Prime Minister, Antigua & Barbuda “Among the strategies that we are looking […]
