According to G.O.B.’s Financial Secretary, the increase in import duties has become necessary to stabilize government’s fiscal position which suddenly seems distinctly shaky. But why are consumers taking the hit? Just months ago there didn’t seem to be a problem Petrocaribe couldn’t fix. But that seems to be a thing of the past. According to […]
The ongoing logjam between the Belize Agricultural Health Authority, BAHA, and businessman Jack Charles, proprietor of R.C. Imports, over the importation of Guyanese rice will be settled in court. With time running out to the Christmas holidays, this morning, an application for a judicial review of BAHA’s decision to detain the shipment of grain was […]
Negotiations between the Christian Workers Union and the country management of CIBC FirstCaribbean are once again at a standstill. On Monday, CIBC issued a release stating that it is officially closing its doors on January twenty-ninth, 2016. That announcement however, did not mention the outcome of the ongoing discussions in respect of an exit package […]
At news time, striking stevedores are still camping out at the Port of Belize where they have been since one o’clock this afternoon. But all is quiet despite reports that a group of men would be engaged to unload and upload ships with imports and exports at this busy time of the year. It is […]
The CWU has been having emergency meetings with the executive and the stevedores but the situation remains fluid. Audrey Matura-Shepherd, President, CWU “Decisions aren’t mine alone, so I keep going back and have emergency meetings to consult with the members. It is always important at all time that the key people, the stevedores tell […]
More than one hundred containers are waiting to upload and unload. The situation has dire consequences on many fronts. Exports represent thirty-seven million dollars while the imports so far for this year stand at one point five million dollars, which is a little over three percent. Eighty-five percent of what is used by the public […]
The Holy Redeemer Credit Union is the largest credit union in Belize. With over fifty-one thousand member-owners the HRCU ranks third in the region with assets amounting to a little over half-a-billion dollars. Over the weekend the lending institution opened a new branch in the south which means that residents of the Stann Creek and […]
A recent Standard and Poor’s research affirms that Belize’s B minus, B rating has been revised to stable from positive, on what is being described as a weaker fiscal position. That frail status is the result of shortfalls due to pre-election disbursements, as well as settlements for the B.T.L. and B.E.L. nationalizations of 2009 and […]
The latest unemployment figures released by the Statistical Institute of Belize indicate that there are presently more men who are unemployed than there are women without jobs. Over the past twelve months, a total of five thousand new jobs have been created; approximately four thousand of them are filled by men. Dr. Leopold Perriott, […]
The tourism industry which is among the top revenue generators for the country has also experienced a slight decline in the number of cruise passengers disembarking in Belize City. That ten percent decrease is the equivalent of seventeen thousand persons. Jefte Ochaeta, Statistician, SIB “Hotels and restaurants decreased by two percent. There was a […]
The Consumer Price Index for the month of October 2015 has been released by the Statistical Institute of Belize. Those figures, as well as data pertaining to inflation rates by municipality were all made available during an extended press conference this morning. Last month’s records indicate that the prices of goods and services purchased by […]
The External Trade Bulletin for October reflects a three and a half percent increase in goods imported into the country, while domestic exports are down by as much as sixteen percent. Stephanie Vasquez, Statistician, S.I.B. “In January to October of this year, Belize’s imports were valued at one point seven billion dollars, up three […]
As previously mentioned, exports for the month of October 2015 totaled thirty-seven million dollars, a majority of those goods being shipped to the United States and the European Union, respectively. Stephanie Vasquez, Statistician, S.I.B. “In January to October of this year, Belize’s exports were valued at four hundred and seventy-seven point two million dollars, down […]
While the bust of Garifuna hero Thomas Vincent Ramos has been ready for quite some time, all efforts to compensate sculptor Stephen Okeke have fallen short. That is until Thursday when PM Barrow pledged that government will make a significant contribution to defray the outstanding balance. G.O.B. will not only cover the remainder of that […]
The Statistical Institute of Belize has released its trade figures for the third quarter of 2015, showing that the country imported less and exported more. Where imports are concerned, September 2015 saw a one percent drop when compared to September 2014. That has been attributed to a drop in imports to the Commercial Free Zone […]
Youth entrepreneur Crystal Samos is the recipient of a pair of regional awards, following a recent trip to Grenada where she participated in a competition for young businesspersons. Samos is recognized for astutely marketing the beauty product Carpe Diem, a chocolate scrub. She won the 2015 Female Entrepreneur of the Caribbean and also received an […]
A fresh round of protests began today by employees of the CIBC First Caribbean Bank. As early as seven-thirty, employees who are members of the Christian Workers Union, demonstrated in front of the bank on Albert Street in the downtown area. The bank has not disclosed when it is closing for good having sold its […]
Where the Ministry of Finance is concerned, the buck stops at Financial Secretary Joe Waight. So when we got the opportunity on Thursday, we asked him about a variety of issues including the status of Petrocaribe monies. The Fin Sec revealed that three hundred million has been spent, and only forty million is left. […]
Waight also spoke on the matter of the settlement for B.T.L….particularly the arbitration ruling. The PM has said that it was his hope that the sixty million dollars paid based on the Nera evaluation remains as such. The Financial Secretary says that the arbitration decision is due within the next three months, and it is […]
And since we had the Fin Sec there, we also asked about the legal fees paid for certain select attorneys including the brother of the Prime Minister. Waight didn’t have the details, but did reveal with fees have been sectioned out between Denys Barrow and the PM’s own law firm, Barrow and Company. Joseph […]
As we told you on Thursday, the Prime Minister hosted an economic forum which charts a course for public/private collaboration on the development of the country. It’s an initiative which has been hailed as a success, and one of the highlights has been the formation of an economic development council. Mike Rudon was at the […]
In 2009, the Government of Belize seized control of B.T.L. and when a court ruling found the nationalization to be null and void, Government renationalized the company in 2011. Now…weeks before the general election on November fourth, G.O.B. has settled with the Ashcroft Group by paying a preliminary sum of one hundred and sixty-two million […]
Denys Barrow, who is the brother of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, has also been a target in the Opposition People’s United Party’s campaign. The P.U.P. says that he has been paid millions in legal fees as G.O.B.’s lawyer of choice. The attorney hasn’t been fazed by the negative attention. He told News Five today that […]
T he negative campaign has focused on one particular instance in which Denys Barrow’s law firm was paid over five hundred and twenty-four thousand dollars for its role in a small settlement, which did not require court action. That was twenty percent of the payment to G.O.B. after a ship, the Paranga, caused damage to […]
The Consumer Price Index for August 2015 indicates that the costs of goods and services were point six percent lower last month than for the same period in 2014. The slight decrease is the result of diminishing fuel prices which offset the rising cost of some food items, as well as the cost of home […]
