In the end, there was an agreement to disagree, respectfully. We’ve seen no 2013 audit, and neither has the Council, which in our books means there is no 2013 audit. But the Mayor insists that there is – just that the auditor slipped up and didn’t get the job done. We figured that it’s fair […]
We also asked about one line item in particular, listed in the 2014 audit. That’s the total debt of the City Council. In 2012, it’s listed as just over twelve million dollars. In 2014, it’s at just over forty-seven million dollars. Again, we thought it fair to ask why the Council’s debt more than tripled […]
So while in southern Belize, there might be a boom due to cruise tourism, in Venezuela, the international media is reporting economic turmoil. According to Ambassador Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano, the impact of the steady fall in crude prices on the country’s financial affairs is being misrepresented by networks such as CNN and Fox […]
In spite of its existing economic woes, Venezuela is yet to pull the plug on the Petrocaribe initiative. The last shipment of premium fuel to Belize arrived in country in late January and delivery has since been put on hold indefinitely. While the Barrow administration has borrowed an estimated two hundred and forty million dollars […]
The first tranche of payment to Venezuela for the Petrocaribe loan is due later this year. That disbursement will bring to an end a two-year grace period granted to Belize upon signing an agreement with Venezuela in 2012. Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano, Venezuelan Ambassador to Belize “The payments are normal. We are not […]
This morning, the P.U.P. held a press briefing to draw public scrutiny to what they say is very questionable management of the City Council’s finances over the past three years of Mayor Darrell Bradley’s administration. P.U.P. mayoral aspirant, Yolanda Schakron, had centre stage, backed up by former P.U.P. Mayor and Minister, Joe Coye, who by […]
According to accountant and politician, Joe Coye, although the 2012 audit is inconclusive and the 2013 audit is incomplete, the figures presented in the 2014 audit are cause for alarm. Coye pointed to one figure which he said stood out – in 2012 the Council reported a total debt of a little over fourteen million […]
The Belize City Council has received financial assistance from Central Government, to the tune of millions of dollars to bail out city hall for B.M.L. workers, for streets and other infrastructural projects. That’s certainly no closely-held state secret. Mayoral aspirant, Yolanda Schakron, says that it’s a sign of Bradley’s incompetence, because without that money, the […]
So with all that said…is all the hullaballoo about CitCo’s finances a genuine concern, or a political red-herring? We figure that depends on who you ask, on which side of the political divide. We do note that while today’s P.U.P. press conference was all about the audit, Schakron managed to get in a plug for […]
Tonight, there is additional information on the hundreds of millions of dollars stashed away at the H.S.B.C. Bank in Geneva. That story broke on Thursday night and in our research today, we have unearthed that aside from the nine Belizeans who reside in country, there are twenty other persons with Belizean passports who have stored […]
The Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) today released the 2014 External Trade and Consumer Price Index stats which show that imports went up while exports went down. At December of last year, domestic exports totaled twenty-eight point six million dollars, which represents over a two million dollars drop from December 2013. Of Belize’s five major […]
Equally affected by the ongoing logjam is Port of Belize Limited. The company does significant business with ASR/BSI and is experiencing cash flow issues as a result of the impasse. According to Vasquez, the ripple effect is far-reaching and stevedores at the port are also feeling the pinch in their pockets. Arturo Vasquez, Receiver, […]
The Belize Electricity Limited announced earlier this week that it will be reducing electricity rates. But that saving will not be in your pockets for long because the other utility company, Belize Water Services will be increasing water rates. The Public Utilities Commission issued an initial decision today approving the increase in water rates. B.W.S.L. […]
Avery went on to explain the rationale behind setting a rate that should last for the five-year period. John Avery, Chairman, P.U.C. “We would not want to set a rate that is designed to be changed five times within five years and so we tried to set a rate that will last for the […]
Remember back in March of 2009 when fuel prices at the pumps for regular and premium were just above five dollars? Since then the prices for the most part went up continuously and consumers paid more than double that price to over eleven dollars per gallon. The biggest spike was in April of 2009 when […]
There is another bit of good news. The Public Utilities Commission announced today that it has amended the mean electricity rate and previously approved tariffs which are resulting lower costs for the consumption of electricity. So when you get your next light bill, you should be paying less for electricity. The approved decrease of five […]
The month of November has seen a significant decrease in food and fuel prices, lowering inflation to point two percent. The fall, according to the latest figures from the Statistical Institute of Belize, makes up for increases in rent, insurance and medical services. The sharp decline in oil prices on the world market is manifested […]
If you plan on doing any baking or cooking this Christmas Season then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know that as of midnight the cost per hundred pound cylinder of butane is going down by five dollars. Earlier today, the Supplies Control Unit in the Ministry of Trade and Investment announced that the new controlled […]
On Friday, A.S.R./B.S.I. rejected the B.S.C.F.A.’s proposals on the three points which sit on the negotiating table like ten thousand pound gorillas. One is the timeframe of the agreement which would govern the relationship between farmers and factory. The second is the ownership of the cane, and the third is the formula for the payment […]
Belize City’s Mayor Darrell Bradley has been having his share of financial woes of late, since he is faced with the commitment of taking on one hundred and seventy new workers in January. Back in September, the mayor was forced into agreeing to take on the BML workers that were being displaced. Today his cup […]
The annual general meeting of the Belize Tourism Industry Association took place this morning at the Radisson Hotel in Belize City. While the tourism industry has faced its own share of challenges it has grown to become the second largest in Belize and today it is in robust form. In fact, it is creating employment […]
The B.T.I.A. also welcomed a new president during today’s AGM. Osmany Salas has been chosen to succeed Herbert Haylock as head of the private sector tourism organization. The incoming president says that the work of B.T.I.A. continues by strengthening specific areas of the organization, including its relationship with the Belize Tourism Board. Osmany Salas, […]
As we promised you, tonight we take an in-depth look at a special audit of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, requested by the Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. It covers a one year period, from July 2013 to July 2014, and specifically examines the relationship between the K.H.M.H., Orange Walk based S.P. Group […]
Former Director of Financial Services at the K.H.M.H., Carlos Perera, was let go from the K.H.M.H. amid reports of irregularities; the Board of Governors decided not to renew his contract and weren’t sad to see the last of him. And while he’s gone, he’s definitely not forgotten. His name, in fact, comes up quite frequently […]
The 2014 sugar crop is programmed to begin next week Monday, that’s six days away but there is still no resolution to the dispute between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and ASR/B.S.I. After many rounds of meetings, the BSCFA is tonight no closer to reaching an agreement with the sugar company, but it is […]
