On Wednesday, Opposition Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow explained his decision to abstain from voting on a motion to celebrate thirty-five years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. He explained that he is currently dissatisfied with the nation. We asked Prime Minister John Briceño for a response to the opposition leader’s claims. He told News Five that as Belize and Taiwan have been in similar situations, there is a moral obligation to continue to support each other.
Britney Gordon
“Can you respond to the leader of the opposition’s continued stance on Taiwan?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I don’t have time to waste with the leader of the opposition. I think it’s shameful the way he’s behaving. It is obvious that what he’s trying to do is trying to intimidate. And it’s sad because Taiwan has been a very trusted ally of Belize. They’ve been a good friend of Belize. And they’re where we were before 1981, when, every year we’re asking all our friends to speak or to say that they support Belize. Every year we used to pass resolutions in the United Nations for support for independence. And I believe that we have a moral obligation to be able to support Taiwan. Because at the end of the day, I believe that people should have a right to self-determination in any country. And like Belize, we said Belizeans should determine their destiny, whether they want to stay as a colony or want to be a part of Guatemala. Our Belizeans overwhelmingly, we said we want to be a free and independent nation. Taiwan should also be given that opportunity for their people to decide what should be their destiny.”
Last week, two Belize Defense Force officers arrived in Haiti to assist with the United Nations Security Council Resolution, which facilitates collaboration among CARICOM countries to restore security in Haiti. The mission was put together to establish conditions for free and fair elections. In response, Haitian gang leaders have come forward to warn Belize and other CARICOM allies not to intervene. We asked Prime Minister John Briceño for a response to the threats.
Britney Gordon
“Belize is trying very hard to assist Haiti in their relief efforts, but the gang leaders of Haiti have threatened Belize, which has offered to send soldiers. How are we navigating this?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I don’t think that the Haitian gangs have any gangs in Belize. I don’t give it too much attention. I think that our brothers and sisters in Haiti need help. I think it’s tragic what’s going on. The lawlessness that have overtaken Haiti. And we need to do our little part. We’re not going to send a thousand soldiers. Right now, all we did is send two soldiers to look at the logistics and see if we will go to the next point. There’s a ten-point list that the Minister of Defense have brought to cabinet and said, until these ten points are met, we will not send any of our soldiers to Haiti.”
During his State of the Nation address earlier this week, Prime Minister John Briceño highlighted the decreased inflation rate as one of the successes of his administration. He said inflation has fallen from six-point-three percent to three-point-eight percent since 2022. However, in response, Belize City residents claim that they have not observed the decrease and complained about the high cost of living. We asked the Prime Minister for a response to these complaints. Here was his response.
Britney Gordon
“And some people do not agree that inflation is down though, sir, a lot of people, I know you mentioned this, but what can you say to those people that are disputing that?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I understand what they’re saying. The prices indeed have gone up from 2020, but when you look at the rate of inflation, you compare it to the previous year, not to 2020. Last year, the inflation rate was over four percent and now it’s down to about three percent. About 3 percent of last year, not of 2020. So yes, the prices are still high, and we’re hoping that with time and competition, that the prices are going to come down even more. The issue of price gouging it exists and wherever we find that we try to act as best as we possibly can.”
While shoppers disagree with Prime Minister Briceño that there has been a two-point-five percent decrease in inflation since 2022, President of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Katherine Meighan told News Five today that there are several variables that factor into the inflation rate. Tied very closely to that, she explained, is the issue of importation.
Katherine Meighan, President, B.C.C.I
“If you look at the statistics, just generally just what’s out there and you can pull inflation has plateaued. Nonetheless, there are effects that are coming into play. Examples: sometimes what you’re looking at is there is older stock that has now finished and newer stock has come into play. If it’s a commerce related matter. Now, additionally, it could be a demand and supply component as well? So there’s lots of angles that can cause that. Whether it’s all directly connected to external effects, we’ll have to continue to evaluate and see. Nonetheless, I would say, for us, we need to look at the fact that the more we are dependent on external sources, for instance, for food and packaging, the more we’re going to have these sort of effects where inflation comes in and can increase prices in a very unpredictable way.”
Perhaps the saying by Sir Thomas Moore that to be humble to superiors is a duty, to equals, a courtesy, to inferiors, nobility best describes Doctor Roy Young. A resident of Bermudian Landing, Young is highly educated and in his own way, continues to provide for students who need to advance in school. He is carrying on with his parents’ dream of managing a resort, but with all of this, he has a tenacious love for the sport of cricket. Young sat with for this week’s edition of Belize on Reel and explained how he managed to juggle it all and how he never let go of the sport, and why it’s important to revive cricket among youths. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Dr. Roy Young
Dr. Roy Young, Cricket Enthusiast
“What I’m trying to do is to, along with others in the area – is to try to grow the area, to improve the area, to see all of our young people come up differently.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
He’s the owner of The Nature Resort situated behind the Community Baboon Sanctuary building in Bermudian Landing. But what many may not know is that Dr Roy Young is also President of the Belize National Cricket Association, a retired educator, a consultant, and a mentor to youths in the area. He came from humble beginnings.
Dr. Roy Young
“I born in this village, I born just months before Hurricane Hattie and our house blew down by the school. And so my parents moved out this side, so we were one of the first out this side of the village, and so we lived here as like a lot of people in the rural. I had to cut – I was the only son in the family, so I had to cut firewood, beat rice, and do those kinds of things. And my grandmother was my direct neighbor, so I also do those things for her.”
In 1979, a terrible flood made travelling between Bermudian Landing and Belize City impassable. That was for him, the imprint for his life’s path, never letting go of agriculture and the environment. But right along with that defining moment was his love for the sport of cricket.
Dr. Roy Young
“As young people in the Belize River Valley, we always have time for cricket. We will find that – and so I played as a young person. I played while I was at St. John’s College, in the high school team. And then I played at the village level when I came out here to teach. Our Summer Fever team was a very good team.”
It was during these halcyon days that Young’s path crossed with Felix Sutherland, a resident of Lemonal. The two share quite a few things in common, including a love for cricket. Theirs would be a friendship that Sutherland says blossomed from then and lasts to this very day.
Felix Sutherland
Felix Sutherland, Friend of Dr. Roy Young
“I went in as a student at Belize Teachers College where he taught me REAP. REAP is an acronym for Relevant – it began as Rural Education for Agricultural Production, but realizing the worth of such a program they quickly changed the rural to relevant education in an effort to offer more schools as a result of relevant. It was offered to urban schools as well. So, he was my REAP lecturer and we have been friends ever since. He’s always one to give positive advice. He’s always one to demonstrate. He teaches by modeling what he would like to see. So he has had a profound influence on my life.”
Apr 24, 2023, Belize to Host Central American Cricket Championship Tournament
Felix Sutherland
“I am his first son’s Godfather so, we are also compadres. Presently, Roy is the President of Belize National Cricket Association. I am the Chairman of the Dispute Committee for the Belize National Cricket Association. So, wherever there’s Roy, I am maybe two steps behind or wherever I am, he may be two steps behind.”
Young says that while he no longer plays competitively, he still takes the field, and it’s always a rejuvenating feeling.
Dr. Roy Young
“I do play on what we call the over-fifty for those players who are fifty years and older. So, we had a nice tournament last time. The National Sports Council came out. The Department of the Youth came out. So we have a blast.”
Young says as President of the Association, he wants to revive the dying sport.
Dr. Roy Young
“That’s part of our mandate, so right now we have a team from Carmelita, which is in Orange Walk. We used to have a team from Belmopan. And so our effort to change that is to introduce cricket to the primary schools. So just before COVID we had teams of coaches going out to five schools in Cayo to teach them about cricket.”
In 2018, Young led the Belize Cricket Team to the regional competition and explained why it was so important for people to learn the game.
(Nov 2, 2021)
Dr. Roy Young, President, Belize National Cricket Association
“For people to know about cricket in Belize, we want to start with the awareness and a lot of people don’t want to play the game because they are scared of the ball. There are different versions of the ball, there are tennis balls, there are softballs and so on. So we have our females also playing now and they played a slightly similar ball to the hardball.”
Felix Sutherland says that although his friend has been successful in education, in his career and in sports, he never let any of it breed arrogance.
Felix Sutherland
“Speaking about Roy and putting him in the spotlight is not something that I would have envisioned because he’s always unassuming. He’s so quiet. He’s always reserved and would never be heard loudly, except whenever his, his professional or scholastic aptitude are requested of him.”
The government of Belize recently authorized over ten thousand cases of Corona beer to be imported into the country. The volume of the shipment raised concerns among local brewers about the impact that the flood of Mexican beers would have on the Belizean market. Prime Minister John Briceño explained that the importation is due to a shortage of local beer at a time of high demand. Here is more on that.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“It’s ten thousand cases. And not a single bottle has been imported yet. They just issued, or about to issue the the permit to import it. What has been happening is that there has been a shortage of Belikin, there has been a shortage of Coca-Cola in the market. I got a message from one of my constituents yesterday saying, here with the twenty-first, and we are short of soft drinks and beer, and this is a time when we can sell. And I’ve been in touch with the CEO, mister Michael Bowen, an excellent businessman and Belizean. And he’s saying that they have increased the production and sales have increased. But it seems because of the growth of the of the economy, we’ve been growing very fast, it’s been difficult to catch up. So there’s some shortages. Is that a policy that we want to go down to? I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s a policy that to we want to support local industry but if from time to time there’s a shortage we may need to consider in the short term to allow that to come. We are still looking at the issue of the Corona beer and probably quite likely at the next cabinet probably it will become will come up for discussion.”
Belize’s biggest brewery, Bowen and Bowen, has expressed disappointment with the Government of Belize for granting a permit to another private company to import ten thousand cases of Corona beer from Mexico. And while the PM says it’s to meet growing demands, B&B says they do not have a shortage of beers. Today the company’s Corporate Relations Manager, Rosanna Villanueva, spoke with us on the matter.
On the phone: Rosanna Villanueva, Corporate Relations Manager, Bowen & Bowen Ltd.
“It came to our attention recently as well, and I mean, I can’t express how deeply disappointed we are at what seems to be some sort of shift in policy, Marion. For us at Bowen and Bowen. it seems to us that there’s no effort being made to protect Belizean industry with a move like this. We – you know, if you try to cross the border to Mexico with even one case of beers, you’ll have to pour it out. And the reason for that is that the Mexican government is protecting its industries. So, for us, it just seems as though there’s the lack of, of that passion to protect Belizean industry as well. As well, we’ve heard one of the rationales for this is something about supplying the tourist industry, which that makes no – there’s no logic in that, because if someone comes to Belize to visit Belize, they want to drink a Belizean beer, they’re not going to want to drink a Mexican beer. So, that doesn’t make any sense to us. It’s just very disappointing that something like this has even been considered, or, you know, seems to be happening at this point. There’s no shortage. A couple months ago, we did have production issues, which, you know, we were very open with the media. We shared that with the media what we were dealing with, but our supply has stabilized. We have all our beers being produced in the market. So there’s no shortage as such right now. If it’s a matter of variety, Bowen and Bowen produces a wide range of beer brands. We also import some beers from CARICOM. So it’s not a matter of lacking variety or anything in the country. But yes, we are supplying the country. Our beers are being produced, so there is no shortage.”
If you’ve gone to the store to purchase sugar or flour recently, you may have noticed a store policy, limiting the quantity that one family can purchase at a time. As recently as today, 88 Shopping Center in Belize City limited the amount of flour to five pounds per family and sugar to two. This led shoppers to wonder whether Belize is experiencing a sugar shortage. We spoke with the Supplies Control Unit, which clarified that the limit is not due to a shortage, but rather the trend of buyers purchasing large amounts to sell illegally outside the Belize market. This was reiterated by Prime Minister John Briceño, who told us that the government is attempting to combat the issue.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“No, I don’t think there should be a sugar shortage, but yes, I think what has been happening is that Belize sugar industries have been trying to manage the amount of sugar that we put out in the market to ensure that it’s not being sold illegally or contraband into Guatemala and to Mexico. The price difference is way too great. And we have to try to find how we can not take it to that level, but to try to find a kind of an equilibrium where we make it more difficult to contraband. We have a very porous border, so it’d be difficult to monitor. But no, there’s no sugar shortage and we continue to work with BSI to ensure that we get sugar onto the market.”
Britney Gordon
“So I understand that, but to allow, for the stores to prohibit people from buying more than two pounds at a time, isn’t that a bit ridiculous of an ask?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I really don’t know, I can’t comment, because I don’t know, but I think we’ll have to try to, I’ll ask the minister responsible for supplies control is this, also the minister of agriculture to, to take a look into it.”
The Prime Minister also had good news for people who earn less than twenty-nine thousand dollars per annum. He said that effective January first, persons who fall in that bracket will no longer pay income tax. But while that is good for those in the working class, how will the government fill the void that is created by that adjustment? That is a question that the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also asking.
Katherine Meighan, President, B.C.C.I
“That is a question that, of course, all of us are asking. That is a question that the government has to answer. But that’s a question where we are hoping to be able to collaborate with the government on that. Now, we certainly can see the benefits. You know, from our members continuously, when we speak to members, we hear the challenges of where the income tax as it is and at that threshold has not necessarily helped to build productivity from within. So we’re looking forward to that. Now you’re right. There’s the other side of the game and how can we collaborate with the government to ensure that the revenue neutrality angle does not negatively affect another side of the game or that cycle, another piece of the pie, whatever you want to say. And will that negative effect be more dramatic than the, than the positive that comes into it.”
On Wednesday, Business Senator, Kevin Herrera said that the shortage of labour that B.P.O. companies are currently experiencing suggests that the Prime Minister’s comments on unemployment are indeed so. The PM, using figures published by the Statistical Institute of Belize earlier this year, stated that unemployment was down to three percent. Today, the President of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is the general manager of a B.P.O., also agreed that the numbers must be reflective of a low unemployment rate. She added that it’s good when an industry has grown to a point where there is need for further development, such is the case with the B.P.O. sector. Meighan is of the view that there is now need for some intervention by the Ministry of Education to take the training of B.P.O. agents and employees one step further.
Katherine Meighan
Katherine Meighan, President, B.C.C.I
“The B.P.O. sector has been an amazing contributor towards the Belizean economy. Part of that is the diversity angle. B.P.O.’s also play a role, just like the tourism industry, agriculture, et cetera, et cetera. I think that B.P.O.’s offer in general for Belizeans across the board, a professional environment, fair wages, and it also offers an opportunity for career growth and development. Now, we are currently seeing that the unemployment rate is low, and of course that connects to the continued growth of this sector, especially this sector that is very much connected to labor because the labor is really the bones, the heart, the assets. And what we are hoping to do, and, what we see as a solution going forward is really trying to collaborate and connect. We have our B.P.O. members that are asking us for support with training and development professional skills. And we also want to collaborate and connect and encourage the government to do the same because one, there’s opportunities from within for movement upwards through professional development, training, et cetera. There are also these opportunities where we can also prepare for the future. So we can work with the Ministry of Education to talk about what is the potential campaigns and what are the opportunities coming into the longer term and how can we connect that to the educational curriculum.”
