Eight Million U.S loan for Transformation of Trade and Facilitation Services

John Briceño

The Government of Belize brought three loan motions, valued at a combined sixty-six million dollars, before the House of Representatives today. The first was an Inter-American Development Bank Trade and Facilitation Program for Belize at eight million U.S. dollars.  Prime Minister Briceño explained that the loan will be used to reduce the bureaucracy and bottlenecks that come with doing business in Belize as a foreign investor. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, the Leader of the Opposition, also had some thoughts to share on this loan motion and the Briceño Administration’s continued borrowing.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Most of us are aware of the challenges in doing business in Belize. Belize over the years, particularly in the past thirteen years received progressively lower marks for the difficulty of doing business in Belize. Too many processes, too many bottle necks, too many bureaucracy have contributed to such challenges of doing business I’m Belize all of which makes it more costly to conduct business in Belize. This loan motion seeks first to make it far easier to investment and doing business in Belize, by implementing a single digital investment window and a foreign trade single window for example. Processes will be eliminated and streamlined so that business and investors can operate more seamlessly and efficiently in a more cost effective basis.”

Moses Shyne Barrow

Moses Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“There is not a difficulty in strengthen these areas. I have to take the opportunity Madam Speaker to highlight to the Belizean people that this Prime Minster and this government criticized, chastised, and crucified the UDP administration for borrowing and borrowing and borrowing. It must be underlined that this Prime Minster and his administration have done the exact same thing and I will say at an even more alarming level that anything they have accused the former UDP administration. I do believe we are at half a billion folders loam motion in the two years that the Briceño Administration has taken office and this is alarming.”