Economy - Channel 5 Belize

Police Department to Get High-flying, Long-distance Drones

The Belize Police Department is also in the process of acquiring its own unmanned aerial assets. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams confirmed that these drones for the Belize Police Department are on the way. Among the uses of the drones will be to assists in operations along Belize’s northern border.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I do believe that whatever was done here today in terms of the launch of the Coast Guard drone, it’s going to be helpful to the entire security apparatus. The Coast Guard is our sister agent in terms of law enforcement. They do have the ability to be able to enforce laws on the seas. From time to time the police do call upon them to be able to assist in search and rescue operations, as well as to take the police from point A to point B when it comes to the maritime domain. You would know that when people do go missing on the waters, they tend to contact the police. Sometimes we have incidents at these remote cayes that require police assistance. And so, again, in that respect, the Coast Guard will also be able to assist us. And I’m sure that should there be an event that is mainland, and we would seek the assistance of the Coast Guard, they will also assist us in that endeavor to make sure that we can reach areas that we would not be able to reach so quickly. So, it’s a very good thing. And we’re hoping that very soon the police will be able to help us become a part of what is taking place. The intent is to make sure that the three security forces will be able to have that capability in terms of making sure that we can have drones to be able to assist us in our fight against crime. I can say that we have already the approval from the Cabinet to purchase a drone that is going to be used along the illegal or irregular border crossing areas in the north. We have received the finance for it. We’re just waiting for the drone to come in. It is not as capable as the one at the Coast Guard launched today, but it will also help us in that respect, though, to be able to ensure that we cover the illegal border crossing areas in the north.”

Mexican Tourism Market Grew by Almost One Hundred Percent

For decades, Belizeans have supported Mexico’s tourism industry through frequent trips across the border. As Belize’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, the government has been discussing ways to promote Mexicans to return the favor. Minister of Tourism, Anthony Mahler spoke with us about the efforts to introduce Mexican tourist to Belize.

Anthony Mahler. Minister of Tourism

“We’ve had the Mexican market and We’ve been in our cross for some time now. And we can tell you that just for the first half of this year, the Mexican market grew by, I think about 100 percent almost and somewhere around there, and we believe that we can garner bigger part of that market. As we continue to put more initiatives towards marketing in Mexico. We’re also working on a direct flight out of Mexico still. And we believe that there are opportunities there just like other parts of South America. We believe strongly that we can grow the markets there in those areas.”

Forest Department Investigates Deforestation in Manatee Reserve

When the Coastal Plain Highway was inundated by floodwaters back in June, concerns over deforestation within the area were heightened. The Maya Forest Corridor Trust, a group of NGOs committed to preserving the forest along that area, sounded the alarm. They called on the Government of Belize to seriously investigate reports of deforestation within the Manatee Forest Reserve. News Five visited the area several weeks ago and found out that concern is shared among residents and businesses along the highway. Today, we spoke with Orlando Habet, the Minister of Sustainable Development, who informed us that his ministry has been doing its investigation. He revealed that several parcels of land within the reserve have been privatized. The ministry also found squatters within the reserve.

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development

“The Prime Minister has advised us to form a subcommittee, the same committee with agriculture, natural resources and sustainable development. We had met with the people from Maya Forest Corridor Trust, but also from other NGO communities who are concerned because of some of the deforestation happening. In this case it was particularly because of the problems we had on the coastal road, some of the eroding, which shouldn’t have happened. So, part of the blame was being put on deforestation in the Manatee. So we were to investigate what that deforestation entailed. We got our technical teams together. They went to do the survey along with the NGOs and private sector. They discovered that there are some lands that are given out from past administration and they are titled, surveyed and everything in place. There are lands being squatted upon which we will have to address, which will have to come out. Then there are some illegal logging which is a perpetual problem that we will have to try to continue address. So we are asking even the NGO community, the private sector community that in these cases they also have to assist us because we don’t have the personnel to be in every corner of the country, all the mountain sides at the same time. So it is difficult. So the police might have to assist. The NGO can assist the community can assist to say we heard a motor saw in this area come and do the investigation. So, the committee has met two times. We are meeting a third time. I saw an email this morning from the Forest Department asking for a third meeting. Then we will come up with a report that will be sent to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.”

Belize’s ‘B-/B’ Credit Ratings Reaffirmed Amid Expectations of Moderate Economic Growth; Outlook Stabl

Overview

Belize’s economy is projected to grow moderately from 2024 to 2027, driven primarily by the tourism and business process outsourcing (BPO) sectors. However, the country remains vulnerable to external shocks, with a fragile external profile.

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed its ‘B-/B’ sovereign credit ratings for Belize, maintaining a stable outlook. This reflects expectations for continued economic growth, weak external liquidity, and risks associated with the country’s high debt levels.

Rating Action

S&P Global Ratings has reaffirmed Belize’s ‘B-/B’ long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings, with a stable outlook. The transfer and convertibility (T&C) assessment remains ‘B-‘.

Outlook

The stable outlook is based on Belize’s manageable debt service schedule over the next 12-18 months, underpinned by favorable debt conditions. Expectations of ongoing economic growth, coupled with government fiscal efforts, are likely to result in relatively low fiscal deficits and a stable debt trajectory.

Downside Scenario

The ratings could be downgraded in the next 12-18 months if Belize’s fiscal performance deteriorates, leading to rapid debt accumulation and further depletion of already low usable reserves.

Upside Scenario

Conversely, the ratings could be upgraded within the next 12-18 months if Belize achieves faster economic growth, supported by sound policy implementation, which would improve the country’s vulnerable fiscal and external profiles.

Rationale

Belize has shown a stronger-than-expected recovery from the pandemic-induced recession, but the economy is now slowing. GDP growth is expected to average 2.6% from 2024 to 2027, driven by tourism and the BPO sector. While this growth and fiscal measures should stabilize the country’s debt trajectory, Belize’s weak payment culture and history of defaults limit its access to external funding.

Belize’s economic, fiscal, and external profiles remain susceptible to natural disasters and global economic downturns. Despite a stable exchange rate peg to the U.S. dollar, the country’s monetary flexibility is constrained by low usable reserves and reliance on the monetary authority to finance government deficits.

Institutional and Economic Profile

Belize’s economy is expected to grow at an average rate of 2.6% from 2024 to 2027, led by the tourism and BPO sectors. However, growth is constrained by structural weaknesses, including high vulnerability to natural disasters, high costs of labor and energy, and deficiencies in infrastructure.

Despite improvements in data quality and transparency, Belize’s institutions remain weak, with successive governments failing to establish a sustainable public finance framework. Over the past two decades, Belize has experienced five sovereign debt defaults, limiting access to external commercial funding.

Flexibility and Performance Profile

Belize’s fiscal consolidation efforts aim to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio and strengthen the external position. The government’s fiscal measures over the past two years have focused on controlling current expenditures. We expect fiscal deficits to remain moderately low, around 2.3% of GDP from 2024 to 2027, while the debt burden is expected to stabilize at 67.5% of GDP by 2027.

However, Belize’s external vulnerabilities remain significant due to low usable reserves and limited access to financing sources. The fixed exchange rate provides macroeconomic stability but limits monetary flexibility. While recent momentum in the tourism and BPO sectors is expected to help reduce the current account deficit, Belize’s external financing needs remain high, and usable reserves are critically low.

The Central Bank of Belize’s commitment to maintaining the currency peg is crucial for price stability, with inflation projected to average 2.3% from 2024 to 2027. Despite this, the country’s monetary policy space remains highly constrained.

B.S.I. Announces Record Second Payment for Sugarcane Farmers

The Belize Sugar Industries Limited has announced a record second payment issued to sugarcane farmers for the 2024, 2025 crop. According to B.S.I., farmers received seventy-five dollars and twenty cents, five dollars more than the second payment in 2023. Shawn Chavarria, the Director of Finance at the mill spoke with reporters today. He explained that the increase in price is due to strategic industry investments, new market exploration and improved global prices. Just over one million tons of sugarcane was delivered to this mill this season. But, on the other hand, close to a hundred thousand tons of sugarcane remains standing in the fields. Chavarria says this outcome is because of a late start to the season and bad weather at the end of the crop.

Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, B.S.I./A.S.R.

“I think all of this demonstrates the benefits of those investments we have made to improve the value of the sugar that we are producing and also to lower the logistics cost is also being complimented by an increase over the last year in global sugar prices. So, all these factors have contributed to a new record payment which we hope will translate to farmers utilizing these funds to do some of the best practices we have been advocating for, which is replanting fields which are some of the lowest yields in the world, taking advantage of new programs that are coming on stream, such as Agropro which the company launched late last year, the Climate Fund Grant being implemented through the 5Cs to implement new varieties. We hope that with this additional disposable income farmers will have some resources to put it to good use and help improve the long-term viability of the industry.”

Reporter

“I think the minister of agriculture has said there is some one hundred thousand tons of sugar cane still standing. Could you tell us why that is?”

Shawn Chavarria

“We believe there is a currently an estimate being done by the Sugarcane Production Committee to go out there and validate how much cane was left standing in the field. We believe it could be between sixty to that hundred thousand tons of cane. That is the exercise the committee is currently conducting. The reason why we have standing cane is due to a combination of factors. The media might recall that at the start of this crop we had this impasse with the BSCFA where there was road blockage and they held up delivery for twelve to fourteen days. Prior to that the company had wanted to start the crop from the sixteenth of December but the date of the crop was not gazzeted by the SICB that date was gazzetted until the twenty-eight of December.”

B.S.I. Continues Call for Sugar Price Adjustment in Local Market

And, while the sugar industry is celebrating a record second payment, with an expected increase in the third payment scheduled for November, discussions over a price increase for sugar on the local market are still ongoing. Shawn Chavarria, the Director of Finance at B.S.I., says the price of brown sugar has not been adjusted for more than two decades. He contends that sugar associations must also add their voice to the call for government to approve a price adjustment.

Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, B.S.I./A.S.R.

“For us it has been a bit disheartening that the increase for sugar has not occurred, particularly for brown sugar which has not been adjusted for roughly twenty-three years. We have provided economic arguments as to why we think it is needed. We presented a very rational argument to government and it was from February last year that we did so. I think the associations will have to speak up as well if they want this to happen. From the mill’s standpoint our voice is not loud enough to pound government into action. Perhaps the associations might have to take up that effort. At the end of the day we do feel that is unfair that you have a product that has not seen a price increase for over twenty years when inflation for all the inputs that we use in the production process has gone up as much as fifty percent. We do believe the price should be adjusted and even in the price structure going forward there should be something for regular review so we don’t wait for twenty plus years to be revisiting prices and making adjustments. We appreciate that politically it is always going to be a difficult and sensitive thing to do. But if you have a structure in place to ensure that the review is done regularly, it would be easier to manage.”

Cell Phone Repair Course for Women and Youth Launched in Corozal

A new training program focused on cell phone repair has been launched in Corozal Town. The Corozal Think Tank, which oversees the Regional Economic Development Masterplan for Corozal District, is collaborating with the Ministry of Investment and the Women’s Commission to provide this training.

The “Cell Phone Repair Course for Women and Youth” aims to equip participants with skills for maintaining and repairing cell phones. The program addresses the current shortage of technicians in Belize and the limited availability of cell phone repair services.

The training is part of a broader effort to enhance skills in sectors important to the Orange Economy. In a press release issued on Monday, the ministry stated, “The objective of the course is to bring sustainable self-employment opportunities to the participants. It is being implemented because there is need for technicians who are skilled in the upkeep, cleaning, maintenance and repair of cell phone devices. There is currently no training course of this kind in Belize, and the offer of cell phone repair service is lacking in various parts of [the] country.”

BELTRAIDE Launches BEEP

Earlier today, the Office of the Prime Minister, the CARICOM Development Fund and BELTRAIDE officially launched the Belize Enterprise Empowerment Project, an initiative aimed at assisting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with access to affordable financing. Outgoing Executive Director, Dr. Leroy Almendarez and Prime Minister John Briceño were on hand for the ceremony.

Dr. Leroy Almendarez, Executive Director, BELTRAIDE

“One of the biggest challenges faced by MSMEs is access to, and I always put in the A, affordable finance. In this case, access to finance, finance to induce your growth, your transition through that ecosystem. And so, the benefits here will be great because there are those who just need that inducement. These are some of the things that the government is doing, in this case, through BELTRAIDE, for MSMEs. And there are quite a number of other initiatives, but as we focus on BEEP now, as a matter of fact, we didn’t have the P before and so it was BEE and I think someone asked me who was going to fly. So we added the BEEP rather than B and so with this project now, honestly, I must also say here that the government has been focusing quite a lot, in fact in BIS 2023, that’s Belize Investment Summit, we spoke about the orange economy. Too often, the creative industry, etc… and those things that fall in there, but we spoke about the fires of the mind and those fires are orange, the intellectual property. And so a large part of this concentration, the funds available will be for the orange economy and that is something great. That tells you the diversification of blue, green and orange and how much focus the government places on entrepreneurial development.”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“MSMEs contribute to more than fifty percent of our Gross Domestic Product or GDP. My government is fully aware of the great contributions MSMEs make to our economy, stimulating local investments and diversification of our economy with a push to enhance community resilience. All essential components that will create an environment that fosters both rural and urban development as the matrix of locally produced goods and services prevails. The continued injection of innovation through enhanced digitization efforts must not be overlooked because this allows for even greater efficiencies in service delivered. Today you join us to unveil the Belize Enterprise Empowerment Project, BEEP, a project developed to address one of the greatest development challenges faced by MSMEs, that is access to finance. This initiative represents a significant shift from the original intent of the Belize Enterprise Revolving Fund, or the BRF, which utilizes a blended approach to provide much needed financial support. The BRF methodology used a blended loan and grant approach. This revolving aspect meant that forty percent had to be repaid as a loan with a fixed rate of four percent. Recognizing that challenge, I wrote to the CEO of CARICOM Development Fund, Rodinald Soomer, making the case that the funds be repurposed as grants only which would stimulate greater economic activity and uptake by MSMEs.”

Trapp Refutes Claims of financial Mischief

Recently, the San Ignacio and Santa Elena Town Council shared its profit and loss balance sheet for the month of May 2024. Shortly after, the council came under fire after the full document was leaked to the public, revealing that forty-three thousand dollars was allocated for a monthly consultancy. Mayor Earl Trapp maintains that the council has always been completely transparent with its finances.

Earl Trapp, Mayor, Santa Elena & San Ignacio

“A profit and loss balance sheet as a responsible town council. We have always posted that on our Facebook page, every month we post that. It’s just a mischievous act, I would say. And I’m sure it’s one of my council members that took a snapshot and right after the meeting, he was in the administrator’s office discussing the issue, and I can tell you that the administrator went through this with me. About two weeks ago, and I said to him, sir, the best person to make clarification is the accountant. And why didn’t he take the time and get the accountant to explain to him if he doesn’t understand? What happened there is that, for example, what was not spent in March and April was spent in there. It’s nothing wrong with that. We have a contract with a company that provides the license. I think that’s basically what they are talking about. That’s what we repeated the forty-three thousand for so many months. But there’s nothing to hide. We have been one, like I said, one of the most transparent council and one of the council in the country of Belize that is more financially stable. It’s just false allegations.”

P.C.C. Held Public Consultations with Wide Cross Section of Belize

While the Commission has its financial challenges, it still managed to reach a wide cross section of the community, including the ones that do not have access to technology or to the two volumes of the summary of the Constitution that they continue to disseminate. Chanona told News Five that they had originally put aside their public outreach program from June to December of last year, but that it went on for two months beyond that because of the need to reach the remote areas. All in all, he said, the coverage they were able to make was significant. In the coming months, the commission will prepare and present a report that reflects what it captured in the public consultations and outreach.

Anthony Chanona, Chairman, People’s Constitution Commission

“We visited, of the two hundred and six villages, over seventy percent of those villages in Toledo alone where fifty-four villages are. I would say we sensitized one hundred percent because we went directly to thirteen villages and indirectly right over there at the Father Ring Parish Hall, thanks to the efforts of Commissioner Christina Coc. We were able to meet with the Toledo Alcalde’s Association and that is forty-one members. So we distributed these books and we sensitized our nation. We directly engage with over twenty-two thousand persons and we issued over ten thousand survey instruments, over three hundred thousand Digicel text blasts and one hundred and twenty-six thousand smart text blasts. We went all the way into the diaspora, but all that needed to be captured into some format of a tool of education, because when this effort is finished, the legacy that we all aspire to leave as a P.C.C is a tool that would create an agenda. The importance of our Belize Constitution, and the importance of having knowledge. of the way we govern ourselves. And now we’re in the process of trying to match what the people said. To a recommendation and where that effort will lead is what we want to do is develop an interim report. So we will take these next months of June, July, August, September to create the recommendations based on the people’s responses. How do we take all that they said, from the highest percentages of priorities to the lowest, put them into some constitutional format. If it fits, is it a recommendation that will fit in the Constitution? Or is it something that is aspirational? I would like it to fit, but it’s not of a constitutional nature. And then, because we want to be able to call this effort the People’s Constitution of Belize. We are going to release in October what is titled an Interim Report and what the Interim Report will have is basically a summary of all recommendations and we are going to put it back into the twenty-three stakeholders of which the media is one and we’re going to have hopefully truly media public outreach for the people of Belize to be able to see what we saying we heard you say and to see if in fact we documented or heard properly.”