2024-03-12 - Channel 5 Belize

A Look at Briceno Administration 2024-2025 Budget

On Friday, Prime Minister John Briceño presented a review of the government’s fiscal performance for the year 2023 to 2024. He also put forward his administration’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. On Friday, we showed you some highlights from his presentation. Tonight, News Five’s Paul Lopez takes a closer look at the 2024/2025 budget, looking at key investments proposed for infrastructure, education and health. And then, there is that ever increasing public sector wage bill. Here is that report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Prime Minister John Briceño projects one point five billion dollars in revenue and grants for fiscal year 2024-2025. Total projected expenditure stands at one point six billion dollars.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Revenues are comprised of seven hundred and ninety-one million dollars from collections on goods and services, Three hundred and sixty-five million from collections on income and profits, two hundred and twenty-three million from collections on international trade and transactions accounting and seven point seventeen million from collections on property accounting. Let me put this into perspective, for Belizeans to better understand the purpose of each dollar Government spends. Thirty cents of every dollar will be for the wages of public officers; seven cents of every dollar for public officer pensions; eighteen cents of every dollars for operational costs to government, such as utilities and transportation; seven cents for interest on loans, and the remaining twenty-seven cents for capital expenditures, which includes the funding of all projects and programs undertaken by Government.”

That’s seventy-three percent of every dollar going to government’s recurrent expenditure and twenty-seven percent left for capital projects and programs. Among them, the Briceño Administration promises thirty-five million dollars more to fund the expansion of NHI, six million to construct low income houses, and a whopping forty-nine million to construct, repair and maintain streets and highways across the country. Two million dollars have been allocated for sports investments. In education, twelve high schools are being added to the Education Upliftment Project.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“In the budget 2024-2025, Government plans to add twelve additional secondary schools to the Program, increasing coverage to a target of six thousand additional students. The twelve additional schools include Belize Rural High, Ladyville Technical High, San Pedro High, Belmopan Comprehensive, Mopan Technical High, Valley of Peace SDA Academy, Chunox St. Viator Vocational High, Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico, Belize High School of Agriculture, Orange Walk Technical, Bella Vista Government Secondary and Julian Cho Technical High Schools. In these schools the government is paying everyting for these students and there should be no reason why any of these kids should not remain in school.”

This morning, on the heels of his budget presentation, Prime Minister Briceño made an appearance on Open Your Eyes. He explained how his administration goes about ensuring financial prudence and accountability across all government ministries.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“You make enemies, some people get upset, some people get happy, ministries are constantly fighting for more resource, it is a constant battle. Joe Waight and Zeta are not the most popular people in government because they are the ones that has to make the hard decision to tell us, minister well this is the money, this is what we have, these are the commitments we have to meet and this is what is left. And even of what is left we have already committed to projects, so that gets even smaller. We have to take a hard look at to where the real needs are, education, housing, health, infrastructure works and then from there we start to look at where we can allocate the limited resources to try to have the biggest impact in our lives.”

With up to one point one billion dollars allocated to recurrent expenditure and just over half of that earmarked to pay wages and pension, Prime Minister Briceño says the government’s wage bill is too big. So, how does the Briceño administration plan to trim the fat? That’s what he was asked.

Isani Cayetano, Co-Host, OYE

“What can be done to either limit or sort of curtail that part of expenditure? You are looking at pensions, salaries and everything that falls in that category?”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Isani you the try set me up? Because, of those advocates that I believe the government is too big. But, you are right, agree. That is why we are pushing for pension reform, pension continues to go up, and it is over a hundred million dollars. What has happened, when I think about it, when we got independence, when we became independent in 1981, we took what the British did and continued that road. The government pays every single penny of your pension and it continues to increase. There has been some instances in government that when you combine the pension from government and from social security you end up with the same salary you are earning when you worked. We are speaking with the public service and union about pension reform and they have been very clear it is a must. We cannot continue to afford it. Now this is hard decision we are making and it cut hurt us politically. We nuh wah benefit from it because what we are saying is all those in the system will continue to benefit but we need to have a cutoff date.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

PM Briceño on Caliber of Public Servants in Government Ministries

As we said, over fifty percent of the government’s revenue is being spent on public sector wages and pension. With the annual pension bill now exceeding one hundred million dollars, Prime Minister John Briceño says the need for pension reform is urgent. He further noted that the public sector begins to focus its efforts on hiring more employees that are better able to perform their duties.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The problem we are having with governments, and successive governments and we throw the need to everybody that is to be blamed, for too long we do not have a public service that you set standards and if you meet the standards you could get into public service. For example in other countries, the elected representatives or the politicians can’t just go and say oh just hire this person. They have to meet certain standards. We have not done that so that government when you look at the workers, the employees the government has it is like a pear, small at the top and the bottom bog and a lot of times, no offense to anybody, a lot of times the people that come into the government system have limited ability to do the work. So now, when we try, we have to bring in somebody from outside the public service and those people will say well I nuh wah come work for government salary and the public service union start to cry foul. That is the challenge, we need more people that can help us to get the work done and I mean it as no disrespect to anybody, please.”

B.C.C.I. Agrees that B.S.I. Commission of Inquiry Would be Invasive

Last Friday, you heard from attorney for the American Sugar Refinery/Belize Sugar Industries Limited, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, who explained a court ruling that came against the government. It was the case of the Belize Sugar Industries Limited and the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association against the Attorney General, the Sugar Industry Control Board, the Minister of Agriculture and the Controller of Supplies. The claimants had filed an injunction to have the amended Sugar Industry Import/Export Regulation that was introduced in May of 2023 halted. And the court agreed with the basis of their argument: that the implications of the document, were it effected, would have been unreasonably invasive to the company. When he met with reporters, Smith also said that his view is that the Commission of Inquiry that the government has planned for B.S.I. would also unfairly delve into the company’s sensitive material that it has a right to keep private. And the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, B.C.C.I. has weighed in on that Commission of Inquiry as well. In a letter addressed to Prime Minister John Briceño, President of the Chamber, Marcello Blake writes about the Chamber’s concern that the Inquiry would investigate the commercial arrangements between two private sector entities. Blake wrote that the government’s intention to conduct the inquiry indicated that the Commission would be convened to examine the modernization of the sugar industry and improve its viability. While the Chamber agrees that there is a need to modernize the sugar industry’s practices, it is of the view that any provision in the Commission’s Terms of Reference to empower it to investigate commercial arrangements between private entities risks setting an undesirable precedent. Quoting in part from Blake’s letter, it states, “Such an action may be seen as an overreach of executive power and is likely to impact any gains made in improving Belize’s viability as an investment destination. Furthermore, the practice of using public resources to resolve commercial disputes involving private entities is not sustainable and parties in dispute must be facilitated to settle using available mechanisms”. The letter ends by suggesting alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as the best methods to resolve commercial disputes fairly and that parties to any commercial dispute should be encouraged to pursue this route.

Jimmy Reyes Loses Life in Fatal RTA on Chan Pine Ridge Road

A motorist lost his life in the Orange Walk District on Sunday night while driving a vehicle along the Chan Pine Ridge Road. Police say that Jimmy Reyes, the driver of a van carrying two other passengers, lost control, crashed and overturned several times before coming to rest. Reyes suffered fatal injuries and died while being transported to the Northern Regional Hospital.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On Sunday, March 10^th, 2024, around 7:30 p.m., police visited Chan Pine Ridge Road where they saw the body of a male person on the street. He was identified as Jimmy Reyes. Information is that Jimmy Reyes was driving an Astro Van when he lost control of the vehicle which crashed and overturned and he sustained fatal injuries. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. There were also two other persons along with him, Nasir Vasquez and Johann Valencia received minor injuries and were treated at the hospital.”

Reporter
“Did you guys get a statement from the two passengers?”

Hilberto Romero

“Yes, an investigation is being carried out.”

A Minor is Shot on Linda Vista Street

A minor was the victim of a lone gunman who took aim at him on Sunday night as he was walking along Linda Vista Street in the Lake Independence area. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero, the young man was the intended target of his assailant.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“On Sunday, March tenth, around 9:10 p.m., police responded to a shooting incident on Linda Vista Street in Belize City. Upon their arrival, they found Rojan Thomas with a gunshot injury. Information is that Thomas was walking on the street when he was approached by a male person who fired the shots towards him, causing the injury to him. Thomas is presently at the KHMH receiving treatment and is in a stable condition. Investigation continues into this report.”

Reporter

“Have police been able to determine whether he was targeted or not?”

Hilberto Romero

“Yes, the investigation revealed that he was the one that was targeted.”

Reporter

“Has anyone been detained as yet?”

Hilberto Romero

“No one is detained.”

Reporter

“[Is it] gang affiliated?”

Hilberto Romero

“We are looking at all the information to try to establish if there is any connection to any gang but so far that has not been determined.”

Government and NGO Agencies Take Part in Oil Spill Training

A four-day training on oil spill response began today at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel in Belize City. The workshop is for all key responders to an oil spill in Belize, including government and non-government agencies. One of the major players in the training and in the event there is an oil spill is the Department of the Environment. Chief Environmental Officer at the Department of the Environment, Anthony Mai told News Five that Belize has adequate resources to deal with an oil spill, but there is still added equipment that can be acquired.

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, Dept. Of Environment

“Belize has a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan that we updated in 2018. The plan has been endorsed by the Cabinet, so we have a responsibility to ensure that all agencies that are to respond are equipped and are able to respond effectively in the unfortunate event that we would have an oil spill.

Marion Ali

Do we have the resources? Do we have the equipment to deal with something of that magnitude if it – and I’m sure that it has happened in the past, but we have bigger and bigger container trucks now and –

Anthony Mai

“Sure, so in just before 2018 Belize undertook an exercise using a tool that is called a Retus tool. This tool basically informs a country of their position in terms of being able to respond to an oil spill. When we ran the tool informed us of some of the things that we needed to do to improve. And so the first thing that the tool said is from a foundational, or a basic level, we need to upgrade our National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, and so we did that. It also identified that we need to do a risk analysis, and so we have a risk analysis that we did. The risk analysis look at all the potential sources of oil spill in Belize and it classified the risk in terms of priorities, but it also identified areas along the Belize coast and inland that are significant and priority areas that need to be protected in the event of an oil spill. And so we have all the, I think, technical information that we need. The assessment also looked at all the resources, all the booms, the skimmers, all the equipment that we would have, including personnel, trained personnel. And we recognize then that we do have some equipment, right? But we need more.”

Belize Port Authority is Key Responder In Case of Oil Spill On Ships

The Belize Port Authority is another key player and an important responder to oil spills, particularly when those spills occur in or near our waterways because oil spills are pollution. And because an oil spill is a real possibility on any ship in Belizean waters, certain measures must be followed. Today, the Ports Commissioner, Darlin Gaitan told News Five that if this ever happens, the incident must be reported to the Port Authority. To help guide us about the latest forms of technology and best approaches are some experts, as the Ports Commissioner shared.

Darlin Gaitan, Ports Commissioner

“If an incident happened on any ship in Belize’s waters, they have to report to the Belize Port Authority. And that will launch an investigation from our side in terms of the incident itself. The workshop that we are currently hosting for four days is going to deal with the operational side of the response to an oil spill incident. So we’re an important player. We also have vessels, equipment that could be deployed in the event that there needs to be more human resources on the ground to combat an oil spill incident.”

Marion Ali

“You’ve also had the input of some consultants, some expert advice. What have they been telling us that maybe we didn’t know before or we weren’t applying before?”

Darlin Gaitan

“We do have the Racrempeitc, who are from the IMO and we have IMO consultants on board who are going to bring us up to speed as to new technologies that may have emerged since our National Oil Spill Contingency Plan was adopted in 2018. So a lot of technologies would have changed by now. So we need to know, and so we can be better prepared to provide that assistance.”

Corozal Investor Given Six Weeks to Remove Illegal Jetty

Some weeks ago, News Five brought you the story of the illegal jetty that an investor in Corozal had begun to construct in the Corozal Bay. The jetty, still not completed, was at least three hundred feet into the sea and work was still underway. The residents of the area had raised concerns because the structure was in an area that is part of the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, and they suspected that the investor had not gotten the necessary permits to build the jetty. News Five checked with the Department of the Environment, which confirmed that there was no permit given to have the structure built and today, Chief Environmental Officer, Anthony Mai told us that the property owner has six weeks from the time the jetty was deemed illegal to remove it.

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, Dept. of Environment

“Before the jetty was constructed, or is constructed, he would have had to do an EIA, right, because that is what the law says.”

Marion Ali

“Did he do that?”

Anthony Mai

“The law says that any project within a protected area requires an EIA. So we informed him, he didn’t do the EIA and he went ahead and he constructed a portion of the jetty. When we were informed, we went and we issued a stop order and he was charged for that, particularly because it’s an offense to start a project without environmental clearance. When we were about to settle the matter, we were informed that he continued to construct and we met with him, and because of all the history in terms of the violation, we agreed with him that the jetty would be removed altogether. And so this came from him, from the owner: the owner agreed that because of all that has occurred, he agrees to remove the structure and we said that was the best option for us, the Department of Environment as well. And so we have written to him and we have given him a time period within which he needs to remove the jetty.”

Belize Statistical System Secures $3.4 Million Dollar Grant

Today, the Government of Belize signed off on the biggest grant the Statistical Institute of Belize has ever received. The three point four million dollar grant was established through the United Nations Development Programme and the Korea International Cooperation Agency, which are seeking to strengthen Belize’s national infrastructure and institutional capacity for data and statistical management. The “Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System” project, which is part of a larger Record of Discussion Arrangement with the Government of Belize, will be implemented from 2024 to 2027 and is a joint initiative involving six government ministries and five United Nations agencies. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more information.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

The Enabling of Belize’s Statistical System project is a newly established endeavour between the Statistical Institute of Belize, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency meant to improve the capacity of Belize’s system to provide relevant, accurate, and timely data to support evidence-based solutions. According to the World Bank, Belize’s statistical capacity score is ranked at fifty-eight point nine. Improving the score is a necessary endeavour in developing countries such as Belize because a lack of data can be a significant obstacle that impedes the ability of the government and partners to develop informed policies and responsive plans. Prime Minister John Briceño spoke about the severity of this issue.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“S.I.B. produces very important and critical information for us policymakers because it allows us to make informed decisions as opposed to emotional decisions. It provides us an insight that just the numbers can talk to, can explain Into the various aspect of our country’s economy, the society, the environment. And it enables us as a government to be able to develop effective policies and to allocate our resources effectively. SIB will strengthen as just as and, as I explained, it’s capacity to collect the data and strengthen their national statistical reporting. Which in turn will help us to be able to track our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals as set out by the United Nations.”

According to the Prime Minister, the government will be able to better track and respond to information regarding poverty within the country.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“One of the more important goals that we’ve had was the issue of poverty in our country. As I’ve always said from when I was the Minister of Environment between 1998 and 2007 that the biggest challenge in the environment is poverty. If we can’t address the issue of poverty, then our environment is going to pay the price. Because people can’t wait a month or a week to eat. They need to eat every day. And they’ll do what it takes. If they have to go and do illegal fishing and cut the lagoon, cut down the trees, they’ll do it.”

Ian King, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Belize, stressed the importance of data, saying that it is seen as a development enabler that can empower governments and communities to enhance their national statistical system to be adaptive and resilient.

Ian King, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Belize

“Collectively, we are all aiming to improve and upgrade Belize’s statistical infrastructure, strengthen the data governance architecture, and strengthen both the SIB. And expand SIBs and the national statistical systems capabilities to respond to increasing demand for data and statistics. Though not expressly defined here, I do believe that one of our expectations is strengthened interoperability between the various nodes of government that generate and manage data to ensure that there is a more comprehensive, I say more comprehensive, not that there’s not, but that there’s a more comprehensive approach to that and decision making based on evidence..”

The project aims to improve and upgrade Belize’s statistical infrastructure, strengthen the data governance architecture, strengthen both SIB and its data nodes, and expand SIB’s and the National Statistical System’s capabilities to respond to increasing demand for data and statistics. Sohui Cho, Country Director of KOICA , in El Salvador, expressed her excitement for the initiative.

Sohui Cho, Country Director, KOICA El Salvador.

“I am delighted to be here today to set the cornerstone of our first bilateral project, the enabling of Belize statistical system. This is the result of joint and continued efforts from the Belizean government, the United Nations, and the Korean government through KOICA to strive for the sustainable development of Belize. As was planned since the beginning, one of the biggest challenges of this project is that it involves a wide variety of stakeholders. The potential that can be unlocked by working for a shared goal is unlimited. At the very same time, we acknowledge the great importance of the coordination efforts that this journey will require, and that is why we are delighted to express our utmost trust to UNDP, Belize, and SIB to lead this project to successful completion”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Haiti’s President Resigns Amidst National Security Crisis

Haitian President, Ariel Henry, has resigned amid mounting chaos in the nation. Over the last few weeks, gangs have been attacking government structures, leaving the country on the brink of collapse. President Henry took over as acting-president in 2021, following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Last week, gang leader Jimmy Cheriezer, also known as “Barbecue”, launched a coordinated attack against President Henry, threatening civil war and genocide if he did not step down. The violence erupted while Henry was in Kenya signing an agreement to deploy one thousand police officers to Haiti to restore citizen security. He was forced to land in Puerto Rico following that trip. And, over the weekend, CARICOM members held an emergency high-level meeting in Jamaica, with North American and European leaders to discuss immediate mitigation measures for Haiti. Coming out of that meeting, Doctor Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the President of Guyana and Chair of CARICOM, announced Henry’s resignation and the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council in Haiti.

Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana

“We are pleased to announce the commitment to a transitional government arrangement which paves the way for a peaceful transition of power, continuity of governance and action plan for near term security and the road to free and fair elections. It further seeks to assure that Haiti will be governed by the rule of law. This commitment reflects hard compromises among a diverse coalition of actors who have put their country above all differences. To that end, we acknowledge the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry upon the establishment of Transitional Presidential Council and the naming of an interim-prime minister. I want to pause and thank Prime Minister Henry for his service to Haiti, his service to the Haitian people and for his personal commitment for the furtherance of the development of Haiti and the advancement of the development of Haiti and I asked us to give him an applause.”