2024-09-17 - Channel 5 Belize

Prime Minister Delivers State of the Nation Address in Belmopan

The entrance to the Sir Edney Cain Building in Belmopan was transformed to accommodate Prime Minister John Briceno’s State of the Nation address this morning. His twenty-minute speech was briefly interrupted by the rain; nonetheless, PM Briceño touched on every sector, from business to education, health, infrastructure, job creation and even sports. He made a couple announcements that were met with mixed reactions, including an amendment to the income tax regime. The event saw the attendance of elected representatives, government officials, diplomats and primary school students. News Five’s Paul Lopez was there. He filed the following report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

A tent was pitched in front of the Sir Edney Cain Building. A podium was placed at the entrance and bleachers were erected for primary school students to take their seats behind the head of government. All twenty-seven elected PUP area representatives sat in front of the podium cheering on Prime Minister John Briceño, as he delivered his State of the Nation address.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I am happy to report that the State of the Nation is stronger, more hopeful and more confident than at any time in our forty-three years.”

It’s a presentation that is traditionally reserved for Independence Day. This year, however, the Briceño administration decided to forego the annual tradition to avoid the political mudslinging that often plays out in front of the diplomatic corp.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Because Belizeans are working, and Belizeans are winning. For the first time ever, ninety-seven of every one hundred Belizeans who wants a job have found one. The SIB reports that the unemployment rate stood at three percent since April of this year. Never before has jobs been so available and never before has the minimum wage been so high.”

Prime Minister Briceño says the nation’s gross domestic product has grown by thirty-four percent since 2020, with 2023’s GDP now surpassing six billion dollars. He says it’s the highest level in the country’s history.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“To further support small business, small farmers, even new homeowners, Government is making access to finance more affordable. And, as we ring in the New Year, Government will pass legislation so that all mortgages, assignments and cancellations of mortgages for less than one hundred thousand dollars will be exempt from stamp duty. This exemption will surely assist lending institutions to compete for your business and bring down interest rates.”

Perhaps the biggest revelation made by Prime Minister Briceño during his speech was the announcement of a new income tax regime.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Effective January first, in support of employees, Cabinet has approved that all workers who earn less than twenty-nine thousand dollars will be exempt from income tax. By increasing, and additional two thousand eight hundred and fifty-one workers will no longer be subject to income tax. The income laws will also be adjusted to remove existing anomalies so that in no instance will an employed person take home less pay when his/her salary increases. This amendment will benefit no less than seven hundred and thirty-three employed persons. Altogether, by these income tax deduction adjustments, over three point three million dollars more will be placed directly into the pockets of over three thousand, five hundred employees, an average of almost one thousand dollars increase in net take home pay.”

PM Briceño went on to say that with the expansion of NHI two hundred and sixteen thousand Belizeans have access to virtually free primary health care. Approximately one hundred thousand students are in the classroom at all levels of academia. Twenty thousand Belizeans have become first time landowners, and four hundred and fifty million dollars have been invested in total capital public investments.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The only gain that matters are better life for the Belizean people. That our people are healthier that our children are assured a seat in the classroom, gaining useful knowledge with ready access to digital resources, that we are a society of landowners and homeowners and a widening middle class, and that our farmers and visitors have safe and efficient access to every corner of the country. This is the kind of progress that ignites a virtuous circle of sustainable and equitable prosperity.”

And, as a small drizzle quickly became a heavy downpour, the school children cleared the bleachers. Prime Minister Briceno kept on reading, relying solely on a printed copy of his speech as the teleprompter was drenched. He went on to reaffirm Belize’s support for Palestine and Ukraine and highlighted Belize’s trailblazing efforts in conservation, especially marine conservation.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“And so, judged by how we have improved ourselves and how we have enhanced our standing in the global stage, Belize can mark this forty-third birthday with confidence and pride. Momentum is on our side. The work continues. After four years of impressive achievements our promises shine with the aura of destiny. Together with the blessings of our creator we shall continue to reach higher heights and move ever forward. Que Vivia Belice.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

Opposition Leader’s Address to Follow PM’s Address

If you were listening keenly, the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation address is similar to the speech that would be given during the Independence Day ceremony in Belmopan. Well, that was intentional. Prime Minister Briceño and the Leader of the Opposition have agreed to give what would traditionally be their Independence Day addresses ahead of the actual day. PM Briceño explained that they are trying to avoid the political mudslinging that plays out at the official ceremony.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Under the Musa government, he use to do the state of report to the nation as to where we are. But it stopped with the previous government. But now that we have recontinued that tradition, it is unfortunate what is happening with the leader of the opposition. He is going and saying some most outrageous stuff and it is an embarrassment to all of us, not only to himself, not only to his party but to the entire country. I remember many ambassadors, they are afraid to say anything, but usually when we are talking on a side they would tell us, what is wrong with this person. So, to avoid that embarrassment with our visitors, we decided it is best to do this today. We consulted with him, and I guess he will probably have a press meeting or briefing with you all, supposedly tomorrow to answer back. But at least it is not on Independence Day. I have always said, Independence Day should be one day that we should set our differences aside. We will always have these differences, be it in politics or relationships. But the twenty-first is one day we should leave all of that politics behind and come to be proud and patriotic Belizeans and look what we have accomplished in those short forty-three years. We are still a baby as a nation, but it was important to take whatever corrective measures where we are going wrong and fix that. That is what we are doing. We want to avoid that travesty. So, on the twenty-first the leader of the opposition will be given an opportunity to give a greeting, a short message for the twenty-first and I will do the same.”

Prime Minister Says Inflation Fell by 2.5% in Two Years

Belizeans complain about the high cost of living daily. In his State of the Nation address today, Prime Minister John Briceño said that inflation is on a decline. The PM quoted a figure of three-point eight percent, down from six-point three percent in 2024. He also said that there is more than eight hundred million dollars in banking liquidity.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Inflation is down, falling from six-point-three percent in 2022 to three-point-eight percent in 2024. Banking sector liquidity is abundant, exceeding eight hundred million dollars. The Belizean dollar is stronger, with over one-point-nine billion dollars in foreign assets, and the public finances have been transformed in just four years, with public debt down to sixty-three percent of GDP from one hundred and thirty percent in 2020, fortified by a primary budget surplus of one percent of GDP.”

Belize City Residents Disagree with PM on Inflation Rate

While the Prime Minister said that the rate of inflation has gone down by two-point-five percent since 2022, the Belize City residents we spoke with disagree. Today, we took our cameras downtown and asked consumers how they feel about the cost of living. They all believe that inflation is heading in the opposite direction, and that the prices that are going up are on basic grocery items.

Belize City Resident #1

“I don’t know where this come down because I see the price of basic things gone up. For example, you goh buy sugar, ih gone up and you can’t buy more than five pounds of sugar per person. You go and buy a soft drink, and ih gone up, two-twenty-five now. It was two dollars. The bread, the same thing. Ih used to be two dollars, two-fifty. Now, two-seventy-five, two ninety-five. Tell me where is the cost of living going down.”

Belize City Resident #2

“We deh out ya and we di see the economy, exactly what di happen. Tell and talk the truth to the people mek the people know because wi do have inflation da Belize and deh have it da America. Once ih affect America ih affect Belize, but dehn di trick the people. Come out and tell the people plain.”

Belize City Resident #3

“Cost ah living can’t goh down when every week nearly everything di goh up. Every other two weeks everything di nearly double the price. Cost ah living nuh di goh down. I da salesman, I di do business, mammy, I di tell yoh, everything di goh up. I di sell natural juice. Sometimes I got coconut water. Bottle di goh up, even the coconut offa the tree di goh up. From shilling – we used to pay twenty cents fi wa whole coconut to sixty cents today. Fi we coconut gone from two dollars a bottle to two-seventy-five, soh cost ah living could ah neva di goh down. I see everybody di complain and di punish, di tek lick. I goh da market and things soh expensive. Seventy-five cents fi one lee dry up lime. Orange gone from six or seven fi dolla to three fi dolla with the skin pahn it. Soh dehn can’t tell we that cost ah living di goh down.”

Belize City Resident #4

“I nuh think soh cause everything still expensive.”

Marion Ali

“When last you gone da the market and what you pay more pahn?”

Belize City Resident #4

“Vegetables, all. All vegetables.”

Marion Ali

“Significant increases?”

Belize City Resident #4

“Yes, increase by a lot. Everything increase by a lot. Even when yoh goh da the store. When yoh does pay three twenty-five fi wa can ah baking powder, now da seven change. Like ih double the price.”

Belize City Resident #5

“Nothing nuh di goh down. Everything goh up because from the time I di sell tamales everything still raise higher than weh yoh think and everybody nuh want pay the price fi the thing dehn cause dehn di goh up higher and higher every day. When yoh buy foil parer ih does cost seven dollars, now ih cost eighteen and thirteen dollars, depends pahn the type or brand ah foil paper yoh di buy cause dehn got different type and different size. Soh every day, life – cost ah living fi my kids dehn – chicken gone up long time. Wi deh da three thirty-five fi a pound a chicken right now. Masa done deh da – wi does deh da what, seventy-five cents. Now masa deh da one twenty-five. When yoh goh buy noodles, simple noodles gone from fifty cents to one-twenty-five, simple noodles. And ih look like ih gwein higher every next day.”

Income Tax Threshold Increase to $29,000

Prime Minister John Briceño also announced a new threshold for income tax exemption. All workers who make less than twenty-nine thousand dollars will be exempted from income tax. The threshold was set at twenty-six thousand dollars under the Barrow Administration. We spoke with PM Briceño after the ceremony. He explained the decision in greater detail.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“When the then prime minister introduced reforms to the then tax regime, I think it was in 20009, I remember taking some time out to show him in the House that what he has done is basically increase the tax on people. He said, the threshold is at twenty-six thousand, five hundred, but once you reach that figure you start to pay tax at twenty thousand. So, you were not really doing much for people. Our plan is to eventually get rid of PAYE. That is our goal. How long it will take us, that is dependent on how fast the economy can grow and how fast revenue can grow, because if we use the tax, we have to get it from somewhere. With growth we hope that we will be able to replace it. This is the first step. We took it up to twenty-nine thousand dollars. Anybody that is earning less than twenty-nine thousand will pay zero tax. And those above twenty thousand will pay. There was also an anomaly, the way the previous government set up the income tax, let’s say you are at a threshold of twenty-nine thousand and you get a raise for let’s say a hundred dollars, twenty-nine thousand, one hundred dollars for year, the tax regime says you jump into another bracket. In many instances the reality is that it eats up the raise that you are getting. That was happening especially in the tourism industry. So, I was told that a lot of people in the tourism industry and other industry were forced to pay that in cash, because the workers were saying, I will not take a pay raise, because I am going to get less money at the end of the day. We made that adjustment so that the tax will never be more than the raise.”

Income Tax Reform is Not Electioneering Says PM Briceño

PM Briceño was also asked if the new income tax regime is being used as a political tactic to garner support ahead of the 2025 general elections. And, if less income tax goes to the public’s coffer, what will the government do to replace that lost income? Here is how the prime minister responded to those questions.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“No, absolutely not. We said it from early on, this is something that we want to do. We want to be able to see how we could give relief to the middle class. The middle class are the ones paying these taxes. And so, this is the first stop. Remember, when we got into government we got a bankrupt government. We were borrowing a million dollars a day. There is no way we could afford it. So we have to make sure we can grow the economy. When you see that our economy has gone for less than four billion in 2020 to over six billion dollars now, it shows tremendous growth. Now, we have to ensure we collect the taxes. In doing that, we will be able to give more relief to our citizens. What we did is that we looked at the tax rolls from the Belize Tax Service and they said these are the people that are registered. But I believe that with doing this I think we will be able to capture more people within that amount that they will be able to register and pay as a tax payer.”

Reporter

“The total revenue basket must remain the same. So what increase in revenue collection will there be to offset the lose incurred from the income tax break?”

Prime Minister John Briceño

“As I said earlier, as the economy continuous to grow we expect more taxes. With the growth we are projecting, the first quarters of this year we had a ten percent growth. We believe that will be able to offset those revenues. But you are right, there is no such thing as a free lunch. If we give something we have to get it from somewhere else. So we expect with the growth in the economy we will be able to offset those loses.”

Elmer Nah’s Belmopan Triple Murder Arraignment Adjourned

Elmer Nah was set to be arraigned in the High Court today for the December 2022 triple murder of Jon, David and Vivian Ramnarace in Belmopan. But the court could not proceed with the arraignment due to some technicalities that arose. Nah was to be indicted on five counts, three counts of murder, one attempted murder and one use of deadly means of harm. He appeared before Justice Nigel Pilgrim and was represented by attorney Lynden Jones who appeared in person and Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, who appeared virtually. The prosecution was represented by Terrence Williams. In court, Justice Pilgrim brought to the parties’ attention that count five which is the charge for use of deadly means of harm upon Yemi Alberto was not properly before the court. Justice Pilgrim explained that under the Indictable Procedures Act, the charge of use of deadly means of harm is to be heard by a judge and jury. The prosecution then asked for time to rectify the indictment, which was granted for September twenty-sixth. The attempted murder charge also stems from Nah’s alleged attack upon Yemi Alberto. Relatives of the murder victims were present outside of the courtroom.

Compol Maintains Police Innocence in Daniel Cal’s Death

On Monday, we told you about twenty-six-year-old Daniel Cal, who died late last week after being released from police custody. Cal had been arrested a few days before for handling stolen goods and would later be discovered in his cell with clear signs of injuries. A postmortem examination revealed that Cal had died from an inflammation of the lungs and chronic alcoholism. Cal’s family, however, are still not satisfied with his treatment while in police custody and intend to take the matter to court. Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams maintains that police provided adequate care to Cal while in detention and that the timing of his death was circumstantial. He told us today that he is prepared to take the matter before the court if the family chooses.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“On one occasion, prior to the second occasion when he went and subsequently died. So it shows that the police were responsive to his needs and the family members also came and told the police that he was on some medication. medication. And they were allowed to bring those medications for him. And he was taken to the hospital. Again, with a view to make sure that he was cared for. While in the police care. So, we can rule that out now. That the police had nothing to do with his death. The family members might still have their own views. And I respect that they have lost someone. I think that almost anybody in their position would. want to have their own views, so I’m not going to say nothing to condemn them, but rather to see how we can work together with them so that they can really and truly come to understanding and realization that the death of their loved one had nothing to do with the police.”

Reporter

“They do have an attorney, however, and I believe they’re planning to take this matter to court. Are you prepared for that, considering that while the police may not have assaulted him or touched him in any kind of way, He was in their care. And while they had facilitated the trip to the first trip to the hospital, the family says that they were not informed of any of this. The stitches and everything that happened to him was a surprise to them and the state in which they found him on the floor that also shocked them, left them with this very traumatic image in their head.”

Chester Williams

“Well, the families do have that entitlement. I can’t take that away from them. I can’t speak ill of them for doing that. If they believe that their loved one was treated in some inhumane manner, or that the police had something to do with the death of their loved ones, then they have all right to take the matter before the courts. And our duty then is to defend it. And I believe that we have substantial proof, even medical proof that the police did not cause his death. So it’s a matter for the court to decide when that time comes.”

PM Briceño Weighs in On State of Belize Police Department

We also asked Prime Minister John Briceño to weigh in on the current state of the Belize Police Department. There were no mentions of any reforms to the department in his State of the Nation address. Considering the recent death of twenty-six-year-old Daniel Cal and other reports of alleged police abuse, PM Briceño was asked for his thoughts on ways in which the department can improve its service to the nation. Here is how he responded.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It is important for me to put on record, the tremendous work that minister Musa has been doing. If you don’t know, over a hundred police have been interdicted or fired for whenever there is any feeling of misconduct, or their behaviors are unbecoming of a police officer. So, he is trying his utmost best and so has the commissioner of police. We have been doing a lot of training. We also added a lot of counseling to these police men and women because they are under tremendous stress when they are out in the streets. I have seen it before…When you are at a party or out drinking and they are trying to break a fight and people are hitting them in the back. They are humans and whenever they would respond, somebody would say, oh police brutality. Not suggesting it does not happen. I am just trying to explain the environment which police officers work in. I think we need to look at where we were and where we are today. Do we have more to do? A lot more, a lot more training has to be done. We have to work on changing the culture of the police department. On this issue you mentioned, it is very unfortunate. Quite likely in insight you have twenty, twenty vision. Somebody should have contacted the family to say, hey something is wrong. I am told they have taken out the report to show that while he had some bruises he died from, it seems he was an alcohol and other medial issues and not necessarily from police brutality. But one it to a prisoner is one too much. It should not be tolerated.”

Was Sentence for Police Officer Charged for Wounding Detainee ‘Excessive’?

Police Inspector Christopher Martinez was recently handed a five-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to wounding detainee Aaron Flowers. The jail time follows a report filed by Flowers alleging that he was beaten over the head with a padlock. Martinez also claims that Flowers injured him, resulting in the officer being charged for common assault. The conflict allegedly stemmed from claims that Flowers had fired shots at Martinez’s home, prompting him to retaliate while Flowers was in police custody. We spoke with Commissioner of Police Chester Williams about instances of police abusing their power over detainees. He told us that while he believes that the sentence is excessive, it sends a message for other officers in the force.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“Mister Martinez took full responsibility for what he did. I believe that he came to the realization that he was wrong and he got guilty to the charge. I personally believe that the sentence is excessive in nature. It’s a matter for him to decide if he’s going to appeal the sentence or not. And I hope that police officers are watching. Again, we’re seeing a number of instances where police officers are being accused of committing different types of crimes. And they will see that the court system is not plain when it comes to police. We start with Kareem Martinez where we saw an unusual sentence likewise excessively high and then now we have Martrinez. It’s Something for police to watch out to look at to make sure that they don’t commit themselves.”