1 week ago
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Belize is set to benefit from a new partnership framework approved by the World Bank Group, aimed at boosting economic growth, expanding private sector investment, and creating more jobs for Belizeans. The announcement was made yesterday in Washington, where the World Bank Group highlighted Belize’s recent economic progress, including a reduction in public debt from one hundred and three percent of GDP to sixty-two percent, along with unemployment falling to a historic low of just over two percent. The new Country Partnership Framework will support the Government’s Plan Belize agenda through investments in areas such as energy, water and sanitation, climate-resilient agriculture, waste management, and logistics development. Just yesterday, Prime Minister John Briceño expressed optimism about Belize’s economic direction despite ongoing global challenges.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “Despite all of that we’re still having growth. This last quarter we had growth, I think we had about 4% growth if I remember right and employment is steady, people are working, investments continue to go up so the metrics are there to show that it’s an economy that continues to grow. That there is still confidence in Belize. That Belizeans are investing and foreigners are coming to invest in Belize and they come because they see that there is opportunity. We’re saying now we need to go to the next level. We’ve been very successful in agriculture and I must give credit to former minister Mai, Abi Mai, who he’s probably going down in history as the best Minister of Agriculture. And also to the present minister Ferguson who is continuing the work. He didn’t have to go and reinvent the wheel just continue plans that were already in place and so we’re done very well. Cattle now is already about $80 million dollars a year and it’s increasing. Sugar is having its problems but it’s starting to find its way up. We have the issue of corn and rice and beans all of these things are increasing. We have people from Guatemala coming in, they buy chickens, they buy eggs, they buy pork, they have cattle, they have beans, they have rice, they buy everything because they need to eat. But now we need to see how we could value add. Yes we just had the factory in Orange Walk, Caribbean Investments Limited doing the mana flour. Yes we’re importing the wheat but at least we’re producing here. Now they’re starting to produce cooking oil. They’re producing the ramen so they are producing more and more here in Belize locally. The Mennonites in Spanish Lookout they’re producing now corn flour what they refer to as Minsa and in Silk Grass there’s been a massive investment to be able to take our fruits, our coconut water and so forth and to bottle and to be able to look at the export market. And this is where the opportunity is and I’ll tell anybody, when you come to Belize don’t look at just Belize look at Central America, look at the Caribbean, look at Mexico. You’re looking at a market of over 150 million people.”
The World Bank Group says Belize’s energy sector remains a major priority, noting that nearly half of the country’s electricity supply is still imported. The framework therefore proposes improvements to energy infrastructure and policies, while encouraging private investment in local energy generation. The strategy will also focus on education and workforce development, particularly expanding early childhood services and improving opportunities for women to join the workforce. World Bank officials say the partnership is intended to strengthen Belize’s long-term economic resilience while creating broader opportunities for Belizeans./
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