Fonseca Tasked With Tackling Cost-Of-Living Crisis

For many Belizean families, stretching a paycheck to cover groceries, utilities and everyday expenses is becoming increasingly difficult. And tonight, reports indicate that fuel prices are increasing yet again. As of midnight, premium fuel will see a one dollar and six cents increase to fifteen-ninety-six while Diesel will see a thirty-four cents increase, to fifteen-ninety-six. Now, the government says it is looking for answers. Cabinet Minister Francis Fonseca has been tasked with preparing a Cabinet paper focused on the affordability challenges facing Belizeans, with proposals expected to be discussed at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. The big question is what solutions could be on the table and whether they can provide meaningful relief. We asked Fonseca what recommendations he plans to bring forward.

 

Francis Fonseca, Cabinet Minister

“I am looking at, of course the, you know all of the challenges we are facing. People are facing, we are looking at the tax system, how can we look at the tax structure and provide relief for people. Look at the utilities, what more can we do. We have done certain things. We have implemented some subsidies with transportation. So how can we look at all of these things, and make some decisions, some very specific decisions about how we can alleviate some of the burden that the Belizean people are facing. So I expect us to have a robust, comprehensive discussion, with many ideas coming from Cabinet members.”

 

That Cabinet meeting is set for next Tuesday.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: