Rodwell on Cost Savings: “We Have Limitations!”

With Belizeans continuing to feel the pressure of rising living costs, Cabinet is exploring measures aimed at providing relief while balancing the realities of governing a small nation with limited resources. Agriculture Minister Rodwell Ferguson says discussions are ongoing at the Cabinet level, with a focus on reallocating funds to better support citizens. But he also cautions that expectations must be measured against the country’s size, population and tax base. Ferguson shared his perspective on the challenges government faces as it looks for ways to ease the financial burden on Belizean families.

 

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Cabinet

“I am a team player in Cabinet, and that was yes discussed and deliberated and it’ll go back to another Cabinet to be finalized. But there are many areas that PM want to do, not cost saving measures, because they are really a part of the budget, we’ll relocate it to be able to support our Belizean people. I want we to understand with all of the differences and whatever it may be, we must remember that we are a very small country. And many people are saying government must do X, Y, and Z, but we have limitations. Imagine four hundred and twenty-eight thousand people to suffice a nation of eight thousand eight hundred and sixty-six square miles. Almost impossible. And I want to compare Belize with Barbados. Barbados have similar population, but have a smaller land mass, so they can reach out to their land mass quicker and faster than Belize can. Unless we expand our population, have a bigger tax base, then we can say that the government must be responsible for and so and so.”

 

Cabinet says the proposals will be deliberated on further in their next meeting and measures will be announced for the period November 2026 to March 2027.

 

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.

 

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