PM Urges Businesses Not to Exploit Price Spike

Prime Minister John Briceño is defending the government’s decision to maintain fuel taxes despite a sharp spike in gasoline prices, saying the revenue is critical to sustaining social programs and public services.

In an interview with News 5, Briceño stressed that fuel taxes help finance key national initiatives, including expanded free education in government high schools, the school feeding program now serving 15,000 students daily, and the National Health Insurance scheme.

“All of this has a cost,” he said. “We’re doing our level best to provide these social services for our citizens, and the only way we can do that is through taxes. Unfortunately, fuel taxes are one of them.”

The Prime Minister also pointed to additional financial pressures, including a four percent salary increase for public officers set to take effect on April first. That adjustment will add approximately $34 million to government spending, following last October’s four-and-a-half percent raise.

Briceño acknowledged the burden higher fuel prices will place on families and businesses but made a direct appeal to the private sector not to use the increase as an opportunity to inflate prices beyond necessity.

“In some instances, some businesses take advantage of it… instead of raising five cents, they raise fifteen,” he said. “If you need to raise, just raise the bare minimum. We’re all in this together.”

He added that the government is reviewing its expenditures and will look at areas where spending can be curtailed or deferred if international prices continue to climb.

“We’re all in this together. We are all in the Belize ship,” Briceño said. “We sail together or we sink together and I have every confidence that we’re going to be sailing together.”