Can Productivity Solve Belize’s Affordability Crisis?

Belizeans are feeling the squeeze every day, from the supermarket checkout to monthly household bills. But when we asked Minister Louis Zabaneh to identify the biggest threat to their purchasing power, he pointed beyond rising expenses to a deeper challenge: low productivity. Zabaneh acknowledges that families need relief from the day-to-day costs draining their budgets. Still, he argues that any lasting solution to Belize’s affordability crisis must include producing more, strengthening the economy and increasing the value created by workers and businesses. Here is how he connects productivity to the money in Belizeans’ pockets.

 

Louis Zabaneh, Cabinet Minister

“I think that again, I don’t mean to become technical, but our level of productivity is very low. For every hour we work, there is not a lot of value added that can translate into increasing salaries. You go to other countries, like Taiwan for example, you will see that these people are very highly trained in various areas. A lot have been invested in their education sector and practically everybody has a significant level of what economist call human capital. And, then combining that with certain discipline in society create an environment where they can produce and sell. They have a trade surplus and it is the trade surplus that is brining back funds into the country and they can import what they want, even if the price is going up. That is because everybody has a higher level of productivity, of ability to create value and that is ultimately what we need to focus on in the longer term. But I do believe now in the short term, when our people have the need today, I think Cabinet is focusing on specific things that can have an impact on our people so that it can alleviate the burden that they are carrying on a day to day basis.”

 

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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