Economy - Greater Belize Media

Area Rep Perez Says He’s Impartial on Fuel Depot Project

In mid-December, residents of an upscale ex-pat community in Caye Caulker voiced their opposition to a proposed fuel depot in their neighborhood. But just as quickly, a group of tour operators on the island came out in support of the project. The Caye Caulker Tour Operators Association even issued a press release and a ‘No-objection’ letter backing the depot, proposed by Petrol Alliance Group Holding Company Limited. If approved, the depot would be located on parcel nine-fifty-seven, Block twelve, on the northern side of the village. When News Five spoke with Belize Rural South Area Representative Andre Perez today, he said he’s staying neutral on the issue.

On the Phone: Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South

“ It’s a small community, right. However bearing in mind that the huge contribution of this community contributes not only to insect, but to the economy, you know. And it’s a, it’s an excellent location. It’s still we have to be mindful of the, of the community in terms of how nice and laid back it is there. When you go there, I myself, when I go there, I enjoy myself to spend overnight. You know, it’s a different experience as compared to San Pedro, right? So it’s important. We have leaders that we preserve that, that type of, um, you know, ambience and atmosphere and environment. But, of course, mindful of the feelings of the, of the community and I say community. We’re not only talking about the voters or the local, right? We’re talking, of course, that there’s a community of experts who chose or choose to be their home every time and home far away. I mean, from home they come, but in terms of development up north, the development is happening up north of is coming up quick and the vast majority. In fact, most of the land is privately owned already. Right. It is privately owned. There’s no such land as any public lands out there, except for a piece that is reserved. Right and that is actually held as a reserve by the government as an agreement. No, as not developed, you’re seeing more resource going up high rise buildings going up. You’re having more the added of water, which is the reaching the area there and eventually also electricity coming from the southern point of Burgess. You could join the northern part of and hook them up to the grid. So, as development happens, I mean, there’s no way that we’re stopping to putting a gas station there. I don’t want to say I’m in favor of it, but certainly I believe, and I think what we need to do is consultation and that’s what they have been following the entire, um, everything to the books they have reached out to the council requesting the no objection support there. And they are doing all their compliance as far as I’m concerned, what they’re doing is they’re following everything as per required by law. So, with that said, um. That that remains a weather consultations to be done and let the people speak about it as well. Although it’s a sensitive part of speaking about the gas station. But then again, let’s not forget the other side about the necessity of it. I didn’t need to serve the community because as a speaker, I don’t have 1 gas station. So, we have to be fair with, and I remain impartial. But in the end is the will of the people, uh, in Cocker. That it’s in their interest there, whether they want to support you or not. And, um, and I know the council are receptable receiving and having a discussion with the, with the interested, uh, people who want to invest there.”

Petrol Alliance Group Responds to Concerns About Fuel Station on Caye Caulker

A few weeks ago, residents of Caye Caulker voiced their concerns about a proposed fuel station and convenience store near the Split at the northern end of the island. Many of the property owners, mostly expats, are worried about the potential environmental impact of the project. They also claim they were never consulted by Petrol Alliance Group Holding Company Limited, the company planning to build the depot. In late December, Mark Leslie and his business partner, Elvis Landaverry, addressed these concerns to ease the residents’ fears. The Petrol Alliance Group owns lots 957 and 2016 on the leeward side of Caye Caulker. Earlier today, News Five spoke with Mark Leslie, a director of the San Ignacio-based company, to get more details.

On the phone: Mark Leslie, Director, Petrol Alliance Group Holdings

“We are planning to build a fuel station there. We have done major research before even going into this project and we actually went ahead and applied for all our clearances and every other thing with the department as well, all the governmental departments that were necessary, inclusive of the Department of the Environment. We have received environmental clearance from the department and like with all environmental clearances, they give you an environmental compliance plan which we must adhere to and inclusive in that compliance plan are things like mitigation schedules and whatever-have-you that would ensure, one: public safety, two: environmental safety. In all due respect, we did speak to most people before we went in there. I have unlimited supporting letters from the residents of Caye Caulker and we did go speak to a lot of them and we still are continuing to get support letters from people. Now when we applied through the village council, I believe it was maybe something that the village council should have mentioned to us, I am not trying to put down anybody, okay, but it was not something to say that we would have a public forum. If there was something where the Caye Caulker Village Council or anybody would have advised us that a public forum is or would be necessary, it is something that we would gladly do, even if it means sitting at the village council, their office or wherever they choose and then maybe have some sort of public interview and we may do questions and answers.”

Petrol Alliance Group Responds to Insurance Concerns

Concerned neighbors also brought up the issue of insurance, worried that the proximity and nature of the development would make it difficult for them to get coverage for their properties. However, Leslie reassured them, saying he met with all seven local insurance providers, and none of them had any objections to insuring properties near the proposed fuel depot site.

On the phone: Mark Leslie, Director, Petrol Alliance Group Holdings

“Throughout the entire country of Belize, we only have seven providers and I contacted and reached out to them and each of the individuals that I spoke to within those organizations had mentioned to me that there is no issue with them issuing insurance to anybody, especially, and I, of course, gave them the area and I told them about the project and they again reassured me that that should not be an issue. The worst case scenario, from my understanding is, and I am not saying that that location is, however, the worst case scenario would be that they would take it on a one-on-one basis and maybe go and inspect wherever they were if it was in an industrial area or some place that they would consider hazardous, and they would still try to give that person insurance. I’m not, again, categorically, I am not saying that our location is, I am just saying that this is an overall policy from the companies. They would still try to give you insurance, what may be affected if they considered or deemed some place hazardous or a heavy industrial zone is that they may look at either higher premiums or higher deductibles, but it would not be denying anybody insurance coverage. I also went to the higher authorities, which is, I believe, the insurance secretary of the country of Belize and their offices also told me that should any one of the seven deny insurance to anybody that that person or individual or group or entity may apply to the secretary of insurance who may then allow them to get coverage from outside of the country. You’d prefer a provider from maybe the US because the people, I understand, are ex-pats from the US that are concerned about the insurance. Should those seven Belizean entities decide that it is too high risk, they may then still go the Secretary of Insurance who may, at that point, give them permission to get coverage from outside. Now, again, categorically, I am not saying that our location is, I am just trying to find as much information so that I may share it with residents and try to satisfy their concerns.”

No Tax for G.O.B. Million Dollar Lottery Winners

On Saturday, thousands of Belizeans held their breath as the winners of the Government’s ‘One and a Million Anniversary Jackpot’ were announced. Fourteen lucky people had the winning numbers, 3-4-4-6, and each walked away with seventy-one thousand, four hundred and twenty-eight dollars after splitting the prize. The lottery sold one hundred and eighty-four thousand, eight hundred and twenty tickets, just shy of the two hundred-thousand-dollar mark, resulting in a loss of about seventy-six thousand dollars for the Belize Government Lotteries Limited. Despite this, managing director Janel Espat called the event a success. In an interview with News Five, she mentioned that the winners, who came from all over the country, varied in age and gender. Here’s more on that.

On the Phone: Janel Espat, Managing Director, Belize Government Lotteries Ltd.

“It was very successful for the intention that it was done for. We were raffling a million dollars. Our sales amounted to nine hundred and twenty-four thousand, one hundred and forty dollars, so we were just about seventy-six thousand short of breaking even. However, in the larger scope of looking at it our. Payout is usually somewhere around the average of seventy percent. So this is about an eight percent payout for us. It’s significantly low. It is unfortunate that we were not able to make profit from the raffle because we intended to contribute any profits from the game to a charitable organization. So, unfortunately, we’ll be unable to do that. However, the intention was also to give back to Our supporters to the people of Belize and we are very happy with the results. We’re grateful that we have been able to do that. In all there were fourteen winners. So each person will be receiving a total of seventy-one thousand, four hundred and twenty-eight dollars and fifty-seven cents.”

Britney Gordon

“How much can we expect them to take home after tax?”

On the Phone: Janel Espat

“No, it’s actually tax-free. All winnings from the government lottery games are tax free, so no taxes will be deducted.”

Britney Gordon

“All right. And I know today was a very busy day, you said because the winners are coming in. How has that been? What’s the reception like from those people?”

On the Phone: Janel Espat

“It has been exciting. It has been heartwarming. We’ve already paid out to ten of the fourteen winners. Everyone is so excited and happy to be collecting these winnings and it makes us feel So happy to be able to do this for the people of Belize and it comes at the perfect time right for the Christmas holidays.”

For more information:

Poll Shows Majority of Belizeans Skip One & a Million Jackpot Ticket

Who Will Win the Million-Dollar Boledo on Saturday?

GST-free Shopping is Hailed a Success

If you missed out on the second GST-free weekend shopping spree before the Christmas holidays, you missed some serious savings. Shoppers flocked to stores across the country to take advantage of the twelve-point five percent discount. Earlier today, News Five spoke with the Deputy Director General of the Belize Tax Services. She shared that everything ran smoothly this weekend, with fewer complaints about noncompliance.

Vilma Broaster, Deputy Director General, B.T.S.

“It was much more coordinated. The taxpayers were complying and consumers were aware, so we got less calls this time around as compared to last week. What we did note for this week is that there were more consumers who were shopping. So we saw a lot more activities. It was crowded at several [locations] and a number of business places were overflowing. So that is what we saw.”

Isani Cayetano

“Is there any way that you would, perhaps, be able to give a ballpark figure as to how many shoppers came out and took advantage of the GST-free weekend?”

Vilma Broaster

“No. Honestly, I cannot give that to you because I would not know the numbers and we won’t know any figures until when the businesses file their returns in January next year. The due date to file their returns is the fifteenth. Still the main complaints that we got was the retail/wholesale shops that ff you go into their establishments and you’re buying a case or a sack, they consider that wholesale and so they were charging the GST to persons who were making those purchases. What we did was inform the business places that they know who their customers are. They know who consumer are, as opposed to those that are business places. So if someone comes into purchase a case or a sack of any item, they should be able to sell that to that person with the GST exemption.”

GST-free Shopping – Still Room for Improvement

While the GST-free shopping weekends have been praised as a success, Deputy Director General Vilma Broaster believes there’s still room for improvement. She also mentioned that the initiative has helped shoppers better understand the difference between zero-rated and standard-rate items.

Vilma Broaster, Deputy Director General, B.T.S.

“I’d consider it a success and with everything, there is always more to do. So there is always things that we can do to improve. You have some businesses who would not have been able to partake in it, as they ordinarily don’t open on Saturdays and Sundays. So that is something that we can look into once there’s going to be another free day. So that is something that should be a part of it. Consumers are now aware of what their tax receipts should look like. They know now what the zero-rated goods are, well I will say majority because, as with everything, there is still yet a need for us, B.T.S., to continue to educate both the public and the business community because there are still some products that consumers found that were being deemed zero-rated, as opposed to standard-rated. So those are things that we will look into.”

Belize Receives 805,794 Dollars for Excessive Rains in November

The Government of Belize has received a payout of eight hundred and five thousand, seven hundred and ninety-four dollars in response to the heavy rains experienced in November. From November 16th to 18th, Tropical Storm Sara brought intense rainfall to Northern Belize, causing significant water damage to roads and buildings. To help with these damages, a new policy under the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (C.C.R.I.F.) called the Wet Season Trigger will provide relief payments to Belize. This policy allows C.C.R.I.F. to cover excess rainfall events when the soil is already saturated from previous rains, targeting flooding and landslide risks. Although the rainfall from Tropical Storm Sara didn’t meet the specific conditions to trigger the rainfall policy, the wet period starting on October 20th and the rain in November met the policy’s requirements. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Christopher Coye, said, “The Government of Belize welcomes the timely payout generated under the Wet Season Endorsement attached to the C.C.R.I.F. Excess Rainfall policy resulting from the passage of Tropical Storm Sara. Our response to recovery efforts will certainly be supported by this disbursement.”

Coast Guard Clarifies Incident with Guatemalan Vessel

Earlier this week, there were reports of a Guatemalan gunboat running aground on the reef in southern waters, leading to a tense standoff with Belizean Coast Guardsmen. However, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, quickly clarified that this wasn’t the case. He stated that it wasn’t a gunboat, no weapons were drawn, and once the coast guardsmen confirmed the vessel was in Belizean waters, it left peacefully. Today, Minister of Defense and Border Security, Florencio Marin Junior, reassured the public that the vessel near Ragged Caye in the Ranguana Caye range was not a gunboat. Marin expressed confidence in the Coast Guard’s ability to handle potentially volatile situations, both in the past and moving forward.

Florencio Marin Jr., Minister of Defense & Border Security

“ It wasn’t a gunboat. Although it was a geography vote, and, my thoughts on it, as I had mentioned in the speech that our sailors or seamen, whenever they see these tricks or their incursions in territorial, once they go out and they meet it and they diffuse it. So those are my thoughts and I promise you that as long as these, these things would occur our seamen will be there to diffuse the situation.”

Reporter

“How skilled are they in de-escalating, because we know if it escalates anymore, and anybody gets jumpy and triggers start pull, it will be bad for Belize.”

Florencio Marin Jr.

“I mean, I have all the people here for the seamen. I mean, under the leadership of Bennett they’re professionally trained, you know, so they don’t go there in any aggressive manner. The opportunity will be affirmed if we advise them appropriately. Every time we manage to resolve it.”

State of Emergency in Sugar Industry Due to Fungal Disease

Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture declared a state of emergency in the sugar industry because a fungal disease has infected up to forty thousand acres of sugar cane. This disease causes the cane to yellow and wilt, making them unfit for sugar production. With the new crop season starting in just a week, we asked Belize Sugar Industries Communications Director, William Neal, for an update on the search for a cure. Here’s what he had to say.

William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I/A.S.R.

“This is new, so there’s a lot of research still ongoing, but we know some things. One, Corozal. Has been more impacted than Orange Walk. We also know that Fusarium is not new. It was triggered perhaps by the climate change challenges. The extended droughts, the excessive rains. It just created the perfect conditions for it to grow. I don’t think they have identified exactly what species it is. So there’s some best practices that they’re testing, but I don’t think enough time has passed to say how effective those are. Of course you have to do everything that you can to make sure that you have the maximum input and in some cases the estimate is that production could fall as much as thirty percent, that’s significant. That’s one third of your production. So it’s something that we definitely have to, as an industry, focus on and try to mitigate the impact of it.”

Government Reports Drop in Sugar Smuggling

The Government of Belize reports a significant decrease in sugar smuggling over the past few months. Earlier this year, many Belizeans will remember stores limiting the amount of sugar one person could buy, sparking fears of a sugar shortage. However, Belize Sugar Industries quickly debunked this, clarifying that the country had plenty of sugar and that the limits were to curb smuggling. Today, we spoke with Doctor Osmond Martinez, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, for an update on the situation. Here’s what he had -to say.

Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Trade

“The government have taken the proper measurements to minimize and eliminate that problem I think that question can be addressed more to Minister Abelardo Mai. He will be able to get into details. We acknowledge that there were some issues in the past and that’s a problem we the government, you know, Belize has been able to mitigate and almost eliminate that problem. But in terms of details, all the measurements that are being put in place, the minister of agriculture will be in a better position to explain the details on the measurements that governments are putting in place.”