Central Bank Giving BEL the Support It Needs, Says Fonseca

The central bank is giving Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) “all the support” it needs to meet its payments, Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Fonseca says. He says the volume of U.S. dollars BEL needs each month is the particular challenge.

Fonseca said BEL has been working with the Central Bank and local banks and called the issue a critical priority. “So the central bank is providing all the support that BEL needs to ensure that they do have the foreign exchange that they need to meet their obligations.”

The government says Belize’s fixed exchange rate is not under threat, but demand for foreign currency is putting pressure on the system. As reported earlier, BEL has enough Belize dollars to pay down its debt to Mexico’s state power supplier, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), but cannot obtain enough U.S. dollars to do so.

Fonseca said, “There’s been a dip because of a downturn globally in tourism. So there’s been a dip in the availability of foreign exchange.”

He said BEL’s situation is a separate challenge. “But it’s really a challenge in terms of BEL because of the volume of U.S. dollars that they need on a monthly basis. So that’s a particular and specific challenge.”

Minister of Economic Transformation Dr Osmond Martinez previously said Belize is facing more pressure on its foreign exchange supply, largely because higher fuel costs require more U.S. dollars for imports.