More Gas Pains as Motorists Cry for Relief at the Pumps

Belizeans are feeling the heat, not from the Middle East conflict itself, but from the sudden spike at the gas pump. Overnight, fuel prices shot up by more than ten percent, hitting wallets already stretched thin by rising cost of living. Government officials say the jump didn’t come out of nowhere. Global oil markets are reacting to escalating tensions involving Israel, the United States, and Iran, and Belize is now feeling the ripple effect at home. But for drivers, the explanation doesn’t make the blow any softer. Many say they’re already struggling, and this latest increase pushes daily expenses even higher. Prime Minister John Briceño weighed in on the situation, and motorists across the country are voicing their frustration and calling for relief. Shane Williams has more on what triggered Belize’s fuel price surge and how Belizeans are coping with yet another hit to their pockets.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting

Belizeans woke up to a sharp jump in fuel prices today. The hike comes as global oil costs surge amid rising conflict involving Israel, the U.S., and Iran, unrest that threatens the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow route that carries nearly a fifth of the world’s oil. Since the fighting began, crude prices have climbed ten to thirteen percent, and U.S. gasoline prices are up almost twenty percent. That shock has now reached Belize. Prime Minister John Briceño says the increase was expected as international fuel prices continue to rise.

 

On The Phone: Prime Minister John Briceño

“I think it should be of no surprise to anyone that the fewer prices that have been increasing, we already noticed that the prices are increasing in the United States and considerably. There was this unexpected war in Iran and they have closed down the Strait of Hormuz where twenty percent oil supplies pass through. So we were expecting, I think Belizeans have been anticipating that the price of fuel is going to go up.”

 

Government may blame global pressures, but Belizean drivers say they’re feeling the hit right here at home. They’re calling the price spike immediate, painful, and unsustainable. Many motorists say they simply can’t absorb another increase and are urging the government to step in with relief measures. Frustration is growing, not just over fuel costs, but over the rising cost of living that’s tightening budgets across the country.

 

Motorist 1

“Ah almost think bout drive off left the pump just now. The gas is very too high, too high mein. Take wa licking and I got a eight cylinder ya the drive. You get the sense? But the government have to do something about it mein because you know we the punish right now, serious. I the punish because I work tourist and thing and I have to stay the go put in gas fi them price deh and you noh the get your money worth from the tourist. Yo get the sense?”

 

Motorist 2

“We do dollar van so we not make nothing. We just work, give them gas money for the gas mein. We don’t make nothing.”

 

Shane Williams

“Soh you wah have to take up your price?”

 

Motorist 2

“Boy, I wish they can do something for us, that’s what we need mein. That’s all.”

 

Motorist 3

“We have to live with it. Yo can’t do nothing.”

 

Shane Williams

“Soh how you wa cope?”

 

Motorist 3

“Yo have to just live with it king. You have to go less roads, less runs now. Yessai mein, we have to live with it, Can’t do nothing more boss.”

 

Motorist 4

“Boy da gas price de terrible, really terrible but what we can do? We just have to take it and how it come we have to live with it mein.”

 

Shane Williams

“Soh weh yo wa du? Less runs?”

 

Motorist 4

“Noh actually less runs but I think the government has to look into them thing ya better mein. Because to me the country is good but everything the go up. Food, gas, everything the go up and I noh think we poor people and the wages down da Belize ya very small soh I noh think they noh shoulda cruel to we like that. It’s something that I personally was expecting because of what’s happening globally. And so we have to face reality. My concern is the bigger picture. What it will mean as far as the larger economy is concern because then you talk about the industries out there that depend on electricity for sure that’s going to be impacted as well.”

 

Still, the prime minister warns that any attempt to cushion the increase by cutting fuel taxes would come at a cost to government revenue and public services.

 

Prime Minister Briceño

“Now before we can try to do any kind of adjustments, we are passing it onto the pump and then we are going to monitor. Obviously, if the prices continue to go up, we will then have to be able, we’ll be forced to reduce these taxes. But then that means then that the services that you’re going to be providing for our citizens it’s going to be tighter to be able to provide those services. Just keep in mind we just, another four percent increase on salaries for our public offices are coming on First of April.”

 

If global tensions continue and oil prices keep climbing, today’s hike may not be the last. And for motorists watching the price boards at gas stations, the hope is that the international crisis does not translate into even higher prices in the weeks ahead. Shane Williams for News Five.

 

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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