Panton: Belizeans Left Out of Spending Plan  

Tonight, Opposition Leader Tracy Panton isn’t waiting for her official budget response to speak her mind. She’s already taking aim at the glowing picture Prime Minister John Briceño painted during his budget presentation. Panton says that behind the optimism, the spending plan leans too heavily toward the wealthy and the politically connected, while everyday Belizeans are left struggling with health care gaps, education costs, and the rising cost of living. And she’s questioning whether the government’s promises on national health insurance and free education can actually deliver what Belizeans have been told to expect. Here’s how Panton is putting those pledges under the microscope.

 

Via Zoom: Tracy Panton, Leader of the Opposition

“The Prime Minister wanted to suggest this was certainly a time of milk and honey, which is absolutely not the case. The devil, as you know, Shane, is in the details. And as we take some time over the next couple of days to dissect the budget, I think it’s going to become very glaring that the only persons that will directly benefit from this budget are those who are the favored few who get all these infrastructure, large infrastructure projects. You know, the government spoke about $55 million in terms of health coverage, but we know right now, Belizeans are struggling to get adequate health services. I don’t see or I did not hear in the prime minister’s presentation what we’re going to do to ensure more meaningful employment for young people coming out of tertiary institutions or high schools. Our young people are now relegated to call centers.”

 

Panton believes the deeper budget analysis will expose whether the government’s claims truly reflect life on the ground.

 

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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