PM Open to Cutting Ministers’ Allowances, Says They Total “a Little Over 200,000”

Prime Minister John Briceño says he would not oppose cutting ministers’ allowances, though he said the total is small and ministers face constant requests for help.

Briceño appeared on Open Your Eyes this morning and was asked whether the government would trim allowances as a show of solidarity with the Belizean public. He said everything is on the table. “We’re prepared to take a look at everything.” He noted that the government has just raised pay for 16,000 public officers at a cost of $112 million. “Our allowances, I’m told, are just a little over 200,000, but if that would make a difference, I certainly would not be opposed to the idea. ” He did not say whether the figure is annual or what it covers.

When told that Belizeans want political leaders to set an example when households are cutting back, Briceño said, “That’s a fair comment.” He added, “At the same time, hundreds of people come to us every month asking for some kind of assistance, and in many instances we have to dig from our pockets.”

He said he is better placed than some colleagues. “I’m one of the fortunate ones that I don’t depend on my salary, so I can be able to do more. But some of our ministers, that’s all they have, and then people come knocking at their doors every day for assistance.”

He recalled a former UDP minister who made a similar point. “I think there’s some logic to what he said, that we are the social safety net in Belize, the ministers, because they’d rather go to them. But that’s not the Belize we want. We want a Belize where we could continue to grow the economy and people start to get jobs, and they could look after themselves.”