At today’s signing of a major energy deal between Belize Electricity Limited and the Blair Athol Power Company, Prime Minister John Briceño took the opportunity to spotlight a bigger picture, the growing need for collaboration between government and the private sector. The agreement marks a step forward in Belize’s push for sustainable energy, but according to the Prime Minister, it’s just the beginning. He says more public-private partnerships are on the way, especially to tackle one costly issue: the government’s massive spending on office rentals.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“What is happening is that there are many instances, there’s so much work that has to be done and sometimes it’s not just for government to do it on itself. That is when they make these purchase partnerships, private public sector, private partnership agreements where, for instance as a good example is right now we are going to build a new area for the magistrate and the higher or the upper court, the complex here, right here on the Lake Independence Boulevard. That’s an example of a PPP where government has signed up with, social security, and I think some of the banks that have already expressed interest into building this complex and then the, instead of paying rent to somebody else, they’re going to pay for ownership. And that is something we’ve been talking a lot about it, I know you guys have been making a lot, a big deal about the rents and you’re right. And it’s something that should have been addressed a long time. But the plan now is to be able to look in areas like Belmopan, orange Walk, where it’s most needed and see if we can create partnerships with the private sector to build these buildings and then instead of paying rent to others, we could rent to own that. And so it, that’s what were talking to with the IDB.”
