September 2009 Archives

Belmopan, Belize 28 September (Belizean.com) Debate in Belize over deteriorating investor confidence has intensified following a report by Carl Ross, Ph.d Managing Director of Oppenheimer and Co. - a U.S. based financial advisory group. Mr. Ross wrote an article entitled "Belize - Multiple Caution Flags" in the company's newsletter of September 23. With the Prime Minister ill and having to be flown to Florida in the U.S.A. on September 22 for what is officially described as a "medical checkup", local newspaper articles and call-in morning radio programs have been rife with heated debate about Belize's financial position.

In the Oppenheimer Report article Mr. Ross pointed to a drying up of funds from Taiwan which has helped prop up Belize's economy in exchange for Belize's vote in support of Taiwan's long quest to join the United Nations. Taiwan recently announced that it has now abandoned its membership bid and will presumably scale down its dollar-diplomacy program .

The Oppenheimer Newsletter article refers to the recent expropriation of the largest private
business in Belize, Belize Telemedia Ltd., the way this was conducted, and the installation
of relatives of the Prime Minister on its board of directors.

And finally, Mr. Ross alluded to the current government's apparent difficulties in servicing current debt. Mr. Ross referred specifically to remarks made by Prime Minister Barrow in his
Independence Day speech on September 21 when he stated:

"Certainly in terms of the economy, our present challenges loom at least as large as at any other time during our post independence existence. A peculiar combination of world circumstances, natural disasters, and the legacy from insane commercial borrowing and crony political spending has resulted now in national problems of unprecedented scale and circumference.

"Now it is clear that the straightened economic circumstances in which this country finds
itself is owed in part to the transgressions of rich club nations. But it is equally true that our problems have been terribly exacerbated by local sins, by the rot of the pre-2008 era.

"Exhibit one is of course the poisoned chalice of that one point one billion dollar super bond.
That is what is raiding our recurrent revenues, that is what is crippling our cash flow, stifling our fiscal place, and ripping from our hands the tools to deliver the goods and services to the people of this country."

In commenting on the Prime Minister's statement, Mr. Ross in a telephone interview broadcast in Belize stated that:

"Well from the point of view from the people who hold the bonds, bondholders and Oppenheimer is not a bondholder, we deal in bonds but we are not bondholders. But bondholders get very nervous ok, when they see a reference to a lack of a willingness to pay obligations or lack of a willingness to honour those obligations or some source of suggestion that the debt is too onerous."

Now there is more negative news for Belize as the respected telecommunication intelligence journal Telecoms.com  today published a commentary on the Belize government's expropriation of Belize Telemedia Ltd. The article written by Tammy Parker and titled "Vastly Different Approaches To Competition" says in part:

"But potential investors will be wary of entering a country where the government so wantonly takes command of a private business and places the prime minister's family members on the board, whether for seemingly good reasons or not.

"And Belize's government still wants individual institutions and people to be limited to a stake in BTL of 25% or less, ensuring that none has majority control. The ownership restriction is likely to turn off potential investors, keeping major regional players, such as America Movil, Cable & Wireless and Digicel, far from Belize's shores."

The full article can be seen here: http://www.telecoms.com/14816/vastly-different-approaches-to-competition

Belmopan, Belize 21 September (Belizean.com) Belize today celebrated the 28th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom with midnight flag raising ceremonies, fireworks and countrywide parades and street parties.

For the first time since independence day in 1981, celebrations were focused in the small capital Belmopan. where previously they were held in the old capital Belize City.

The current ruling United Democratic Party regime of Prime Minister Barrow had opposed independence from Great Britain but this was granted under the at that time Peoples United Party government of the Rt. Hon. George Price, now in opposition.

Political observers have suggested that the U.D.P. moved the main celebrations to the sleepy but official capital to minimise media impact. However this appears to have backfired as most media outlets are reporting that the Independence day celebrations in Belmopan were the largest ever seen.

Belmopan, Belize, 17 September (Belizean.com) A suspected Swine Flue outbreak has closed down Caye Caulker Island, a popular tourism destination in Belize a few miles away away from Ambergris Caye. The island with a population of 2,500 reported dozens of flu-like symptoms in pre-schools and primary schools this week. These institutions were closed down on the advice of the Belize Ministry of Health.

Now today two high schools on Caye Caulker have taken the decision to voluntarily close down as a precautionary measure. Meanwhile the Belize Ministry of Health has recommended that all mass gatherings be suspended. As a result, all public events leading up to and including Independence Day on 21st September, have been cancelled.

Over one hundred students are ill with flu-like symptoms and many teachers and citizens are also reported ill. The Belize Director of Health Services Dr, Michael Pitts stated today that:

"What we have done beyond the school is to ask the village council if they can suspend the major family gathering that would bring kids together with the wider population.

"In Caye Caulker we have a standing population of twenty-five hundred and there's only one major primary school and it is our view that the primary school basically is a reflection of the village and just about every household there would have some kids who would have been exposed. So what we are saying to Caye Caulker is let's try and interrupt this epidemic and for the next couple of days suspend major gatherings that would bring family units together."

Meanwhile the village council authorities are trying to do some damage control to minimise losses from the tourirsm businness which is the main money earner for Caye Caulker:

Ralph Humes, Caye Caulker Chairman

"We will need to postpone or cancel some of our September celebration activities. So far we had already cancelled out the children's rally that should have taken place on the 18th of this month and a variety of other sporting events.

"Our ceremonies and road march and carnival parade will be discussed at a meeting tonight with the celebration committee and then we will decide which will be postponed and which will be cancelled. The Ministry has encouraged us to disregard whatever mass gatherings that we would be having because they don't want the outbreak of this flu to spread in the whole community."

Ralph Humes,

"It will definitely have a big effect on tourism. Since this morning we had some concerns from some of the restaurant owners and even the hotel owners asking us if we were going to close down the island."

Late reports say a number of Belize City High Schools on the mainland are reporting H1N1 cases.

Belmopan, Belize 3 September (Belizean.com) Arthur Innes Barrow, father of Belize Prime Minister Hon. Dean Barrow, passed away this morning in Belize city at age 85. A government release broadcast on local radio stations this afternoon says that Mr. Arthur Barrow was admitted to the private hospital Belize Medical Associates this morning suffering from a stroke. He shortly thereafter passed away.

Funeral plans will be announced later.