BELIZE PRIME MINISTER ADMITS FIRST 2009 BUDGET DRAFT IS $60 MILLION OVERBLOATED.

Prime Minister Barrow of Belize
UDP HAVE BLOATED 2009 BUDGET PRESENTATION

The UDP Cabinet of Belize are having their presentation of their new budget at the House of Representatives on February 27, in our Cayo District, National capital of Belmopan.
Word from Prime Minister Barrow, is that currently, the annual budget presentation is currently over bloated by $60 million they do not have. The UDP CABINET are trying to cut that $60 million BLOAT before the February 27th presentation. About $200 million this year will be spent in the country, using fresh foreign loan borrowing, rebuilding infra-structure, neglected during 6 years of austerity, because of the massive International foreign currency debt owed by past governments. Belize debt ratio is somewhere between 95 % of GDP, to over a 100% of GDP. It should be below 3% of GDP. We will learn exactly on March 12th, and 13th.. when the budget debate takes place in Parliament. Belize owes about $2.3 billion with an annual government income of about $760 million revenues. The government itself consumes about $550 million. Sweetheart contracts, political corruption and other inefficiencies in the system, leave the politicians and bureaucrats short of money all the time. There is as of yet, no decent organized using spending laws, systematic way of running the country in a zero balanced budget system. There has been discussion and technical advice sought from outside, in how to do this?
Prime Minister Barrow said that the country is rapidly growing in population and we are experiencing growing pains. It will get sorted out during his remaining four years, he promised. When I first arrived in British Honduras during Colonial days, the population was about 35,000. Today the population is estimated at 320,000.