The accelerated pace necessary to build BELIZE!

November 2011 - The debate in Belize how to better the economy, more rapidly. -

In comparison to Europe, where Greece, Italy and Spain, threaten by their insolvency to destroy the European Union, BELIZE under Dean Barrow has done well. We did have the first two years of his reign in danger, with the WORLD RECESSION a factor. Mostly in Belize it was loss of TOURISM revenues. That has recovered and indeed this year 2011 was expected to get better, if Barrow could hold things together long enough. His personal philosphy is when times are bad, is to borrow if you have to, but throw money into projects to keep the economy afloat. It was no time for austerity he believes. Now that period is OVER, the results have proven his philosphy to be true. I certainly did not agree with it at the time, but the three years has proven him correct.

That said, 2012 and 2013 are expected to be much better for our economy. The trick as I see it, is to stimulate fast growth through exporting finished processed products. Agro processing crops, that can be grown and exported in a finished product state are probably the easiest to do this. There is always the possibility they will strike oil down South. That will help in the short term, if they do. Long term we have to manufacture things of some sort.

Europe is shaking and as Prime Ministers and Presidents over there, have said, it is MORE than losing the EURO currency through the failures of GREECE, SPAIN and ITALY. If they lose the common currency, then the EU is going to be dead and breakdown. If the EU breaks down, then WAR is in the future for the countries of Europe again. It is the formation of the EU that has kept PEACE on that continent for such a long period of time. About 70 years of peace in Europe. More than any other thing, the leaders of EUROPE want the PEACE to continue. They have centuries of war and do not want to get back into that rat race, and vicious circle again.

Belize is looking better all the time, in comparison to Europe, or the USA. With a 58% debt to GDP ratio, we in Belize are even BETTER than the USA. Mind you 58% is NOT GOOD at all. We need to get it down to around 9% of GDP. Growing the GDP is a way of doing that, the last two years have shown in Belize. So stimulating exports and manufacturing seems to be a lesson, all and sundry, from politicians, to bureaucrats and the man in the street have learned from this. The next thing, is HOW TO STIMULATE manufacturing and EXPORTS. Do we need subsidies? The bureaucrats are trying to teach entrepreneurship, but they are not doing very good. UB is not doing anything at all in that line. The ITVET´s are doing well enough, but how to expand their role and turn them into more encouraging community colleges? There is a lot of nation building to do in a short period of time. We don´t have decades either. It has to be faster, over the next 3 years if possible. The thinkers have to put their thinking caps on and figure out what changes we need in our government methods and policies, to get light manufacturing going, at an accelerated pace. It sure isn´t BELTRAIDE that I now know?

Two things will help right off. That is infra-structure in the form of the through TOLEDO highway to Guatemala and electricity for those communities down there without, right now. So the highway program and the rural electricity program are necessary.