Last week Government through the Statistical Institute of Belize released Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for 1st quarter of 2010.  At mid-point in the year the public is only now being provided with this data, which seem rather coincidental in light of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recent Article IV ...

On July 1, 2010 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed its annual Article IV consultations in Belize.  During their meetings in country they met with the Prime Minister, government officials, private sector and civil society representatives.  The IMF team conducted an assessment on Belize’s economic performance for 2009 and provides ...

Last week Belizeans were awakened for the opening of the hurricane season with tropical storm Alex rushing to her shores unexpectedly.  However, the response from the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) was noteworthy.  The voluntary evacuation by people in the cayes demonstrated a clear appreciation of the vulnerability that those ...

In last week’s edition of this column this writer assessed Government’s response to crime by way of its recent proposal Restore Belize and the accompanying cabinet changes.  It was noted that the labyrinth institutional structure that was proposed is an augmentation and duplication of some aspects of the existing Crime ...

Over the last two years the social fabric of the Belizean society has been severely challenged by the global financial and economic crisis that spawned from the industrialized nations and its lasting effects being felt in the developing world.  Fueled by dismal economic activity, crime and criminal activity have soured ...

In the first quarter of 2010 Government, in response to the clamor for reduction of interest rates in the banking sector, sought to intervene in the market by making amendments to several pieces of legislation, namely the Treasury Bill Act, Central Bank of Belize Act and the Bank and Financial ...

In late 2008 the People’s United Party government of that day sought to introduce the required legislative amendment to have Belize replace the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as her court of last appeal.  From early 2001 the former Prime Minster Honourable Said Musa signed the ...

On April 28, 2010 the Government announced the commissioning of the Prime Minister’s Council of Science Advisors, which was the product of a memorandum of understanding between the Office of the Prime Minister and the Petters Research Institute of Belize.  This Council has a mandate of leading the way in ...

Last week this columnist examined the role of the major political parties and the importance for the Belizean citizenry to understand the implication and function of the political institutional framework and why political parties cannot be divorced from the process of local government.  The point was also made of the ...

Belize has a population of approximately 390,000. Its population is highly dispersed throughout the country. As Belize is a small developing country it has the challenge of ensuring meaningful inclusion of its citizenry into the political process. This is in part achieved via the local government framework and at the ...