News

Belize has again entered a period of load shedding after shortages in local generation left the national grid unable to fully absorb disruptions in electricity supplied from Mexico. Belize Electricity Limited confirmed that controlled power interruptions have already been used following two major outages in late August, reviving a problem that affected customers last year and exposing continued weaknesses in the country’s generation reserves. On August 25, BEL experienced an

Cabinet has approved a $2-per-gallon fuel subsidy for eligible bus operators through March 2027, unless fuel prices fall below $12 per gallon before then. The decision extends government support to the public transportation sector following weeks of uncertainty over whether the subsidy would continue and warnings from the Belize Bus Association (BBA) that high diesel prices were making operations increasingly difficult. In a September 2 letter to BBA President Philip Jones, C

A government-commissioned review has warned that Belize's historically low unemployment rate may partly reflect discouraged workers leaving the labour force rather than Belizeans moving into productive employment. The finding appears in the Draft Recommendations for Reform prepared under Phase I of the Government's Comprehensive Review of the Labour Act and submitted to the Ministry responsible for labour. The Government engaged Trinity Consultancy Services Firm in March to u

It is ostensibly “all of us or none of us” for Belize's Social Partners, which have told the Government that any Cabinet meeting over BTL's proposed Speednet acquisition must include representatives from all four groups. The position follows an invitation from the Government for only the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) to meet with Cabinet on Thursday, August 13. But in a joint statement, the BCCI and NTUCB, t

Organized labour is preparing to take its opposition to BTL's proposed acquisition of SMART to the streets, with an NTUCB demonstration and rally set for Tuesday, August 18. The planned action—which also is connected to a Friday, August 14th, show of support by wearing black—marks an escalation in organized opposition to the proposed acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited by the government-owned Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), moving the trade union response from publ