The Reporter

“It’s frustrating and inexcusable—10 years behind,” said Kevin Herrera, as the 2026 budget debate concludes and moves toward implementation without audited public accounts for more than a decade. Herrera’s remarks come as the Government advances into the 2026/27 fiscal year, following parliamentary approval of the national budget in the absence of up-to-date audited financial statements detailing revenues and expenditures. Under the Finance and Audit (Reform) Act, audited accounts are to be...

Business Senator Kevin Herrera says the global conflict involving the United States, Iran, and Israel is already hitting Belize, with rising fuel prices now feeding directly into inflation. Herrera told The Reporter that diesel prices have already increased, signalling the rapid transmission of international energy price shocks into the domestic economy. He added that about 45 percent of that price reflects government revenue. The Business Senator indicated that the effects are no longer...

A widening Middle East war is pushing up global energy and food prices while tightening financial conditions; analysis from the International Monetary Fund indicates the shock could slow growth and intensify cost-of-living pressures worldwide. The IMF reports that the conflict has triggered one of the largest disruptions to global energy markets in history, with oil and gas flows through critical routes severely affected. Roughly a quarter of global oil and a fifth of liquefied natural gas...