2019-2020 Budget Debate Presentation by Hon. Tracy Taegar-Panton

MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PETROLEUM, INVESTMENT, TRADE & COMMERCE HON. TRACY TAEGAR PANTON

BUDGET DEBATE PRESENTATION 2019/2020 March 25th& 26th, 2019 House of Representatives BELMOPAN

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Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of the Albert Constituency, I rise to offer my support to the General Revenue Appropriation Bill 2019/2020.

I take this opportunity, Madam Speaker, to express my sincere appreciation to the people of the Albert Constituency, whose constitutional powers of governance I represent in this Honourable House. For me it is a distinct privilege and a tremendous responsibility that requires of me strict adherence to the fundamental principles of integrity, accountability, transparency and fair play in the decisions we must make to ensure that we continue to govern with a steady hand. The Ministry, of which I have some oversight, the Ministry with responsibility of Investment, Trade and Commerce has been given a clear mandate to assist in growing our national economy through expanding our trade and investment portfolios and by facilitating commerce so that as a country, we can meet the needs of our people.

Madam Speaker, as I have listened to my Colleagues on the other side of this honourable house who continue to assert that as a Government we are only interested in building our country’s physical infrastructure and very little regard for those we were elected to serve, I marvel at how short sighted and ill informed they seem to be on that matter. Totally out of touch, Madam Speaker, with what is happening on the ground, every day, in every constituency.

As a member of this UDP

Government Administration, I am proud to acknowledge that as a Government we have done more than any other previous administration on record to build out the physical infrastructure of this country in an effort to positively impact the lives of our people. Everywhere you turn Madam Speaker it is glaringly evident. We have improved and expanded our highways and roads in an effort to facilitate trade, investment and commerce; to provide our farmers and members of the productive sector with more efficient ways to get their goods and service to market adding value 2

to the food supply chain and to exports; to support our booming tourism industry; to provide for ease of travel for all citizens so we can make our way to work, to school, to recreate. There is also the health infrastructure countrywide so our people can have more ready access to affordable healthcare; and, our social infrastructure so those who are most vulnerable can be satisfied their basic needs so that they can be empowered to rise above and overcome the challenges they have encountered.

Madam Speaker, I can spend a great deal of time to speak of the merits of investing $180 million in the capital projects programmed for this year: the upgrading of the Caracol Road, on the paving of the Coastal Road; the restoration of the Hummingbird Highway; and, the proposed rebuilding of the Sarteneja Road along with the installation of two bridges. Let us not forget the replacement of the Roaring Creek Bridge and the modernizing of both the George Price and Phillip Goldson Highways. I can spend a considerable amount of time to highlight the benefits of the Downtown Rejuvenation Project, funded by the Government and People of the Republic of China (Taiwan) which falls smack in the middle of the Albert Constituency and spans across both municipal administrations. Let me take this opportunity Madam Speaker to sincerely thank the Government and People of China (Taiwan) for their friendship and stellar support for Belize’s development agenda. I am happy to advise that during the course of this year, The Government of Taiwan had agreed to fully fund two Investments Missions to Belize to explore opportunities both in Tourism and the Agro Productive Sector.

The Tourism

Mission is scheduled to be here the third week of June and the Mission for the Agro Productive Sector is expected to be in country sometime in October. Preliminary meetings are now held to plan the logistics for both these Missions.

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Instead Madam Speaker, I wish to highlight the things we are doing as a Government to build our social infrastructure: to speak on the e benefits of our Food Pantry Program, our Boost Program, our Educational Assistance Program, our School Subsidy Program, our CXC Program; our Sixth Form Scholarship Program ; our paid Summer Internship Program for students at the secondary and tertiary levels; our Work Program; our Sports Programs, our Youth Programs and other Initiatives provided for in this year’s Budget.

Madam Speaker, last year in the Albert Constituency alone, there were 450 families who were beneficiaries of our Food Pantry Program. One hundred fifty (150) these families were re directly supported though the Ministry of Human Development’s Pro Poor Initiative Program and another 300 were served by Albert Office on a weekly, rotational basis. Staples such a rice, flour, beans, sugar, oats, cereal, fruits and vegetables may seem insignificant to some of us who sit in these chambers, Madam Speaker, but to those families who are the recipients it means the difference of having a home-cooked meal or not.

Access to education has been the highest priority for us in the Albert Constituency, Madam Speaker, this year we were able to provide over $200,000 in tuition grants to some 400 young people and another $50,000 in Book Grants, School Supplies, etc.

Let me tell you a story of one family who have been well served by my Governments commitment to education. I speak of a family who has three children pursuing secondary and tertiary education. As a result of the Government’s intervention Madam Speaker the oldest of the three is now in her final year at University of the West Indies in Barbados. The second child, Madam Speaker is attending a local 4

Sixth Form pursuing an Associate’s Degree Program. She was granted a partial tuition scholarship for passing 6 CXC’s including English and Math. The youngest child is now in his final year of high school. His entry into the high school of his choice, Madam Speaker was made possible through the Government Subsidy Program provided to 1st and 2nd formers who need the financial assistance to have access to higher learning. Like this young man, this year almost 100% of the students from primary schools within our Constituency received a subsidy to attend high school in support for their academic dreams. As a result of my Government’s commitment to people this one family has the support they need to access higher education for their 3 children and there are many more families in the Division who enjoy the same support for their children’s education.

As a Government Madam Speaker we also do our best to provide support for the living conditions of our residents. This year, 10 families received low-income housing and over 50 Families have received Housing Repair Grants. We recognize that adequate and affordable housing is an ongoing concern for our constituents, as is access to land. We continue to work diligently to find the ways and means to support those in need of housing. We have been able to access some funding through OPEC and also via low interest mortgage loans offered by the National Bank of Belize.

Madam Speaker every year 10 of our Albert Youths gets an opportunity to participate in a four-week paid internship work program within the Public Service.

In addition to valuable exposure and work experience, these young Belizeans are able to earn a stipend that is used to assist them prepare for the upcoming school year. Yes, this UDP Administration is a Government that first and foremost is about people.

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Madam Speaker, while I can use all my time discussing the work we are doing in the Albert Constituency there is quite a bit that is also being done in the Ministry in an concerted effort to support the Productive Sector. The broad mandate of the Ministry is to provide the enabling environment to stimulate and sustain economic growth. In fulfilling this broad mandate, Madam Speaker, the Ministry works along with our partners in the private sector to: promote entrepreneurship; attract local and foreign investments; safeguard the competitiveness of Belize’s economy via our various incentives regimes; enhance the quality of our goods and services and, to develop the enabling environment to ensure that our local commodities can be competitive in both the regional and global context. Our over arching goal is to ensure that our partners in the productive sector can take full advantage of expanded trade and market opportunities. Just yesterday, Madam Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and I met with Seprod Ltd, from Jamaica along with farmers from Ship Yard, Indian Creek, Blue Creek, Spanish Lookout, the BAS Group and BAHA to see how best we can provide larger quantities of soy bean crude oil to Jamaica. Our discussions also took into account the availability of a market for food grade corn meal. We have determined that for both commodities there is definitely a market.

Our initial take away from this meeting is that Seprod will buy all the soy bean oil can produce and we agreed on an expansion plan for the next 3 years with a goal to provide 50% of the demand in CARICOM. Madam Speaker my Government’s trade facilitation programs are all about the people.

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Madam Speaker, I wish to place on record some of the Ministry’s principal achievements in the 2018/2019 fiscal year, and also to link these achievements to some major initiatives we will undertake in the year ahead.

FOREIGN TRADE Madam Speaker, Our trade performance, in terms of value, declined in2018 as total exports fell from $445.9 million to approximately $400 million, a difference of 10.6%. It is important to recognize that in addition to the volatility in trade generally, prevailing low world market prices, crop specific diseases couple with a decline in petroleum exports were the main contributors.. The good news is that production levels of our traditional agricultural commodities: citrus, bananas, shrimp are on the rebound. In the case of sugar, while production levels increased by approximately 1 million tons export earnings reduced as a direct result of world market prices.

The Shrimp Farming Sector is rebounding with technical and commercial advancement by several of the larger farms which made a number of shipments in 2018. Last year, a number of the farms started lining ponds and they have maintained employment levels with a small increase to approximately 600 workers compared to the previous year when just a little over 500 personnel were working.

In 2018, a total of 1,371 acres of ponds were stocked but the planned stocking this year is projected at 2,244 acres. The 13 operating shrimp farms have indicated that they all plan to produce in 2019. The Shrimp Growers are projecting to produce 7,630,000 lbs of shrimp in 2019 up from 2,444,713 lbs produced in 2018. There are currently 5 hatcheries producing Post Larvae for the industry.

Madam Speaker, last year I informed this House of the challenges the sugar industry of Belize and the entire CARICOM Sugar Industry is facing, mostly from 7

the threat of competition from sugar produced in third-party or non CARICOM jurisdictions such as Guatemala, Brazil and Chile. The issue is still pending before the Council for Trade and Economic Development, where Belize is seeking changes in tariff policy and full application of the Common External Tariff on extra-regional sugar. One comprehensive study has been conducted on behalf of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC) and presented to regional stakeholders. COTED has mandated a separate independent study on the substitutability of plantation white sugar for refined sugar before taking a decision. Unfortunately, that last study is not yet ready due to delays in clearing the financing provided by the Caribbean Development Bank. Based on this state of affairs, Madam Speaker, it is not expected that the matter can be finalized at the upcoming meeting of the COTED in April 2019; however, we expect this matter to be addressed at subsequent meetings of the COTED in November 2019.

Belize and other sugar-producing CARICOM States are calling for full application of the CET on imports of refined sugar.

While our traditional exports are not yet where we want them to be our nontraditional commodities have contributed significantly to exports earnings. These commodities include orange squash, grapefruit squash, grapefruit oil, Red Kidney Beans, Black Eye Peas, pulp cells, animal feed, papaya, ice cream, corn meal, turmeric paste, and crude soya oil, all of which made welcome contributions to our exports and foreign exchange earnings in 2018. Also, as we reported last year, Belize’s poultry industry has met all the importation requirements for entry into CARICOM. The private sector can now use this opportunity to expand its market.

The cattle industry continues to work assiduously to meet the import requirements of CARICOM, Central America and Mexico, and the Ministry of Agriculture is

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currently looking at ways in which it can assist in the development of the livestock sector.

Madam Speaker the expansion of market access for Belizean goods and services and the diversification of export-ready, non-traditional agricultural commodities is all about the people Trade Policy Development Madam Speaker, We continue to live with the fact that Belize’s trade in goods continue to reflect primarily an export basket of primary agricultural commodities, with very limited processed and value-added products. This trade performance reflects several factors, including the need for an industrial policy, an investment policy, an agricultural policy and a tourism policy, all integrated into a trade policy framework to drive investment, production and international trade.

Madam Speaker, last month the Ministry official launched the first National Trade Policy Framework which has been approved by the Cabinet.

The NTP was

developed jointly by public and private sector stakeholders. It reflects the realities and factors in our regional and international obligations, including those to the World Trade Organization, CARICOM and Central America, and it is fully aligned with the national development agenda as envisioned under the Horizon 2030 and our Growth and Sustainable Development Strategy. It also takes on board, at the national level, the interests and concerns of private sector and other non-state actors, and can be legitimately described as a national policy developed for Belize, by Belizeans.

The NTP will be supported by a Work Programme covering the period 2019 to 2030.

The NTP is aligned with other sectoral policies also endorsed by the Cabinet, including: the National Investment Policy and Strategy (NIPS); the National 9

Agriculture and Food Policy; and the National Competition Policy. This policy will guide our trade negotiations moving forward.

Negotiating Agenda 2019 CARIFORUM – United Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement: Madam Speaker, when the United Kingdom announced its withdrawal from the European Union it created a great deal of uncertainty about our trade interests, especially since trade with the UK occurs under the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. This Agreement gives Belize duty-free and quota-free market access for virtually all goods covered under the Customs Tariff Schedule.

Although Trade Ministers of CARIFORUM and the EU gave assurances that trade between the UK and all parties of the Economic Partnership Agreement would continue to benefit from preferences after the UK leaves the EU, much concern still remained.

Madam Speaker, since early 2018, Belize, through the Ministry of Investment, Trade & Commerce has been actively engaged at the regional level with our CARIFORUM and UK counterparts to development a CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement that would mirror the scope and market access of the Economic Partnership Agreement with EU. Madam Speaker, on the heels of a robust negotiating schedule which culminated in concluding discussions over the 18th and 19th of March 2019, technical officials of both parties were able to finalise the text of a CARIFORUM-UK EPA and complete the final legal scrub of the text. I am again please to report that on March 22nd 2019, Belize along with several other Member States signed the CARIFORUMUnited Kingdom Economic Partnership Agreement which provided a safety net for local producers who trade with both the EU and the UK. 10

Madam Speaker, with this new trade agreement, BREXIT hard or soft, will not affect the duty-free, quota-free UK market access for our traditional and other exports.

Belize Mexico Partial Scope Agreement Madam Speaker, last year Belize was fully engaged in preparations for the launch of trade negotiations for a Partial Scope Agreement (PSA) with Mexico. I am pleased to inform that Mexico has reaffirmed its interest and intent to negotiate the PSA. Belize is at this point awaiting acceptance of the proposed negotiation framework to launch formal negotiations. The Ministry has already mobilized the country’s Trade Negotiating Team in a series of preparatory meetings for the conduct of the negotiations with Mexico. An effort is being made to include as many goods as possible that have been identified as MSME inputs.

Madam Speaker, once given the green light by our Mexican counterparts on the proposed framework agreement, we are aiming to conclude negotiations within one year.

In relation to the WTO, Madam Speaker, Belize is now preparing to implement the latest WTO agreement on Trade Facilitation. This agreement is intended to reduce the time and cost involved in the clearance and release of goods from the Customs and Excise Department through better coordination and streamlined processes by all border agencies, including Customs, BAHA and the Bureau of Standards. This will allow for greater efficiencies and a reduction in the costs of doing business.

Madam Speaker our trade negotiating approaches are all about improving opportunities for our people.

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INVESTMENT Repeal and Replacement of the EPZ Act Madam Speaker, at the start of this year, Belize made its first legislative change to become compliant with the WTO rules relating to its investment incentive schemes.

Article 27.4 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) states that export subsidies are not allowed, since these give an unfair advantage in international trade for their beneficiaries. Belize has three investment programs that have export subsidies: the Fiscal Incentives Act (FI), the Export Processing Zone Act (EPZ) and the Free Zones Act (FZ).

The long process of consultation that started in 2010 had to be hastened in late 2017 when the EU Code of Conduct on Harmful Tax Practices informed Belize that the EPZ, together with the IBC Program were considered harmful according to their criteria on good tax governance. Madam Speaker, Belize committed to enacting the legislative changes by December 31 of last year, and this was achieved when the EPZ Act was repealed and replaced with the Designated Processing Act. We enshrined in the Act, Madam Speaker, a transition phase which provides a grace period for existing companies in the program to comply with the new administrative processes and requirements called for in the new Act. We expect that by the end of April 2019, the DPA Committee will be ready to accept and consider new applications in the program. The Ministry also has plans to modernize its operations and implement a web-based system that would digitize most of the procedures in the DPA Program.

Export Processing Zone/Designated Processing Areas 12

Madam Speaker, as of 2018, there were 53 companies in the DPA program. Three new companies were approved under the program in 2018. These include: Oristech Belize Ltd., a Business Process Outsourcing company; Tex Mar Too Ltd., a shrimp farm; and Hot Mama’s Belize Ltd., an agro-processor with plans to significantly enhance its exporting activity.

Oristech Belize, Ltd is located in downtown San Ignacio and with 78 full-time employees, they offer services that cover medical transcription, voice recognition, report editing, document support, record sorting and summarization as back office support to the medical industry in the US and Panama.

Madam Speaker, Tex Mar Too Ltd. is a new shrimp farm that has invested over BZ $2,300,000.00 in roads, ponds, pumps, machinery, equipment, buildings and structures. Another significant development in the EPZ program was that Texbel Processors Investment Limited finished constructing its state-of-the-art processing facility in the Stann Creek District, which I have visited myself, and the company is now in the commissioning stage of testing operations of the facility. This newly established facility will produce coconut water and other juice blends for the CARICOM, US and EU markets. Many local farmers will benefit in supplying this exporting agro-processing facility with their products.

Fiscal Incentives Madam Speaker, to date there are twenty-four (24) companies in the Fiscal Incentive program and three (3) new applications and two (2) re-investments were approved in 2018. Among the new approvals is a project to convert Banyan Bay Suites in San Pedro into a luxury Marriot Hotel that is estimated to cost BZ$105.4 million and another tourism accommodation project already under way in San Pedro Town, 13

Royal Kahal Resort Ltd., will bring an additional BZ$29.4 million in capital spending in the sector. Stonebass Investments Ltd. is upgrading existing facilities at their resort in the Cahal Pech area of San Ignacio to the tune of BZ$ 1.5 million. In terms of reinvestments, Madam Speaker, Caribbean Paper Co. Limited applied for an extension to upgrade their facilities to offer quality paper products under their three (3) brands: Softy, Elite and Classic. JMA Rentals Ltd. also applied for an extension to reinvest in the company’s vehicle fleet to serve the growing tourism market.

For the new companies and those reinvesting, fulltime employment is expected to increase to 372 employees. For the three new companies in the Fiscal Incentive Program, 325 employees will be hired during the construction phase. The projected total investment costs of these new companies amount to just over BZ$136 million.

Madam Speaker our investment promotion and facilitation programs are about creating new opportunities for our people.

You know Madam Speaker the Leader of the Opposition keeps lamenting that we are not doing enough to support the Productive Sector and in his lamentations Madam Speaker one would think we are not doing any at all. Under these three incentive regimes members of the Productive Sector receive duty and tax exemptions from anywhere from 5 to 10 years in the first instance which is significant for the companies that qualify.

Free Zones

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Madam Speaker, the Ministry has been developing a strategy to address regulatory and commercial weaknesses at the Corozal Free Zone and the Free Zone program in general.

As part of its work to improve commerce in the Free Zone, the Ministry has partnered with the Inter-American Development Bank on a consultancy to develop a Regional Economic Development Master Plan for Corozal, including the Free Zone. This consultancy was completed earlier this month.

Recommendations

stemming from this consultancy are focused on 3 options namely, 1) Strengthen regulations of current activities being offered in the Free Zone; 2) deliver a transformed free zone structure offering new incentivized activities in tourism and agro-processing and 3) transition the Free Zone activity and focus on economic activity in the broader district. These options are currently being considered with the knowledge that the Free Zone is a significant source of revenue and employment in the Corozal District.

Madam Speaker, the Ministry also partnered with the IDB on another technical cooperation project, completed in June of last year, which focused on assessing the potential of the outsourcing industry to aid regional development of the Corozal District. The recommendations of the study seek to reposition Belize as a higher value destination for BPO services and makes recommendations for the development of a services hub within the Corozal Free Zone.

Furthermore, Madam Speaker, the Ministry has been collaborating with the Department of the Environment on the initiative to phase out single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam and plastic food containers and utensils. An incentive package has been developed to facilitate the development of a biodegradable package 15

manufacturing industry in Belize. The incentive programme aims to attain adequate support and buy-in from the industrial sector and encourage existing producers of single use plastic bags, utensils and Styrofoam goods to transition into the production of biodegradable alternatives. It also aims to facilitate new investments to produce biodegradable packaging in Belize, while increasing the demand for locally produced biodegradable packaging.

Madam Speaker our Incentive Regimes and Business Development Strategies are about creating new opportunities for our people.

BELTRAIDE Madam Speaker, in 2018, BELTRAIDE continued to build upon its strategy for business development, which is based upon four main pillars:(i) Promotion of Foreign Direct Investment, (ii) Development of Export Capacity, (iii) Facilitation of Small and Medium Enterprise Development, and (iv) the advancement of Employment Training in Belize.

In this fiscal year, Madam Speaker, EXPORTBelize, along with key partners, supported various initiatives aimed at improving export competitiveness and diversifying Belizean exports, especially to the EU, Central American and CARICOM. The unit started off its promotion efforts by hosting trade missions and buyer visits from Belgium/Netherlands, Jamaica and Trinidad. While two of the inbound missions were concentrated on the cacao industry, Jewel’s Resort Jamaica had interest in a variety of products including coconut oil and water, rum, timber, honey, shrimp and other fisheries products. Madam Speaker, continued outreach and support have resulted in new markets for Belizean pepper sauces and grains, and soybean oil is now being exported for the first time to the CARICOM Market. We 16

are also exploring opportunities in the Asian market and have supported participation in Taiwan Agriculture week activities and the Latin American Caribbean Trade Promotion Organization exhibit in China.

Additionally a buyer

meeting with a Canadian distributor afforded several producers the opportunity to present their products and discuss trade prospects.

Madam Speaker, new export capacities have been developed for over 60 export clients through advising and over 245 through specialized trainings and workshops coordinated through EXPORTBelize, in partnership with other support agencies.

These included:

Good Manufacturing Practices; Intellectual Property; Trade

Facilitation Clinics; Market Intelligence; Economic Partnership Agreements Sensitization.

Madam Speaker, earlier in my presentation you would have heard me mention the growing importance of the services industry for Belize, and EXPORTBelize continues to play a pivotal role in diversifying our offerings in this sector. The Unit has provided assistance to the music industry and, in 2018, implemented the “Taste of Music” initiative. Three music bands received technical assistance in areas that support music as a business.

Madam Speaker, in terms of investment generation, the BelizeINVESTUnit concluded upwards of BZ $151 million of investments, with an accompanying estimate of at least 1,338 new employment opportunities to be created across Belize’s priority sectors.

Madam Speaker, in relation to the outsourcing services industry, Belize continues to do well. Belize has approximately twenty-five (25) active Contact Centers with 17

presence in five (5) municipalities. These companies provide a range of services across the value-added spectrum, and entail diverse operations such as audio-based services, financial and accounting support, medical transcription services, and the administration of distant learning services catering to language learners. Notably, the outsourcing industry alone is employing close to 3,000 employees, with potential for increased growth in the future.

Madam Speaker, clearly this sector shows tremendous promise and Government remains committed to ensuring the right enabling environment is in place to support its expansion.

Madam Speaker our Export Facilitation Programs and Investment Promotion Initiatives are about creating new opportunities for our people.

Madam Speaker, the future for investment in Belize is bright. In the new fiscal year, the investment landscape is expected to continue to be led by the tourism accommodation sector.

The projected investment, counting the tourism

accommodation sector alone, is expected to surpass BZD 400 million dollars, at minimum, while contributing substantial employment and skills training opportunities to the local economy. On the cruise tourism front, Madam Speaker, Belize’s much anticipated cruise ship docking facility, to be located on the Stake Bank Island, officially broke ground in February this year. This docking facility, upon completion, is expected to have injected no less than BZ $125 million into our local economy, and will have the capability to accommodate four (4) Voyager class cruise vessels, including a sixty (60) slip marina, along with an eighty (80) room luxury resort and supporting amenities.

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Madam Speaker, BelizeINVEST also anticipates increased investments in the areas of agriculture and light manufacturing, as exemplified by the commitment of the Fyffes Group, which plans to investment approximately BZ $60 million in rejuvenating substantial acreages in the Southern Districts, dedicated to the production of high-quality bananas for export to the European Union. Similarly, Madam Speaker, other investors have expressed interest in establishing other operations such as corn flour packaging production facility, and a mid-size cement production facility catering to domestic and export markets.

Transparent BPO, one of Belize’s largest Call Centers, currently has 709 workstations at two operating locations in Belize City: Coney Drive and Cleghorn Street. The company is in the final stages of construction of its new 32,000 square feet facility at mile 2.5 on the Philip Goldson Highway. The new facility is expected to be ready for occupancy in June or July of this year. Transparent BPO intends to develop this new location as its third operational location which will become its new showcase facility that will bring major US companies into Belize.

This new investment will enhance the working environment for their employees whose numbers are expected to expand by an additional 465 workstations to a total of 1,174 seats.

On a parallel note, Madam Speaker, BELTRAIDE and the Ministry are in the process of developing Belize’s very first National Investment Policy and Strategy (NIPS). The NIPS will establish a national framework that will guide both domestic and foreign investments, and holistically streamline the investment climate of Belize to promote more efficiency in the process. We are pleased to share that the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) has approved funding for NIPS, and the work to complete the policy and strategy is expected to be done within six months.

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Belize Training Development Centre Madam Speaker, the strengthening of Belize’s export capacity and investment climate has been clearly evident, but the work does not end there. During the 2018/2019 fiscal year, the Belize Training and Employment Centre (BTEC) continued its role of providing the private sector with a cadre of well-trained individuals capable of contributing positively to the productivity of their businesses.

BTEC continues to fulfil one of its major objectives which is to reduce barriers to gainful employment for Belizeans. BTEC provided job preparedness trainings to three hundred and thirty-four persons (334) in three municipalities: Belize District, Cayo District and Stann Creek District. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of persons trained are gainfully employed across two priority sectors: business process outsourcing (BPO), and tourism and leisure.

BTEC continues to strengthen the skills of persons employed through the development and execution of key capacity development workshops in time management; customer service excellence; presentation skills and conflict resolution. BTEC retrained four hundred and forty-one (441) workers in the fiscal year. These trainings were done in partnership with the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and through private entities such as Belize Water Service Limited (BWS); Sleeping Giant, Koko King, and Social Security Board (SSB). Madam Speaker, BTEC will continue to develop strategic collaborations with the private sector to identify opportunities for growth and we will continue to provide targeted job preparedness trainings to equip Belizeans with the skill sets to access these opportunities.

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Madam Speaker our Job Training/Capacity Building Programs are about creating new opportunities for our people.

Small Business Development Centre Madam Speaker, consistent with its mandate to promote entrepreneurship and MSME development, in October of last year, BELTRAIDE started implementing phase II of the Caribbean SBDC Project. The project’s objective is to assist business development advisors to identify opportunities in local, regional and international value chains for the benefit of MSMEs. Twenty-five persons were trained by the Duke University in the use of value chain analyses, including persons from womenand youth-led enterprises.

Last year November, Madam Speaker, BELTRAIDE started the Female Entrepreneurship Program through support of the Center of Promotion for MSME (CENPROMYPE-SICA). The program is the first of its kind in Belize, and is designed exclusively for women with the goal of improving and strengthening their leadership and business skills through capacity building and personalized business advice. A total of 18 women were selected through an application process to be part of the program, Madam Speaker.

BELTRAIDE’s Small Business Development Centre, (SBDCBelize) continues to contribute to Belize’s MSME development through its business advisory services and capacity building training programs. Last year, SBDC provided capacity building to over 500 participants in areas such as: Start-Up Essentials, Accounting, Customer Service, and Internet Marketing Fundamentals. Madam Speaker, with support from other government ministries and departments, SBDC also successfully coordinated workshops that sensitized participants on General Sales Tax, Labor 21

Law, and ISO 9001 Documentation & Process Mapping, to name a few. In addition, SBDCBelize, with financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) under the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), completed the second round of the training program titled “Expanding SME Access to Financing and Business Development Services in Belize� and over 900 participants across the country benefitted from this initiative.

Madam Speaker the work of our Small Business Development Center in the building a culture of entrepreneurship is about creating new opportunities for our people.

Madam Speaker, given the importance of entrepreneurship to our future economic development, BELTRAIDE works closely with the Ministry of Education in promoting the integration of entrepreneurship into the national school curriculum at the secondary and tertiary levels. As a part of our efforts in this regard, we have conducted entrepreneurship labs that have benefitted over 800 students at participating schools countrywide through the National Entrepreneurship Road Show this year.

COMMERCE Belize Bureau of Standards Madam Speaker, the Bureau of Standards remains committed to establishing a functional and purpose-driven National Quality Infrastructure, that will be buttressed by the pillars of Standardization, Metrology Conformity Assessment, and Accreditation. In the development of standards for goods and services, the Bureau continues to pursue standards to meet the growing needs across both the public and 22

private sectors. The Bureau continues to work towards new and revised standards for labelling of pre-packaged foods, specifically the front of package labelling. The new requirements for front of package labelling will include health warning symbols for foods that are high in fats, salts and sugars: this is aimed at reducing health issues related to Non-Communicable Diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

Madam Speaker, in times of fiscal prudence, my Ministry recognizes that budgetary allocations can go only so far, this however, has not impeded us from looking to solutions and alternatives that may come through partnerships and alliances. Through the IX Technical and Scientific Cooperation between Mexico and Belize, the Bureau is the beneficiary of a project entitled “Standards and Conformity Assessment Framework” which was approved in September of 2018 by the Mixed Commission on Technical and Scientific Cooperation between Mexico and Belize. This one-year project is expected to begin before the end of March 2019.

The Bureau, along with its Mexican counterparts, spearheaded by Mexico’s National Standards Body (Dirección General de Normas (DGN), will seek to implement a practical and feasible model in ensuring the development and successful implementation of relevant standards in the agro-processing sector.

Madam Speaker, we envision that this initiative will improve the quality of goods in the market place to the benefit of consumers. Complementary to standards development is the need to build conformity assessment capabilities and the Bureau’s capabilities in regard to this critical element of an effective NQI will also be strengthened.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to share that the Bureau will also benefit from another project under the Technical and Scientific Cooperation program between 23

Mexico and Belize. This second project, valued at approximately BZ$55,000, is focused on metrology and is funded by the Mexican Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AMEXCID).

This project will strengthen

metrology capabilities for six laboratories which were inaugurated on the 27th of April of 2017. The project will be executed in 5 stages and will include a stocktaking exercise of metrological needs across public and private institutions. With the provision of technical support and guidance from the National Metrology Institute of Mexico (Centro Nacional de Metrologia - CENAM), the Bureau will be seeking to offer internationally recognized calibration services across these measurements. This marks a major advance and accomplishment in the field of science and technology for Belize, considering that there exists no other institution that will be able, at least not in the foreseeable future, to offer calibration services on this scale and on this level. Furthermore, it will, at least for these measurements, significantly reduce the cost borne by the private and public sector of calibrating equipment abroad.

Madam Speaker the work of the Belize Bureau of Standards in the building of our quality infrastructure for Belize is about ensuring the well being of our people.

CLOSING Madam Speaker, before I conclude my presentation, kindly allow me an opportunity to sincerely thank all those who have assisted us in the work we are doing in the Albert Constituency. The Albert ACTION Committee and all the members of the Albert CARE Team: Alnoye Smith, Idolly Frazer, Kenyon Lord, Clarence Mckay, Rouchelle Hemsley, Vanessa Williams, John Frazer, Sr. As well as our esteemed and much appreciated friends of the local Business Community who

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have been kind and very generous with their contributions. Collectively we are changing lives for the better.

Madam Speaker, I also wish to publicly acknowledge the CEO in the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Commerce Mr. Duane Belisle and our Heads of Departments at the Ministry & BELTRIADE and their Respective Teams for their herculean efforts in achieving our mandate: Director General Andy Sutherland, Director Lincoln Blake, Director Jose Trejo, Finance Officer Ricardo Farias, Administrative Officer, Guadalupe Williams and Executive Director, Dr Leroy Almendarez, Executive Assistants Ginolfi Bradley and Sharlet Gamboa and to all our Public Officers who understand the importance of delivering efficient and effective services to our clients. I thank each of them personally, for a job well done.

So I end Madam Speaker, where I began, I unreservedly lend my support to the Appropriation Bill for 2019/2020. For whether we are discussing Belize’s physical infrastructure, health infrastructure, educational and training infrastructure, social assistance infrastructure, quality infrastructure it is ALL about the people.

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