Remarks by

Prime Minister of Belize, HON. JOHN BRICEÑO

March 2, 2023

Good Evening,

I am happy to join you today at the signing of the Compact Development Funding Agreement. You know, Ambassador Quan, I clearly remember the day the news came down that Belize was chosen as a recipient of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. It was a December and Cabinet was having its Christmas lunch and I was pulled out from the festivities by my Cabinet Secretary and handed the phone only to hear this good news. Obviously, it was my first Christmas gift, a present for the Belizean people.

Since then, we have made remarkable progress in preparing for the work ahead. I am sure all of you here are aware off this, but I feel it is worth repeating. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), is a US Government-funded agency that provides grant funding to countries for programs to reduce poverty through economic growth.

Belize was one of only two countries that were chosen in 2021. We were selected because, although early in our administration, we were seen as an administration that was showing our commitment to improving democracy, reducing rising poverty rate, addressing the significant challenges to economic growth, & mitigating vulnerability to external shocks. These are all actions that fulfil the criteria to qualify a country for grant funding by the MCC.

As we continue with the work ahead, we will continue to develop projects, and design and implement these projects based on economic priorities which are set out in PlanBelize. Already we have started work on the diagnostic process known as the constraint analysis. This was done by interacting with government as well as key stakeholders from various sectors. In so doing, we are making the process more inclusive. Greater inclusion we believe will make the process more competitive. In the end, we are doing everything possible to ensure that everyone can contribute and, as such, share in the ownership our national development. We are convinced that well planned and robust stakeholder involvement at this phase of our efforts sets a strong foundation, in project design that will lead to a solid Implementation phase with meaningful input and engagement. All this is in line with MCC's project design, something we believe will help us achieve our objectives.

The Government of Belize and MCC will finalize the development of an MCC compact. MCC compacts are fiveyear grant programs that aim to reduce poverty by increasing economic growth. Based on an analysis of the constraints to economic growth, MCC and the Government of Belize agreed to focus compact development on two key constraints to sustainable and inclusive growth in Belize:

1. Education: Low quality of education that has led to a shortage of trained professionals in all industries.

2. Electricity: High cost of electricity drives up input costs for all industries.

Cabinet approved two Concept Papers which were submitted to MCC that the Government of Belize would like to undertake through a compact program with MCC. The objective of the proposed Education Project is to increase the number of our young people graduating from secondary and tertiary school. This is how we will broaden our skills base, change attitudes and values, and provide relevant education that will cater to current labour market demands. This will help us to fulfill our commitment to provide universal access to secondary education. It will transform how our teachers teach and how our students learn. Most important, it will reduce the skills gaps in key growth industries.

The Electricity Project is to decrease the wholesale cost of electricity by improving governance capacity; supporting Belize to implement its utility-scale renewable energy expansion plans; and enabling the government, businesses, and households to make investments in distributed generation and improve energy-efficient practices.

The Government of Belize’s project development team which is working out of the Ministry of Economic Development will continue to work with MCC on developing the compact.

Ambassador Quan, please express our great appreciation to President Biden and your government. To the MCC delegation present here today, please express to your Board our sincere thanks for signing this second agreement for the Compact Development Funds.

I thank you.