But the truck is part of a bigger picture in which the British government supports poverty reduction and good governance efforts. The largest part of that is the Commonwealth Debt Initiative where the British make annual reviews of the government's progress in key areas to see if it will continue with debt relief programs. According to the Minister of Economic Development Mark Espat, we've again passed the test.
Hon. Mark Espat, Minister of National Development
"We expect that we will get approval for disbursement of the 04/05 year within the next few weeks and all indications are that we have satisfied the benchmarks in the three broad areas government, poverty, alleviation and macroeconomic management and so I would characterize the relationship as constructive."
Jules Vasquez,
Will the CDI relief, how much will it be worth in cash?
Hon. Mark Espat,
"The actual Belize equivalent is about $2.3 million."
After an Ashcroft/Fonseca induced dry spell, Belize has qualified for debt relief for the past four years.
