But government will get some relief from a restructured Petro Caribe agreement with more favourable terms for Central American and Caribbean nations. The announcement was made at the fifth extraordinary Petrocaribe Summit held in Maracaibo, Venezuela over the weekend. Belize was represented by Dr. Manuel Esquivel, senior finance advisor with ministerial rank. Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has agreed to change the already concessionary credit formula for Petro Caribe fuel imports. Once world oil prices pass $100 per barrel participating countries will only have to pay 40% of their bill, instead of the present 50%. The balance goes into a loan account and the country will pay that back on concessionary terms over time. Prime Minister Barrow explained what kind of difference it will make.
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“What it is now is that once the price is above $80 a barrel you get into the 50% credit bracket. Above $100 a barrel we get 60% credit and above $150 a barrel, and unfortunately we all believe that the price is going to reach $150 a barrel, we get 70% credit, so ladies and gentlemen that is good news. And as you know we are already using a portion of that fund to finance some of our capital projects, some of our capital projects and we are going to use some to invest in the credit unions to provide loan financing for teachers and for public officers. As the fund grows, we will be able to do even more by way of the pro-poor policies.”
There is presently $21 million is in the long term loan fund derived from the Petro Caribe initiatives.
