For weeks now, government has been holding back on releases announcing hikes in fuel prices. It's another death knell for transparency - but now, as prices soar, the government is in a public relations scramble to explain to consumers - so they finally issued a release today - after the latest increase.
Well, the Ministry of Finance announced the increase officially to say that the new price is 13 dollars and 50 cents per gallon.
The government says that this increase is entirely attributable to the acquisition cost of the product. Also, in order for the price to be kept at this level, the government squash reduced all levies on regular fuel by 29 cents.
T oday's press release says quote, "...The Government is in the process of establishing a Fuel Stabilization Mechanism which is expected to provide some level of price predictability while protecting fiscal targets in the national budget." End quote.
The Ministry continues to actively engage stakeholders in the pursuit of specific burden-sharing initiatives that can also help in the overall goal of price stabilization.
Their press release adds quote, "...The Government has been emphatic with Belize's principal fuel importer, Puma Belize...about the imperative of competitive acquisition and pricing." End quote.
Remembering TB Today
This year's World Tuberculosis Day theme is, "Invest to End TB. Save Lives," and it reflects the urgent need to invest resources to ramp up the fight against TB to finally end the disease. In 2020, 10 million people died from TB around the world and in 2021, there were 74 cases in Belize. And while most people may feel that TB isn't something they need to be worried about, Nurse Susan Canto Rivero said that it's still out there and it's still deadly. She spoke to us today at the health fair held at the Battlefield Park.
