We also asked the new Deputy Prime Minister about what Belize's national debt looks like at this time. As we have been reporting - since the GDP contraction that came with COVID, the Debt to GDP ratio at the end of this fiscal year in March 2021 is projected to be about 150%, which is more than twice the prudential benchmark.
Hyde told us that far as he has heard, the national debt is close to 4 billion dollars:
Hon. Cordel Hyde - DPM/Minister of Natural Resources
"Wow! It's bad. We will get the official figures today, but I'm herring its bad. I'm hearing its closer to 4 billion dollars. Our debt to GDP ratio is beyond 130%. We are in a bad way. These guys wreck the train over the last 13 years. They left us with a real bag, but I'd rather wait to hear officially what the central bank and the financial secretary has, but it's very worrisome and we are going to have to be of our best as a government. We are going to have to rise to the occasion to take us from where we are. We are going to have to be frank with the Belizean people as to where we are, where we need to go and how we are going to get there."
