Another tough conversation for the PM was the decision from his government to cut the fuel subsidy which has been given to the caneros of Northern Belize.
The new subsidies are out, and the government has decided that cane farmers must pay 70 cents more per gallon of diesel that they purchase to run their farming operations and for cane deliveries to the mill. The PM bristled and suggested that we were not looking at the bigger financial picture of the country. Here's that testy back and forth:
Daniel Ortiz
"If you cut it, it means they have to pay more, right? Isn't that how it works?"
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"Obviously."
Daniel Ortiz
"Okay, well then -"
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"So, what's your point?"
Daniel Ortiz
"So then, if it's been cut, and they have to pay more, are you the one - or isn't your government responsible for that cut, sir? You made a decision."
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"But at the end of the day, we have to look at the big picture, Daniel. We have to look at the big picture. If we cannot collect the taxes - remember, they left us bankrupt. The UDP left us borrowing 1 million dollars a day. You forget that man."
Daniel Ortiz
"I haven't, sir. I haven't."
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"I have to remind you."
Daniel Ortiz
"I haven't, sir."
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"No, you have because when ask questions like this, you forget that what we're trying to [is] we're trying to balance the budget. We're trying to stave off a devaluation. Remember, we were on the verge of devaluation. The IMF was telling us, to fire 3,000 people. The IMF was telling us to increase GST to 19%, and we've done none of that. So, all of us have to tighten our belts a little bit. All of us have to do our part. It's easy. I could behave like Dean Barrow and just give it away. Look at what Dean Barrow did. In 2010, the wage bill was around 235 million dollars. By the time we got into government, it was over 550 million, doing things that we can't afford. So, we are fixing what the UDP messed up. The 1 billion dollars between Petrocaribe and oil money was wasted, and look at where we are. So now, what we need to do is - and I admit that we're going through a difficult time. It's still not time to boast and to gloat. We have to fix the economy, and I wish we could get rid of all taxes, but we just simply cannot."
Later on in the news, we'll have a little more from our Shipyard interview with the PM.
