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Prime Minister John Briceño, in Bangkok, Thailand, is highlighting several concerns on behalf of Belize and other small countries in his capacity as the Chairman of the World Bank’s Small States Forum. The role gives the Prime Minister an opportunity to bring those concerns directly to the World Bank’s leadership and push for support that takes the needs of small economies into account. PM Briceño spoke about those lobbying efforts.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “The other point I want to make very quickly, René, is that I am the president of this Small States Forum for the World Bank. We have over 50 plus members in that forum and at the yearly meeting then we will have a round table meeting and discussion tomorrow. And some of the things that we need to be able to address is that, and I said that to Susana from the World Bank, the vice president, that many instances we have the IFIs impose certain procedures and regulations that for small countries like Belize it is difficult to be able to put all of this in place by the time when the project starts. And there are times when because we’re trying to fight in order to put all this in place the time is running on the project. And so by the time we get the project fully working the time that they give you for that project is coming to an end and then they just want to end the project when these are some very very important projects. That’s one example of what we’re talking about as small island states with the challenges that we face. And we want to be able to discuss that with the World Bank to make the point one shoes does not fit all. One set of regulations can’t fit all. The bigger countries have a lot of staff, they have a lot of people available and we don’t. We have to be able to manage with the little that we have. We’re asking that the World Bank would then to have better consideration and appreciation of the challenges that small states like Belize have to confront on a daily basis.”
For Belize, the discussions also include getting delayed projects moving. Briceño expanded on the list of projects awaiting progress, including funding for farmers under the Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Project, known as CRESAP.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “We have the CRESAP project in Belize. It took us almost two years to be able to put all the processes in place. We have a shortage in the people that have the capacity to the level that the World Bank is requiring or requesting. And so we have to be able to able to work to put that in place. And some of the procedures, for instance the cane farmers up in the north whenever they were trying to apply for this to be able to be a part of CRESAP which is a part grant and a part loan they were asking for land titles. Most of our cane farmers do not have a land title, you know they’re on the land they have the lease and so now we had to be able to work together wit the DPM and his staff and the DFC now to be able to find a way how we could get the land titles very quickly.”
Belize holds the chairmanship of the Small States Forum through to December 2028.
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