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The Belize Times
Established 1957
12 JUNE 2016 | ISSUE NO: 4997
The Truth Shall Make You Free
www.belizetimes.bz | $1.00
HAADA TIMES DEH YA! FUEL PRICES, GST WILL GO UP
Belize City, June 8th, 2016 The state of Belize’s economy is dreadful, according to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF carried out its Article IV consultation in Belize and in their findings released recently they did not paint a good picture. The Barrow Administration was unable to maintain austerity measures expected and the IMF made note that “spending continued to grow well above budget targets”. With the poverty rate at near 50% and unemployment rate nearing 20%, the socioeconomic pressures faced by Belizeans are undoubtedly extreme. Yet the Barrow Administration has played no significant role in diminishing those pressures. This is why in its report, the IMF notes that “Belize’s economic outlook is characterized by sluggish growth, weak fiscal stance, and external and financial sector vulnerabilities”. Until Government’s investment
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PUP ASSERTS
BELIZE’S SOVEREIGNTY OVER SARSTOON Patrick Faber
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John Saldivar
The War is Not Over! CABINET MINISTERS BOYCOTT FABER’S CORONATION
Belize City, June 8, 2016 People’s United Party Leader Hon. John Briceño and senior officials of the Party carried out a successful nationalistic expedition to the Sarstoon area on Friday June 3rd afternoon. The Sarstoon area, consisting of its river which caresses Belize’s mainland coast and the Sarstoon Island, which is Belize’s land territory closest to the southern border with Guatemala, has been the center of heightened contention instigated by Guatemala. Since May 2015, our neighbors
have used their military to impose “control” over the area. It took the efforts of citizen groups to expose this, followed by a weak defense strategy by the Government of Belize. Prime Minister Dean Barrow has yet to visit the area, and while the Minister of National Security John Saldivar has been to the mainland coast, he simply watched on as Guatemala’s military vessels encroached onto Belize’s territorial waters and as a Guatemalan drone invaded our national airspace. The PUP made attempts to go to
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BELIZEANS IN ACCIDENT IN HOUSTON; 1 DEAD, 2 INJURED
Pg. 7 Sostenes Tamay
Lennox “Tambran” Young
377 DAYS SINCE BARROW LOST THE SARSTOON