It cannot be said that San Pedro and Ambergris Caye have not felt the pinch of the ailing economy, but compared to other parts of Belize, it is fairing off much better at the moment. In fact high officials in government and the opposition believe and have the confidence that San Pedro could be the answer to saving the Belizean economy.
The country of Belize depends on the tourism industry to earn the foreign dollar and build a strong dollar. It also depends on foreign investment. Over the past years foreign investment has been as high as over $200Mil per annum. This past year, the foreign investment dropped to an all-time low below the $50Mil mark, so much that it could be argued that investors have lost confidence in Belize.
But there seems to be a turnabout in this unattractive scenario. At the House of Representatives during its last sitting for the budget debate, Hon. Manuel Heredia and Area Representative for Belize Rural South, which includes San Pedro and Caye Caulker, informed the nation that there are three big investments in line for San Pedro alone during the next 12 months.
There is one big investment coming soon to the tune of some $40Mil. A second one is for $20Mil and a third one for $6Mil. Coming from Hon. Manuel Heredia, we can depend that this is fact and that he knows what he is talking about. This is a huge improvement in investment confidence for Belize and this is San Pedro alone. This will mean the creation of a lot of construction jobs and other administrative/operations employment opportunities which will trickle down into all levels of our economy.
In an interview with Channel 5 News’ “Open Your Eyes” Hon. John Briceño, leader of the Opposition, stated his confidence that San Pedro, Placencia and the Cayo District have the potentials of attracting huge investments which could save our ailing economy. The potential is there and it is just a matter of planning and exploiting these resources and investments, according to Briceño.
In a nutshell what these two high ranking officials from two different political camps are saying is that San Pedro can be the answer to saving an ailing economy. This is good news to all Sanpedranos and residents in San Pedro who are looking for jobs as well as for people who already have big investments in San Pedro. Islanders just hope that GOB pumps more money and resources our way instead of just waiting on outside investors to do so. Most express that they feel the island ignored. Looking into San Pedro, Placencia and Cayo would be the ideal way to bring back Belize out from the trenches.
In the next months to come we should begin to feel the positive effects of these investments which should trigger off even better living conditions as well as attract even more investments. We rejoice at the good news and urge everyone to continue to maintain the stability, friendliness and low crime effects in our area. When investors are attracted our way, it is good news for us. We have had enough of these little ‘two cents so called investors’ that have not helped much but simply added more competition in some already overburdened markets. It seems like Belize will soon breathe a sigh of relief.
