Local News

Mayor Darrel Bradley has spoken of the municipal bond in his campaign leading up to the elections and also since he has gotten into office.  The twenty million dollar bond is specifically earmarked for infrastructural development – something that the old capital has needed for over a decade now.  But the advantage of this bond, according to advisors to City Hall is what it can offer the common man on the street.  While it will work to give Belize City a much-needed facelift, it can also earn money for its residents.  Today Love News sat down with Ervin Perez, Managing Director of Legacy Fund, which is the financial advisor to the Belize City Council. 

ERVIN PEREZ, Managing Director (Legacy Fund)

“Legacy Fund believes that the financial infrastructure that we have is colonial, meaning it’s not designed to allow that kind of economic growth that we need, you cannot have long term capital, there is no innovation, the cost of capital by itself is high, we have inflexible loan terms and there is a non-existent of an equity market.  We want to focus on Belize City because that’s our spur of interest right now and why can Belize afford to step up and be a little bit independent in terms of being able to take care of its own infrastructural needs.  Well you know it is one of the largest urban centers, it has one of the fastest population growth rates, it is the city in the second fastest growing district, it is at the end of the day the center of economic activity and it has a very very diverse economy.  A lot of small towns, if you go to them, have very little happening in the town.  Belize City itself has businesses in tourism, in trade, in finance, in business.  So at the end of the day it possesses the capacity to generate revenue for the City Council but the problem with the city, obviously, is the major infrastructural weaknesses.  There is huge infrastructural deficit and this investment – lack of investment has gone beyond fifteen years.”

We’ll have more on this story coming up at six o’clock.