BNTU Reacts to U.S. Cutting $250 Million Grant to Belize

While the government is yet to officially announce the US Government’s decision to cancel its $250 million grant to Belize, the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) says it wasn’t surprised. This month, Love News broke the story that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant was cancelled nine months after Belize was approved for the grant. The funds were earmarked for major projects in the energy and education sectors, with 80% of the funds being planned for use towards education projects. The decision has since sent ripples through the education sector with many questioning the implications of the grant’s cancellation. Today, BTNU President Nadia Caliz, who also sits on the MCC Board of Directors, weighed in on the cancellation, which she says has not officially been relayed to the board. 

Nadia Caliz, President, BNTU: “Let me say it this way. Honestly after seeing President Trump’s agenda and then looking at the MCC I expected something like that. Now what is a blow to us as a union is that some of the things under education that grant would have addressed. That is now somewhere in that corner trying to figure out how we’re gonna deal with those things. And I would like for government to look at those things because it’s very important for the whole improvement of the education system and see how they could find funding somewhere else to deal with that. Those are not things that we can ignore. The retraining of some teachers, the collaboration between Belize Education Institution and that in the US, those are very important things to us and I would love to see them looking at ways how we can bring that back. But when it comes to the other part you know Trump’s agenda, you see how he’s operating, he’s not gonna support it.”

Reporter: Have you been contacted by anyone from within the ministry, government. 

Nadia Caliz, President, BNTU: “So far no. I’ve seen it in the news and that’s it. But I do sit on the board that was responsible for the whole couriering of that fund yes I do sit on that board.”

Reporter: Disappointing that you haven’t been contacted ? 

Nadia Caliz, President, BNTU: “Not so far no. But I’m not disappointed. Like I said I pay attention to the news and I’m seeing or I have seen actually Trump’s agenda and knowing full well what we’re doing under the MCC I was not taken aback by it at all. I wasn’t surprised at all because the alignment when you look at the alignment it’s not with what he wants to promote.”

UDP’s Senator Patrick Faber also spoke on the silence from the Briceno Administration as it relates to the withdrawal of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as well as the ramifications from the global trade war. As it relates to the national budget, Faber has indicated that the government is delaying the presentation because they were left shocked by the loss of the MCC funds. 

Patrick Faber, UDP Senator Designate: “The other issue that I will add to that list of things that they have been silent on is the MCC project withdrawal of funding by the US government. The Government has demonstrated in fact it is ill prepared or they have no plan. We’re waiting patiently of course for the budget which is all the more reason why I join with my party leader in sending the signal that its s intolerable that the budget has not been read because that would be a good space for the government to tell us what exactly they plan to do when the Trump administration, United States Government, and it’s not just today it happened. We got the warning in fact if you follow the US politics you knew this would have happened a long time ago. The minute Mr.Trump won the election you knew it was coming. So we need to be told as a nation what is it that the government intends to do. You’ve heard bout the trade wars but now you’re hearing about the withdrawal of these funds. This is serious money. This is a quarter of a billion dollars with a B that the MCC project would have brought for education, for energy, for agriculture. These things are important pillars of our economy. Yet we have not heard anything official from the government as to, in fact we haven’t heard from them that it’s happening officially at all. We were told yesterday that Secretary of State for the United States Marco Rubio had a telephone conversation with our Prime Minister and among other matters discussed including congratulating him on his reelection that the MCC funds being withdrawn was one of the topics.”

The decision came after the US Government’s Department of Government Efficiency moved to shut down the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).