By Belize Live News Staff: As questions grow over how BEL ended up owing tens of millions of dollars, Prime Minister John Briceño is pointing to the previous UDP administration.
The PM said the crisis was not created in Belize, but locally, its roots go back more than a decade.
“If you really want to look locally, I think former CEO John Mencias put it right. This problem started in twenty twelve when the previous government did nothing to put in new sources of power,” Briceño said.
He said his government has been working hard to address the issue since taking office.
“We would have had solar power this year,” he said.
Briceño explained that in October of last year, BEL advised government and the Public Utilities Commission that the country was facing an electricity shortage. Minister Michel Chebat then took the matter to Cabinet, which approved a call for new energy sources to address the shortfall.
BEL now says it needs an additional $20 million to meet its CFE obligations, following government’s $73 million share purchase.
The PM maintains that any money put into BEL is an investment in a national asset owned by all Belizeans.
