Growth and Sustainable Development Strategy of Belize (2016-2019)

Intensify efforts to improve productivity and competitiveness, this requires improving the capacity of workers, using better technology, enhancing organizational (operational) allocation, increasing efficiency, and increasing the scale and scope of operations where needed.

Action 1: Facilitate greater exploitation of market access agreements
Action 2: Enhance market intelligence
Action 3: Achieve adequate standards and technical requirements for exports
Action 4: Increased access to export financing
Action 5: Improved promotion of exports

Action 1: Enhance coordination of investment promotion
Action 2: Clarify areas in which to concentrate investment promotion efforts
Action 3: Mount specific effort to attract investments
Action 4: Review the incentives regime for attracting investments

* Overcome the limitation of small size of enterprises;
* Encourage the emergence of new activity, or strengthen the competitiveness of emerging activity;
* Enhance the competitiveness of established (traditional) major industries including sugar, bananas, and citrus;
* Support the development of priority sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, tourism and energy;
* Incentivize the integration of green technologies and sustainable economy innovations into all aspects of economic development;
* Improve availability of development financing;
* Encourage technological adaptation and innovation;
* Encourage activity with greater potential to simultaneously enhance output growth and contribute to the more equitable distribution of income (promote growth with equity); 
* Generally incentivize business development through the tax regime and other means.

Necessary Condition 1.3.1: Improved competitiveness (including small firms and traditional sectors)

Action 1: Enhance efforts to encourage cooperation among firms.
Action 2: Continue to enhance the provision of Business Development Support.
Action 3: Continue efforts to improve productivity and viability of the sugar, banana and citrus industries (and other traditional sectors).
Action 4: Engage the private sector in discussing opportunities for expanding traditional agricultural production.
 

Necessary Condition 1.3.2: Optimal economic transition

Action 5: Use pilots, demonstrations and research as foundation tools.
Action 6: Increase efforts to identify enterprises with potential to become more competitive.
Action 7: Improve the ease of doing business.

Necessary Condition 1.3.3: Improving Access to Development Finance

Action 8: Pursue financing to expand the traditional development loan program.
Action 9: Develop a secure transaction registry.
Action 10: Develop other development financing instruments – venture capital and export financing.

Necessary Condition 1.3.4: Promoting Inclusive growth

Action 11: Identify and develop activities that can provide significant employment and earning opportunities to the poor and the vulnerable population.
Action 12: Pursue inclusive strategies in the development of the tourism industry.
Action 13: Intensify efforts to raise earnings from employment in order to reduce the prevalence of the working poor

Necessary Condition 1.3.5: Technological adaptation and innovation (including green technology)

Action 14: Build institutional capacity to encourage technological adaptation and innovation.
Action 15: Develop an intelligence framework to support technological adaptation and innovation, including “green technology”.
Action 16: Develop a framework and function for rational assessment of specific applications of technology.
Action 17: Conduct a study on the appropriate green technology options that can be used in Belize in the short and long term.
Action 18: Actively promote the use of identified appropriate green technologies.
Action 19: Design programs to facilitate and incentivize green technology investment.
Action 20: Design disincentives for use of environmentally unfriendly technologies.

Necessary Condition 1.3.6: Improving the Incentives Regime

Action 21: Review incentive regime – tax and non-tax.

Necessary Condition 1.3.7: Strategically Prioritize Sectors for Development

Action 22: Finalize and approve the National Export Strategy (NES) and coordinate its implementation, together with the National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan, within wider national planning efforts.
Action 23: Provide adequate resources to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to allow B39it to effectively pursue its mandate.
Action 24: Allocate adequate resources for the promotion and marketing of Belize as a tourism destination.
Action 25: Make strong efforts to develop emerging tourism source markets.
Action 26: Increase the level of diversification of the tourism product and engage in proper destination level planning and development.
Action 27: Develop a cultural tourism program.
Action 28: Facilitate putting in place adequate basic infrastructure.
Action 29: Review options for raising financing for tourism development in the context of the wider development financing needs of Belize.
Action 30: Review options for capacity and skill-building for the development of the tourism industry.
Action 31: Strengthen efforts to raise service standards in the tourism industry.
Action 32: Strengthen linkages between tourism and other sectors including agriculture, and pursue rural development through tourism.
Action 33: Foster inclusive growth in the development of the tourism industry.
Action 34: Develop a comprehensive strategy for increasing agricultural production and productivity.
Action 35: Significantly increase drainage and irrigation infrastructure, both on-farm and off-farm, and develop the necessary information tools.
Action 36: Improve the maintenance of farm access roads and develop new access roads.
Action 37: Enhance the analysis of the availability and ownership of lands suitable for agriculture, classified by the use for which specific areas are most suitable, given land and soil characteristics.
Action 38: Enhance research and extension services capabilities, especially with regard to identifying and supporting livestock production, the cultivation of non-traditional crops, and new agro-processing activity.
Action 39: Strengthen the agricultural marketing function.
Action 40: Improve support systems and infrastructure to achieve greater exports of agricultural commodities.
Action 41: Development of infrastructure and enhanced systems to facilitate more efficient agricultural production, processing, and better packaging and handling for export as well as for domestic supply.
Action 42: Encourage and facilitate increased cooperation among farmers and communities with regard to production, land preparation, harvesting, transportation, storage, marketing, on-farm irrigation and drainage, sourcing inputs including labor, among others.
Action 43: Assist farmers, through appropriate mechanisms, to reduce indebtedness and to sustain viability and productivity of farms.
Action 44: Enhance efforts aimed at reducing risk and achieving greater agricultural resilience to weather-related disasters and climate change.
Action 45: Establish adequate skills for the development of agriculture.
Action 46: Mount a program to increase attractiveness of agriculture as an employment option.

Action 1: Build adequate capacity to regulate prices.
Action 2: Review the framework for the regulation and development of the utilities sector.
Action 3: Study the opportunities for reducing informality.
Action 4: Develop proposals and encourage dialogue between the public sector, the private sector, and labor representatives with respect to improving labor incentives and labor market flexibility.
Action 5: Continue efforts to improve the efficiency and soundness of the financial system.
Action 6: Improve access to, and reduce the cost of, financing.
Action 7: Study the potential to encourage greater utilization of domestic savings for domestic investment.
Action 8: Transform and modernize financial infrastructure.
Action 9: Monitor and build on pilot initiatives to establish micro-insurance.

Action 1: Maintain the existing primary (highway) and secondary road networks in a good state of repair.
Action 2: Enhance and upgrade the road network based on the recommendations of the NTMP and subject to appropriate feasibility studies.
Action 3: Improve design specifications for new road construction and major road upgrades in order to reduce future maintenance costs, increase asset life, and reduce environmental impact, subject to overall economic and cost benefit analyses. 
Action 4: Develop a transportation policy.
Action 5: Improve the competitiveness of the sea ports.
Action 6: Improve collaboration with private sector stakeholders to improve management and investment in airport infrastructure.
Action 7: Secure investments in expanding electricity generation capacity.
Action 8: Design incentives to encourage household investment in renewable energy.
Action 9: Promote and facilitate other potential opportunities for the generation of electricity from renewable sources.
Action 10: Improve regulation of the telecommunication sector.
Action 11: Continue efforts towards attaining universal access to potable water.

Action 1: Increase spaces at the pre-primary level.
Action 2: Increase enrolment at the primary level (pursue universal primary education).
Action 3: Increase enrolment at the secondary level.
Action 4: Reduce drop-out and repetition rates at the primary and secondary education level.
Action 5: Improve efficiency of services.
Action 6: Enhance targeting mechanisms for financial assistance.
Action 7: Increase enrolment at ITVETs.
Action 8: Apply ICT in education service delivery.
Action 9: Improve the effectiveness of teachers.
Action 10: Improve the effectiveness of school leaders.
Action 11: Improve school governance.

Necessary Condition 1.6.1: Align Education and Training to Labor Market Needs

Action 12: Improve linkages between programs offered and the needs of the economy.

Necessary Condition 1.6.2: Encourage entrepreneurship and business innovation

Action 13: Promote an entrepreneurial culture and inculcate desired social values.

In line with the Horizon 2030 vision and the emerging Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, Belize will seek to eradicate poverty by 2030 and to achieve more equitable income distribution.

Action 1: Study mechanisms for health care financing.
Action 2: Educate and influence young people to change eating habits for improved nutrition.
Action 3: Strengthen services to deal with pathologies.

(The specific Actions for NC2.2 are covered in Necessary Condition 1.6)

Action 1: Commence adjustments to social security contributions to achieve an overall 2% increase over 4 years.
Action 2: Gradually transfer resources from central government to the SSB to cover the costs of the non-contributory pension.
Action 3: Gradually increase the retirement age from 55 to 65.
Action 4: Amend regulations to remove incentives for self-employed persons to register at an age close to 50 years, in order to minimize contributions necessary to qualify for pension benefits.
Action 5: Place greater emphasis on investments in liquid financial assets that yield satisfactory returns. 
Action 6: Develop and review options for extending social security to cover informal workers and more self-employed persons in a sustainable manner.

Action 1: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of recently launched social protection initiatives and the social assistance framework in general.
Action 2: Improve coordination among stakeholders with responsibility for managing social protection programs and social policy.
Action 3: Review the social protection framework.

Action 1: Evaluate livelihood programs.
Action 2: Strengthen community-driven approaches for the implementation of livelihood programs.
Action 3: Improve the coordination of livelihood programs.
Action 4: Promote sustainable livelihood programs in ecologically sensitive areas.

Action 1: Continue implementation of the DWCP.
Action 2: Develop strategies that could simultaneously promote greater labor productivity and better worker compensation.

Action 1: Strengthen the management of key organizations working towards the achievement of strong national identity. 
Action 2: Design strategies to change cultural attitudes that may diminish productivity or create barriers to matching available opportunities for work with those who need work.

Action 1: Embed a strong equity focus within line ministry programs, including a broad definition of social inclusion.
Action 2: Upgrade and sustain national programs aimed at child protection and the elimination of gender-based violence.
Action 3: Develop a proposal for increasing the participation of women in politics.

Tourism and agriculture, acknowledged to be the bedrock of the Belizean economy, are completely dependent for their sustainability on care of the environment and the integrity of Belize’s ecosystems. Tourism further depends on the quality of Belize’s historical and cultural assets, including archaeological assets.

Belize has already established a wide range of forward-looking environmental policies and programs. During the medium and long term, it will continue developing a scientific, pragmatic and integrated approach to environmental management that ensures the sustainability of its irreplaceable natural resources while also finding pathways to achieving sustainable economic development.

Necessary Condition 3.1.1: Ecosystems management

With respect to ecosystems, a healthy biodiversity provides a number of natural benefits such as the protection of water resources, nutrient storage, pollution breakdown and absorption, better adaptation to climate change, and resilience to natural disaster and unpredictable events, among others.

Necessary Condition 3.1.1a: Protected areas management

Action 1: Continue and strengthen implementation of the National Protected Areas Policy and System Plan. 

Necessary Condition 3.1.1b: Other land areas

Action 2: Complete and implement the new land use policy incorporating consideration of ecosystem benefits and economic valuation of ecosystems.

Necessary Condition 3.1.2: Water resource management

Action 3: Complete the establishment of the National Integrated Water Resources Authority and strengthen its capacity to implement its mission.
Action 4: Complete a Water Master Plan, a National Groundwater and Surface Water Assessment, and a Water Vulnerability Profile. 
Action 5: Complete an assessment of water supply and related infrastructure needs.

Necessary Condition 3.1.3: Disaster risk management and climate change resilience

Action 6: Officially establish the National Climate Change Office and strengthen its capacity to implement its mission.
Action 7: Review the utility of developing a comprehensive disaster management plan.
Action 8: Continue mainstreaming climate change considerations into national development planning. 
Action 9: Implement the National Climate Resilience Investment Plan (NCRIP).

Necessary Condition 3.1.4: Management of historical and cultural areas

Action 10: Continue sustainable management of historical and cultural sites.

Necessary Condition 3.1.5: Marine and aquatic resources

Action 11: Implement the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZMP), including the development of a marine spatial plan.

Action 1: Complete and implement the National Land Use Policy and Integrated Planning Framework. 
Action 2: Continue implementation of the Belize City Master Plan.
Action 3: Pursue a polycentric or decentralized development strategy.

Action 1: Complete the Solid Waste Management Plan.
Action 2: Continue implementation of the Solid Waste Management Project (SWMP).
Action 3: Close dump sites including those at Belize City, San Pedro, Caye Caulker, and San Ignacio/Santa Elena.
Action 4: Develop similar interventions to improve waste disposal within the southern and northern thirds of the country.
Action 5: Develop a legal framework for the disposal of chemical, electronic, medical, and other types of hazardous waste.
Action 6: Subject to the finalization of the National Solid Waste Management Plan, analyze the potential for cost recovery with respect to the delivery of waste management services.
Action 7: Improve existing legislation to prevent and reduce pollution within our natural environment and communities.
Action 8: Control and Reduction of Air Pollution to Improve Air Quality and Ensure a Healthy Environment and increase health of our citizens.

The Government of Belize (GOB) will aim to reduce wastage, abuse of government resources, and inappropriate procurement; while generally improving public sector management including budgeting and hiring practices, and accountability mechanisms.

Action 1: Fully implement program budgeting, and seek budget efficiencies and synergies.
Action 2: Continue implementation of other Public Finance Reform initiatives.
Action 3: Strengthen and broaden the Economic Development Council (EDC).

Action 1: Improve coordination among stakeholder agencies and keep the RESTORE Belize program under evaluation.
Action 2: Increase access to relevant education and training in high-crime areas.
Action 3: Identify sustainable gainful employment opportunities for at-risk youth.
Action 4: Review the potential for conscription as an alternative approach to address youth unemployment.
Action 5: Promote positive social values through social communication and education.

Action 1: Provide adequate basic equipment and training to law enforcement officials.
Action 2: Deploy CCTV cameras to aid with police surveillance.
Action 3: Continue to pursue community policing and promote neighborhood watch programs.

Action 1: Continue ongoing efforts to strengthen and reform the criminal justice system.
Action 2: Prepare a strategy to ensure adequate capacity for prosecution.
Action 3: Continue the provision of incentives to secure legal representation for those on remand due to lack of representation. 
Action 4: Study the feasibility of a witness protection program.
Action 5: Increase the use of alternative sentencing.

Action 1: Increase border patrols and border control.
Action 2: Encourage and recognize volunteerism to monitor protected areas.
Action 3: Begin the formulation of a National Migration Policy.