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Still, that doesn't mean the speech was devoid of news value….the hour long presentation did have a few attention grabbing details. Jules Vasquez reports:…

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"This is a good Budget, Mr. Speaker, positioning us on the recovery path and hastening the pace of development and equity"

Called "Celebrating Growth, Sustaining Recovery," the Prime Minister's Budget Speech cued in on the GDP growth after a year of stagnation:

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"We are buoyed by a 2.4% GDP growth for the year that's ending, and a forecast of 3% for 2011/2012. In the circumstances, Mr. Speaker, you will forgive me if the tone of this beginning reflects a degree of satisfaction. But pretty much all we undertook to do last year, has been done."

But it's not quite mission accomplished, that's why Barrow says his government is redoubling its efforts:

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Increased infrastructure activity; continuing strides in education and health; advances in agriculture leading to self-sufficiency and food security; private sector growth fuelled by cheaper credit and no new taxes; improvement in law and order; and, above all, our mantra, our gospel, our talisman: ever greater investment in, compassion for, and protection of, the poor."

Pro-poor initiatives form the bulwark of the budget:

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"We will continue to make impregnable the ramparts guarding the poor and the marginalized. The government repeats, with no apology and indeed with much pride, that our pro-poor programmes are the centerpiece of our social campaign, our mandate of egalitarianism. We are therefore replenishing our funding for the food support programme that we started on Southside Belize City. But we are going further now. We are expanding it to the North side of the old capital; and rolling it out to the Cayo District where it will serve, principally, the disadvantaged residents of the twin towns. Altogether then, we will provide 2.5 million dollars over the coming year to help with food cost of living. The Conditional Cash Transfer initiative is of countrywide application, and there is 4 million for that. We are also starting a brand new interventions this year, under which we will give child care subsidies to working families nationwide."

And while child care is one issue, citizen safety is another and the prime minister announced an interesting initiative that starts on Monday:

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Fifteen of the most high- energy gang members and affiliates from one of the most challenging areas of the City have been taken on by the Ministry of Works. They will be dispatched to jobs in the rural areas of 14three different Districts. We believe this will result in an immediate lessening of tensions and a de- escalation of old capital shooting incidents. The fact is this has come about because of an approach made to me by perhaps the most feared of the so-called gang leaders. I greatly welcome this signal of a willingness to change; and we hope to build on the initiative by finding more district work soon for another fifteen young men from a completely different turf."

There will be no new taxes:

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"In recent weeks leading up to this Budget Presentation, I made the pledge that there will be no new taxes on the Belizean Public. This is a pledge that I fully intend to honor."

"However, there is one small measure that we propose to impose on the local oil sector. That is to raise the rate of Excise Tax on Locally Produced Petroleum from $1.00 to $2.00 per barrel."

"The additional yield is expected to be in the region of $1.2 million dollars, and the proceeds will be applied to the new social protection program in the Cayo District, the home of B.N.E."

And while BNE will pay 1.2 million dollars more in taxes, consumers will pay less tax on fuel as GST will be replaced by a lower import duty.

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Effective today, we will sign into law a Statutory Instrument that will zero-rate the GST on gasoline, illuminating kerosene and diesel. In its place, we will increase the Import Duty on gasoline and diesel by a fixed, specific-rate amount. This amount will not be what the GST take is currently, at over 100 US dollars a barrel; but what the GST take was when world oil prices were in the US$85 per barrel range."

While that will provide some relief, there's no relief on debt service payments:

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Debt service payments will escalate from $175.1 million in fiscal year 2011/2012 to $205 million in fiscal year 2013/14. This is because of the jumps in the interest rates being paid on the Super Bond from 4 1/4 to 6 percent in 2010, and further to 8 1?2 percent in 2012. In the current global context, these are extortionate rates."

And while the Superbond is an all-occasion bad guy - the Prime Minister still rounded the bad news off with a flourish at the finish

Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Mr. Speaker, what a difference a year makes! Inspired by the return to growth and the credo I have just set out, this government now confidently takes the Belizean agenda forward. We have turned things around and once more are free to fly. So, Mr. Speaker, it is onward and upward."

Clocking in at 60 minutes, the speech was shorter than the previous ones given by this Prime Minister. Still, on a decided down note - we must mention that for the first time in 17 years of covering the House Budget Presentation under four different Ministers of Finance - this is the very first time we have left the National Assembly Building without getting a hard copy of the speech.

It was sent to our newsroom electronically two hours after the presentation but the hard copy - particularly the statistical tables - are required by the press when the meeting is still in session - so that it can inform our question and answer session, and color radio commentary. When we asked the press office, they told us hard copies were not provided to them.