But when disbursements of that financial assistance to the unemployed starts coming down - how long can it last?
Well, today the Prime Minister announced that he has gotten encouraging signals from Belize's multilateral partners and donor friends.
First, he said he spoke with the World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean who agreed that 21 million US dollars earmarked for the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project will now be diverted to COVID relief.
That money will now be put into the pot to assist the unemployed, and especially the recently unemployed in the tourism sector.
The IDB has also agreed that 12 million US dollars earmarked for the Boost program will be fast tracked for availability within the next few weeks. And there is also another 25 million US dollars from the World Bank for a social protection which will also be re-programmed for COVID relief.
The Prime Minister says all these will add to the monies government has already sourced domestically:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"I've said yesterday that I hope to double the 75 million that we are going to borrow from the central bank. So if you put the 42 million from the crypt, if you pt the 50 million from the social protection program, if you put the 24 million from the IDB that will go to Boost - you can see that I am well ahead of the target that I had set for myself. Additionally, the OPEC/OFID people, those that fund the southside poverty alleviation project, there is 10 million dollars in that project that was to go to infrastructure. We are negotiating with them to divert that to particularly the ministry of human development to help to fund the extension of the food assistance program that would be aimed as well if not particularly at the rural areas at the district towns and the villages."
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