But the CDB report also mentions Belize's debt. At 80% of GDP, it is well above the 60% benchmark for sustainability. The report notes that in 2015 Debt/GDP ratios increased in The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and Belize.
Now this comes before the entire compensation payment for the BTL acquisition, So we asked Dr. Ram, with the super bond step up and the BTL payout, is Belize facing a debt bomb in the coming years.
Jules Vasquez
"Is it facing a sort of debt bomb probably in maybe 2017, 2018?"
Dr. Justin Ram - Director of Economics, CDB
"I don't think that there is a debt bomb on the way for Belize, but in this current environment governments need to be prudent examine their overall revenue streams to ensure that they are sustainable. But even more importantly, that be prudent in the way it spends money to ensure that expenditure is actually giving the government and the people of Belize the highest economic returns possible."
The step-up in bond payments begins in 2017.
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