7 News Belize

Post-Earl Relief Funding Paltry
posted (August 18, 2016)
With the losses to agriculture and infrastructure, official estimates of the damage put it at about 105 million - and that doesn't include all that money you spent on new appliances, replacement furniture, and damaged roofs.

All told the cost of hurricane Earl is a staggering figure, but so far government has only received a paltry sum from multilaterals like the CDB and friendly nations like Taiwan and the European Union. How paltry? We'll let the PM break the bad news:...

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"If you have not gotten it yet, it certainly on the way. The CEDEMA man is coming in tomorrow. I think he is bringing $200,000 Euros, Taiwan is $200,000 Belize, the IDB has agreed to their grant of I think $200,000US, the damage assessment experts have been contracted I think they are coming in next week. That of course is for purposes of the loans that we will be trying to access via both CDB and the IDB. In terms of grant monies, I think we are just about tacked out or reached the limit of what we are going to get. So again, its CEDEMA, CDB, IDB, Taiwan. All together you'd be looking at what 1.2 million dollars."

Jules Vasquez
"Which is a joke."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"Well I wouldn't want to say it's a joke, it is a paltry amount, but we have to accept what we get."

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