Plan Belize 2.0—it was the unseen manifesto that got the Briceño administration swept into office on a landslide for a second term. We say unseen because the manifesto didn't surface online until months after the election.

But it seems they never needed it until yesterday, when Prime Minister Briceño and his Cabinet officially launched the Plan Belize 2.0 Medium-Term Development Strategy at Muffles College Auditorium in his hometown of Orange Walk.

Built around the theme "From Plan to Prosperity," the 2026 to 2030 framework outlines 14 strategic objectives across five interconnected pillars—including sustainable economic transformation, rural and agricultural development, and public service modernization.

At the launch, the Prime Minister called for deliberate choices and steady work.

Jomarie Lanza reports:

"From Plan to Prosperity" is the theme for Plan Belize 2.0's Medium-Term Development Strategy, which was launched yesterday in Orange Walk.

The plan to deliver government policies from manifesto promises was introduced on the Prime Minister's home turf. He was backed up by several of his ministers that spoke about how this new strategy will assist within their respective ministries.

The strategy is set to be accomplished over a five-year period, and the Prime Minister explained how this will be accomplished through 14 strategic objectives.

John Briceño, Prime Minister
"Belize has no shortage of plans, reports, and strategies—over the years, successive governments have identified our challenges and told us what needs to be done. But what have we come to appreciate is that having a collection of good plans is not the same as having a shared national direction. We need to know not only what we want to accomplish, but what kind of Belize we are working towards."

"This strategy, much like its first iteration, represents more than just our ambitions—it is a decision about what we will prioritize, where we will direct our resources, and what we want to achieve for the people of Belize. It takes stock of what we have learnt, recognizes where we are today, and sets out where we believe the country must go next."

"That is what Plan Belize 2.0 is designed to help us do. The strategy brings together 14 strategic objectives and five strategic thrusts of national development: sustainable economic transformation to stimulate a growing economy that produces more, creates better jobs, and gives Belizeans a fair opportunity to grow. That means building on the industries we know, like agriculture and tourism, while developing new opportunities in the blue economy, energy, manufacturing, logistics, the orange economy, and digital services."

Minister of Economic Transformation Osmond Martinez said that these strategies are data-driven and framed around improving agriculture and infrastructure.

Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of Economic Transformation
"So let's consider agriculture: we wish to make our farmers more productive. Is agricultural policy alone sufficient? We may also need to improve roads, better access to technology, skills development, financing, market access, climate-resilient infrastructure, and sound environmental management. The question then is not simply which ministry is responsible for agriculture, but the better question is: what will it take to make agriculture work better for Belizeans? That is the thinking the Medium-Term Development Strategy should encourage and will encourage."

"Our government has access to an enormous volume of data, and many of us it engage with it daily, but are we using it as a tool? We see the numbers, we acknowledge them, and we are allowing the numbers to lead us."

Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet emphasized that the elusive goal of partnership and coordination across public, private, and institutional sectors is essential to accomplishing these goals:

Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
"The new MTDS must be understood as a shared responsibility. Ministries will have their respective programs and targets, but many development challenges extend beyond the remit of any single ministries. Climate change, for example, affects agriculture, infrastructure, health, tourism, water, housing, and disaster preparedness. Addressing it requires coordinating actions cross government and strong partnerships with the private sector, civil society, with academia, communities, and with our development partners."

Man Electrocuted While Demolishing House on Vernon Street

Yesterday, a workplace accident at a building on Vernon Street claimed the life of Eyerick Smith after he reportedly came into contact with a live electrical wire while helping to demolish a house near Vernon Street.

Reports indicate that Smith was cutting a wire when he was electrocuted. According to reports, Smith was soaking wet when he cut a wire and suffered a fatal electric shock.

Questions Raised Over Tendering and Access for Olo Caye Cruise Port

Last night you heard all about the Olo Caye plan to save the Stake Bank project.

But it's a project with many outstanding issues—not least of which is the fact that it's an island five miles from the mainland, which is where the attractions are. So does that mean passengers would have to be tendered in? And what's the use of doing that when the berthing port is being built to avoid tendering? That's what we asked yesterday:

Jules Vasquez
"The big issue with Stake Bank has always been that Stake Bank does not make sense without a causeway—to build a causeway is more than a 100 million dollars more and endless environmental clearance. How will you sell a business plan when the idea is, ‘Okay, you arrive here on a nice berthing facility, and then we will put you on another boat just like if you were tendering'—how do you solve that conundrum?"

Piero Dibattista, President of Olo Caye
"It's a concrete concern, I mean, we can add it, but let's put in another way: yes, we are bringing people to the island, moving them with a ferry to the mainland, okay? Not all the people are going to go to mainland, but a lot more people will get off the ship."

"The benefit we will have is going to be enormous compare to the situation that we are facing today."

Luis Ajamil, Chairman, Bermello Ajamil & Partners
"So I don't want you to confuse tendering with ferry—totally different operations, 100% different operations, okay? A ferry—anybody gets on a ferry here from land, you get on the ship, and you to another place and get off. The risk profile of that is you design the ferry station on both sides so it can be calm and people can get off; it happens all the time around the world, no particular issues. Now, with tendering is bringing a tender boat to a ship that is out at anchor bouncing round. It is a huge problem for them."

"And I think here that ferry design on both side is sort of the key to the whole thing, because you are going to be throttling people to the right place. So it actually will work if you make the ferry part of the whole experience—arriving and getting here, I think it'll be fantastic."

Experts Question Whether Grennel's Channel Can Accommodate Mega Cruise Ships

And then there is the other issue: the width of the channel to get to the island. Some experts say it is not wide enough to allow the passage of the Icon Class mega cruise ships. We also asked about that:

Jules Vasquez
"It is called the Deadman's Channel or the Grennel's Channel that leads to that caye; it has a sharp turn, and the conventional wisdom is that the…"

"One of the EIA reports said they (Icon-class vessels) can't pass that channel—the bow thrusters will not be able to navigate around that channel, and they would have to dynamite coral structures. It is a navigational limitation. Are you all aware of this, and is it something that excites you, or will you all bring small vessels?"

Piero Dibattista, President of Olo Caye
"I mean, keep in mind, Jules, that we leave this to the professionals, to the engineers that are going to study. We are still completing the study; we trust that all the datasets we have been collecting—we have not seen any concerns on that."

"Until now, we haven't seen big obstacles on that or something that is to concern us."