In January we told you about an article printed in the Washington Times on a comparative look on Belize and the Cayman Islands. The writer, Dr. Richard Rahn, who is an American Economist, draws conclusions on why Cayman is rich and Belize is poor, although both are small Caribbean countries with similar climate, mixed cultures and were former British colonies. According to Rahn, Belize should be richer; after all it is the bigger country and has more natural resources. Well, Dr. Richard Rahn is in Belize for the Chamber of Commerce’s AGM. Dr. Rahn spoke about ‘The Opportunity for Belize to be a High-Growth Country.’ Dr. Rahn told News Five that in short, the problem in Belize is poor governance.

 

Dr. Richard Rahn, American Economist & Journalist

“Well, Belize remains poor because it has too many tax and regulatory impediments and it needs to clean up its judicial system. We looked around and going back to 1970, Belize has the same per capita income as Cayman and now the Cayman has six times the per capita income. Cayman instituted a number of policies that Belize did not and as a result Belize lags way behind and if all those policies are changed, Belize can catch up very quickly and Belize can become very rich as the average person in the Cayman, the United States, Singapore or wherever.”

 

The Chamber held its ninety-second Annual General Meeting today, where five councilors were elected to serve on the Chamber’s Executive Council for a period of two years. Elected councilors are Carlo Habet, Israel Marin, Douglas Bowen, Nikita Usher and Daniel Gutierrez. The executive officers for the 2012 – 2014 Executive Council are Kay Menzies, who will serve another term as President; Emile Mena, who will serve as Past President; Allen Reimer, who will serve as V.P. Industry, Rishi Mungal, will serve as V.P. Services; Alberto Young, will continue as V.P. of Commerce; Claudette El Ters, was returned as Treasurer; and Ashanti Martin, continues in her capacity as Secretary. Honored at the AGM were Hon. Godwin Hulse, Amparo Masson, and Alberto Young.

Channel 5