Belize signs financial agreements with EU for technical help

Belize: The government of Belize has assigned that they have signed a financing agreement with the European Union (EU) that provides grant funds and technical help for electricity projects that use mini-grid & stand-alone solar technology to reach communities whose connections to the national grid are not currently feasible.

According to the Belizan government, The overarching goal of the initiative is to bring electricity to those communities & villages that are unserved and lack access to energy services and are supported by the EU through LAIT UP BELIZE!, a project for capacity building in the energy sector. The project also provides grant funding to NGOs and BEL for the improvement of access to energy services in the country.

Also, To this end, the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy & Logistics; the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour and Local Government; the Belize Electricity Limited (BEL); Digi; and the National Village Council Organization (NAVCO) held consultations with stakeholders in San Carlos, Indian Church, Fire Burn villages and the Mennonite communities of Indian Creek, Neuland and Little Belize from June 22 to 24, 2021.

Ramiro Ramirez, Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour & Local Government, and Valentino Shal, CEO in the ministry, also participated in the June 22nd consultations.

The consultations will be instrumental in developing a national plan for new electricity projects that may be implemented in ties with international development partners. The participants focused on the productive uses of energy services such as agro-processing (including corn milling, rice de-husking, coconut oil production, etc.), eco-tourism, business services, irrigation & refrigeration.

The consultations were facilitated by district officers of the Ministry of Rural Transformation and Javier Sabido, president for NAVCO. Mr. Amin Matar represented the Energy Unit in the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy and Logistics, and technical support was provided by Glynn Morris and Luis Larregola from the LAIT UP BELIZE! Project.

The Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy & Logistics said that they are committed to achieving universal access to energy services for citizens, businesses, and the government. This is aligned with the international commitments under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically, SDG7, which calls for “access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”

Further consultations will continue across the country to establish a national framework and plan for all unserved communities in Belize.