Education is a driver of inclusive growth

and poverty reduction, and vital to the

achievement of broader development

goals. Education has the power to turn

the course of human development from

poverty to improved living standards for

all.

Education plays a pivotal role in the

development of any nation. Our

education system traditionally does not

equip our young people to think as

entrepreneurs but to think of getting the

best education possible to land them a

good job. There is a definite lack of

qualified human resources to meet the

demands of the public and private sector

and for Belize to be a player in the

regional and international stage we must

make significant investment in our human

capital. Political commitment and

leadership must be mobilized to make

improved earning a reality for all children.

I was honored when the

YWCA invited me to address

the 2013 graduation class of

the Adult and Continuing

Education. These are young

people who represent an

important group of

entrepreneurs in Belize, a

path that is not often

trodden. We need to

encourage and empower

our small businesses and

young entrepreneurs to

move on a path toward

sustainability if we are to

grow our economy and

effectively reduce our

poverty. I encouraged the

graduates to look at the

territory of Belize as the

beginning and to aspire to

reach a market beyond our

330,000 people, beyond our

Trade Perspective page 3 Western Union Perspective page 13

Service Perspective page 6 Human Resource Perspective page 14

Membership Perspective page 9

Contributing Editor: Mrs. Kim Aikman, CEO of BCCI

2

Cont. from page 1

borders, to be a part of the transformation of Belize

from an importing Nation to an exporting Nation.

As a nation we must commit to the highest standard of

service, if we are to compete effectively on the world

stage we must move from mediocrity that we are so

used to, towards excellence. We have excellent

potential to find our niche markets, no two countries fit

the exact mould and Belize has so much diversity that

we can offer to the world. I leave you with one of my

favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson; “WE are all

inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery,

guided each by a private chart, of which there is no

duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.”

Join the Chamber today . .

It makes dollar $ & Sense!

As the voice of the private sector, the

chamber offers active advocacy, meaningful

networking, capacity building opportunities and

a vehicle to positively influence the private

enterprise system and the wider community in

which we operate and live.

The BCCI—Taking Care of Business!

3

Contributing Editor: Mrs. Marilyn Pinelo –Lee, Chief Policy Analyst

A trade agreement is defined as a contractual

agreement between states concerning their trade

relations. It may be bilateral, between two states or

multilateral, between more than two states. Trade

agreements aim to overcome barriers such as tariffs

and other governmental restrictions, creating more

free flowing trade and opening up new markets to

promote each nation’s economic vitality. One

specific type of trade agreement is known as a

partial scope agreement or PSA. Under a PSA trade

preferences are granted only on specific trade

goods. This form of agreement typically takes place

between a nation with a more developed economy

and a nation with a less developed economy. PSA’s

are implemented to ensure that regardless of which

state has a stronger economy, the agreement is

mutually beneficial to all parties involved.

(Partial-scope-agreement-between-belize-and-guatemala-an-overview)

The Belize – Guatemala Partial Scope Agreement

(PSA) is the first trade agreement that Belize has

signed with another country bi-laterally.

Negotiations were launched on 22 November 2004.

Belize signed the Agreement on 26 June 2006, and

the Congress of Federal Government of Guatemala

approved the PSA in October 2009. The Guatemalan

President issued a decree to give effect to the

agreement on April 4, 2010. (BCCI Trade and Investment Zone)

The PSA has the stated objectives of facilitation,

promotion, diversification and expansion of trade

between both parties; the development of

mechanisms for the promotion of investments; the

facilitation of land transportation of goods covered

under the agreement and the establishment of an

efficient and transparent system for the resolution

of trade disputes. The agreement takes into

account the differing sizes of the two economies

and provides for special and differential treatment,

with Guatemala making certain concessions to Belize.

The nature of the agreement is also very flexible. The

scope of the agreement allows for amendments which

would widen the level of products and goods covered

under the agreement. Also, it is possible to bring other

nations into the agreement, making possible a

multilateral agreement including Mexico. Though

flexible there are safeguard provisions protecting each

parties’ investments. The PSA forbids either party

from nationalizing or expropriating a venture, which

would nullify the value of the other party’s investment,

unless it is in the interest of the public good and goes

through the proper legal channels, in which case the

investor must be quickly and properly compensated.

Another safeguard preventing this agreement from

becoming detrimental to one state or unfairly benefit-

ing another is a provision which allows for either party

to withdraw from the agreement, provided written

notice is given to the other party with a six month

grace period before the termination of the agreement.

The agreement includes produce such as a quoted

amount of maize and black beans, plantains, citrus

fruits, mangos, guavas, watermelons, rice, etc. animals

such as fish, crustaceans, live poultry, swine and cattle,

meats, etc. and products such as latex, woven fabrics,

wooden and wicker furniture etc. These goods are

now able to be sold reciprocally between Belize and

Guatemala either duty free or with a fifty percent

reduction in duties. For a detailed list of preferential

tariffs that Belize grants to Guatemala see (Annex 1) by Clicking

on (view agreement) on the BCCI link provided (http://www.belize.org/tiz/belize-

guatemala-partial-scope-agreement)

Belize stands to benefit from this agreement in many

ways. Guatemala has always relied heavily on imports

from the United States concerning produce such as

rice, beans, corn and oranges as well as live animals

such as swine and poultry. The preferential treatment

4

and relaxing of duties on these goods from Belize

will allow the agricultural and livestock industries in

Belize to expand their markets into Guatemala and

compete with the United States there. This benefits

both parties as Belize gains new markets to sell

goods and Guatemala will save costs on

transportation due to Belize’s close proximity and

costs on goods due to a more competitive market.

Similarly Guatemala has previously imported large

quantities of fish, shrimp, prawns and crustaceans

from countries such as the United States, Nicaragua

and Honduras. This is another sector in which both

countries stand to benefit due to new markets, more

competition and lower shipping costs. In 2008

Guatemala imported $4 million US worth of shrimp

and prawns from the U.S. and Nicaragua alone, with

a negligible amount of imports coming from Belize.

The reduction in duties will give Belize the

opportunity to enter into this market and expand its

exports. Similarly in 2008, Guatemala imported over

$4 million US worth of rice from the United States

with almost none coming from Belize. The newly

acquired access to markets such as these will greatly

benefit Belize’s economy, early estimates indicated

that these agreements should result in formal annual

exports increasing anywhere from 5 to 14 million BZD

by the fifth year of implementation

(www.caribbeanpressrelease.com). Aside from each party

benefitting from new markets and more affordable

goods the PSA allows for investments and joint

ventures to be made. This would allow for Belizean

businesses to attract investors from Guatemala,

helping to expand the economy and strengthen

economic ties.

Colombia is a prime example of the beneficial effects

of entering into PSA with neighboring nations.

Colombia entered into a PSA with Chile, under the

Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), which

covered trade in a limited number of goods. In 2006

the PSA led to the elimination of tariffs on 96 percent

of bilateral trade. This agreement proved to be

beneficial to both countries and today the two are in a

free trade agreement, incorporating services,

investment, labor, intellectual property, etc. with

improved trade discipline and a dispute settlement

mechanism in place, strengthening the ties between

the two countries and helping to benefit each nation’s

economies. Colombia has also followed this model

with the nations of the Northern Triangle. After

having entered into PSA’s with these nations in the

mid 1980’s Colombia now enjoys strong ties and free

trade agreements that are beneficial to all parties

involved.

In short Belize has much to gain from entering into

partial scope agreements with neighboring nations.

Stronger ties with surrounding nations and expanded

markets allowing for an increase in exported goods

are among these benefits. Under PSA’s Belize can

expand its market for exports without the fear of

having imported goods smothering businesses at

home, while attracting new investors to Belizean

businesses.

Cont. from page 3

6

What does it mean to be of service?

This is something that everyone in the private or public

sector, both employer and employee should ask

themselves.

In the English Commonwealth Caribbean there has

been a history of derogation of the word “service”,

confusing the meaning of the word with “subservient”.

This has particular issues coming from our post-colonial

legacy that will most likely continue for a long time to

come.

I would like to think

that to be of “service”

would rather mean

that one is “useful”.

Usefulness can take

many forms and it

does not depend on

whether someone

wears a suit, a

uniform, or swimming

trunks for that matter.

As an example, one of the richest men I know is a

mechanic. The fact that he gets his hands covered in

grease and does not wear fancy clothes was never a

problem for him. When he was a child his tertiary level

educated parents beat him so that he did well in his

academic schoolwork. However, all he wanted to do

was to fix cars in shop class. Fast forward thirty years

later he owns a chain of automobile stores throughout

West Coast Canada, has many employees and

continues to earn income even if he does not pick up a

single tool. However, in his primary residence (since he

has many homes throughout the world), he has a fleet

of vintage automobiles that he has collected over the

years that he works on in his spare time whenever he

gets the chance. He says that he does this because it

makes him happy and it is what he has always been

good at.

Also, the most down to earth European politician I

ever met was in the city of Aarhus, Denmark (the

second largest city in Denmark, just after its capital

Copenhagen). While visiting the City Hall with a friend

in order to climb the building’s spire and get a good

360 degree view, on a clear summer’s morning, of the

charming Scandinavian harbour town an attractive

woman in a business suit welcomed me and spoke a

bit about the town and welcomed any comments

that we might have to improve things. I told my

friend that the greeting staff was very professional

and friendly. He told me that she was the Mayor of

the town (it must be said that my friend and I were

dressed merely in jeans and t-shirts, certainly not

business clothes). I ended up meeting with her and

asked her if it was tough being the Mayor. She

laughed and said it was very challenging and

sometimes she would like to do nothing better than

run away from all the responsibilities, politics and

insufficient funds. However, she said that she does it

because it makes her happy and it is what she is good

at.

If these personal stories from foreign countries seem

a bit remote in terms of examples, then let us return

home.

I have found some of the most professional persons I

know employed right here in the Belize Tourism

sector, which is by all accounts the number one

foreign exchange earner for the country. I have been

to resorts and hotels throughout Belize where one

cannot distinguish the owner from the worker in

Contributing Editor: Mr. Rishi Mungal, VP Service, BCCI

7

terms of level of hospitality, attentiveness, knowledge

and attention. There is one resort where the foreign

Owner shovels hay for horses in the humid heat while

the local Manager is the one that does paperwork in

the cool and quiet air conditioned office. These places

end up becoming known worldwide for these very

same reasons. The owners become very wealthy and

are able to send their employees for training and

education. I know of one famous resort that sent their

best Manager to Europe in order to obtain his Master’s

Degree so that he could return to Belize and ensure

that the resort continued to improve for many years to

come.

The Belize International Financial Services (IFS) sector

(also termed the “offshore” sector in vernacular) is an

industry that only services foreign clients. IFS clients

come from Europe, Latin America and Asia as well as

North America. Unlike Tourism, which caters both to

locals and foreigners, the IFS sector is the same as

Tourism in two major aspects: (1) It earns foreign

exchange, and (2) It provides employment for

Belizeans. While the IFS sector does benefit lawyers,

bankers and accountants, there is also a lot of support

staff which is required and employed. I know of one

particular IFS Employer in the Private Sector that has

won an award by the Belize division of a world famous

international service organization for Employee

Retention, meaning that in the entire country of Belize

this foreign owned firm was awarded for employing its

Belizean staff the longest and had the least

turnaround of staff. I did not see them chain anyone to

the desks. A lot of these IFS firms also send their staff

for training. Some more senior or experienced staff

eventually open their own offices. Other members of

clerical staff even proceed to become lawyers, bankers

and accountants themselves.

Both industries are highly dependent on the services

Cont. from page 6

8

Cont. from page 7

provided within Belize to a world that has many different options which offer the same or similar things.

This is why we must be always committed to equate and even qualify the term “service” with the word

“quality”. The foreign exchange that is earned for the country and the income that is derived from same go

to pay taxes, wages, social security, insurance and help provide further options to the next generation of

Belizeans. They also attract foreigners who recognize Belize for the special country that it is and end up

wishing to be productive, contribute to society and to make a home here.

Various foreign travel channels have featured Belize in glowing terms. I even purchased a guidebook in

Europe that featured a famous restaurant that specializes in wonderful local creole dishes. Because of their

commitment to quality in making excellent Belizean food, one can regularly find persons speaking a variety

of languages from the European Union who knew that they had to eat at that specific restaurant as a

necessary and highly enjoyable part of their travel agenda while visiting Belize.

Belize has a natural geographic and cultural advantage being a Latin/Caribbean country which also benefits

those employed in the construction industry and as real estate brokers. The country has seen much

development when the right foreign investors purchase, lease and develop real estate. This can be a large

resort or condominium project that may provide months of employment to Belizean construction workers,

a small two story residence/commercial combo for a couple with living space upstairs while they have their

business downstairs where carpenters, plumbers and electricians need to visit from time to time on an

ongoing basis, or even office space that needs to be leased from Belizean landowners from foreign

investors who decide to engage in business here (usually in the Tourism or IFS sectors).

In my opinion, Belize needs to continue to increase (in quantity and quality) its number of foreign investors,

foreign visitors and foreign income in order to grow by leaps and bounds in a sustainable manner. The

country is far too small in terms of population, income and purchasing power in order to grow at a large

scale otherwise. This growth will end up directly and indirectly benefitting Belizeans, which are all

themselves, apart from our Mayan friends, products of visitors who decided to plant roots in this very

fertile soil.

9

CONNECT

The BCCI is here to connect you to exciting business

opportunities. We are proud to announce that Ms.

Tiffany Simpson of Belizean Artwork Publishing was

selected as one of the four winners in the Women

Innovators Network Caribbean (WINC) “Innovative

Women Entrepreneurs Competition” in April 2013.

Ms. Simpson was awarded the opportunity to travel

to infoDev’s Global Forum in South Africa at the end

of May to attend the African Women Entrepreneurs

Roundtable programme where she would

represent Belize, herself as a woman entrepreneur

and her business.

WINC Design Team received 77 eligible applications

from around the Caribbean. We were told that the

quality of submissions were so high that it was a

tough competition for every applicant. The WINC

team was also much honored to share Tiffany’s

achievement. Upcoming WINC’s activities are

face-to-face networking/support meetings,

creativity and innovation workshops, mentoring

programme, sharing of resources and various

business-related databases and an incubation

programme. Updates and more details on these

activities can be found at https:/www.facebook.com/

WomenInnovatorsNetworkCaribbean.

SAVE the date, September 14th and 15th, 2013 for this

year’s Expo Belize Market Place which will be held

at the ITVET compound on Freetown Road in Belize

City. This is an event you can’t miss if you are in

business and want exposure, make the right

contacts and increase your sales. Last year, the

Expo attracted over 18,000 people who were able

to appreciate arts, culture, entertainment and

booth displays from the Commerce, Industry,

Manufacturing and Services sector. This year we

plan to make it bigger and better! Limited

booths are available. Please contact our office at

223-5330 or email expo@belize.org to find out

more information on reserving your booth.

Entrance tickets for Adults and Children will also

be available for sale at our office before the

expo event. Get your tickets early to miss those

long lines.

CAPACITATE

Through the MOU we share with the University

of the West Indies (UWI), Open Campus Belize,

we hosted the Public Lecture Business Mixer on

“Media and the Portrayal of Violence, Its Effects

on Children and the Wider Community” on April

8th, 2013 at our conference room. Qualified

speaker for the night was Dr. Leith L. Dunn, a

Jamaican Sociologist and Senior Lecturer/Head

of the Institute for Gender and Development

Studies (IGDS) Mona Unit, at the University of

the West Indies in Jamaica. This session

spotlighted the ethics, principles and legality

involved in presenting information on the Media

in comparison to the present norms we

experience in Belize.

Ambassador James Murphy and Mr. Eamon

Courtenay, two well versed men in the Belize-

Guatemala Dispute were special guests at the

ICJ Referendum Business Mixer held on March

21st to educate members on the referendum.

Even though it was announced just before this

mixer was planned, that Guatemala had backed

Contributing Editor: Ms. Yorshabell Cattouse, Manager Membership & Labour

10

down and the referendum would not be held on

October 6th, 2013 as prior, we saw it important

to have this meeting and to inform our members

so that they can make the best decision if the

need ever arises.

We continue to have consecutive trainings

through the partnership of the UWI and other

qualified trainers. On March 13th, the “Writing

and Analyzing Financial Reports” was held

followed by “Marketing and Sales” on April 10th,

“The New Supervisor” on April 23rd, “Superior

Customer Service” on May 14th, and “The Golden

Rules of Public Relations” on May 23rd. The

trainings most signed up for were: “Mentoring

and Coaching for Supervisors” on May 28th and

“How to Communicate with Tact and

Credibility” held on June 25th. We have

upcoming trainings in Human Resources,

Finance, Leadership and a special motivational

speaker through the support of the U.S.

Embassy.

In early June we had a special visit from The

International Labour Organization (ILO) and

partnership in facilitating two very important

workshop sessions: Dispute Avoidance and

Resolution through Good Management

Practices and Enhanced Mediation and

Negotiation workshop on June 3rd. and The Role

of Labour Standards in Accessing International

Markets and Supporting the Caribbean Single

Market held on June 4th.

The workshop sessions were facilitated by Mrs.

Anne Knowles, Senior Specialist, Employers’

Activities, Decent Work Team/Office for the

Caribbean, Mr. Wayne Chen, President of

Caribbean Employers Confederation and

Cont. from page 9

Mr. Pierre Francois Recoing, ILO’s Labour Standards

specialist.

The Labour Standards session was very important to

Employers involved in the export market to let them

understand the implications of market access

requirements related to labour standards.

Thereafter, they would be in a better position to

support the Caribbean Single Market approach and

ensuring a wide understanding and compliance with

expected norms.

The Dispute Avoidance and Resolution session

focused on practices to resolve disputes at the

business, negotiation skills, how to employ the right

people in the right way, communicating and

counseling, managing absenteeism and positive

discipline.

CHAMPION

The BCCI commemorated its 93rd Annual General

Meeting on April 25th, 2013 in its McField Conference

Center located on Coney Drive in Belize City. This

year was not an election year, but there was still

much to be reported on. Mr. Allen Reimer, Vice

11

Cont. from page 10

President Industry opened the meeting with a warm

welcome. We shared with members a video

presentation which showcased the productive

initiatives of the Chamber in 2012 for its members,

including capacity building workshops, advocating

on issues affecting the private sector, the launching

of the Christmas Expo Extravaganza, the Expo Be-

lize Market Place 2012 and other services of the

Chamber.

Mr. Yashin Dujon, Director for the Directorate of

Foreign Trade also took advantage of the group of

business men and women being present and

addressed them on the developments of the trade

agreements currently being negotiated and new

ones to come. The Keynote speaker of the night

was Mr. Alvin Henderson, Managing Director and

shareholder of Royal Mayan Shrimp Farms Limited.

Mr. Henderson has been involved in several large

agricultural projects in Belize particularly in the

banana and citrus industries. He spoke on the way

forward for Belizean businesses and encouraged

them to start forming clusters and to take

advantage of existing opportunities as Royal Mayan

Shrimp Farms Limited did through the Caribbean

Export they obtained the first technical assistance

Public Sector Dialogue to move Belize forward. The

Secretariat’s award was presented to Mrs. Ashanti

Arthurs Martin for being the “The Most Responsive

Executive Council Member” for the year 2012. The

AGM ended with a delightful social.

The Chamber continues to take care of business, to

connect, capacitate and champion your causes to

make your business pathway successful!

12

13

In May, BCCI/Western Union held the draw of its

Bronze Chest. This is the culmination of the first

quarter of our current Treasure Chest Promotion.

For the first time this was done in the form of a

game show whereby contestants were chosen from

all our sub agent locations countrywide. We had

contestants from Orange Walk to Punta Gorda

represented. They had an opportunity to spin the

Treasure wheel that was loaded with prizes from all

our alliance partners.

Eight of the ten contestants chosen showed up.

Contestants spun the wheel in the first round and in

the bonus round they were challenged to answer

questions based on the alliance partners. Ms.

Margaret Lightburn was the top winner and she

won a Foot Bath Massage from Courts, a gift

certificate from Belize Vision Center and a gift

certificate from Mel’s Magic Touch Therapeutic Spa.

This is the first in a series of draw as a Back to

School and a Christmas draw are scheduled for this

August and December respectively with a lot of

fabulous prizes for our customers to win

culminating with a round trip ticket from United

Airlines, a two night stay at Casa Arena along with a

dive package from Amigos Del Mar, a round trip

ticket from Tropic Air to Honduras and a stay at

Dream Valley in the Cayo District.

Refreshments were provided by GraceKennedy and

the contestants had an enjoyable time.

Contributing Editor: Ms. Danette Burns, Western Union Manager

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI)

Western Union would like to congratulate the 2013

Graduating Class of Biscayne Primary School (BPS). It

has been six years since the BCCI adopted the school

and we are proud to once again witness the gradua-

tion of another successful group of talented and am-

bitious students. The theme for this year’s graduating

class , “Education is the most powerful weapon which

you can use to change the world” attest to the

students’ recognition of the importance and impact

of a sound education.

The Welcome address was delivered by Darien

Bethran and the Vote of Thanks was given by Lanece

Seguro. This year was a remarkable year as BPS

graduated one of the largest groups totaling sixteen

Contributing Editor: Ms. Ruth Gillett , Senior Administrator

The month of May is celebrated as the month for

Mothers, therefore, Management felt it was fitting

to honour and recognize our ten members of staff

who are Mothers with a small gift certificate. The

Mothers were all grateful and appreciative of the

recognition.

On the 28th May, Mr. James Daly, an intern from

State University of New York (SUNY) joined our staff

for a period of one month – he left on June 22nd.

James was under the tutelage of Mrs. Marlilyn

Pinelo-Lee – Chief Policy Analyst to assist with the

Trade and Investment Zone among other things. His

internship was facilitated by Dr. Nancy Adamson –

former Provost of Galen University. We would like to

thank her for partnering with us for the valuable as-

sistance we received from Mr. Daly.

On the 7th June, our quarterly staff meeting was held

in the BCCI’s Conference Room and many staff

related topics were discussed. An update was also

given on the organization’s status.

From the HR Corner we leave you with this quote

until next time!

“The one who creates a positive environment in all situations will be presented with countless opportunities.”

The Business Perspectives is compiled and

produced by the BCCI Secretariat

Editor-in-Chief: Producer: Mrs. Kim Aikman Mrs. Kim Aikman Contributing Editorials Ms. Kay Menzies Mrs. Marilyn Pinelo Lee Design & Layout: Mr. Rishi Mungal Delmi Novelo Ms. Yorshabell Cattouse Ms. Ruth Romero Mrs. Sharon Smiling

Ms. Danette Burns

Copyright 2013, All rights reserved

Cont. from page 13

students. The valedictorian was Devon Jones who

challenged his fellow classmates to pursue further

education and to not be satisfied with only a primary

school education. Mrs. KeriAnn Mason, their guest

speaker, encouraged students to look for whatever

talent they have and to develop those talents to the

best of their ability. She emphasized that by develop-

ing these talents students could change their world

one step at a time. Mrs. Mason emphasized that

parents should never give up on their children, but

should instead work with them. She ended by

encouraging teachers to continue being patient and to

look for ways in which they can bring out the best in a

child.

14

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