BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Jan. 27, 2022– On Wednesday, January 26, it was announced that once again the price of fuel in the country would be rising. There was a 41-cent jump in the per-gallon price of regular gas, which increased from $11.69 to $12.10, while the prices of kerosene and diesel rose by 59 cents and 67 cents per gallon respectively. The price of premium gasoline, however, remains at $12.30.

Following the announcement of the most recent increase in fuel prices, the United Democratic Party (UDP) issued a press release that urges the Briceño administration to reduce the taxes imposed by the government on fuel by $2 at the minimum and to commit to keeping fuel prices below $10 per gallon.

“This is unsustainable. This is unacceptable, because the burden he is putting on the Belizean people is just way too much. We are at a breaking point, and the Prime Minister needs to act as soon as possible,” the release states.

The Opposition continued by stating that the Belizean people are unable to cope with the high gas prices. Their press release went on to refer to steps taken by the Barrow administration during its term to mitigate high gas prices. These included a move by GoB at that time to absorb part of the price increase, as well as steps that were taken to cap the amount of tax revenue derived by government from the sale of gas at a reasonable level, and an alteration of the tax formula to provide relief at the pumps, the UDP release said.

The UDP release also pointed out that the Briceño administration has not attempted to ease the fuel tax burden on Belizeans, even once passing on a one-cent increase to consumers. “We remind Briceno that fuel prices impact the acquisition costs on all goods. The now weekly increases in fuel prices have Belizeans struggling to meet basic needs as the prices of all goods continue to rise proportionally,” the release states.