Minister of Education Francis Fonseca: ‘PUP has reduced poverty by providing jobs’

Published by BBNTEAM at March 22, 2023

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Posted: Wednesday, March 22, 2023. 9:08 pm CST.

By Benjamin Flowers: Freetown area representative Francis Fonseca, said today that the People’s United Party (PUP) has had the greatest impact on poverty by creating jobs and an environment where jobs are available.

Fonseca, speaking at today’s Budget Debate at the National Assembly in Belmopan, said that poverty under the PUP has been reduced substantially in the two years the party has been in government than the 12 years of the former United Democratic Party (UDP) administration.

“They believed that the solution to poverty is more grocery bags, keep people dependent on you; no that’s not what poverty is about. This government is fighting poverty on all fronts,” Fonseca said. “The best poverty reduction tool along with education…is jobs, giving people jobs. Some people need the grocery bag and the handouts…but others want the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families.”

He went on to say that the PUP will ensure that there is a social safety net for the most vulnerable populations in society, but that the party’s ultimate goal is to work towards a day when Belizeans do not need grocery bags and other support systems because they can provide for themselves.

Fonseca also noted that the majority of the jobs that Belizeans were getting were within the private sector as opposed to the public sector. He stressed that the strides that the Government of Belize made to stabilize the economy, created an environment for the private sector to thrive, which created job opportunities.

Fonseca’s claims are supported by Labour Force data presented by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) earlier this month. Director General of the SIB Diana Castillo Trejo said that on the last Labor Force Survey, the SIB recorded a net increase of 7,000 jobs, meaning there were 7,000 new jobs made available to Belizeans.

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