Prime Minister Hon. Dr. John Briceño remains hopeful that Belize may still access the five-year, US$125 million grant initially secured through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a United States government agency. Although the grant program was officially shut down in April 2025, Briceño said discussions are ongoing, following a conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. On Monday, May 12th, the Prime Minister reiterated his optimism, saying that if the program is ended, the Government of Belize will seek alternative funding sources through its development partners.
The MCC grant was to fund strategic investments in the country’s energy and education sectors. While the Briceño administration has not yet received formal confirmation of the program’s cancellation, the Prime Minister noted that three weeks ago, he received unofficial word that the MCC board was planning to terminate the agreement with Belize.
“We have expressed our concerns at every high level in the United States government,” Briceño told reporters. “We have received assurances that the matter is being further examined to see if there is scope to retain the Belize program intact.”
Although the MCC grant funds were not included in the 2024–2025 fiscal year budget, the absence of the anticipated funding is expected to affect future development projects, particularly in education and energy.
According to Briceño, the MCC board is to meet and decide whether to continue with projects already in progress in other countries. However, no projects were implemented in Belize when the program was suspended.
“Remember we were just starting so I don’t know if we will be within that ambit. We hope that we will, but we just have to wait and see,” the Prime Minister added.
The funding package was designed to improve access to and progression through secondary education, as well as to strengthen the legal and institutional framework for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). In the energy sector, the plan aimed to reduce electricity costs by supporting new power purchase agreements for affordable renewable energy. It also sought to modernize the national grid, increase energy efficiency, and introduce alternative sources of power generation for Belizean consumers.
