Much of the speech dealt with the economy, which grew by over ten percent in the year 2000. The per capita income of Belize is now over six thousand dollars, up from five thousand, two hundred dollars in 1998 and the unemployment rate has been reduced. Negotiations are well advanced with Lufthansa for a management contract of the airport with expansion of the runway and upgrading of the terminal facilities. The Galeria Maya Resort Project at the Corozal Free Zone will transform the area for international visitors with increased economic activities in the north. But even with all that good economic news, the Prime Minister acknowledged that government was only one part of the equation.
Responsibility is also the key to solving our crime problem.
Our Government has invested considerably more resources in expanding the Police Department, providing better equipment and raising the morale. We are also spending additional resources to strengthen the criminal justice system and the prison system. And in ending his address, the Prime Minister could not ignore recent events in the United States. Our thoughts and prayers today go out to the families of the innocent civilians and brave rescue workers killed in the September eleventh terrorist attacks on the United States of America. We pray for all victims of terror and senseless violence.