Monthly Archives: March, 2022

In June 2021, the Belize High Seas Fisheries Unit (BHSFU), Oceana, and Global Fishing Watch signed a memorandum of understanding to make vessel tracking data public, demonstrating Belize’s commitment to greater transparency in fishing activities at sea. On Monday, March 28th, it was announced that the platform showing this tracking data is now operating through a live map at https://globalfishingwatch.org/. The BHSFU can now monitor activities Belize’s fishing vessels are engaged in, in real-time.

After a pause in outdoor events due to COVID-19 restrictions, the lobster fest celebrations are back in San Pedro Town and Caye Caulker. Both organizing committees have announced the dates, with Caye Caulker festivities scheduled July 1st through the 3rd. In San Pedro, festivities start with a lionfish hunt and lobster crawl beginning on June 30th, culminating with the usual block party at Central Park on July 9th.

Moses 'Shyne' Barrow, a Belizean rapper who grew up in New York City, USA, was incarcerated for almost ten years following a shooting incident and then deported to Belize, has turned his life around in an extraordinary manner. On Sunday, March 27th, Barrow was elected party leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), which has minority representation in the National Assembly. The new leader now has the task of uniting the party and winning the 2025 general election.

Roadmap for new, 21st-century business model will enable Bank to expand ambitious, business-friendly climate action, protect biodiversity, increase green finance, and better advance gender equality. New business model goes hand-in-hand with the mandated path for a capital-increase proposal for IDB Invest that will allow the Bank’s private-sector arm to be more responsive to the region’s needs, dramatically scale up private sector investment and boost creation of formal jobs, the details of which will be presented to the Boards of Executive Directors in September. Approval of a new value proposition for the Bank will empower it to better address social issues, strengthen the private sector and combat climate change.

The E-Governance and Digitalization Unit under the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics & E-Governance with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank conducted the first stakeholder workshop for the development of a National Identification Management Strategy and Pilot.

The proposed 2022-2023 Government of Belize (GOB) budget of  $1.361 billion will now be debated in the Senate before the governor general, Froyla Tzalam, issues her consent. On March 24th and 25th, it was debated in the House of Representatives, where the Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Moses 'Shyne' Barrow, criticized it and Prime Minister Honourable John Briceño disagreed.

When the prime minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, visited San Pedro Town for the 33rd inter-sessional conference meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM early in March, she was impressed with the genuine and warm hospitality of Belizeans. On the occasion of women’s month, Mottley, an iconic Caribbean leader, addressed the women of the Belize Police Department, highlighting the experience with Belmopan City Sergeant Lisa Jones, whose conduct as her close protection officer during the CARICOM conference was deemed exemplary.

Caye International Bank executives and board members had the honor of hosting the Central Bank Governor Kareem Michael for a working lunch.