Business & Economy

65,762 applications have been submitted to the COVID-19 Unemployment Relief Program, of which 23,264 have been approved and sent for payment into applicants’ accounts.

Doug Singh resigns on the heels of a leaked audio clip in which he candidly expressed his frustration with Belizeans over the COVID-19 Unemployment Relief Program.

Applicants that have been approved should receive a text message stating, “Your application for unemployment relief has been approved and has been sent to the SSB for payment.”

Business owners across Belize are feeling the COVID-19 pandemic financial pinch, which has paralyzed economies around the world. With the tourism industry all but gone on Ambergris Caye, many islanders who are now without jobs are getting assistance with donated meals and groceries. At the same time, other employers have kept their staff on payroll, despite the absence of business. This expense is taking a toll, and in order to continue doing so, stakeholders on the island are appealing to the Government of Belize (GOB) for tax relief. In a letter from members of the San Pedro Branch of the Belize Tourism Industry Association (SP BTIA) addressed to Prime Minister Right Honourable Dean Barrow, they proposed that they are allowed to apply General Sales Tax (GST) and business taxes to pay their staff instead of giving the collected funds to the GOB, which are scheduled to be paid to the government on April 15, 2020.

Taiwan has donated an additional BZ$2 million to Belize for urgently needed additional PPE, medical equipment, testing kits, and laboratory supplies for frontline medical service providers countrywide.

Public officers were to get paid on Wednesday, April 8th, but now pay won’t be incoming until next week, because of the current financial situation affecting Belize due to COVID-19.

The Belize Postal Service has temporarily suspended delivery of postal services at all post offices due to COVID-19. Some provisions have been made to accommodate customers.

When Belize began to experience a hand sanitizer shortage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Travellers Liquors Ltd. came to the rescue, switching gears from distilling rum to producing a sanitizing product dubbed Sani-Bel. Its main ingredient is high proof alcohol concocted via a formula from the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, the liquid solution comes in one-litre glass bottles, and the company urges customers not to drink it and to keep it away from fire and out of the reach of children.