Community and Society

This Saturday, October 14th, an annular solar eclipse will be visible in Belize. The natural phenomenon will begin over areas like San Pedro Ambergris Caye around 10AM, peaking at 11:30AM. The brief event, also known as a ring of fire solar eclipse, will also be visible in parts of the United States of America, Mexico, Central and South America. When enjoying this rare nature show, following safety precautions to avoid eye damage is important.

Every year, the influx of the seaweed known as Sargassum brings challenges to the tourism industry in Belize, particularly San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, one of the country’s leading destinations. With the increasing threat to the beaches and coasts, the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) had considered a project to turn the seaweed into construction blocks. The project known as SargaBlocks has reportedly been done in parts of Mexico, and in April of this year, the plans to work with a Mexican company were well in advance. However, with the decrease in the seaweed’s presence, the SPTC has now walked away from such a venture, and the SargaBlocks idea was abandoned.

For the past years, the issue of traffic congestion in the downtown area of San Pedro has been a constant challenge to tackle. The cause has been attributed to congestion in specific areas, such as the local airport and water taxi terminals. As such, the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) is implementing restrictions for golf cart rentals at these ports of entry, prohibiting them from parking, loading, unloading, and soliciting business. These restrictions did not sit well with some stakeholders, who felt targeted, describing these as unfair and harmful for their companies. A call was also made to reconsider part of the regulation and further investigate the issue of taxi drivers taking up street space and overcharging.

The work to pave 7.5 miles of roads/streets in San Pedro Town is underway. The project overseen by the San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) with support from the central government started back on May 11th on Blake Street south of San Pedro and has since covered streets in San Pablo, DFC, Escalante Marina Drive with the latest paving taking place at the entrance of the San Pedrito subdivision near downtown.

Since 1998, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye has been connected to the national electricity grid on the mainland via a submarine cable. Over the years, that submarine cable has been put through the pressure of the island's rapid growth. On Thursday, October 5th, at a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and the Belize Tourism Board in San Pedro, it was revealed that the cable has deteriorated and could lead to a power crisis on the island. While Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) reportedly acknowledged the state of the cable, the company stated they are working on a long-term plan to address this concern, including installing a second submarine cable connecting from the mainland to San Pedro.

As of October 1st, anyone in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, needing to reach out to the Building Unit for a building permit will be required to do so online. According to the San Pedro Town Council, all building permit applications are to be submitted via email to building@sanpedrotowncouncil.org. The Building Unit can also be contacted via WhatsApp at 673-2197.

The San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) launched a street naming competition in mid-August. Those participating were required to create a sign with the street's name. Several entries were submitted, and three winners were selected at the end of the competition. These included Karissa Vasquez, Dion Ingram, and Mike Garman.

The only international bank headquartered in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Caye International Bank (CIB) celebrated its 20th anniversary on Friday, September 29th, with a cocktail reception commemorating the bank’s two decades of unparalleled service, commitment, and growth in Belize.