Government

On August 9, 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Belize received support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to bolster Belize’s central role of foreign policy implementation with a view to foster diplomatic representation and mobilize necessary resources towards a post-pandemic environment and development agenda.

The Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy and Logistics signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management for a grant of US$50,000 from the United Nations Development Programme’s EnGenDER: “Enabling Gender-Responsive Disaster Recovery, Climate and Environmental Resilience in the Caribbean.”

The dispute between former San Pedro Town Council (SPTC) employees and the new administration continues over monies allegedly due. The past employees claim they have not been paid their severance packages as mandated by law.

On Friday, August 6th, the mobile lands clinic in San Pedro Town hosted by the Department of Lands and Surveys concluded. Held at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium, the two-day event headed by Minister of Natural Resources Hon. Cordel Hyde and Area Representative Hon. Andre Perez assisted hundreds of residents, who had tried for years to sort out their land issues with no success. The initiative managed to purge a lot of irregularities. Although many walked out with a sense of accomplishment after clarifying their doubts, permission to purchase their property, and validation of their land titles, the job is far from over. Another mobile clinic will be needed in the future to continue addressing the remaining land problems in San Pedro. Still, before that takes place, the upcoming clinic will head to the sister island of Caye Caulker.

From Wednesday, August 5th to the 6th, the Department of Lands and Surveys are hosting a two-day mobile land clinic in San Pedro Town at the Angel Nuñez Auditorium to provide administrative assistance to residents experiencing problems with their land documents. The land clinic is the first-ever on the island and will be tending to concerned residents from 9AM to 5PM each day.

From July 29 to 30, 2021, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, through the Customer Service Unit, held an interactive consultation and training session for customer service officers countrywide.

A new set of rules will go into effect on Sunday, August 1st, concerning COVID-19 precautions. In a virtual press conference on Friday, July 30th, Minister of Health and Wellness the Honourable Michel Chebat listed out some of the public health measures such as a 9PM to 4AM curfew, a COVID Enforcement Unit, the definition of frontline workers, and penalties to any person issuing/selling fraudulent vaccination cards.

Following the incidents on July 23rd and 24th involving Guatemalan soldiers trespassing into Belizean territory, the Friends of Conservation and Development (FCD) stated that not only does this merit a solid protest to the Guatemalan government, but it should also be reported to the international community. FCD warns that not doing so sets serious precedence. The FCD also believes that an incident, which also saw the aggression of Guatemalan civilians against Belizean security forces, was an act of intimidation and provocation providing 'fuel' for the civilians to believe that this part of the country belongs to them.