Government

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a loan of US$6.2 million for Belize following the government’s request to the Bank to reprogram 10% of the undisbursed balance of the country’s current investment portfolio to assist the government with its response to the impact of the crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The US$6.2 million loan will support the containment and control of the pandemic and mitigate its impact on service delivery in the country.

The COVID-19 Repatriation Committee, comprising of the ministries responsible for Health, Foreign Affairs, Immigration, Human Development, and ultimately, National Security, organized the domestic arrangements for repatriation including identification and cite assessments of the quarantine facilities, negotiation of rates, training, assigning health officers and Belize Defence Force Officers for the returning Belizeans, as well as COVID-19 testing.To date, 570 applications have been received from Belizeans abroad who wish to return home. Of the applications received, 239 were from Belizeans in the USA seeking to return home, 35 are in Mexico, 32 in Guatemala, 20 in Peru, 19 in Cuba, 19 in Honduras, 17 in the UK, 14 in El Salvador, 11 across France, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and The Netherlands, six in Guyana, six in Taiwan, 11 in Jamaica, four in Costa Rica, one in Panama, seven in India, four in Bolivia, three in Barbados, two in Colombia, one in Lebanon, one in Saudi Arabia, one in United Arab Emirates, one in The Philippines, one in Nigeria, and one travelled from Tanzania.

The Ministry of National Security hereby confirms that the investigation into the alleged reports of extortion, maltreatment, sexual assault, and sexual advances at Training Company has concluded. The investigation recognizes that some progress was made in response to the victims of the alleged misconduct and highlights the need for more targeted organizational and strategic changes for progress to continue.

The Ministry of National Security today received a donation of 60,000 surgical face masks from the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The masks will be distributed among the Belize Defence Force, Belize Coast Guard and the Belize Police Department.

To date, a total of 43,726 applications have been approved and passed onto Social Security Board (SSB) for payment. Of this total, 42% are for persons who were recently laid off from their jobs, 25% are for self-employed persons who lost their work and income, and 33% are for persons who applied as long-term unemployed. Applications will continue to be processed over the next several days, raising the total approved applications to about 50,000.

Belize ratified a landmark United Nations treaty outlawing nuclear weapons on Tuesday, following a decision taken by its Senate in March. Belize and other nations across the Caribbean have long been vocal critics of nuclear weapons, warning of grave danger they pose to humanity.

As part of the second phase of an Open Government project: Transformation to an Open Public Administration in Belize, The Trust for the Americas in coordination with the Organization of American States (OAS), announces the official formation of an Ad-hoc Multi-stakeholder Steering Committee: The Belize Open Gov SC. This Open Government project, through funding support from the US Embassy Belmopan, is working to strengthen the creation of networks and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, supporting a longterm process to spur innovation, improving local government services, and activating international support mechanisms for enabling Belize to join the Open Government global movement.

Recognizing Belize’s timely response to the COVID19 pandemic, Canada’s contribution is meant to complement efforts to address current needs, with a focus on women and girls, who are often found at the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. They are the primary caregivers in many households, comprise approximately 70% of vital roles in health and social sectors, and during this crisis have been at increased risk of gender-based violence.