Since the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute took over Goff's Caye and started charging foreign visitors a $10 a head fee, visitation to the caye has dwindled to a trickle because cruise operators just won't pay to play on Goff’s Caye's sandy white beach. That means no money for CZMAI, and today that meant layoffs.
7NEWS has confirmed that 6 staffers were given letters of termination today with some to take effect immediately and others in a month's time. According to Dr. Michael Tewes, who took over as CEO for new Fisheries Minister Hon. Mike Espat just a week ago, without any cash flow from Goff's Caye there is just no money to pay these persons. He warns that if some agreement isn't reached with the cruise agents soon, the entire program could be closed down by mid-October.
It's a grim forecast but Tewes stresses that he is determined to make sure something works out and that the very vital program stays afloat. At the height of its foreign funding from the UNDP, CZMAI had a staff of 26 persons. That funding is finished and the staff is now reduced from 15 to 9 with these latest firings.