And to wrap up the rest of the news from today’s House sitting. First of all it was very short and there was no debate as all the bills of mention were only introduced.
Apart from the Income and Business Tax Amendment Bill which we discussed at length at the top of the newscast, items of note include a Belize City Council Amendment Bill – which we’ll call “Managing Mayor Moya”. It seeks to tighten the financial controls on the City Council for what it calls enhanced transparency and accountability and to reinforce collective responsibility. Similar bills were introduced for the Belmopan City Council and all the town councils.
Also a Disaster Preparedness and Response Amendment Bill was passed to allow for the declaration of disaster areas. This is done to access IDB emergency response funding which can only be accessed after a disaster area has been officially declared. The Prime Minister today disclosed that the past government bypassed this provision by declaring a state of emergency for the funding agencies and then just not telling the public.
Also, the Contractor General and the Ombudsman – or in this case Ombudswoman were confirmed today. Godwin Arzu will be the Contractor General and he will serve for a term of three years as will the Ombuds-woman who will be Cynthia Pitts. They both take up their postings in January of next year.
And finally, today was the first day for the new Clerk of the National Assembly, former Lik Road Talk Show Host Herbert Panton.
