Earlier in the news, we told you how Cabinet refused to grant a price increase on the controlled price of 16-ounce sliced bread. Well, several other topics were discussed at Tuesday's meeting.
Cabinet approved the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Relations to introduce legislation for a Hotel Amnesty Program for unregistered short-term rental properties...This program will allow for the execution of a registration process for properties that fall into this category.
Cabinet also gave its permission to the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora relations to initiate a formal review process for the current agreement between the government of Belize and Belize Island Holdings Limited. Belize Island Holdings is the local company from Norwegian Cruise Line that owns the multi-million-dollar Harvest Caye Cruise Port in Southern Belize. The Government press release says this review will hopefully "improve and facilitate the future growth and development of cruise tourism in Southern Belize."
Finally, Cabinet has recommended the introduction of a US 25-million-dollar loan motion from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This loan will assist in the implementation of a Climate Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture Project. The initiative will be undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise with the assistance of the Social Investment Fund. This project is expected to provide funding support to "an estimated 7,300 beneficiaries, including more than 4,300 farming households or more than 17,800 individuals."
