Last year, the government introduced GST-free weekends, just in time for Christmas shopping. Well, in Cabinet on Tuesday, they approved two more weekends - this time coinciding with back to school shopping. July 31st and August 15th have been declared GST-free - which means that no GST will be charged from Thursdays the 31st to Saturday August 2nd, as well as Friday August 15th to Sunday, the 17th. So if you're still gathering supplies for the start of the school year, you may want to wait a few more weeks. And in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, the government also discussed UB's subvention. As we told you, the union held a peaceful protest outside the PM's office. Meanwhile, inside the building, the minister of education informed his colleagues that the Government's total contribution to the University of Belize is over $13.5 million, of which $7.5 million is given in subventions and more than $6 million in financial assistance to students. The reported from the Cabinet does not address what their decision on reinstating the subvention will be. And the Cabinet also discussed the sargassum situation, which they say has seen a 70% increase in regional influx compared to the last major episode in 2022. As such, they have endorsed an emergency response plan which was developed jointly by the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of the Blue Economy. That plan includes the provision of financial assistance to support cleanup operations in affected coastal communities. Cabinet has also instructed the Sargassum Task Force to develop medium- to long-term strategies, including the creation of a monitoring and early warning system to trigger future emergency responses as necessary.

Tags University Of Belize Ministry of Tourism Ministry of The Blue Economy