The Isidoro Beaton Stadium in Belmopan was originally the property of the City Council, but yesterday Cabinet approved for it to be placed under the management of the National Sports Council "with immediate effect". The Sports Council will assume responsibility for all costs related to its maintenance and upkeep of the stadium. They will also allow the Belmopan City Council to access the stadium.
Commenting on this change, John Saldivar, the former UDP Area Representative of Belmopan, told us via text, quote, "I fought long and hard for the Isidoro Beaton Stadium to be the property of the residents of Belmopan, through the Belmopan City Council. It is regrettable that either the Council cannot keep up with the upkeep of the Stadium, and must therefore hand over the facility to the National Sports Council, or high-handed politics has taken away what rightfully belongs to the people of Belmopan. Either way, the people of Belmopan have been robbed."
Another topic that came up in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting was the Sustainable Energy Roadmap 2021-2040, which was generated by the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, and Logistics. The government says that it was crafted with a view to progressing Belize to energy independence using renewable energy technologies buttressed by grid modernization.
Experts in the energy sector have shared their doubts with us about this idea of the country being powered solely by renewable energy. The biggest question mark is the size and scale of renewable energy sources which would be able to meet the country's electricity needs. Informed observers suggest that this is a fantasy unless the government can find ways to back up the renewable sources with firm power sources.
Discussing the latest vaccination statistics, the Cabinet says that there are more than 360 thousand vaccines available in-country currently. As of December 7th, there are 209,662 persons or 48.7% of the population who have received at least one dose of COVID vaccines. 196,206 or 45.6% have been fully vaccinated. This represents 67 percent of the adult population. To date, 23,768 or 50% of the population between the ages of 12 to 15 have been fully vaccinated. And finally, over 13 thousand Belizeans have received their booster shots.
