BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 17, 2020– The first official meeting of the new National Assembly was scheduled for Friday, December 18, 2020, but had to be postponed due to concerns about social distancing and the chambers’ setup. The National Assembly has released a communique dated December 15, which reads as follows:

“It is notified that the special sitting of the House of Representatives which was scheduled for Friday, 18th December 2020, in the National Assembly chamber in Belmopan, has been postponed until further notice. This has become necessary to ensure Parliament meets the necessary COVID-19 safety and health protocols for any further meetings.”

While this is an important undertaking, this will result in an additional delay in the issuance of multiple budgetary approvals. As indicated by the various press briefings published by the Government of Belize weekly, supplementary appropriations have been in the pipeline to address serious socio-economic matters such as COVID-19 relief, infrastructure repair and maintenance, etc.

While Parliament has an entire three months to approve the supplementary budget, there are yet unanswered questions about about how long it will take for these needed initiatives to be approved and rolled out.

Thus far, no details have been shared with the public about what safety and health protocols will be introduced/improved in the chambers.