Belmopan. Thu. Jan. 28th, 2021– The Government of Belize held a cabinet meeting in regular session on January 26th, 2021 which was chaired by Prime Minister John Briceño. The brief outlines that Cabinet approved three new trade relationships. These three CARIFORUM Bilateral Agreements include an agreement on trade, economic and technical cooperation between CARICOM and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Colombia. These agreements were also ratified in the senate today.

On Friday, January 29th the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Hon. Michel Chebat will announce an update to the COVID-19 situation in Belize and new quarantine regulations. The release notes, “The Cabinet also received a report from the Minister of Health on proposals for the reopening of the Corozal Free Zone and gave its approval for the resumption of business at the Free Zone on February 1, 2021.

The Prime Minister has informed the cabinet of his decision to order a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the sale of government assets between the period October 2019 to November 2020. The members of the Commission are Andrew Marshalleck, Chairman, Luke Martinez, Marcello Blake.

As mentioned in his interview with the media, the cabinet brief outlines that the Prime Minister has commenced budget consultations with Hon. Anthony Mahler and Hon. Chris Coye and their technical team. Consultations with the private sector and social partners will start in the first week of February. Hon. Francis Fonseca has been tasked to lead consultations with the Belize National Teachers Union and the Public Service Union. He will be joined by Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Cordel Hyde and Hon. Henry Charles Usher.

And lastly, the Prime Minister has informed his Cabinet that he will notify the Speaker of the House of Representative to call a sitting for Friday, February 5th, 2021.