BELMOPAN, Wed. Oct. 20, 2021– At a Cabinet meeting held on October 12, 2021, the Government of Belize had approved the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour, and Local Government’s proposal for a trade licensing system to be introduced in the villages. This will be the first time that village administrators will be able to collect fees for the issuance of trade licenses.

Since the passing of the Village Council Act, village councilors have been tasked with managing what takes place in their villages and to be facilitators of development in those communities. These tasks, however, have been difficult since councilors were not provided with funding to carry out their mission. The intended reforms will modernize and standardize trade licensing to allow these village stakeholders the necessary funds for community upkeep.

The initiative is expected to provide significant aid to local governments, especially those in larger villages such as Placencia, Caye Caulker, Ladyville and Independence Village where there are a number of businesses of considerable size that have generally not had to pay such licensing fees. These are the enterprises that the reform is targeted at, as opposed to the smaller businesses and shops.