Economy - Greater Belize Media

San Pedro Poised to Gain Big through Sister-City Ties

The San Pedro Town Council is making some big environmental waves by establishing sister-city relations with Clearwater City in Florida. Mayor Wally Nunez just returned from a visit to Clearwater and shared with News Five that they’re looking to partner with their U.S. sister city for help with turtle nesting, conservation practices, and even cultural tourism exchanges.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“They are big with conservation. They have a marine aquarium that – I look at it more like a rehabilitation center than an aquarium because when you talk about aquarium, everybody thinks that they’re just gonna go and look at the animals and they’re in captivity. But these animals that they have there are in rehabilitation or they have been taken there because they cannot be released in the wild. So, they’re big with dolphin conservation. They have turtles. They have already started with manatees. They have partnered in Gales Point here whereby they have a place that they are assisting with the manatee conservation. We are looking at different ways that they can assist us here in San Pedro, maybe later on open a rehabilitation center here for turtles because we have certain issues with turtles here. Who knows, probably later on a movie which would showcase our beautiful island and of course the culture of Belize. And these are things that we are looking at as partnerships with different or other municipalities, other towns and countries that we can benefit and they can benefit from an exchange like this. I met with the mayor of Clearwater. I had the privilege of meeting him in his office. We had a very good conversation and he is very excited about it. He actually made a post about it on his Facebook page. So it looks very promising and the marine aquarium is fully on board with us. This trip wasn’t only about the marine conservation and the aquarium and the sister city relationship, but also, we took the opportunity to go to the eastern part of Florida to see where they’re doing beach restoration, more on a nature-based solutions. We are looking at the different ways that they have been working on the beach, how they have been creating their dunes, how it protects them from different elements with respect to the storms, beach erosions, how they’re tackling all of that because we need to work on our beach solution as well.”

Study Needed on San Pedro Traffic Situation

Traffic on La Isla Bonita has been a real headache over the past couple of years, mainly because of two big issues: the island has been flooded with imported golf carts, and there’s been a surge in trucks dumping fill for development projects. The San Pedro Town Council has been working hard to tackle these problems by implementing strict measures. Mayor Wally Nunez told News Five that a comprehensive study on their traffic situation is essential. In the meantime, they’ve put limits on heavy-duty trucks and the importation of golf carts to San Pedro.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“We have not been issuing any more permits for golf cart rentals. If you are aware, the council is not the one who directly gives the permits. There is a traffic control committee who does the permits and then it is passed on to the council. When it comes to these permits, we have asked the Ambergris Caye Traffic Control Committee, and of course, part of the council is part of that committee. We do not want anymore golf cart rentals. We’re not issuing trade license for new go cart rentals so that we can have more control of what is going on on the island. Until we do a proper study of the traffic flow and the amount of vehicles necessary and apart from that, we know that we have an issue with the trucks bringing down material to fill different areas. We do use these trucks as well as part of the council works in the different areas. However, we’re going to limit them on how they come into town. We’re going to be – I don’t want to use the word ban, but it’ll be restricted in the sense that they will no longer be allowed to come into town without a proper permit and escort. The trucks will have to barge their material from the north side to the south side of the island. If there is a need to bring any trucks for material for the council, we will try to do it as least as possible. We’ll try to get them to the barge as well, but if we need to bring them somewhere within the town area where they’re restricted, it would have to be at certain hours, probably at four in the morning or five in the morning where there’s less traffic. They’ll only allow one or two trucks to deliver per day.”

Ambergris Hope Hospital Inaugurates Blood Reserve

On Saturday, April fifth, Ambergris Hope Hospital celebrated a major milestone with the launch of a blood and blood products storage reserve on Ambergris Caye. The event was a big deal, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony, free blood typing for the first twenty guests, vitals checks, voluntary blood donor sign-ups, public education, and even a pharmacy sale. This marks a huge leap forward for the island’s ability to handle medical emergencies and planned surgeries. The hospital brought together the Island Donors Squad and medical students from Washington University of Health Sciences to celebrate this game-changing improvement in lifesaving capabilities. Having a local reserve of blood and blood products means faster access to critical care. In emergencies, every second counts, and being able to start transfusions without waiting for transport to the mainland can be lifesaving. This new reserve will also cut down on the need for expensive late-night emergency flights. Beyond accident-related emergencies, Ambergris Hope frequently uses blood for cesarean deliveries, childbirth, laparotomies, and appendectomies. This new reserve is set to make a big difference in all these areas.

The Sargassum Scourge Returns in San Pedro

As the Caribbean braces for another busy hurricane season, there’s something else we need to get ready for: the invasion of sargassum mats drifting in from the Atlantic Ocean. Early signs suggest that we’ll be seeing a lot of sargassum on our shores this year, with the first batch already making an appearance. News Five caught up with San Pedro Mayor, Wally Nunez, to find out how his council plans to tackle this unwelcome and costly problem.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“We try to take it out from the ocean as soon as possible, because once it stays on the shoreline, it starts to decay, decompose, and then it’s, it smelts. But if you take it out from the water, it dries out with the sun and it doesn’t sink as much. What we do with the sargassum is we’re taking it to an area by San Pedrito, where we are filling up an area for recreational purpose. So that way we are showing that we are using sargassum for another purpose. Yes, it is landfill, but then we also put material on top of it so that it doesn’t smell and it settles. We have filled an area where you can see kids using it as a little park to play football. So we want to increase on that and expand on that area so that it turns like into an entire recreational area for something different for the entire town. But our main issue is not what we do with the sargassum afterwards. Our issue is taking it out from the water in the quantities that are coming in. It’s very difficult. Luckily, we have some resorts that are doing their part. B.T.B. is also helping us financially to be able to put more manpower out there to assist in the cleanup. However, it is mother nature and it’s difficult to keep up.”

San Pedro’s Way of Minimizing Traffic Licensing Fraud

When Mayor Nunez took office in 2021, he had to tackle a major issue: corruption in the traffic department of the San Pedro Town Council. There were shady dealings with fake license stickers being sold, and the money never made it to the council’s funds. But Nunez says that’s all been sorted out now. They’ve upgraded their software, and the council has had to get pretty inventive with the licenses to keep things running smoothly.

Wally Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro

“We have implemented different measures when it comes to the licenses. Every year we change the design of the stickers. We have different measures that are in effect so that we can know if they are doing something wrong with respect to the licensing or the registration of the vehicles.”

Does 34% Tariff on China Spell Trouble for Shein and Temu?

Belizeans who love shopping online from Chinese businesses like Shein and Temu might need to rethink their purchases. The Trump administration’s new tariff regime adds a thirty-four percent tax on products from China, on top of the existing twenty percent. Since items from these online stores are shipped from China through the U.S., a fifty-four percent duty could be applied, significantly raising the price for consumers.

Dr. Leroy Almendarez, Economic Consultant

“If China is now at fifty-four percent, thirty-four plus twenty, because you could see the cascading effects with the tariffs when they were mentioned. These countries are there for doing business. An online platform means you don’t need physical space so that will reduce your cost. What they can also do, which I am not sure they will do, but what some entities or business will do, is an application of a thirty-four percent tax or let us say it become fifty-four percent, you might decide to share the cost, maybe at least for a period of time, which means you have reduced your revenue as well. Let us say for example that you had already placed an order for something from China a week ago, what happens after yesterday, is an application of that tax unto that product that you have purchased, or we say that was old stock and therefore. I don’t think they will do that. So, we will really have to see how the world will react. CARICOM should have been more proactive, there could have been some anticipation that this was possible.”

B.C.C.I. Stand Ready to Guide Members Through Tariff Woes

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has started meeting with its members to talk about how the Trump administration’s tariffs might affect the private sector. Jody Williams, Vice President of BCCI, says they’re ready to advise their members and work with the government to ensure stakeholders get some relief.

Jody Williams, Vice President, B.C.C.I.

“We are on the meeting table. WE are trying to collaborate and have as much information flow as possible and to be there to advise. In this time for this new ten percent information is crucial and essential for us to see what kind of decisions we are going to make, what plan to do. What little tweaks and changes in order for an exporter to not take that ten percent. So we as chamber will provide information, do the collaboration, bring persons to the table and we will bring heads together to see how we can work along with the government, with foreign trade, to see how we could lessen the impact on us exporters. Inflation is already going on and extra percentage of inflation does not help anyone including exporters and consumers.”

Police Officer Charged for Cyberbullying ComPol Williams

Earlier today, a police officer was arraigned in Belize City Magistrate’s Court for allegedly bullying Commissioner of Police Chester Williams. While ComPol Williams got a one-month extension before leaving the Belize Police Department, his colleagues charged one of their own for allegedly bullying him on Facebook. The officer, fifty-one-year-old Barrington Gilbert Mai, also known as Barry Flowers, lives in Carmelita Village, Orange Walk District. This morning, Mai was brought to court in a police van but was snuck in through the back to avoid the cameras. By 10 a.m., he appeared before a Senior Magistrate, unrepresented, and was charged with using a computer system to publish obscene and vulgar data. The allegations state that on April 2^nd, 2025, he posted obscene and vulgar content about the Commissioner of Police. Mai pleaded not guilty. While there was no objection to bail, the prosecutor requested conditions. The Senior Magistrate set bail at five thousand dollars, with one surety of the same amount or two sureties of two thousand, five hundred dollars each, which Mai met. His next court date is June 4^th, 2025. Conditions of his bail include not interfering with the virtual complainant or any of his family members or prosecution witnesses and maintaining a twenty-five-foot distance from ComPol Williams and his family. Failure to comply could result in his bail being revoked.

DOE Assures Strict Compliance for Cayo Rosario Project

Personnel from the Department of the Environment and other key regulatory agencies recently met to discuss the Cayo Rosario Project. This meeting addressed public concerns and the government’s assurance that the developer will meet all requirements. The Cayo Rosario Project, which has been controversial due to its location within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, dates back several years. Marion Ali spoke with Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai about the next steps and filed this report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

After a recent protest against the Cayo Rosario Development Project, several government departments and agencies have come together to decide on a collective approach. This is to make sure the project’s leaders follow all environmental requirements. Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai told News Five that the team has agreed to create a schedule for a monitoring program to oversee the different stages of the project.

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer

“In this case, if we do monitoring on the island, the Mining Unit would be represented to look at the mining related issues; Essential Building Authority will look at matters related to granting approval for the construction of buildings. The Lands Department was at the meeting, and in this case the Lands Department will look for any issue related to the construction of the pier and anything within the sixty-six-feet reserve. The Coastal Zone Management Authority was in the meeting and they will look at the coastal-related issues. The Fisheries Department was there, the Fisheries Department, and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, as you know, has a co-management agreement for that particular area. So each agency during the site visit would have a specific role to play in terms of ensuring that the development meets their kind of conditions and then the D.O.E. comes in and we ensure that the overall E.C.P. is being complied with. This is the sustainable way through which the Government of Belize wants this type of projects to develop.”

Even before now, the project has had to comply with some tough regulations.

Anthony Mai

“The project went through the E.I.A. process. The E.I.A. process is a very tedious process to some degree. The importance of it, however, is that the relevant technical and scientific information is provided to the National Environmental Appraisal Committee, which currently, is comprised of 15 to 16 senior people within government, people from NGOs, people from the private sector, and from academia. So the E.I.A. report provides all the relevant information that they would need to advise the D.O.E. on any project, and in this particular case, the NEAC went through three deliberations, so three meetings because of early issues related to this project.”

Among the main concerns raised years ago was the potential impact on the local fly-fishing community. Mai mentioned that this concern has been considered since 2018. The meeting also reviewed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to ensure the project met all requirements. The Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP) is available online, and Mai encourages everyone to download it to help authorities monitor the project. The ECP lists all the conditions for the project’s construction and includes the conceptual design. Mai also noted that the Cayo Rosario project isn’t the only one in a protected area to get the green light.

Anthony Mai

“There are private properties within protected areas, and the owners of those private properties could apply to the Department of Environment for environmental clearance for any development that he or she wants to do within a protected area. The caveat, however, is that the Government of Belize has the E.I.A. process through which we evaluate these projects, and we ensure that these projects, at the end of the day, if they are approved, have minimum impacts on the environment.”

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a global standard for evaluating the environmental effects of proposed projects. To ensure the Cayo Rosario project meets these standards, the team will take several steps: improve communication about mining permits, mangrove alteration permits, and construction applications for piers and other structures. They will conduct an inter-agency site visit to check the project’s progress and ensure it complies with the Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP). Joint monitoring will happen during all key phases of the project, and they will frequently request status reports from the project owner. The Department of the Environment’s San Pedro office will also conduct regular compliance inspections. Marion Ali for News Five.

Belizean Nurses Await Benefits from Government

The Government of Belize has ambitious plans for the health sector over the next few years. At a recent meeting, the cabinet endorsed the Belize Health Sector Strategic Plan 2025 to 2034, which lays out a detailed roadmap for tackling key health system challenges. The cabinet also approved a retention package of allowances for public health nurses to help keep highly skilled nurses in Belize. We spoke with Andrew Baird, President of the K.H.M.H. Workers Union, to get his reaction to the news.

Andrew Baird, President, K.H.M.H. Workers Union

“I’m working as a nurse for the past twenty-five years and for the past twenty-five years, uniform allowance for nurses have been at three hundred annually. And if you look at the cost and living to today, three hundred can only buy us our scrubs. And but our uniform includes shoes. So the allotted amongst should be enough to buy shoes. What I know from it maybe raised from three hundred to five hundred also there is what we call a night. Allowance that is given to nurses. Then at this time it is fifty for every twenty night that you work, but you only get to work seven nights per month. So to reach twenty nights, you have to work at least three months or so before you could get that allowance. I believe that they want to raise that allowance to a hundred dollars or something like that, contrary to what the government might offer in our CBA, I believe we are asking for that a lot that night allowance to be monthly rather than based on the amount of nights that one work. So those are a couple of the allowances that I know that the government may have in their package. May so be that they may have a raise of salary for nurses, I don’t know, or a salary adjustment. But our last adjustment for nurses was in 2012 when we had that adjustment along with the nomenclature name changes throughout the nursing system. But I wait to see a document that the government is pledging to give as a package to nurses, to retain us. The retention of Belizean nurses is long overdue, but not only Belizean nurses, but nurses that works on Belizean a whole. What we have seen over the years is that because of the global demand for nurses, our Belizean nurses and nurses who work in Belize are being offered packages in the US, Canada, and the UK mainly. And those packages have signed bonuses, they find places for them to stay, and then the salary is very attractive. So the government has the match that if we’re going to retain our nurses to stay in Belize.”