Special Tropical Weather Outlook issued to update the status of the reconnaissance mission originally scheduled for the system near the Straits of Florida and to increase the formation chances for the system in the tropical Atlantic.

1. Updated:  A tropical wave is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over western Cuba, the northwestern Bahamas, southern Florida, and the adjacent Atlantic and Caribbean waters.  Gradual development of this system is possible while it moves west-northwestward during the next few days.  This system is expected to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico later today, the central Gulf on Wednesday, and the northwestern Gulf on Thursday and Friday.  The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft scheduled to investigate the system this afternoon has been canceled.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…30 percent.

* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…40 percent.

2. Updated:  Satellite imagery and recent satellite wind data indicate that the low pressure system located about midway between the west coast of Africa and the Lesser Antilles continues to get better organized.  If current trends continue, advisories could be initiated on this system as a tropical depression later today. 

Regardless of development during the next couple of days, less favorable conditions should limit additional development by the weekend.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…80 percent.

* Formation chance through 5 days…high…80 percent.

Source: National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center

On July 17, 2020 President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate several individuals to key positions in his Administration. Among those nominations listed on whitehouse.gov was that of André Bauer, of South Carolina, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belize.

André Bauer is a political leader, commentator, and real estate developer in South Carolina.  Mr. Bauer served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives as a State Senator, and as the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 2003- 2011.  He was the National Chairman of the Republican Lt. Governor Association in 2005 and he appeared as a political analyst and commentator on CNN from 2016 – 2019.

Mr. Bauer also served as a Major in the South Carolina State Guard from 2010 – 2015.  He has worked in real estate development since 1991 and currently is the proprietor of Bunk Aviation, a real estate holding company in Charleston, South Carolina.

Mr. Bauer received his B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina’s College of Applied Professional Sciences in 1991.  He is the recipient of a number of honors including the South Carolina Republican Party Terry Haskins Awards for Legislative Leadership.

Belize has not had a US Ambassador since Carlos Moreno left office in early 2017.

Attorney Estevan Perrera has been appointed as the Chairman for the Elections and Boundaries Commission. The appointment was tabled before the Senate yesterday, July 15, 2020. 

Mr. Perrera takes over the reigns from Doug Singh who had served as the Chairman for five years prior to his resignation. During the Senate sitting, Union Senator, Elena Smith, rose and spoke on Mr. Perrera’s appointment stating that with an election taking place soon, it is crucial to have the Chairman be independent of any political party. Opposition Senator, Dr. Louis Zabaneh also focused on the political independence of the Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission. According to Dr. Zabaneh, recent weeks have seen some “hanky panky” at the election offices when it comes to voter transfers. 

Mr. Estevan Perera is a 38-year-old attorney who has previously held posts on the Belize Social Security Board of Directors and the Board of Directors for the Belize Water Services Limited. He currently holds a seat in the diplomatic corps as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Estonia.

The Department of the Environment (DOE) has received Cabinet’s endorsement for the extension of the time-frame for the implementation of Belize’s Plastics Regulations, 2020.

As a result of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and subsequent National State of Emergency to address the ongoing health crisis in April 2020, actions to implement the permitting of licensing systems required in the legislation was disrupted. As such, an extension period is required to implement the relevant sections of the regulations.

See the full press from the Department of the Environment (DOE) as follows:

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE WORLD BANK

World Bank Financing for Belize to Assist Over 13,000 Poor and Vulnerable Households in Response to COVID-19 Impacts

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2020 — Belize will strengthen its response to the economic hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with US$12.4 million from the World Bank. The funds will be used to provide social assistance to poor and vulnerable households impacted by the crisis.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to serious economic and social challenges for Belize,” said Tahseen Sayed, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean. “The World Bank mobilized a rapid response to support the country’s efforts in mitigating the impacts on the poor and most vulnerable populations.” 

The funds will support Belize’s social protection response to the COVID-19 emergency, implemented by the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation (MHDSTPA). The financing will provide support for existing beneficiaries of Belize’s main poverty reduction social protection program, Building Opportunities for Our Social Transformation (BOOST). It will also support poor households not receiving other social assistance or employment income through a temporary Belize COVID-19 Cash Transfer (BCCAT) Program. This program will target households screened through a poverty assessment tool and who meet set criteria, including households with pregnant women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. Specific details on eligibility criteria and the scope of the emergency social assistance will be published by the Government of Belize prior to roll-out. In total, over 13,000 households in need are expected to receive cash transfers through this emergency response.

These funds were accessed under the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) of the Climate Resilience Improvement Project (CRIP). CERCs allow funds to be reallocated from existing projects to address emergency response needs.

PRESS RELEASE

Labour Complaints Tribunal

Belmopan. July 15, 2020. 4:10 p.m.

The Ministry of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development hereby informs of the establishment of the Labour Complaints Tribunal.

In accordance with the Labour Act, Chapter 297 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011, Section 200, “A Labour Complaints Tribunal shall be established for the purpose of providing a fair and impartial appeal process arising from complaints of unfair dismissal or wrongful termination.”

Additionally, in accordance with paragraph one of the Schedule of the Labour Act, the Honourable Minister of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development has appointed the following persons as members of the Labour Complaints Tribunal for a period of three years with effect from March 1, 2020:
• Ms. Sheena Pitts, Attorney-at-law – nominated by the Minister and the Chairperson of the Tribunal
• Ms. Ashanti Arthurs-Martin, Attorney-at-law – nominated by the Chief Justice
• Ms. Marissa Longsworth, Attorney-at-law – nominated by the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Ms. Ella Waight – representative of the worker nominated by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize
• Ms. Anne Marie Thompson – Commissioner of Labour, ex-officio

As the Labour Department continues to collaborate with employers and employees to promote good industrial relations, fairness, impartiality and tripartism, the Department looks forward to providing full support to the Tribunal for the mutual benefit of all.

The Ministry thanks all its stakeholders and partners who have contributed to making this a proud accomplishment for Belize.

Ends

From the time Leanne Sinai was a young girl, she was a music lover who would walk around singing and humming to any beat that would pop in her head. As a lover of music, Leanne welcomed every opportunity to belt out a tune and as she grew older, it became evident that her passion was music.

Over the years, as Leanne became comfortable with singing for an audience, she would occasionally record covers of hit songs and share the result on her Instagram page. After high school, Leanne left her home in Belize City to study in Costa Rica.

She shares a love of music with her boyfriend, David Godinez, who is currently living in Houston, Texas. These unprecedented times have created a bridge that’s thousands of miles long, so they decided to collaborate musically as a way to remain connected by the heart.

Their musical collaboration paved the way for Twin Flames which produced two singles, ‘Liar’ and ‘Destiny’. Naturally, the result of the collaboration is a dream come true for Leanne who has always wanted to create her own music. Twin Flames’ singles, ‘Liar’ and ‘Destiny‘, can be found on popular music platforms such as YouTube, Apple Music, Spotify, and Sound Cloud.

Leanne believes that all musicians need to promote and market their music in order to be successful, but getting that legitimately done can be quite costly and can prove to be a challenge for new and upcoming artists. 

This is truly an “against all odds” story and one that we are proud and excited to follow on what we’re sure will be a path to stardom for Twin Flames! Congratulations!

From the office of the Director of Health Services:

COVID-19 UPDATE

A further 77 samples were processed today for SARS CoV2, this has allowed us to identify a further two cases bringing our total to 30.

These last two cases are that of a male and female, Belizeans caught entering the border illegally via La Union. They are asymptomatic and have been in the mandatory quarantine area from when they were caught.

We therefore have 9 active cases that have been and remain under quarantine, 8 Belizeans and one Honduran.

Our active surveillance continues, particularly as we move into a weekend.

Now more than ever, we need to continue to stress the relevance of all the prevention measures and we continue to underscore the importance and relevance of working along with the authorities in the identification of those crossing the border illegally.

As we have stipulated in different forms, we run the risk of a second wave and community spread with all the illegal border crossings and we do require a community effort if we are to continue the containment of further cases.