Government to buy land in Pine Ridge
Cabinet had some tourism news of its own this week. According to the Cabinet briefing, the government has given the Belize Tourism Board the green light to proceed with plans for the Tourism Village in the Fort Point area of Belize City. The Village will be developed and operated by a private sector entity, but takes into consideration, current cruise industry stakeholders. The facility, which will cater primarily to cruise ship visitors, has long been in the discussion stage and the concept was endorsed by a recent task force on services. Government has also decided to purchase the land the Hidden Valley Falls is located on and surrounding areas in the Mountain Pine Ridge, for the enjoyment of the public. An arrangement will be made with the private landowner, to reserve an additional 650 acres of lands adjacent to the falls. In other cabinet news, disaster preparedness and response legislation has also been approved for presentation to the next sitting of the House of Representatives. The legislation was steered through Cabinet by Senior Minister, George Price, who has a special responsibility for emergency management. The law will establish the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) as a Department of Government, a National Advisory Committee and make provisions for shelters, disaster alerts, the obligations of public officers and the international aspects of emergency relief. This is the first such legislation for Belize. It is modeled on legislation adopted by several Caribbean countries. Finally Cabinet agreed to assist the Belize Cane Farmer’s Association, by allocating 1.1 million gallons of duty free fuel to transport sugar cane for the 1999-2000 crop year. The sugar industry reports depressed prices for sugar cane for the current crop and are considering other options to assist in making the industry more competitive. One of the immediate areas of concern, is the high cost of transportation. Government is encouraging farmers, who use gasoline to convert to diesel or butane.
