Cabinet Approves Amendments to Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Act

In Cabinet news this week, Cabinet gave its approval for a motion to be taken to the National Assembly for six point two million U.S. dollars for financing from the International Monetary Fund. Channeled through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Cabinet says the aim of the loan is to minimize the global risk and impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to strengthen the ability of the health care system to respond to future health emergencies. Noting high levels of excess liquidity of around seven hundred and seventy million dollars, Cabinet has decided to incentivize lending by the banks into foreign exchange earning sectors to further stimulate economic activity. Cabinet approved further amendments to the Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Licensing and Control Act. These changes provide for the composition of the Commission, additional taxes on sales of cannabis, and fund for the allocation of tax revenues for public awareness campaign programs, rehab programs, social and sporting programs, and school assistance. Finally, Cabinet was updated on the status of vaccinations. Currently, there are more than two hundred and forty-five thousand vaccines on hand. As of the twenty-first of March, almost fifty percent of Belizeans have had one dose and another forty-eight percent have been fully vaccinated. The daily COVID positivity rate is one point thirty-five percent.