Cabinet announces scholarships, sugar sales

In government news several decisions of Cabinet were announced in today’s weekly press briefing. Among them is a breakdown of the fifty scholarships offered by the government of Cuba. Medicine and vocational skills head the list with five places each while four scholarships each are offered in hospitality management and sports. The first students will begin classes in the next school year. In education closer to home Cabinet approved the implementation of a national truancy management program to keep kids in school. Three school welfare officers will be hired in each district. On the trade front the ministry responsible for sugar has assisted B.S.I. in opening up a new market for Belize’s number one export — right next door in Guatemala. Under an arrangement with the company Alimentos Secos de Guatemala, B.S.I. will sell ten thousand one hundred twelve pound sacks of its plantation white sugar for a price of thirty cents Belize per pound. This is the same price at which the sugar sells on the wholesale market in Belize, and is almost double the prevailing price on the world bulk market. In recent months the high price of sugar in Guatemala has led to a large increase in smuggling from Belize. With this latest sale the Guatemalans and B.S.I. will be cutting out the middleman.