COP 28 Belize delegation not finalized, says Cabinet Secretary

Published by BBNTEAM at November 16, 2023

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Posted: Thursday, November 16, 2023. 3:47 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: A list of as many as 60 names has been circulating on local WhatsApp purporting to be the size of the delegation from Belize headed to the 28TH Conference of the Parties (COP) summit in two weeks in the United Arab Emirates.

However, according to Ambassador Stuart Leslie, Cabinet Secretary, that list has not been finalized. As he explained to reporters, “…applications for travel comes into the Cabinet Secretary, and the Cabinet Secretary then releases this information to the Prime Minister, and then the list goes over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I have not seen any list because the entire delegation is not set.”

He could only confirm that the Ministers responsible for Sustainable Development (Orlando Habet, who has been leading these delegations since he came into office), Blue Economy (Andre Perez, who has yet to be formally returned to Cabinet due to an ongoing investigation) and a representative of the Ministry of Finance are confirmed to be applying to travel to COP 28. The Prime Minister is currently in Saudi Arabia and is due back on November 19, but it is not clear whether he too would attend.

Ambassador Leslie noted that at least one Belizean journalist will attend and that funding for the delegation comes not necessarily from the Government but from environmental organizations and agencies. All told, he knows of up to seven persons who have applied and so dismissed the circulating list as “not a fact, it’s nonsense.”

Presumably not on the list is Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition, who told reporters that “Whereas the Prime Minister and his Minister of Climate would have been suffice and maybe the CEO in that ministry. But I don’t see the need for all of these other ministers to attend and this is just another opportunity on taxpayer dollars for them to live a lavish and luxurious life, which is what they’ve been doing. Everybody is suffering, everybody is punishing except the ministers and their cronies and political affiliates and this is another example of that. It is not responsible, prudent, governance of the people’s coffers. It is a complete wastage.”

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