The Caribbean Congress of Labor is meeting in Belize this week and has held a series of workshops and seminars. Earlier this week the issues were telecommunications and new trends in collective bargaining. Today there was a women’s symposium opened by Minister of Human Development, Women and Youth Dolores Balderamos Garcia. Tomorrow night the Caribbean […]
The regional air carrier TACA has always been well known for its generous and attentive in flight service, but if you wanted the wider seats and added legroom associated with first class or business class travel you would have to choose a different airline. No longer. Beginning December first TACA will inaugurate its executive class […]
The Reconstruction and Development Corporation has announced that in the interest of proper financial management, they will be forced to let go a number of staff members. RECONDEV says that although their work has not appreciably increased over the past five years, since 1993 their administrative staff, hired laborers and wage bill have more than […]
As Caribbean countries get ready to face the many challenges of the twenty first century, telecommunication companies in particular, are being encouraged to create a more competitive environment that will better serve the interest of their workers and the region. The issue is being discussed at length, at a five-day conference called by the Caribbean […]
The Broadcasting Corporation of Belize, which is scheduled to cease all operations by month’s end, today ran its last newscast. The sixty-one year old government owned station, which for more than a half century was the only game in town, was less noted for the depth and quality of its news content, than for its […]
Less than two months ago the then opposition People’s United Party campaigned hard on the promise that, if elected, they would get Belize’s economic train on the move once again. Now that the P.U.P. owns the railroad, everyone from the unemployed Belizean on the street to the millionaire potential investor wants to know when the […]
The last time a cruise ship appeared in the news it was because of the sexual orientation of its passengers. Tonight’s report, though less sensational, may be more welcome by tour operators in Belize City. On Thursday the Sea Breeze, carrying a maximum of eight hundred and fifty passengers, will make the first of what […]
The Broadcasting Corporation of Belize has gone through a number of name changes in its more than half century of existence, but by the end of this month, it will be called anything except alive. News Five’s Patrick Jones, himself a former B.C.B. employee, looks at how the winding down process is going. After eight […]
A Belizean delegation has returned from Washington where members attended the annual general meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The head of the group, budget and planning Minister Ralph Fonseca, told officials there of his government’s intention to get the nation’s economy moving in a way which would create jobs within an […]
The newly created Ministry of the Sugar Industry is facing its first major controversy, one which farmers in the north are saying could seriously affect the country’s number one foreign exchange earner. Patrick Jones reports. The standoff in “Sugar City” surrounds an audit of the finances of the Belize Cane Farmers Association. Minister of the […]
An eight-week training program in food processing started today in the Orange Walk District. Forty young women from the villages of San Antonio, San Roman and Santa Cruz will spend the next two months learning how to process fruits into jam and vegetable into pickles. According to the implementing agency, the Ministry of Agriculture and […]
While the leader of the Opposition was discovering that VAT was indeed, a killa, the Prime Minister appeared on television to explain how he was going to make good on his campaign promise to abolish the infamous tax. Appearing Thursday night on Channel Five’s “One On One with Stuart Leslie” Said Musa focussed on his […]
It was first known as the Festival Grand Market and year after year, thousands of Belizeans flocked to the grounds of the Belize Technical College to check out what the business community had to offer. Three years ago, however, the show underwent a massive transformation, but the fundamental objectives remained the same. Jacqueline Woods reports. […]
If you’ve been to bank lately in search of U.S. dollars, British pounds or any other foreign exchange chances are you’ve been told to come back later. Word on the street is also saying that hard currency is even harder to find. We checked with Central Bank governor Keith Arnold and he confirmed that the […]
The Central Bank’s governor and staff have been clamoring for their own building for what seems like decades. Tonight, although surrounded by partisan political controversy, that building is a reality. This morning the press, including News Five’s Patrick Jones, got a tour. The three story concrete structure will unite all of the Central Bank’s operations […]
The first filing date for the new business tax, which went into effect on July first, falls due on Friday of this week. And while businesses across the country have their calculators working overtime to get their figures straight, the Belize Chamber of Commerce is trying to help in clearing up any remaining confusion. The […]
It’s the travel show’s third birthday and while this year’s edition is not as large as 1997, Arreini Palacio reports that BETEX ’98 is no less lovely than its predecessors. Eye catching… isn’t it? And organizers of BETEX ’98 hope that this eco-cultural beauty will not only sparkle in the eyes of local beholders but […]
Next week the third annual edition of Belize’s tourism expo will take place in Belize City. While the three-day event will not be heralded by huge amounts of fanfare, the deals made will be worth millions to the future of the tourism industry. Arreini Palacio has a preview. “Belize, the eco-cultural destination of the twenty-first […]
In economic news the nation’s most profitable corporation, B.T.L., has reported another record year. Gross revenues are up by almost two million dollars to nearly seventy five million. Pre-tax profits have likewise jumped by one point eight million to almost forty million. Earnings per share topped out at a record seventy nine point eight cents […]
The Central Bank has released its annual report for the year 1997… and aside from the fact that politicians will selectively use the figures to support their various claims, the seventy five page booklet does offer a comprehensive look at the state of the nation’s economy. A quick look at the statistics shows for example, […]
When it was first conceived over a decade ago it was thought that the Philip Goldson International Airport could handle whatever the future had in store. The boom in international travel caught it by surprise, however, and we’ve been playing catch-up ever since. Tomorrow evening a major addition to the facility will be officially opened […]
More details are emerging on the possible buyout of Belize’s two citrus processors by Britain’s Commonwealth Development Corporation. Today News Five spoke with William Bowman, one of the major shareholders of the Citrus Company of Belize. He confirmed that representatives of C.D.C. have been holding separate talks with both C.C.B. and Belize Foods as well […]
In news of potentially major economic importance word from the citrus belt is that Britain’s Commonwealth Development Corporation is on the verge of purchasing both of Belize’s citrus processing companies. The deal to buy the Citrus Company of Belize, based in Pomona, and Belize Food Products, housed in Alta Vista, has apparently been developing quietly […]
This year’s BETEX ’98 Tourism Trade Expo is three weeks away and according to the organizers, while the show will be smaller than previous years, it will be bringing more prospective buyers to the country. According to Xinia Aguilar, coordinator of BETEX ’98, the event started three years ago to promote and sell Belize as […]
The intention had been announced several months ago but yesterday it became official. As part of a global forgiving of debt owed by developing nations, the United Kingdom has announced that Belize will be exempted from repaying over three point seven million Belize dollars in loans that would otherwise have fallen due between April and […]
