Vice President Flowers says negotiations between the Joint Unions and G.O.B. representatives over the budget may be coming to an end after three weeks, but the discussion on good governance is far from over. Dean Flowers, Vice President, PSU “I would want to think so. I think with each and every meeting we have […]
Government’s negotiating team has acknowledged the joint union’s grievance with the Prime Minister’s national address. On Thursday night, P.S.U. President, Gerald Henry told News Five that an apology was given, but today, Vice President Flowers said he would not classify G.O.B.’s comments as an apology. Dean Flowers, Vice President, PSU “The prime Minister’s speech […]
In response to pressure from the unions demanding the implementation of good governance legislation to support the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, this week Prime Minister John Briceño issued a document outlining pending legislation for three reforms. To put those commitments, now documented in writing, into perspective, New Five’s Paul Lopez spoke to attorney at law, […]
The small crowd of union protestors that were out today shouted no to government’s proposals. This afternoon, before she entered today’s meeting with government officials, which is ongoing up to news time; President of the Belize National Teachers Union Elena Smith addressed protestors. She wasted no time responding to the Prime Minister’s Facebook speech on […]
President of the Public Service Union Gerald Henry confirmed strike actions will continue through Friday. He also addressed protestors in the Yarborough community. In his remarks, he noted the fight is not over and that the unions are in it for the long haul. Gerald Henry, President, P.S.U. “This is not just a public […]
Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ramon Cervantes said today that in his view the unions are being unreasonable. Like his colleagues, Minister Cervantes will be taking a fifteen percent salary cut and fifty percent cut in his allowances. Minister Cervantes, as Area Representative for Orange Walk North, says these cuts are […]
Just last week, cabinet approved the reconvening of the National Trade Negotiating Commission, and by today, they were already meeting with representatives from the business sector and civil society. News Five’s Paul Lopez was at the launch of the National Trade Negotiating Commission which aims to change the trade deficit into a trade surplus. […]
Earlier in the broadcast, we brought you some footage of union leaders this afternoon. But News Five’s Paul Lopez is still standing by at the House of Culture and we now go to him with a live report. [Live with News Five’s Paul Lopez on Update News Five will have a report on […]
The ongoing situation involving Santander, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the milling of excess sugarcane from the north has prompted A.S.R./B.S.I. to come forward and share its position on government’s decision. As we’ve reported, Cabinet has authorized the delivery of fifty thousand tons of sugarcane from farmers in Orange Walk and Corozal to be milled […]
While there is legislation that allows for A.S.R./B.S.I. to mill no less than one point five million tons of sugarcane per crop season, the miller said it would not want the issue to be resolved in the courts. Mac McLachlan, VP, International Relations, A.S.R./B.S.I. “That would be a very sad affair if it had […]
The joint unions may not have been able to stop their salaries from being cut or their increments from being frozen, but the industrial action underway from the public service and teachers unions is also focused on anti-corruption and good governance. There will be a meeting tomorrow between union leaders and government officials, but late […]
In his address, PM Briceño says that his government is committed to complete, on an expedited basis, the ongoing rationalization of public service exercise. But according to Briceño, several of the measures that were proposed for public officers and teachers who will be directly affected by the salary adjustment and increment freeze, were rejected by […]
And now moving forward, Briceño says that they are prepared to commit to a number of measures that will directly benefit public officers and teachers, as well as some actions that the joint unions have been agitating for – like fifteen percent reduction in ministers’ salaries and allowances. Briceño committed to an annual performance bonus […]
There was another shooting incident in Belize City on Tuesday night that landed Justin Richards in the hospital with gunshot wounds to his body. The Santa Barbara Street resident was just a stone’s throw away from his home and was returning from a nearby shop when a hooded gunman pounced on him. Richards, known to […]
Just after four this afternoon, members of the Anti-Drug Unit of the Belize Police Department intercepted four vehicles, including a flatbed truck, two black pickup trucks and a Chevy Blazer SUV on Scissors Tail Street in Ladyville. What appeared to be a regular search drew attention from residents in the area when gunshots were allegedly […]
Belize has received its second shipment of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility. This time, it is thirty-three thousand six hundred doses. Minister of Health and Wellness, Michel Chebat indicated that the shipment has arrived just two days before Belize’s vaccination clinics were about to administer the last doses of the current stock. As of […]
A new airline is coming to Belize. Alaska Airlines today announced its new non-stop service from the West Coast of the United States to Belize. This is good news for tourism stake holders since air routes are considered the life blood of the tourism industry. No official date has been set for the airline’s first […]
In a first for Belize, Doctor Carla Barnett has been appointed as the Secretary General of CARICOM. She was unanimously selected at a Heads of CARICOM Meeting today. Barnett has served as the Deputy Secretary General of CARICOM, as well as Vice-President of Operations of the Caribbean Development Bank. Locally, Barnett served as vice president […]
The Belize National Teachers Union made history today. The union has been engaged in strike action for twelve days, the longest on record. Back in 2005, the B.N.T.U. protested for a total of ten days, while in 2016, their protest lasted for eleven days. Indications are that this time around, the strike will continue into […]
While that was almost two decades ago, tonight the B.N.T.U. and the P.S.U. continue to press the government. Will this P.U.P. administration yield to the union’s request like the last P.U.P. administration? Considering its historical twelve days of consecutive strike action, teachers joined P.S.U. members in front of the House of Culture. Inside, cabinet met […]
Another night, another murder in Belize City. Shortly before nine o’clock on Monday, police responded to a deadly crossfire between feuding gangs on Armadillo Street. When they arrived on the scene, the responding officers discovered the lifeless body of a driver who was behind the wheel of a minivan. The vehicle careened into a nearby […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is concerned about COVID-19 clusters that have been detected in Belize City. Surveillance Officer Lorna Perez says that the number of infections have increased in this area. In the past two weeks, twenty cases had been detected each week. Lorna Perez, Surveillance Officer, Ministry of Health & Wellness […]
Fourteen new COVID-19 cases were confirmed over the weekend, between May eighth and tenth, the majority within Belize City, one in San Pedro, two each in Belmopan and San Ignacio and one in Bella Vista in the Toledo District. That puts the total number of active cases at sixty-three. Since the pandemic hit, three hundred […]
Lorna Perez believes that the active surveillance being carried out by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, including testing, helps with the transmissibility rate of COVID-19. Lorna Perez, Surveillance Officer, Ministry of Health & Wellness “When you are going through that phase of silent spread, it is silently spreading, the active surveillance, trying to […]
Will Belize be able to make a scheduled seven-million-U.S.-dollar coupon payment to its international bondholder on time later this month? That is looking more and more unlikely, particularly after the Government of Belize announced today that it will consult with holders of the nation’s so-called “Superbond” about “potential alternatives to punctual payment” of the next […]
