In fourteen days, the new social security contribution and pension scheme is set to take effect. The People’s United Party, however, is not happy about it. Cabinet has approved the new rates which are yet to be legislated. Those new rates will be rolled out in three phases. On July first, the new rate will […]
An employee of the Belize City Council was abducted at gunpoint on Saturday morning by a pair of thieves dressed in camouflage and later released in an area along the Hummingbird Highway, but not before being robbed of a rented vehicle. Despite a subsequent report of being taken against his will by armed bandits on […]
Brothers Delson and Tionne Paguada, as well as thirty-seven-year-old Timothy Carcamo, will be tried in the October session of the Supreme Court for the January 2018 murder of Paul Jex Jr. The trio is accused of orchestrating and carrying out the execution of the notorious street figure in the San Mateo area of San Pedro […]
In the Court of Appeal this morning, incarcerated sex offender Bert Vasquez represented himself before the bench in an attempt to appeal a conviction that was handed down in November 2018 for attempted rape. Vasquez, who is serving a ten-year sentence for forcible abduction, sexual assault and harm against a sixteen-year-old minor, took the stand […]
The results of the Primary School Examinations for 2019 were released on Monday and while we have been able to speak with the top performers across the country, we did not get a chance to hear from the Minister of Education on the outcome of the P.S.E. That was until this afternoon when we caught […]
The situation at Belmopan Comprehensive High School, where teachers and students have been protesting the participation of several fourth form students in this year’s graduation, despite not meeting the requirements, is not as grave as it appears to be. That’s according to Minister of Education Patrick Faber, who says that the practice of allowing students […]
The Belize City Council is facing cash flow problems. It’s a recurrent financial hurdle that all municipalities go through and it is caused by the ‘seasonal nature of tax collections’. During this time, because tax collection is low, the councils are tasked with exploring alternative options to alleviate such short-term seasonal cash flow challenges. This […]
Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner, also updated News Five on the municipal bonds. According to the mayor, investors in all tranches of both Series one and Series two bonds have already received their principal investment. The Belize Municipal Bond is also comprised of Series Three which contains three separate issues totalling more than nine million […]
Village council elections are scheduled for this month. Elections will take place between June twenty third and the twenty-eighth. Village councils across the country have been dissolved and while not much attention is given to these elections, this year’s result can serve as a glimpse into the political future of Belize. Thousands of voters living […]
There is disappointing news coming out of the Belize Police Department tonight, where hundreds of officers who sat last month’s promotion exams have failed to meet eligibility to move up in rank. The exams were sat countrywide on May fourth and officers interested in being promoted to corporal, sergeant or inspector were given one month […]
Corporal Eldon Arzu, President of the Belize Police Association, is suing Commissioner of Police Chester Williams and has been granted judicial review of the legitimacy of his post as the duly elected leader of the group of law enforcement officers. On May sixth, Justice Shona Griffith ordered that Corporal Arzu report to work in Belmopan […]
Fifty-year-old Kiran Kumar Solanri is tonight recuperating from a frightening ordeal he experienced this morning. Solanri, who is from Palmar Village in the Orange Walk District, told police that the incident happened around eleven o’clock inside the Commercial Free Zone in Corozal. He alleges that two men with guns robbed him of three thousand U.S. […]
A Caye Caulker resident is fighting for his life at the Karl Heusner Memorial, Hospital having undergone a round of life-saving surgery today following a stabbing on the island. On Wednesday night, police responded to reports of an incident at a local bar on the island and arrived to find that William Thomas was stabbed […]
There is little to report from the crime blotter tonight. Just after midday on Tuesday, two thieves – one armed with a gun – held up the sales supervisor from Bowen and Bowen on Gabourel Lane in Belize City. The robbers got away with about a thousand dollars in cash and other personal belonging from […]
Police also gave an update on the armed burglary at the Solid Waste Transfer Station in Belize City. As we had reported on Monday, a group of persons targeted the establishment, formerly known as the dumpsite at mile three on the George Price Highway. The security guard was tied up and the armed burglars entered […]
Foreign Minister Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington appeared before the Court of Appeal this morning where, in his private capacity as a shareholder in the legally embattled Progresso Heights Limited, is appealing the outcome of a matter before the high court. According to Elrington, he believes that there may have been financial impropriety taking place within the […]
On Wednesday, the International Court of Justice issued a release in which it essentially acknowledges receipt of Belize’s application to have its territorial dispute with Guatemala resolved in that jurisdiction. A timeline has been established during which both countries must submit their arguments, but the formal step to get the ball rolling after the I.C.J. […]
The International Court of Justice has issued a release informing that it remains in consideration of a matter involving a dispute between Guatemala and Belize via a special agreement which dates back to December 2008. The statement from the I.C.J. comes five days after Belize formally submitted a notification to the World Court which was […]
Belize’s notification to the International Court of Justice puts in motion procedures agreed in the 2008 Special Agreement. Within one year, Guatemala will submit its claim after which Belize will respond a year after Guatemala has filed its claim. It is expected that the entire process will span over several years until a verdict is […]
Effective July first, employers and employees will begin paying a higher contribution to the social security fund. The new contribution and pension reform, approved by Cabinet, is essentially to save the Social Security Board from crashing. The new rates will be phased over the next three years with an initial increase of point five percent […]
According to S.S.B.’s Chief Executive Officer, Doctor Colin Young, the new pension and contribution scheme will not impact existing pensioners. As it stands now, the fund is approaching the ‘period of equilibrium’ where total expenditures equal total revenue and in order to avoid arriving at that stage, Doctor Young says that there is consideration for […]
Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte headed to Guyana today where he is scheduled to participate in a top-level diplomatic conference between CARICOM foreign ministers and Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations, Bruno Rodriguez Parilla. The Sixth Annual CARICOM-Cuba Ministerial Meeting is being held in Georgetown on June fourteenth. Mike Peyrefitte, Attorney General “Well it’s a CARICOM/Cuba […]
There has been an apparent spike in crimes, especially armed robberies, across the country and fatal shootings, mostly in the Old Capital. While the Ministry of National Security reported a decreased in murders from the period of January to May of this year when compared to the same period last year, there has been an […]
There is a level of difficulty when addressing the issue of crime. It is a problem that should be addressed in a multi-faceted, inter-agency approach. According to Briceño, for crime to be successfully tackled, the government needs to focus on reforming the Belize Police Department, strengthening the prosecution branch and reducing the level of poverty. […]
Cabinet has approved S.S.B.’s proposal to reform its contributions and pension scheme. The Social Security Board embarked on a countrywide consultation process two years ago to seek support for its proposal. As it stands now, the fund is approaching the ‘period of equilibrium’ where total income equals total expenditure. So in order for the fund […]
