The purchase of a compact crossover vehicle for use by NICH President Sapna Budhrani, as well as fuel consumption for the 2018 Honda CR-V raised eyebrows in the memo sent by Roberto Matus to Associate Director of Finance Edwin Alvarado on August twelfth. The purchase seemed questionable in the context of other vehicles within the […]
The gas bill for NICH during April and July was also queried by the internal auditor. According to his report, which was described as a draft audit, fuel consumption sprang to almost eighty-seven thousand dollars, up considerably from a budget of twenty-six thousand, five hundred dollars. As it turns out, the Board claims Matus’ calculation […]
On the issue of missing monies, Matus’ report indicates that funds collected from archaeological sites, including Altun Ha, have been unaccounted since March eighth. Heading the Institute of Archaeology since 2013 is Doctor John Morris. Today, he spoke on two occasions when monies went missing from the institute’s daily collection. Those funds, he says, went […]
Sixty-seven-year-old Sherris Stringham is still missing. It has been five days since the American woman has last been seen. And tonight concerns for her whereabouts are growing after police found her missing vehicle. The Exterra SUV was found abandoned near the bypass in Orange Walk. Now, that is a long way from Hopkins village and […]
Chairman of the Sugar Control Production Committee, Doctor Carlos Itza has finally heard from the Chairman of the Sugar Industry Control Board, Gabriel Martinez. But the letter gave him his marching orders. Itza was informed that his post as Sugar Cane Specialist and Sugar Cane Technical Assistant with the Sugar Industry Control Board has become […]
In another government department under the responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber, questions are being raised in respect of an internal audit conducted at the National Sports Council for the period September to November 2017. A memo sent to Chief Executive Officer Adele Catzim from Finance Officer Ena Codrington flagged several irregularities under the […]
In two days, parliamentarians will be asked whether or not the Government of Belize should use monies from the consolidated revenue fund to pay the ninety-plus million dollar Universal Health Services debt owed to the Belize Bank Limited. An appropriation bill will be brought back to the House and reports are that a vote will […]
In December 2017, on the heels of a final sitting of the House of Representatives for that year, Prime Minister Dean Barrow discussed the U.H.S. debt with the media. At the time, PM Barrow informed the media that he was simply awaiting a certificate from the Belize Bank, following a ruling from the Caribbean Court […]
This Thursday, the Board of Directors of NICH will be breaking its silence on the conundrum President Sapna Budhrani finds herself in. On Monday we revealed the results of an internal audit which found a multitude of financial irregularities, unaccounted monies and excessive spending on fuel and vehicles, all which portrayed a level of mismanagement. […]
The Belize Police Department is tonight responding to social media posts made by a Facebook account under the name “Vincent Edwards.” The sensational posts make reference to suspected drug plane landings in the north since the beginning of the year. Photographs show parcels of suspected drugs inside an aircraft before it was destroyed by fire. […]
Opposition Leader John Briceño today reacted to Government’s position on what is calls ‘false information on social media.’ Briceño says that the government is not doing enough to address the recent spate of drug plane landings. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “So we are in March, April, May, June, July, August- six months after and […]
As the issue over the importation of pharmaceuticals continues to unfold, Brodies and Company Limited, which has one of the biggest pharmacies, says that it stands to lose ninety thousand dollars in medicines. This is because G.O.B. has denied entry to a shipment of medication that was ordered from Ziotis Company back in 2017, but […]
Machakil Ha is one of the most southernmost villages in the Toledo district and has a small population. The children from the village have to attend school at Corazon Creek Village which is about fifteen miles away. It might not seem difficult if they commute by public transportation, but for the students of Machakil Ha, […]
A Camalote resident, Roshane Jones was found brutally murdered this morning. The body of the twenty-four-year-old was discarded in a bushy area near the Valley of Peace Village in Cayo. Jones is known to have run-ins with the law, but his family says the incidents involved petty crimes. The victim was shot twice to the […]
The news tonight is that after days of inaction, the president of NICH, Sapna Budhrani has been suspended from her post. On Monday night, News Five revealed the contents of a leaked memo in which an internal audit listed a litany of irregularities and mismanagement at the statutory body. One of the major concerns has […]
The transshipment of narcotics through northern Belize, particularly via unregistered aircrafts landing on clandestine runways in the far reaches of the Orange Walk and Corozal Districts, continues unabated. In most, if not all reported cases, the response of law enforcement personnel has been sluggish; with officers arriving at the scene of the destruction long after […]
Earlier this year, we reported on a shortage of medical supplies as well as medicines. The Ministry of Health had given assurances that the shortage was been taken care of, but complaints have persisted. While the ministry says that there is no shortage of medication, a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice has complicated the importation […]
Gwen Lizarraga High School formally reopened its classrooms to approximately three hundred and thirty-five students across all forms on Monday morning, officially kicking off the academic calendar for 2018. The start of a new school year, however, is not without the requisite housekeeping. News Five understands that a meeting was held on the same day […]
Aside from a reduction of teachers, resources allocated for the development of students will also be reduced considerably, since funding is set aside based on the size of its enrollment. Smith tells News Five that the method used to identify which teachers will not be returning also includes lecturers who are aptly qualified. On […]
There are new damning details that point to financial irregularities and mismanagement at the National Institute of Culture and History. The new president, Sapna Budhrani, is at the centre of the allegations. An internal memo obtained by News Five speaks of a breakdown in financial regulations and missing monies collected from sites managed by NICH. […]
There were a number of shootings in the city on Friday. A Belize City mother of one was one of the shooting victims. She was hit five times just after midnight, but luckily she survived. Police say that they are looking for one person of interest. According to the authorities, Dawn Parchue may have been […]
A vehicle believed to have been used in a shooting on Friday evening has been impounded by the police. Just before six o’clock, a pair of robbers targeted the security guard on duty at the law firm of Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay, Chris Coye and other partners at number fifteen, A Street in Kings Park. […]
After being postponed twice, the P.U.P.’s Belmopan convention proceeded as schedule on Sunday at the Belmopan Comprehensive High School. Three candidates put their names on the ballot: Michelle Rodriguez, Wiezsman Pat, and Oscar Mira. Arthur Saldivar who fought tooth and nail to be part of the convention failed to convince the courts last Friday that […]
A donation of rice from Taiwan has come under fire from the productive sector. The ten thousand sacks of grain were delivered on August twenty-second to the Minister of Human Development, Anthony Martinez after the three-day visit of President Tsai Ing-Wen. The Taiwanese president was feted at a state dinner, addressed the national assembly and […]
Two men charged for the 2010 murder of Richard and Maria Stuart took the stand today before Supreme Court Justice, Colin Williams. Milton Maza and Eli Avila López both proclaimed their innocence to the court. From the dock, Maza told the court that he was innocent of the crime he has been accused of. Lopez […]
