The relationship between Lord Michael Ashcroft’s business concerns and Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s law firm, Barrow and Williams, retained for litigation on behalf of the Belize Bank Limited and others, is well-known. It is now confirmed that that relationship extends to the firm having shares in the former BCB Holdings, now known as Caribbean Investment […]
Senior Counsel and Senator Eamon Courtenay has come under fire from the United Democratic Party and the Government for acting on behalf of the former BCB Holdings in a Constitutional claim to the Central Bank (International Immunities) Act, despite having supported its passage in the Senate. Courtenay did express his reservations on aspects of the […]
Farmers in the Cayo and Orange Walk Districts have thousands of pounds of potatoes rotting in the fields – produce they have been unable to sell because of competing imported Mexican and contraband potatoes. On Monday, farmers in La Gracia in the Cayo District said they can’t get buyers – and then there are the […]
A jury of seven women and five men stepped into the deliberating room at just after noon today to decide the fate of three men from Cayo, who are accused jointly with the murder of eighty-two-year-old James Neal Young, who was killed in a most gruesome manner. Four and a half hours later, the verdict […]
David Miguel Banes, otherwise known as David Nanes Schnitzer, sits in a Mexican jail for white collar crimes he allegedly committed in that jurisdiction. After defrauding investors of millions of dollars and subsequently absconding to Belize, specifically San Pedro, to avoid prosecution, Banes was facilitated with a falsified Belize Nationality Certificate, as well as a […]
A News Five team is in Washington where an exclusive interview was conducted earlier today with Lord Michael Ashcroft. A number of issues of national importance were discussed during the lengthy dialogue, including recent judgments on the outstanding arbitral awards, as well as the ongoing Super Bond negotiations. Since the prime minister’s return from New […]
Lord Ashcroft also commented on the possible privatization of the utility companies. In his view, while it will be difficult to get investors to purchase minority shares; the sale of utilities can be an opportunity for a solution to the Super Bond issue. Lord Michael Ashcroft “Would you invest in a company that is […]
It appears the Senate Special Select Committee is convinced that Eric Chang and Patrick Tillett can contribute to their investigation into the circumstances of eight missing visa foils that they sought to have authenticated at the Immigration Department in Belmopan, which turned out to be stolen. Chang, the former Deputy Mayor, has been implicated as […]
David Nanes Schnitzer – his name is back in the news in a big way after his recent re-capture by international authorities and return to Mexico to face fraud charges. He was in Belize and caught with various fraudulent documents, including Belizean nationality and a passport which have since been revoked, according to Minister of Immigration […]
There are provisions in both the Senate and House of Representatives Standing Orders which effectively prohibit premature publication of evidence by those involved in Select Committees. As we have seen, these prohibit discussion of the ongoing public hearings of the Senate Select Special Committee in any public forum even though the hearings are being broadcast […]
Former finance officer in the Department, Teresita Castellanos last week dared to say what no else would, at least publicly. At her second appearance before the Senate Special Select Committee last Wednesday, she disclosed that a culture of corruption and hustling existed at the Department. In this regime, Immigration officers, abetted by their superiors, acted […]
Returning for his second time in the witness chair this afternoon was former officer in charge of the Nationality Section, Gordon Wade. In his previous appearance, he named several Ministers of Government as being frequent visitors to the department for various items from visa to nationality recommendations. But today he spoke of a “Minister’s List,” […]
Government’s inability to make the twenty-six million dollar Super Bond payment that became due on Monday comes as no surprise to the Opposition. In fact, default on the debt obligation was anticipated, according to P.U.P. Party Leader John Briceño, who says that bold assertions made by Prime Minister Barrow back in 2012, of having fixed […]
Briceño’s premise hinges on the fact that the owners of the bond have put in place stringent conditions that, should government fail to pay the interest, taxpayers will be saddled with additional penalties. All things considered, the state of the economy, when factored into the existing predicament, also paints a rather gloomy picture. Briceño maintains […]
Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court-ordered mediation between the Belize National Teachers Union and the Ministry of Education concluded. Today, the parties returned to Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin’s chambers with an update and we can tell you that it is a major victory for the B.N.T.U. In the aftermath of an eleven-day strike in October, […]
Palacio went on to note that they had the precedents on their side, as well as the goodwill of their membership and the community, and that was more than enough to finally sway the ministry. He credits the success of their fight to staying the course, even as forces gathered against them demanding that they […]
The union says the financial hit to teachers would have been in the millions of dollars if the stand-off continued and the ministry followed through on planned salary deductions. There were times in the middle of the strike and afterward when it looked like the relationship between the B.N.T.U. and the Ministry would be sundered […]
Following today’s announcement that teachers have secured a major win in the high court, we asked P.U.P. Party Leader John Briceño for a brief comment on the outcome of the mediation. He says that the union stayed the course in defense of its membership and that they prevailed, despite the pettiness of the Minister of […]
On Monday night, we aired several parts of an extended interview with Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse. He was on a working visit in the Spanish Lookout area when we caught up with him at an event. He fielded questions on all the burning issues surrounding the immigration scandal. He got pretty testy with the […]
Deadline for the payment of approximately twenty-six million dollars towards Belize’s consolidated billion dollar debt, collectively known as the Super Bond, has elapsed. That closing date is today and government, despite a recent trip by Prime Minister Dean Barrow to New York City to meet with representatives of bondholders, has not met its obligation. That’s […]
While the Super Bond is very much a pressing issue, the Barrow Administration is also preparing for its annual budget presentation, ahead of the 2017 fiscal year. Described by Prime Minister Barrow as a mild recession, there are serious concerns about Belize’s economic stability, particularly the very real possibility of tax increases. The idea, says […]
P.U.P. Senator Eamon Courtenay has come under fire from the ruling United Democratic Party and the Government of Belize, both of whom are demanding his immediate resignation from upper parliament. Courtenay is being asked to step down as the People’s United Party’s lead senator after filing an application challenging the constitutionality of the recently passed […]
So, what about the perceived conflict of interest purportedly arising out of business being conducted by the prime minister’s law firm with Ashcroft-related companies? The PM flatly describes that perception as a blue herring, a ploy that is being promulgated by the People’s United Party. Isani Cayetano “There’s been the issue of a conflict […]
Last Tuesday, during a press conference held by the People’s United Party, it was revealed that government is considering selling minority shares in the various utilities. The move, it is widely believed, is an effort to meet its quota for the forthcoming annual budget. The idea, we are told, is also being frowned upon by […]
What about word of a proposed offering to a Barbados-based outfit? PM Barrow says there has been no such proposition. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “There’s been no such approach. Remember I am telling you that Ambassador Espat who was going to be the point man in all this would have been talking to people, […]
