So far it has only been bad news for the B.S.C.F.A. and it is also bad news for those farmers and directors who have vehemently advocated going back to the negotiating table. Traditionally, cane farmers don’t react well to bad news or adversity, and when their backs are against the wall, the north of the […]
If you were a little unclear about G.O.B.’s rejection of the B.S.C.F.A., the Prime Minister went further. While he met with ASR/B.S.I. on Wednesday, he has no wish to do so with the association even though he had said on Monday that he will reach out to the two sides to find out what true […]
Just when you thought you’d gotten all the bad news the sugar industry could dish out, there is more. News Five has confirmed that fair-trade has written to the B.S.C.F.A. in regards to the motion passed on Sunday to disburse some four million dollars to cane-farmers. The money which farmers are demanding is fair-trade money […]
But despite that clear warning from fair-trade, today officials at the B.S.C.F.A. are busy preparing to disburse checks to the almost five thousand five hundred registered cane-farmers in Orange Walk and Corozal. So long story short, if that money is disbursed, the projects come to a crashing halt. The decision has been causing no end […]
While four million dollars may seem like a lot of money, divided between five thousand five hundred dollars, it only comes up to a little over seven hundred dollars per cane-farmer. The Association has been meeting with the eighteen directors to try and find a way around the mandate of the farmers but that has […]
The Northern Caucus of the People’s United Party this afternoon issued a statement on the state of affairs in the lifeblood of the north. The caucus calls on the Sugar Industry Control Board to declare the crop open by January fourteenth 2015 and on the B.S.C.F.A. and ASR/B.S.I. to return to the negotiating table. The […]
Why were hundreds of Guatemalan labourers at our Western Border crossing into Belize today? Well that’s the question everybody wants answered at this time. As you can see from this picture obtained by News Five, today hundreds of Guatemalan nationals were lined up to enter Belize. Reliable sources tell us that all of them came […]
It is not officially open yet, but traffic is already traversing the Chetumal Street Bridge in Belize City that spans the two highways; Phillip Goldson and the George Price thoroughfares. The estimated cost to build the bridge is a cool four point five million dollars, according to contractors, who also say the structure is one […]
Remember back in March of 2009 when fuel prices at the pumps for regular and premium were just above five dollars? Since then the prices for the most part went up continuously and consumers paid more than double that price to over eleven dollars per gallon. The biggest spike was in April of 2009 when […]
The results of the Cayo North by-elections were known early on Monday night but were in fact predicted before voting even took place. Early in the counting, the U.D.P. enjoyed a comfortable lead in every of the thirteen boxes from both polling areas, seventy-three in San Ignacio and seventy-five in Bullet Tree. When all the […]
While the U.D.P. celebrates, for the People’s United Party, it has been a devastating loss. At a press conference at Independence Hall this afternoon by the P.U.P., the media brief was devoid of the traditional fanfare that has come to be expected at the party’s headquarters on Queen Street. Party leader Francis Fonseca appeared alone […]
While the Cayo North bye-election is being used as a barometer to measure the parties’ respective abilities to mobilize supporters to the polls come March, Fonseca admits that the existing resources will need to distributed equitably in order for the P.U.P. to mount a massive campaign against the ruling party. It was a decision, Fonseca […]
And what’s the morale of the P.U.P. following Monday’s devastating loss at the polls? According to Fonseca, while there is disappointment, the party is preparing to move ahead and that the impact of the loss will only be felt in the Cayo North constituency. Francis Fonseca, Party Leader, P.U.P. “If it has an impact […]
And tonight’s question is: Do the support the position of cane farmers to reject the proposed agreement by ASR/B.S.I.? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
The only thing for certain in the sugar industry is that it is back to square one and tonight, the industry finds itself at rock bottom. While there is urgent need to start the sugar crop, it is still not known when the Tower Hill mill will begin to grind. Here is why. On Sunday, […]
Both the B.S.C.F.A. and Lucilo Teck were making the media rounds this morning. Teck, a former secretary of the B.S.C.F.A., maintains that the purpose for seeking an injunction would have been to prevent the committee of management from signing unto the agreement with ASR/B.S.I. since it was unauthorized to do so. Teck says that notwithstanding […]
The polls have just closed in the Cayo North by-election where Omar Figueroa of the U.D.P. and Richard Harrison of the P.U.P. contested the elections. The voter’s turnout at five o’clock stood at fifty-three point four percent, the six o’clock report will not be delivered until later this evening when the Returning Officer, Marcelo Winsor, […]
The overwhelming presence of elected officials, including the Prime Minister and the Leader of the P.U.P., as well as political aspirants from both major parties in Cayo North today is a tour de force of support for Harrison and Figueroa. And as we said, while a win for either of the two organizations won’t tip […]
The results of the bye-election, as Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca also attests, will indicate, in some measure, what will take place at the polls in the March municipals. In the aftermath, Fonseca says that the party will carefully go over today’s exercise to see where it can further prepare for the elections ahead. Francis […]
There is an update to today’s by-election in Cayo North. Sixty-two percent of six thousand, five hundred and ninety-eight registered turned up to cast their ballots during today’s election. That figure represents a total of four thousand, sixty-three voters. While the reconciliation process is now ongoing, the overall attendance at the polls has been described […]
According to Harrison, notwithstanding the less than remarkable numbers, he is confident that his brief campaign efforts will secure a victory for the People’s United Party. Mike Rudon “Richard it is midday. What are you seeing? Half of the day has gone. What are you seeing in terms of figures?” Richard Harrison, P.U.P. […]
Turning to another major issue…The sugar cane crop season and the sugar industry are in serious jeopardy; in fact, the situation has regressed. At an emergency meeting of cane-farmers on Sunday, a majority rejected the proposed agreement between ASR/B.S.I. and the B.S.C.F.A., which means that for all intents and purposes, negotiations have broken down completely. […]
But before a vote was taken, there was a surprise announcement. B.S.C.F.A. attorney, Chris Coye, would tell cane farmers that the latest proposed agreement was an improvement. Chris Coye, Attorney, B.S.C.F.A. “New agreement does not take anything in any way from the farmers but provides more for the farmers than what the old agreement […]
There were two murders in less than twenty-four hours of each other at the start of the New Year celebrations. As Belizeans across the country prepared to say goodbye to 2014, there was a homicide in Orange Walk Town around six p.m. on Wednesday. Hours later, a woman would be shot and killed at a […]
The second murder in two days, and the first of the New Year, happened at a resort in the village of Teakettle, in the Cayo District. It was a bizarre, broad daylight, cold-blooded execution of thirty-year-old resort manager Yaima Duany Ledesma. Reports are that two men, dressed neatly, walked casually into the bar at Dream […]
