It was a day for spirited repartee, and the Opposition was able to hold its own inside the House, even as thousands cheered and sang and danced in fine political spirit outside. Far from being fazed by the show of U.D.P. fervour and a veritable sea of red, the Opposition made much of the opportunity […]
Bodybuilder Cricel Castillo returned to Belize this morning from Miami, Florida where she rose to international stardom in bodybuilding, clinching the Pro Card Diva Fitness Model Short and Best Costume categories. Her family and fans were on hand to greet her at the P.G.I.A. and staged a motorcade in recognition of her huge success. Prior […]
The main business of the day was inside the House, where representatives from both sides debated the Petrocaribe Loan Motion of two hundred and twenty-eight million which has grown, at last count, to about two hundred and forty million dollars. Part of the funds, loaned from the Government of Venezuela, has already been spent, but […]
And our question for tonight is: Do you believe G.O.B. has acted illegally with the Petrocaribe funds? 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.
As we said earlier, the Special House meeting, called on the eve of Garifuna Settlement Day, centred around the Petrocaribe monies. The opposition is taking the government to court on it, but today the debate raged inside and outside the House. The ruckus outside could have been heard inside where the debate raged. Predictably, all […]
Minister of Education and Collet Area Representative, Patrick Faber has gone on record to defend the use of the Petrocaribe monies saying accountability of the funds can be seen on the streets. And he repeated that today in the House. For the U.D.P., it’s not about rules or financial regulations; it’s about development. Patrick […]
The Opposition has waged war on the Petrocaribe issue, condemning the government for accessing the funds without going to the House for approval. So it was open season today, and Orange Walk Central Area Representative Briceño came out firing. John Briceño, Area Rep., Orange Walk Central “On April twenty-fifth of 2008, in this honorable […]
Minister of National Security John Saldivar toed the party line today, claiming that because of the Petrocaribe monies, Belmopan has benefitted tremendously. John Saldivar, Area Rep., Belmopan “What you did between 1998 and 2008 is still relevant today because it is the same people that you are trying to recycle and bring back to […]
The firebrand from Cayo South closed off the debate on Petrocaribe today, lambasting G.O.B. for its accessing and spending of the Petrocaribe monies without approval. Espat, as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, is named as the claimant in the lawsuit brought against G.O.B. Julius Espat, Chairman, Public Accounts Committee “That authority for such […]
Cane-farmers from the Orange Walk and Corozal districts have given the Sugar Industry Control Board one week to break the impasse between BSI/ASR and the BSCFA. If that does not happen, they will stage a mass protest. That unanimous decision was taken at a general assembly meeting held on Saturday at the Escuela Secundaria Tecnica […]
Faced with an ultimatum from the farmers, SICB Chairman Gabriel Martinez promised to ‘try his best’ to call a meeting before November twenty-fifth to facilitate a way forward. It’s a tough position for the regulatory body because strictly speaking it is a commercial agreement between two parties. Because of the no compromise stance taken by […]
It’ll be an interesting week ahead. The farmers have stood strong, called out SICB and by extension GOB. The Prime Minister went on record first to offer to pay for an independent expert if the BSCFA wanted one. They did, and made the request in writing, after which the PM went on record again to […]
Last week Wednesday, through his attorneys Barrow and Williams, Deputy Gaspar Vega threatened to sue CTV-three in Orange Walk, Love FM and Ramon Cervantes Junior. That threat arose from very serious allegations broadcast on November fifth, as the Cervantes family played a recording of a phone call allegedly made by Manuel Castillo, the man Police […]
A press conference was held this morning during which FECTAB officially announced that the forty eight inch regulation which prohibits persons less than four feet in height from enjoying caving activities has been put on hold. The tour operators now have until the end of December to work out the wrinkles of the regulation. While […]
At today’s press conference, COLA president Geovannie Brackett raised alarms on what he calls an issue that has the potential to shut down the existing cruise tourism industry. Fort Street Tourism Village (F.S.T.V.) holds bargaining power by being the only port of entry for cruise ships in Belize District for the next fifteen years, as […]
The firebrand activist signaled an intention for his organization to address this issue at length as COLA recognizes the importance that cruise tourism has for many families who survive off daily earnings. He insists that in the gridlock between FSTV, Stake Bank and the Government, COLA supports the small man. But, he adds, there is […]
There is what appears to be a murder to report in the community of Maskall on the old Northern Highway, but there is precious little information at this time. What we know so far is that loggers found the bones and alerted the police. The police recovered scattered bones in a remote area of the […]
On July ninth, the body of seventy-one year old Ramon Cervantes Sr. was recovered from a shallow grave on a farm on the Honey Camp Road, an area called Indian Hill. Three men were detained for his murder. Police say that it is those three men – Noe Gonzalez, Mateo Pott and Angel Cardenas, who […]
The Petrocaribe money is all the rage these days, hundreds of millions of dollars in GOB’s hands to be used specifically for poverty alleviation, human and social development projects. But the Opposition says GOB accessed, and spent that money illegally, since it did not take the loan before the House to seek approval. Additionally, the […]
Attorneys for the Opposition who are dealing with a suit filed against the Prime Minister, say that the loan motion was not taken to the house as required by the Finance and Audit Reform Act. So the Petrocaribe funds have been spent illegally and furthermore there has been no accountability. Minister Faber thinks not saying […]
The home of tour operator Yhony Rosado of cavetubing.com was taken by storm on Wednesday morning when a duo of armed men raided the property while he was out attending to business at the Fort Street Tourism Village. During the aggravated burglary Rosado’s mother-in-law, who was babysitting his newborn, was held up before being bound […]
The 2014-2015 sugar cane crop season is threatened by an impasse between the factory and the farmers. Latest developments this week are that BSI has sought to bypass the BSCFA, in a move to sign contracts with small reaping groups and individual farmers. The BSCFA has countered that move, holding meetings with all eighteen branches […]
Work on the cleaning of Douglas Jones Canal was abruptly suspended on Tuesday due to several health and safety concerns raised by the Ministry of Works, through the Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Project. The temporary delay angered a number of manual workers who suddenly found themselves without jobs. Prior to the stoppage the men had been […]
Yhony Rosado is a very outspoken tour operator; he has big stakes in the tourism industry as the proprietor of Cavetubing.com. As recent as last Friday, Rosado made bold and compelling statements about decisions taken within the industry that hurt the pockets of tour operators. Fast forward to Wednesday, Rosado was tending to his business […]
This morning there was heightened Police presence at the Benque Viejo Magistrate’s Court and special units on standby at the Police Station around the corner. Based on evidence gathered at a protest held on August nineteenth, Police summoned twenty alleged rioters to court this morning to be charged. Residents of Succotz and Benque Viejo united […]
