The other shooting took place minutes earlier. Two Belize City men ended up at the KHMH following the shooting incident in the Port Loyola area. At around seven p.m. two well known street figures; nineteen year old Keon Francis and Kareem “Robbery” Lopez, were seated inside a parked Geo Prism on Nurse Findley Crescent when […]
A fire broke out in a congested area of San Ignacio this afternoon. Traffic came to a halt when a plume of smoke towered above the downtown area. The Fire Department was immediately called to the scene of the blaze which destroyed a large building. The fire threatened to engulf other structures, but neighbors in […]
The People’s United Party did not attend the Special House sitting when the Government acquired Belize Electricity Limited on June twentieth and its parliamentarians walked out of the House this Monday when the Barrow Administration re-acquired Telemedia. Their viewpoint on the government acquisitions was found in press releases but the party’s position on whether or […]
During Monday’s Special Sitting of the House, Prime Minister Dean Barrow gave a close replay of his 2009 speech when he first nationalized Telemedia and chastised Briceño’s family for selling business interests in SMART to companies related to Lord Michael Ashcroft. Briceño explained that there is nothing illegal with that, and instead he turned the […]
After discussing nationalization and the rule of law, the crime wave sweeping the country also came up at the P.U.P. conference this morning. The increasing body count and casualties became a solemn but passionate topic for the party. Attorney Anthony Sylvester rose to speak about the anti-crime initiatives, particularly preventative detention, which he believes will […]
Tonight’s question is: In the long term Belizean taxpayers will pay for the acquisition of Telemedia, but who will benefit: Consumers or Lawyers? 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.
On many polls the common concern is over crime. This year has turned out to be particular violent and murderous. At the end of 2010, there were one hundred and thirty murders on record, making it the deadliest year in the country’s history. But according to our database, the first half of 2011 has been […]
In court news, there is a conviction and an acquittal to report tonight. Enrique Pandy, also known as “Red Rat” was convicted of Aggravated Assault of an Indecent Nature for molesting a young girl, who was only five years old. Pandy was unrepresented during the trial, which concluded on Tuesday evening and Magistrate Albert Hoare […]
On June twenty-fourth, the Court of Appeal found that the government of Belize did not have sufficient evidence to take control of Belize Telemedia for a public purpose. Nevertheless, government used the security forces to dislodge the rightful owners from control of the company. And then on Monday, the Government went back to the National […]
Flooding is a usual occurrence during the rainy season and Monday night’s torrents caused many parts of the old capital to be affected by the downpour. One particular group that has been confined to the streets, the wholesale fruit and vegetable vendors, are steaming mad with the Belize City Council about the poor conditions. News […]
Down south, Punta Gorda police are investigating the bizarre death of an infant in the remote village of Jalacte, a Mayan community adjacent to the Belize/Guatemala border in the Toledo District. On Saturday afternoon around two-thirty, Rolando Sho encountered the grotesque sight of a dog dragging the lifeless body of a newborn in a nearby […]
There was a bundle of five questions in our last poll, the first being: Are you happy in Belize? The results were close with fifty-one percent of voters saying yes and forty-nine percent saying no. Do you feel safe in Belize? That was second in the series of questions and it had the widest margin […]
Earlier you heard angry vendors cast blame for the loss of produce squarely on the shoulders of the Belize City Council. Councilor Phillip Willoughby, who is responsible for markets, says that’s not quite so. Willoughby contends that works have been carried out in the area and vendors affected by the rain could have sought a […]
In a matter of hours today, government passed new legislation to re-nationalize Belize Telemedia Limited. The controversial move was coupled with the pronouncement that Government would go further by seeking to pass an additional constitutional amendment that would ensure that government owns a majority stake in utilities. Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s move to rush the […]
But back to the business of the day; Prime Minister Dean Barrow, in his opening speech, admitted that the three Court of Appeals Judges declared that the nationalization law that the government passed in 2009 was unconstitutional, so they went back to fix the law. Dean Barrow “As Honorable Members know, the Court of Appeal […]
The new law would have to be tested once again in the court, adding to the growing number of legal challenges and proceedings that will have to be paid for by taxpayers. The recent court ruling, a declaratory judgment, proved that the first nationalization was null and void, for all intents and purposes, it never […]
The Prime Minister spoke at length of what the government would do about the country’s utility companies. In a bold statement, the PM made it clear that his vision for the country is one in which the government controls water, electricity and telecommunications. Barrow announced that he would amend the constitution again to entrench the […]
But Belize Electricity Limited, Telemedia, and Belize Water Services Limited are not the only utility providers. There is also SMART, the second telecommunications company and BECOL which, according to B.E.L.’s website, provided over fifty percent of the electricity generated for 2010. News Five asked the PM if these providers are also up for legislative consideration. […]
As you know, from very early the Chamber of Commerce took a position in respect of the process used for government’s acquisition of private property. They have raised the question of who will pay the hundreds of millions in costs to compensate the investors in B.T.L. and B.E.L. Will taxes have to go up? Will […]
This coming Monday, the government will be going back to the House with legislation to renationalize Belize Telemedia. That legislation has not been seen by most members of the National Assembly but will be introduced, fiercely debated, passed and then signed off on – all in a matter of hours. The speed at which it […]
There is a major split in the opposition party. That’s not exactly news, but leading up to the House Meeting on Monday, P.U.P. representatives Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde, issued a release at midday today on the re-acquisition of Belize Telemedia. We note that even as they sign off as senior deputy party leaders, to […]
As we come to the close of the work week, there is a sense of uncertainty and insecurity that prevails in many sectors on the quick “fix” to legislation for the government’s reacquisition of Telemedia. In so doing, many legal minds say that the government is usurping the rule of law and that’s a dangerous […]
Over six persons voted on our last poll, which asked should the P.M. ignore Court of Appeal and retain control of Telemedia? Three hundred and ninety-six voters, which represent sixty-three percent, said no and emphasize in their comments that as a lawyer and the leader of this country, Prime Minister Dean Barrow should set the […]
Belize Electricity Limited was acquired by the government last Monday when the government declared it wanted to prevent blackouts since the company was bankrupt and unable to meet payments to suppliers. At the time, the Prime Minister singled out BELCOGEN saying that one of the “tipping points” for B.E.L.’s acquisition was because a debt to […]
The indiscriminate spate of violence continues in the streets of the Old Capital as two Belize City men are tonight recovering from various gunshot wounds following a shooting incident on Reggae Street on Thursday night. Police reports are that sometime around eight o’clock thirty-eight year old Arden Middleton and thirty year old Noel Usher were […]
