Today we interviewed the Prime Minister on the ongoing crisis. In respect of the shares, he confirmed that the funds are stored in a separate account in the Central Bank. If anyone would want their funds returned, they would get so with interest. But he maintains that despite that there are now two Telemedia boards […]
And while the law enforcement bodies are guarding the Telemedia office and keeping Dean Boyce out, attorneys say there’s nothing lawful about what GOB is doing. According to Attorney Eamon Courtenay, the members of the government appointed board are trespassing at the Telemedia office and can face consequences for illegal occupation. Eamon Courtenay, Attorney “The […]
The Court of Appeal today delivered a massive blow to the government in the 2009 acquisition of Belize Telemedia. The ruling reverses an order made by the government to compulsorily acquire the telephone company from the Ashcroft Group. It was handed down at four this afternoon. The drama mounted because there was first a notice […]
So what’s next? Well, the Prime Minister has already said that he will appeal that decision. But immediately after the court ruling, Dean Boyce and attorney Godfrey Smith headed to Telemedia’s main office on Saint Thomas Street. The first board meeting was convened with members of the previous board including attorney Phillip Zuniga, Edilberto Tesecum […]
Turning to another company that has been nationalized, B.E.L. The National Trade Union Congress of Belize says that while it supports the nationalization, there are some concerns. The NTUCB says it will monitor the progress at BEL and insists that the government should avoid cronyism and ensure the flow of electricity with stable and affordable […]
Following the expropriation of Belize Electricity Limited earlier this week, we asked viewers if they believe electricity rates should down since the company is now in government hands. The results of our online poll were split seventy to thirty percent, with the vast majority of voters saying yes to reduced rates. But on the comments […]
Tonight a Lake I man is on life support at the Karl Huesner Memorial Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit after he was shot multiple times. The street was crowded with children and adults on Thursday night, but the fun ended abruptly when two men pulled up on the resident and fired indiscriminately. News Five’s […]
A resident of Red Bank Village in the Stann Creek District has been arrested for the brutal slaying of a fellow villager. On Monday, police discovered the body of forty-seven year old Guatemalan National, Luis Maas, on a feeder road between Cowpen and Redbank Villages. Maas was partially decapitated and had a cut wound on […]
This morning there was a potential threat of strike at Port of Belize. The stevedores, under the stewardship of the Christian Workers Union, have been at an impasse with the management of the port over a wide range of issues; from work schedules to wages. The Port of Belize issued a release Thursday night, speaking […]
Early this afternoon, seventeen year old Kadeem Monsanto was gunned down by three men; he died soon after he was rushed to the hospital. The minor is the second son of the reputed former gang leader, Clay Monsanto, to die in gun violence. The older Monsanto now lives in the United States. The trouble started […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned this afternoon from the International Conference to pledge support for the Central America Security Strategy in Guatemala City. While regional security was the headline focus, the continued flow and supply of electricity to Belize and a meeting with the Mexican President were the Prime Minister’s main motive for attending. The […]
Negotiations with Mexico’s CFE will now take place under the auspices of Sir Manuel Esquivel to solve the energy crisis. But the local clash with the government and the Belize Chamber of Commerce continues to boil over. On Tuesday, the Chamber spoke out against the B.E.L. expropriation and on Wednesday, the government sounded off with […]
There’s good and bad news for drivers, depending on what type of fuel your vehicle uses. On Wednesday night, the pump price for premium gasoline rolled back thirteen cents and is now at eleven dollars and forty-seven cents. A thirteen cent decrease took the price of regular fuel just below the eleven dollar mark and […]
Earlier in the newscast, the Prime Minister criticized the Chamber of Commerce for their position that is contrary to the government’s, on Monday’s hasty expropriation of the Belize Electricity Limited. The debate continues on the airwaves and Senator Godwin Hulse, who represents BCCI in the National Assembly, took the couch on our morning show today. […]
Hulse also commented on statements made to the effect that it was necessary to take back B.E.L. from foreigners. The senator says he finds it sad that the conversation went from ensuring reliable power to racist remarks. Senator Godwin Hulse, Representative, B.C.C.I. “I don’t think anybody in this country would dispute the fact or argue […]
The Belize Chamber of Commerce has had its say and today, the Belize Business Bureau fired off a release expressing similar sentiments against the expropriation of Belize Electricity Limited. The Bureau cites three reasons why it is gravely concerned about the takeover. Firstly, the public debt, which is already at eighty-five point eight percent of […]
Government’s latest fight is with the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On Tuesday the Chamber issued a very strong statement against the expropriation of Belize Electricity Limited. The government today responded in kind and threw the Chamber under the bus in a highly explosive and emotional statement. The choice of language is similar to […]
So what did the Chamber say that has the government in a twist? Well, the Chamber was outright against the expropriation, the manner in which it took place and expressed concerns about foreign investment. Its comments on the forcible takeover of B.E.L. came along with a survey in which over seventy percent of its polled […]
The bills for the expropriation of B.E.L. were rushed in the House and Senate and by the end of Monday, the Governor General had signed off on them. On Tuesday morning, the Fortis privately owned company, changed hands and went under government control and a new Board and C.E.O. were installed. While the transition went […]
While the government’s release highly charged, today, Fortis issued its first statement out of Newfoundland, Canada where it is headquartered. The announcement was brief and concise, saying matter-of-factly that the government has expropriated the Canadian company’s controlling stake in the country’s main electrical distributor and that Fortis had owned seventy percent of Belize Electricity Ltd. […]
The B.E.L. nationalization has been picked up by several international organizations whose perceptions help investors decide whether or not the country is stable enough to pump cash. They also serve as advisories to lending agencies that can help the country in hard times. Currently, Moody’s Investors Service has marked Belize at B-three, a level lower […]
Romel Palacio Sr., a former B.D.F. soldier, was shot on Sunday morning by a trio who simply walked into his house on Jane Usher Boulevard and unleashed a hail of bullets on him in the presence of family members. Palacio was on life support since then and this morning he expired at the Karl Heusner […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow headed to Guatemala City this morning. It was left for the acting Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega to head the team to oversee the transition assuming control of the Belize Electricity Limited. Vega, Board Chairman, Rodwell Williams and the new C.E.O., Jeffery Locke, who has worked in the citrus industry and is […]
Locally, the private sector, through the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has lashed out against the expropriation of Belize Electricity Limited. But the ink was hardly dried on the orders for the government’s takeover of B.E.L. when an international organization threatened that Belize could get a black eye on its credit rating. Standard & […]
The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry this morning sent out a stinging press release regarding the nationalization of B.E.L. in which it disagreed with the government for the hasty expropriation of the country’s only electric provider. According to the release, the Chamber “does not believe that it was necessary for the government of Belize […]
