Frontline officials at the western border point received training today organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Refugees Department. At the session held in San Ignacio, the officials were trained on the Standard Operating Procedures for identification and referral of people seeking asylum in Belize. It provided them with the knowhow […]
Health Minister Pablo Marin today broke his silence regarding his ministry’s intention to apply for a one point six million-dollar grant to be drawn from the National Health Insurance Reserve Funds. News of the ministry’s intentions broke after a memo dated July twenty-ninth, 2019 was leaked. The memo signed by Artemio Osorio on behalf of […]
According to Marin, the ministry intended to draw one point six million dollars of the three million dollars that make up the N.H.I. reserve. He says that he identified the source for the funding. In a previous interview with the C.E.O. of the S.S.B., Doctor Colin Young, it was made clear that the N.H.I. funds […]
So what the Ministry of Health did was to identify a project, in this case, the construction for a medical stores facility in Belmopan, and award the contract to Joehann Construction and Engineering, which is owned by the brother of Minister Rene Montero. The ministry, however, failed to secure funding for the project. It is […]
A vehicle unfortunately knocked down and killed a female tapir on the area of Manatee Lookout on the Philip Goldson Highway. And soon enough, the legs of the tapir were cut off. Now, the tapir is considered a delicacy so it is felt that it was butchered to be consumed. Hours after, the carcass was […]
The matter of N.H.I. funds for the construction of a one point six million-dollar Central Medical Stores Building in Belmopan is still in the news tonight. Last Friday, different explanations were provided by the Financial Secretary and the C.E.O. of the Social Security Board which manages the N.H.I. funds about the grant for purposes not […]
Over the weekend, disturbing photographs surfaced on social media showing a tourist exposing himself at an archaeological site in Belize. It is against park rules for visitors to be imbibing on the grounds, but to have the tourist urinating in open court near a monument is seen as a clear disrespect to the cultural heritage […]
Just last year, there was a murder committed at the Cahal Pech Archaeological Site in San Ignacio. Unknown to rangers, the site was accessed via paths at nights by residents who converge to drink and socialize. According to Communications Officer Neil Hall, NICH is looking at the protocols in place to ensure that incidents like […]
The Directorate General for Foreign Trade, with support from the World Trade Organization, is hosting over twenty government officials in the ‘Advanced Trade Negotiations Simulation Skills Training’ this week. The purpose of the training is to deepen the participants’ understanding of how the concept works in practice. It will provide them with the skills and […]
Forty-six-year-old Antonio Chacon, a Honduran landscaper, was reported missing over the weekend when family members could not locate him. He was last seen on Friday morning around five a.m. when he set out from home on Antelope Street Extension with a weed whacker on his bicycle. With so many missing persons ending up killed, the […]
The countdown is on for the 2019 September national celebrations. Among the first events is the national song competition which takes place this Saturday at the Civic Centre in Corozal Town. A total of nineteen performers, fourteen adults and five minors, will compete in both the senior and junior categories for the Belize song and […]
Communications Officer Neil Hall also spoke on a concern that was expressed over the theme selected for this year’s September Celebrations. If you add the words in the chosen theme for 2019: “From Maya Grandeur to Modern Glory, Together Let’s Shape the Belizean Story,” there are twelve and not ten words as announced in the […]
Financial Secretary Joseph Waight has weighed in on the Ministry of Health issue involving the awarding of a contract for the building of the Central Medical Stores in Belmopan. The contract is for a sum of one point six million dollars which was to have been financed via a grant from the National Health Insurance […]
Today, Chief Executive Officer for the Social Security Board, Doctor Colin Young confirmed to the media that the Board did not receive any communication from the Ministry of Health, asking for grant funding through the N.H.I. fund. Doctor Young says that he heard of the purported request via media reports. The C.E.O. made it quite […]
According to the memo, the request for the grant funding is to build a Central Medical Stores in Belmopan. Doctor Young says that such a request does not fall under the areas that can be funded from the NHI Reserve Fund. Dr. Colin Young, C.E.O., S.S.B. “First off, I don’t envisioned that any contractor […]
An audit of Belize Telemedia Limited to determine whether it owes anything in taxes to the GST Department is underway and nearing completion. Financial Secretary Joseph Waight is on record confirming that a review of the company’s financials is being conducted. Whether the telecoms company is in arrears or up to date on its GST […]
Two days after news broke of B.T.L.’s purported multi-million dollar debt; the resignation of C.E.O. Rochus Schreiber was announced. Via an employee bulletin, staffers were told that Schreiber “has decided to pursue other personal interests and reunite with his family in the United Kingdom at the end of September.” He is departing after being at […]
The Ministry of Natural Resources issued a press release today to clarify the land issue in La Gracia. The release states that last month, the ministry gave a Superintendent of Police and other Belizeans permission to survey land in the village. The surveyors in La Gracia were private surveyors carrying out the surveys on those […]
A memo dated July twenty-ninth, 2019 has been leaked and is making its rounds on social media. It is signed by Artemio Osorio on behalf of the Financial Secretary and has to do with a huge grant to be drawn from the N.H.I. Reserve Funds. The memo states that the Ministry of Finance has no […]
A new set of regulations came into effect today for water taxis and those changes have one industry stakeholder up in arms. Beginning August first, all seagoing vessels operated as water taxis are required to provide a passenger manifest, as well as life jackets for all persons onboard the craft. In the next few weeks, […]
Additional regulations that are set to come into effect as of September sixteenth include an approved safety management and emergency response plan, as well as the outfitting of each vessel with safety and communication equipment. They are also required to have onboard a pair of functional engines. Merlene Martinez, Ports Commissioner “There are various […]
According to Martinez, what hurts most is finding out that the victim is the son of a childhood friend. He says that he is preparing to take legal action against the police department. Vince Martinez, Shooting Victim “I feel unhappy because I get fi find out that this guy Major that get shot me […]
The Magic of Disney is an entertainment show for kids and adults alike and will take place this Saturday at the Bliss Centre for the Performing Arts in Belize City at six p.m. It will be filled with a number of Disney characters and there is also a line-up of Belizean artists that will take […]
“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery” – the popular song from Bob Marley is being used across the region today in English-speaking Caribbean as slavery to mark the abolition of slavery on August first, 1834. The day is celebrated as a national holiday in all former British colonies in the Caribbean except Belize. Today, at the […]
In May, the family of Anisha Young received more devastating news when they were informed that DNA test results conducted in Jamaica were inconclusive. The twenty-three-year-old young woman went missing on December ninth, and up to date, her body has yet to be found leaving the family with more questions than answers and without closure. […]
