Just now you heard the Prime Minister discuss the three primary unpaid taxes that collectors will be going after – but added to these are people who owe back taxes on their land. According to Briceño, G.O.B. will confiscate land if necessary. Prime Minister John Briceño “As the honorable member of Lake I has […]
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development will be executing a scaled-down road works project on the Caracol Road. According to Minister Julius Espat, his Ministry has deferred phase two of the project, but after they did a review of the plans in place they were able to recuperate twenty-eight million dollars in savings. He says they […]
Minister of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries, Kareem Musa says he wants to untangle marijuana policies and expunge police records for possession of the weed. Today, he introduced a bill for an act to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act to establish licensing, registration and operational requirements for the cultivation, processing, distribution and delivery […]
A cohort of thirty police officers successfully completed a two-week training program in which they were taught the fundamentals of criminal investigations. Organized through the United States Embassy, the men and women of law enforcement learned how to conduct an inquiry to determine whether, in fact, a crime has been committed based on a civilian […]
According to the Chargé d’Affaires for the U.S. Embassy Keith Gilges, the idea is to strengthen the capacity of officers at all levels within the Belize Police Department. The objective, he says, is to ensure that justice is served as a result of proper investigation and evidence gathering. Keith Gilges, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy […]
The Ministry of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation granted a training and recertification opportunity to Belizean pilot Henry Salguero to captain the Belize Emergency Response Team and Wings of Hope’s Air Evacuation Program. This program has enabled BERT to hire Salguero who has more than one thousand eight hundred commercial flight time which meets BERT’s […]
Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Dolores Balderamos-Garcia has commented on the recent ruling made by Chief Justice Michelle Arana which awarded six point three million dollars to two farmers and the village of Jalacte. According to the ruling, the government, under the Barrow Administration, did not seek the free, prior informed consent of the Maya […]
But Minister Dolores Balderamos-Garcia says that the case is a touchy one because while the government must adhere to the consent order of the Caribbean Court of Justice, where it ruled that the indigenous Maya people from the south have communal land rights, G.O.B. also has the final authority on the use of land for […]
The recent emphasis on discounts for Belizean “stay-cations” may be paying off, but prices for other goods and services are up. Today, the Statistical Institute of Belize released a number of figures and among them the Consumer Price Index for May 2021. The C.P.I. found that while Belizeans enjoyed cheaper hotel accommodations that month, the […]
Belize’s economy shrank for a fourth consecutive quarter, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest Statistical Institute of Belize data shows that Belize produced sixty million dollars less in goods and services in the first quarter of 2021, accounting for an eight percent decrease in the economy. Belize’s largest economic sector, tourism, continued […]
Perhaps the most startling piece of information to emerge in today’s presentation by the Statistical Institute of Belize is that in 2018, a whopping fifty-two percent of Belizeans were living in poverty and spending less than seventy-five hundred dollars annually. Between 2009 and 2018, poverty in Belize increased by eleven percent, with up to sixty-four […]
On the external trade side, for May 2021, imports were inching back towards pre-COVID numbers. Exports are also up, signaling a rebound in the export economy. Tiffany Vasquez, Statistician II, SIB “Belize’s imports were valued at seven hundred and sixty point two million dollars. Imports grew by a notable ten-point two percent, or seventy […]
Over nineteen thousand persons who lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19 are still without work. However, they are not all out seeking employment. The Statistical Institute of Belize’s Labor Force Survey for April 2021 found more than twenty thousand persons or eleven percent of the labor force is unemployed. The labor force consists […]
The Government Press Office issued it briefing on the Cabinet meeting today. Areas covered included an update from at the Ministry of Health and Wellness on a ramped-up COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Cabinet was briefed on the challenges Belize and other member states in CARICOM face in advancing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy integration process […]
On Thursday, News Five spoke with outgoing Chargé d’Affaires for the U.S. Embassy, Keith Gilges, about a range of issues. Among them were United States’ efforts to fight transnational drug trafficking. He says it is a multifaceted problem that must be fought on several fronts. Keith Gilges, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy in Belize […]
We also asked Keith Gilges for his views on the territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala currently before the International Court of Justice. Paul Lopez “The U.S .has relations with Both Belize and Guatemala, two nations in dispute over territory. What has been the U.S.’s involvement in this dispute, particularly where the referendum is […]
In his capacity as Chargé, Gilges has had to address several complex multilateral political issues. In doing so, he says he has had to apply the art of diplomacy, determining what topics to engage and what not to engage. One of the more recent regional issues he commented on is the O.A.S.’s statement with regards […]
June twenty-fifth marks International Day of the Seafarers, recognizing their contribution to the global economy and world trade. The local port authorities spent today honoring the crew from a cargo vessel docked in Belize. News Five was there for the brief ceremony. Andrea Polanco, Reporting This vessel is the MV Vanquish. It is almost […]
Earlier today, a News Five team was on Ambergris Caye for the sustainable child friendly municipality billboard launch in San Pedro Town. We’ll have that later on in the newscast. But, we got an opportunity to speak with Mayor Gualberto Nunez about the lawsuit brought against the council by former employees who say that they […]
According to Mayor Nunez, prior to the municipal elections in March, one employee increased his salary by one thousand, six hundred dollars monthly. This, while the island town, as the rest of the country, is still battling the COVID-19 pandemic and revenue collection is down. Gualberto “Wally” Nunez, Mayor, San Pedro Town “In the […]
Back in 2014, the Belize Mayors Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development, and the National Committee for Families and Children signed on to the Child Friendly Municipality Initiative, pledging that they will develop their towns and cities to become certified as being child friendly. Up until today, three […]
Today, a group of women travelled to the remote village of Machakilha to install solar powered equipment into several homes. We’ve also documented the difficult access to the village and the need for proper roads and infrastructure. Area representative and Minister of Rural Development, Oscar Requeña says the solution will need a multifaceted approach. […]
As a measure of showing its commitment to Belize in the fight against COVID-19, today the C.D.C., through the U.S. Embassy in Belize, donated cold chain equipment to the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The ultra-low temperature freezer can store vaccines, like the Pfizer vaccine, that require storage temperatures reaching below negative seventy degrees Celsius. […]
On Tuesday, social media was abuzz with videos purportedly taken by Jasmine Hartin. Viewers will recall that Hartin was released on bail on June 9 after being charged with Manslaughter by Negligence in the shooting death of Superintendent Henry Jemmott. Although her face never appears in the videos, Hartin’s voice can be heard as she […]
There was a handing over ceremony today in Orange Walk for the Belize Motor Vehicle Registration and License System. The collaboration between the Government of Belize and the Republic of China Taiwan aimed to centralize Belize’s transport services. The new system has been in the works for four years. Kevin Bernard, Minister of Youth, […]
