Belize and Taiwan have partnered to create a new online licensing system that will make the process of importation and exportation of goods much simpler, called the Belize Electronic License and Permit System. The ICT project will be facilitating government departments to provide what is called a one stop digitalized and integrated online service, which […]
As we’ve reported, government’s attorneys made it a point before the CCJ that they would not accept the results of independent audits done on behalf of Dunkeld and the Employees Trust. The CCJ, in turn, flatly rejected government’s position to verify and agree to the liabilities only after being allowed to peruse relevant documents pertaining […]
The drawing down on seventy-eight million U.S. dollars from the Central Bank’s reserves at this time of year raises serious concerns. Will the local economy be adversely impacted by the withdrawal of such a significant sum within a nine-day period? According to PM Barrow, it should not be a cause for worry since the funds […]
The drafting of the settlement agreement between the Prime Minister and Lord Michael Ashcroft, as well as their respective attorneys, has been criticized as poorly put together. The CCJ bench has clearly stated the terms outlined in the agreement ought to have been fine-tuned, thereby preventing legal back and forth over the quantum, as well […]
Minister of Immigration and Nationality, Senator Godwin Hulse, made his first appearance before his Senate colleagues on the Special Select Committee this morning in Belmopan. He was questioned on various aspects of the work of the Department, which he has said he closely supervised with the assistant of junior Ministers like Elvin Penner and Beverly […]
Opposition Senator Eamon Courtenay revealed during this morning’s testimony that, among the rush of secret informants to the Special Select Committee, an unnamed source visited him some time ago with an interesting tale about his personal involvement in the rush to grant nationality to unqualified persons at the prodding of Ministers of Government. According to […]
The law on granting visas for entry into Belize places discretion solely on the shoulder of the Director of Immigration, assisted by her juniors in the department, to accept or deny such documents. But it has been well-established that certain ministers of government had expectations that their written recommendations and, in some cases, phone calls […]
Notwithstanding the exorbitant cost that the people of Belize have ultimately paid for B.T.L., PM Barrow maintains that it was all worth the money. That’s a hefty price tag of more than half a billion dollars. He says that under the previous accommodation agreement the then-privately owned company, in the hands of Lord Michael Ashcroft, […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow this afternoon lent his support to a full investigation of Belize Jungle Experience Limited. The company is being audited by the Audit Department for appearing to defraud the government and the Belize Defence Force of monies paid for the training of German soldiers in Belize’s jungles between 2015 and 2017. For […]
Back to the senate hearings…Former minister Elvin Penner was appointed back in 2012 to join Godwin Hulse in the immigration ministry and was assigned direct responsibility for the Immigration Department. Hulse testified today that with the heavy workload of portfolios assigned to him at that time by the Prime Minister, he left Penner to do […]
The infamous Won Hong Kim affair, while not the start of the Immigration Department’s troubles, certainly exacerbated them. After its discovery multiple investigations were triggered, including the one that led Minister Godwin Hulse to today’s Senate meeting. While there was limited discussion of the circumstances surrounding how Kim obtained a passport and Belizean nationality without […]
Criminal activities linked to gangs continue to be one the challenges for local cops. Since 2008, the Belize Police Department has been tackling the growing issue through the Gang Resistance and Education Training, better known as the GREAT Program. Today, Ladyville Police certified another one hundred and twenty plus students of the program. The students […]
In an extraordinary move, the Opposition People’s United Party today announced plans to table a motion for debate at the next sitting of the Senate to amend the Maritime Areas Act. It is the first time in recorded memory that the Opposition is taking the lead on introducing an amendment, and doing so in the […]
Senator Courtenay is also a former Foreign Minister. He says that despite having been advised in the past on amending the piece of legislation that is now being challenged, government has failed to act on the matter. Since the Opposition has taken up that mantle, it has garnered the support of all social partners in […]
So what will be the reaction from Guatemala once Belize moves to claim all its twelve miles of territorial waters under international law? It’s a thought that is furthest from Courtenay’s mind, since Belize’s course of action does not hinge upon Guatemala’s foreign policy. Courtenay says the additional nine miles of unclaimed sea was not […]
Twenty-five years after the passage of the controversial law, the Senate is going to be asked to consider the amendment at its next sitting. But the Government side appears to be caught off guard by the announcement. Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred Elrington spoke to us in Belmopan today about the now-Opposition efforts to get the […]
The Foreign Minister went on to state that as he understands that the purpose of introducing or repealing legislation is to serve the greater purpose of the Belizean people. Despite the fact that Belize is no longer negotiating with Guatemala and therefore has the right to reclaim its maritime territory, Elrington confesses to being baffled […]
On November first, Governor General Colville Young is expected to sign into law the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill. The legislation will make it legal to possess in a private home ten grams or less of cannabis, while specifically criminalizing possession on school property. It will clear humps for the industrial hemp industry and provide […]
During the Senate’s extensive debate of the Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill last Wednesday, Churches Senator Ashley Rocke recorded the formal opposition of the organizations he represents – the Belize Association of Evangelical Churches and Belize Council of Churches, joined in rare unanimity by the National Evangelical Association of Belize. But the rest of the […]
On Friday, Belize Infrastructure Limited issued a press statement firing back on the public characterization of its efforts on the failed Lake Independence Boulevard construction. While acknowledging that the lack of stone-based fill directly led to parts of the road sinking despite the hot mix placed on it, the special-purpose company blames its low budget […]
When we caught up with NEAB today, we also asked about the alarming crime situation. Antipathy for the Government aside, the association agreed with and adopted the position of Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Elrington that turf wars over imported marijuana is behind much of the recent killing on the Southside. While some of the […]
The Misuse of Drugs Amendment Bill enjoyed rare bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and to a lesser extent, the Senate. But the words of Opposition Leader John Briceño raised eyebrows. He stated during the debate that the bill did not go far enough and that Belize should be getting on the road to […]
Minister of Immigration and Nationality, Senator Godwin Hulse, is an anticipated witness to the Senate Special Select Committee on Immigration’s public hearings. He has said from the very beginning that he would like nothing more than the opportunity to face his peers in the upper chamber, and finally set the record straight on the happenings […]
Artistes unite under the national artist platform called artists.bz. Several local musicians gathered today for the official launch of the online platform. Belize Trade and Investment Development Service, the National Institute for Culture and History, the Office of the Music Ambassador, Belize Coalition of Service Providers and the Music Industry Association of Belize were all […]
The countdown to the Belize International Film Festival is on. The much-acclaimed festival begins next Wednesday with a preview event at the House of Culture in Belize City. While the official opening ceremony is set for Thursday at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts and will be carried live on this station, this year, […]
