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You heard here on News Five how well known businessman John Zabaneh has been cleared of the ‘Kingpin’ label. Zabaneh and alleged associates were designated as a trafficking organization and operatives of the Sinaloa Cartel in Belize. But for five years Zabaneh challenged the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and just weeks ago he […]
Protests continue in Guatemala where Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales attempted to remove the head of the U.N. anti-corruption commission, known as CICIG. Numerous countries have denounced the attempt to expel Ivan Velasquez, including the U.S. The State Department has expressed concerned over President Morales’ decision and threaten to review its aid program with Guatemala. Charge […]
The United Democratic Party continues to roll out its roster of candidates in various cities and towns ahead of the March 2018 municipal elections. This morning in Belize City, the U.D.P. Seven for Orange Walk Town was formally introduced, with former mayor Philip De La Fuente leading the charge once again. Joining him are six […]
Offering himself once more as mayoral hopeful for the United Democratic Party is a return to form for Phillip De La Fuente who parted ways with the U.D.P. in 2015, to run for the Belize Progressive Party. Despite his estrangement from the U.D.P., De La Fuente maintains that his values as a patriot and a […]
De La Fuente’s biggest challenge will be unseating incumbent Kevin Bernard in March 2018. The head of Orange Walk’s town council is a two-time mayor who has been able to hold on to the office despite a majority of the municipalities across the country going red in the last election cycle. Reporter “Do you […]
The national women’s commission held a first of its kind women in politics conference today. The event, held under the theme ‘Empowered Women: Empowering Women for Meaningful Change,’ brought together women in political office as well as women of leadership roles in organizations and communities. With objectives to inspire, empower and educate so as to […]
The Belize National Teachers’ Union has added its voice to those condemning Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington for his repeated statements that Belize’s borders are not internationally recognized, and that for them to be, the Guatemalan claim must be settled at the International Court of Justice. In calling on Elrington to “watch his words,” […]
Written on August 31, 2017 | Posted in
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By next week all children across the country should be back in the classroom for the new school year. In Belize, children ages fourteen and under must be enrolled in school. Yet, every year, there are some children who for one reason or another will not be putting on a uniform to head back to […]
Written on August 31, 2017 | Posted in
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We start tonight with important developments in the case of Amy Forte, a Belmopan resident who wrote the office of Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources Dean Barrow on Tuesday. She contends that her name was wrongly used to underline a swap of land on the private island of Mosquito Caye, located next to […]
Written on August 30, 2017 | Posted in
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This evening, News Five obtained a letter sent by Andre Vega’s attorney, Estevan Perera, to C.E.O. in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Sharon Ramclam Young. Basically, the son of the former Deputy Prime Minister says he is prepared to relinquish the seven-acre Mosquito Caye property to prevent further issues. But the point is moot in […]
This afternoon, the People’s United Party registered its disgust with the latest revelations. In a forty-five minute press conference at its headquarters, Independence Hall, leader John Briceño assailed the Prime Minister for his failure to act sooner and for what he called attempts to downplay the involvement of his ex-deputy, and set out a list […]
As the Prime Minister contended in our interview after the House meeting of August twenty-first, the transactions detailed in a prior set of leaked documents involving the Vegas appeared to be legitimate on the surface and “I don’t know that there is any actionable illegality there.” But he had previously stated that he had not […]
So what needs to be done differently to address the ‘hotbed of corruption’, as the Prime Minister himself termed the Ministry of Natural Resources to Belizean-Americans in Los Angeles in October of 2013? There have been several recent bills brought to the House of Representatives for first reading and the Opposition Leader today called them […]
Briceño also discussed the role of various Vega family members and acquaintances in roping off the Lands Ministry for their personal grab-tub, most notably former National Estate Officer and Justice of the Peace Darlene Padron, whom he alleges has done this many times before. It appears, he said, that this was a mostly internal cabal […]
Figures released by the Statistical Institute of Belize show that economic activity slowed down to some extent in July. Goods and services went up slightly, while imports and exports registered a drop. The price of fuel, however, went up considerably in the past year. The rise in transport costs were attributed in large part to […]
Back to the issue of fraudulent land transactions….The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a strong release today condemning the corruption at the Ministry of Natural Resources. It says inaction by G.O.B. on the abuse of our natural and fiscal resources is no longer accepted. According to the Chamber, despite evidence of blatant abuse […]
Written on August 30, 2017 | Posted in
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Despite the signing of the UNCAC last December, corruption continues to be pervasive. Usher calls on all stakeholders to come together and put in place a mechanism to keep all politicians in check. On the Phone: Nikita Usher, President, BCCI “Only a few weeks ago, we saw the audit report on a few ministries […]
Written on August 30, 2017 | Posted in
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Following his press conference, Opposition Leader John Briceño was questioned on several other burning national issues. The United Democratic Party this past Sunday held a contested convention for the post of Mayor and councilor for the Belize City Council that resulted in Dion Leslie being elected over Philip Willoughby and seven of the incumbent councilors, […]
Ten youths from the Mayflower area in Belize City received their certificates in food preparation and hospitality training today after concluding a summer program with the ITVET through the Department of Youth Services Mayflower Youth Center. As we found out from Jamie Rocke, the program was requested by the residents of the Mayflower area. […]
2008 was the last time the United Democratic Party staged a contested convention for the mayoral nomination for Belize City; the U.D.P. has been in control of the City Council since 2006. That year, more than six thousand, six hundred voters cast ballots at the Belize City Center, and incumbent Zenaida Moya defeated her then-deputy, […]
Earlier today, we asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs about dubious campaign financing. Elrington says it’s not a charge that can be made against him since his political campaigns and those of his daughter Alifa are personally funded from monies he says he legitimately earned. On Sunday, Elrington’s youngest daughter offered herself for candidacy on […]
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives met in session this morning in Belmopan to plot a course for investigation into the 2012-2013 Auditor General’s Report tabled in the House on August eighteenth. Chairman Julius Espat of the People’s United Party has campaigned for the hearings to be held in public as part […]
Espat is hardly deterred, saying he will continue to fight for publication of the Committee’s work before the final report is laid on the House’s table at some point in the future. But today’s result has spurred Espat to once again call for a bi-cameral joint special committee, inviting members of the Senate, specifically the […]
San Pedro Ambergris Caye is considered a tourist’s paradise; but a visit to southern Belize shows that in the jewel you can do the sea, enjoy eco-tourism and learn so much of our cultural diversity… all in one package. Over the weekend, the local media travelled south, courtesy of the Belize Tourism Board to experience […]
Across the region, the economic and social well-being of the Eastern and Southern Caribbean have been plagued by high levels of violent crimes. Formally known as CariSECURE, short for Strengthening Evidence Based Decision Making for Citizen Security in the Caribbean, the initiative is part of USAID’s Youth Empowerment Services. It aims to improve youth crime […]
