The House of Representatives’ special session in Belmopan today was chock-full of news inside and outside. There were eight bills presented, one of which was taken through all its stages, and the Auditor General’s Annual Report for 2012 to 2013 was tabled. Our coverage begins with the audit, which was only tabled. It discusses in […]
Five years after the first proposals were made and three years after an officially constituted committee, today G.O.B. brought legislation to the House to amend the Misuse of Drugs Act. The Bill seeks to decriminalize the possession of cannabis or marijuana in amounts not exceeding ten grams or less than half an ounce. The amendment […]
But there will be opposition to the bill, primarily from church groups. They believe that marijuana along with alcohol is a ‘gateway drug’ to harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin and that the amount chosen to regulate is arbitrary. Prime Minister Dean Barrow shied away from direct confrontation with pastor and journalist Louis Wade, […]
The National Evangelical Association of Belize has registered its disagreement with the proposed new legislation, which it says is a wrong move in the wrong direction that will bring wrong results. It cites its own package of scientific studies and reports showing the danger of marijuana use in younger persons and also claims that the […]
The decision to postpone re-registration to 2018, after the municipal elections and before a planned referendum to the International Court of Justice, has raised hackles. Having waited twenty years, opponents say Belize should not wait a moment longer to clean up the voters’ list. But the Government maintains, according to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, that […]
The first issue raised on the adjournment of the House was the ongoing impasse between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and American Sugar Refining/Belize Sugar Industries Limited. The Association last month wrote the millers announcing that while it supports the investment of twenty-two million dollars for production of direct consumption and value-added sugars at […]
On Thursday, former Foreign Minister Lisa Shoman publicly criticized current Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington for his repeated statements suggesting that Belize does not have internationally recognized borders, especially with Guatemala. She went as far as to convey skepticism about Belize moving forward with resolving the unfounded claim at the International Court of Justice. But could […]
In our last story from the House, the sole bill introduced today to go through all its stages was an amendment to the Town Councils Act which purports to give greater autonomy to the municipal bodies for raising funds for capital projects. It directly benefits the United Democratic Party-controlled San Ignacio/Santa Elena Town Council, which […]
The Ministry of Health says that suspected fish poisoning, specifically Ciguatera poisoning, was detected in persons who had consumed barracuda bought from a vendor in Ladyville, Belize District. The toxin does not affect the appearance, odor or taste; and freezing or cooking the contaminated fish will not prevent the poisoning. Individuals, who have come in […]
The National Institute of Culture and History is calling on the BSCAP Board to present certified and audited financials to its membership at an annual general meeting to be convened. This follows the claims by former C.E.O. Shyne Barrow that the more than half a million dollars claimed by Chairlady Heather Cunningham pales in comparison […]
Over a hundred persons with disabilities and their families converged at the Inspiration Center just outside Belize City. But today’s session was not for the routine visits for therapy, the group was there to end their summer with fun. So they came from all over the country, from north to south, to engage in a […]
Friday’s meeting of the House of Representatives in Belmopan should see the tabling of the 2012-2013 Auditor General’s Report on which we have been reporting all week. It is all intended to be ventilated by the Public Accounts Committee chaired by Opposition member Julius Espat. But he is not terribly impressed with the quality and […]
Two of the largest ministries in the government service – Finance and Natural Resources – were not included. Coincidentally, the same man, Prime Minister Dean Barrow, is currently directly in charge of both ministries although Lands has been run by Gaspar Vega, Vanessa Retreage and currently Doctor Carla Barnett. In the case of the Ministry […]
Formed last December, the Integrity Commission was intended to provide independent assessment of the assets of Belizeans in public life. But a few weeks ago it was announced that the Commission would only be investigating the declarations from the current year due to pressure from legal authorities and some parliamentarians. Anonymously citing two of his […]
Foreign Minister Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington, in an interview with the media on Wednesday, once again raised the ire of many, including former Foreign Minister Lisa Shoman. While speaking on the issue of going to the International Court of Justice for a resolution on the longstanding border dispute with Guatemala, Elrington reiterated that Belize does not […]
Shoman who has been an advocate for going to the I.C.J. has now changed her position in light of what is being said by the incumbent foreign minister. That is unless a practical Sarstoon Protocol has been established and until Guatemala respects our borders. The notion that Belize would go to the I.C.J. based on […]
Following a round of fruitless bilateral discussions with Guatemala in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2016, which ultimately failed to produce a Sarstoon Protocol, the former foreign minister’s perspective on the matter has shifted to one of skepticism. The pending referendum, she says, will find Belize in a catch twenty-two, since the holding of separate voting […]
While the Battle of Saint George’s Caye and Independence Day remain the twin towers of the September Celebrations Calendar, in Belize City, the Carnival Road March reaches those heights. September ninth will see hundreds of revelers on the City’s streets and many more watching from the sidewalks and at home. But the usual route from […]
Campaign efforts to elect a U.D.P. mayoral candidate for Belize City are in full swing and, as expected with any political race, promises are being made ahead of the August twenty-seventh convention, as well as the March 2018 municipal elections. Among those assurances is a relief for residents who cannot pay their property taxes. They […]
As you’ve heard at the top of the news, two-term representative Julius Espat is under no illusions about the state of Belize’s governance, which he says can be traced back to the handover from colonial masters to Belizean ones. And he readily acknowledges the deep cynicism that pervades Belizean society, which tends to view P.U.P. […]
Belize is now a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was signed in December. But there has been no discernible movement to implementing its dictates and Cayo South area representative Julius Espat warned today that without a serious level of commitment from this or any future government, the UNCAC is toothless. […]
Belize is in the projected path of newly formed Tropical Storm Harvey. And we say projected because it is still early to determine whether it will really head this way. The weather system formed a couple hundred miles east of the Windward Islands, and may pose a threat to parts of the Caribbean in early […]
This afternoon, a handful of students, all of whom are members of the Child Advisory Board, an arm of the Belize City Council, were recipients of back-to-school grants. The initiative is a humble means of acknowledging the efforts that children and teenagers have made in the governance and beautification of the Old Capital. Councilor Hyacinth […]
If you are looking for a job, here is an opportunity that can help you. BELTRAIDE today launched a talent fair to create an employment database to meet the demands of employers. To qualify, you must be sixteen years of age and older; computer skills are a plus and so are persons with technical abilities. […]
A month or so ago, the president of Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action and his counterpart in the Poor People’s Organization for a Healthy and Righteous Society, visited the campus gates of the now-Columbus Central University School of Medicine. It is summer break and there was nobody there, other than a caretaker. But that […]
