Two point two-eight million dollars were disbursed today for the conservation and protection of natural reserves: Chiquibul, Vaca, Colombia and Bladen Forests. PACT is the donor agency that is contributing toward a larger initiative called the Chiquibul Forest Investment Initiative. Organizations that work in the area such as the Friends for Conservation and Development, received […]
The idea of a thirteenth senator may soon become a reality. This Friday is the deadline for final submissions of documentation by non-governmental organizations to show they are in good standing. Thereafter, the steering committee meets to peruse the list of N.G.O.s that can formally present nominees for the post. And by January, elections will […]
Three years ago, Belize Electricity Limited and the Public Utilities Commission opened a request for proposals for electricity generation of both traditional and renewable energy sources. Following a lengthy and occasionally controversial process of identifying the most viable sources and negotiating with them, B.E.L. and the P.U.C. are now set to sign a number of […]
The World Bank is training entities working in the field of risk assessment for money laundering, terrorism financing, and related crimes to help Belize conduct its first National Risk Assessment. The national Anti-Money Laundering Committee and Financial Intelligence Unit are leading the effort to identify primary money laundering and terrorism financing risks in all areas, […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned home to Belize on Saturday night, following a week-long trip to New York where he met with a team of structuring advisors and lawyers, ahead of a meeting with the Belize Coordinating Committee which represents bondholders. The meeting with Citigroup officials and attorney Lee Buchheit to discuss government’s objectives for […]
Is Attorney General Vanessa Retreage stepping down as Belize’s chief legal officer? It’s a question that will be answered following a discussion during Tuesday’s weekly Cabinet meeting. News Five understands that the fate of the U.D.P. senator, whose ministerial responsibilities also include oversight of the powerful Ministry of Natural Resources, will be contemplated then. Retreage […]
Late this evening, G.O.B. confirmed a story we have been following. Chief Executive Officer David Leacock, who has been the departmental head of the Ministry of Education since 2008, vacates his post at the end of December after tendering his resignation back in September. Leacock verbally notified Minister of Education Patrick Faber of his intention […]
A number of issues came up at Friday’s House meeting, which we didn’t cover because of time constraints. In addition to a supplementary appropriation bill, the Government for the third time this year brought amendments to the Treasury Bill Act, in this case juggling the amounts it can raise from the Central Bank. The plan […]
A simultaneous referendum on taking the unfounded Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory to the International Court of Justice in 2013 was scrapped back then. This came after then-Guatemalan president, Otto Perez Molina, complained that our threshold for validation, sixty percent, puts Guatemala at a disadvantage. Unlike Belize, Guatemala allows a simple majority of fifty percent […]
The Belize National Teachers’ Union has informed its members to go ahead and take their full three weeks of Christmas vacation, as the majority, the union says, rejects the Ministry of Education’s proposal to take four of those Christmas vacation days and two from Easter to make up for time lost during the eleven-day strike […]
Acting Prime Minister Patrick Faber held his own as head of government in the House of Representatives on Friday, a first for any parliamentarian deputizing in that capacity. Prior to the sitting of the House, Faber signed on to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, UNCAC, the first global legally binding international anti-corruption instrument for […]
During the questions to Ministers portion of the House meeting, members from the Opposition fired several questions at their Government counterparts on issues of concern of either a national scope or more closely tied to their respective constituencies. It’s usually an occasion for political grandstanding on the Government’s part, but a few nuggets of information […]
The latest edition of BAFFU was released today at the Image Factory; it is also the first printed version. The publication contains a collection of unconventional works by a group of artists who take their idea and express it in a way that is not the usual standard. At least three hundred artists have been […]
This year, Channel Five celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary and to start the Christmas season right, we gifted twenty-five of viewers with tons of prizes in the annual Gimme Five Extravaganza. From December fifth and to the ninth, we brought you mega performances from your favourite artists; Duane Moody even took to the streets for four […]
But while a family celebrates its Gimme Five win, another is desperately in search for a loved one. It’s been a week since sixty-nine year old Gabriela Mendez, has gone missing from her house in the Spanish Town area of Maskall Village. The elderly woman, according to the family, does not suffer from any mental […]
Were 2012’s general elections stolen? The United Democratic Party prevailed by the slimmest of margins, winning sixteen seats to fifteen for the People’s United Party. In several constituencies, the vote was especially close; most notably, neighbouring Cayo Northeast and Cayo Central, where Elvin Penner and current Minister Rene Montero were each elected to their second […]
United Nations Convention against Corruption was signed today inside the cabinet room in Belmopan to coincide with Anti-Corruption International Day. The acting Prime Minister Patrick Faber penned the document which places Belize among the one hundred and eighty-four countries who have signed-on. UN Resident Coordinator Christian Salazar Volkmann was also present for the event. The […]
The death of two year old Janeeka Campbell continues to baffle police. The toddler died on Tuesday night, but the motive for her death is still under review between police and the pathologist. Both parents say the child accidentally fell down a flight of stairs at her father’s house in Saint Matthew’s Village. She was […]
Initially, the mother was detained for questioning and the police were looking for the father, who was brought in to the Belmopan police custody on Thursday. Statements were recorded from the parents, which according to Senior Superintendent Gillett appear consistent. But police have received additional reports and Gillett believes that the Department of Human Services […]
A couple from San Ignacio is alleging police brutality at the hands of a former GSU officer. Shawn Gardener and her common-law husband are accusing the policeman of roughing them up while conducting a search on them last weekend. According to Gardener, the pair was seated next to a young woman near an establishment on […]
It has been over a month since Belizean commuters have seen bus fares go up in most of the country. They have complained that there is no justification, since fuel prices are trending down and the service provided by operators has not discernibly improved. However, Minister of Transport Edmond Castro told the House of Representatives […]
The road to the Miss Universe Pageant to be held in the Philippines started in September for Rebecca Rath. Known as Bex, the twenty-three-year-old beauty from Dangriga, has been preparing arduously to compete in the pageant to be held in Manila, against over a hundred other beauties from all over the world. She is talented, […]
Tonight there is more hanky-panky to reveal about the putrid state of affairs that was pervasive at the Immigration Department in years past. The Senate Select Committee on the Special Audit on Immigration met in Belmopan on Wednesday looking at some of what took place in the period between 2011 and 2013. Senator Eamon Courtenay […]
Cayo South Area Representative Julius Espat will not be attending Friday’s Sitting of the House of Representatives. In fact, he will be keeping a fairly safe distance away from the Assembly Building, as word is that there’s a warrant for his arrest should he set foot on Independence Hill during the meeting. It’s not to […]
So what became of the discussion among senior parliamentarians on both sides of the floor to have Espat reinstated? According to the embattled politician, U.D.P. Party Whip, Michael Finnegan, is the only one to have expressed an interest in patching things up. In spite of a letter written by Fort George Area Representative Said Musa, […]
