Section Fifty-three…will it be appealed by the churches? It’s a position that is yet to be formalized following a meeting today with Prime Minister Barrow. This afternoon, representatives of the Belize Council of Churches and the National Evangelical Association of Belize sat down with PM Barrow to discuss the section of the Criminal Code that […]
This afternoon, Prime Minister Dean Barrow reacted to the news, stating that once he has looked into the matter, action will be taken if appropriate. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “I certainly have…I’ve heard about it and I certainly have to look into that. I don’t know enough at this juncture, but that is a […]
The People’s United Party senators called a press conference at Independence Hall in Belize City this afternoon and they went straight to the point. According to Senator Michel Chebat, there has been a concerted effort by the Prime Minister and the Immigration Minister, Senator Godwin Hulse to cover up the fraudulent activities at the Immigration […]
According to Special Audit, Dahlstrom applied for nationality on the fifth of April 2012 and noted on his application that he “eventually wants to reside in Belize.” He was recommended for nationality on October twenty-second 2012 and Minister Hulse signed the nationality certificate that same day. One day later, on October twenty-third, he applied for […]
One other issue that is a priority for the P.U.P. is their call for a senate select investigation. That motion was presented in the senate, but defeated seven to five. The Opposition senators recalled that when the U.D.P. was in Opposition twelve years ago, they too had proposed and was granted a Senate Select Investigation […]
A pair of employees of the San Ignacio/Santa Elena Town Council is in big trouble tonight, after being caught on video sleeping off a drunk bender after completing official duties in Orange Walk. Mayor of the Twin Towns, Earl Trapp, has told the media that he is disappointed at the behaviour of the pair, who […]
The Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse is persistently coming under the microscope. At the sitting of the Senate Meeting last Wednesday, the P.U.P. senator requested that he recuse himself from voting on the motion for a Select Senate investigation into the immigration fiasco. Hulse was minister of immigration for some time during the period under […]
Signing on to the United Nations anti-corruption convention is picking up steam. Government maintained for some time that it would not; but last week, there was a softening of position following a meeting between the Prime Minister and Belize Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is pushing for the initiative and on Saturday at the Expo […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has met with the three unions to discuss delaying the final salary adjustments for teachers and public officers as agreed to by the Joint Negotiating Team back in 2014. This meeting took place on the heels of the two-hundred million dollar payment made by government as part of the compensation package […]
According to former Ministry of Foreign Affairs official and journalist Trevor Vernon, he was denied entry to Canada on Saturday after border authorities there reportedly declared that his passport was not genuine and that he did not have a Canadian visa. This comes as Belize deals with the Immigration Audit Report which details multiple irregularities […]
The Belize Bus Owners Cooperative (BBOC) and ADO bus company of Mexico have escalated a rivalry over a key bus run in the North of Belize. Beginning this morning, ADO, which runs a special night service between Belize City and Cancun and Merida, Mexico is operating an eleven a.m. run on the same route; but […]
The driver faces charges of obstruction, assault of a police officer and disorderly conduct. Senior Superintendent Dawson explained that apart from transport issues, the police were mostly interested in restoring order to traffic in the busy area and he believes the situation could possibly have been handled differently. Sr. Supt. Alden Dawson, Dep. Regional […]
The Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion for a senate select investigation into the Immigration scandal. On Thursday, the Prime Minister announced that the Chamber of Commerce would support a bicameral investigation. The N.T.U.C.B., however, says it was taken by surprise when it found out that the business community has opted for a Joint Select […]
Trade unionist Elena Smith is the last senator standing among her social partner colleagues, based on an informal process of elimination conducted by Prime Minister Barrow on Thursday. During a press conference to discuss the Auditor General’s report, PM Barrow disregarded senators Ashley Rocke and Mark Lizarraga as potential chairs of the Joint Select Committee. […]
Senator Ashley Rocke has come under intense scrutiny from the churches, whom he represents in upper parliament, since voting against the Senate Select Taskforce. In the aftermath of that critical vote, other organizations, including the N.T.U.C.B. continue to criticize the embattled pastor for his reversal in the vote. While President Mora admits that the matter […]
News Five tried today to seek comment from the Office of Auditor General Dorothy Bradley concerning the Immigration Special Audit Reports. But she was unavailable. However, we have received reliable information which suggests that she is seeking legal advice based on the comments made by Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Minister for Immigration Senator Godwin […]
The People’s United Party has reacted to the Prime Minister’s press conference held on Thursday. The P.U.P. had tabled a motion for a Senate Select Committee to investigate the Immigration and Nationalization scandal, but it was defeated five vote for and seven against. A release from the P.U.P. says that what the Auditor General’s report […]
The Government, in a press release this evening, announced it has reached agreement for the continuation of emergency services by BERT. G.O.B. has committed to grant Belize Emergency Response Team forty-five thousand dollars per month for the next six months while the two sides continue negotiations over the long-term financial sustainability of BERT’s land ambulance […]
Today, Brigadier General David Jones, Commander of the Belize Defence Force, issued an update to last night’s report about a group of soldiers who went to verify that Guatemalan citizens had obeyed an order to depart Belizean territory where they had established a settlement and walked into gunfire which they returned. The shooting took place […]
In the village of Crooked Tree, Belize District, health authorities had to take matters into their hand when part of the building housing the clinic caved in. The facility was built years ago and had deteriorated considerably. On Wednesday, the verandah came crashing down. A six year old was playing under the verandah, but fortunately […]
Back to the N.T.U.C.B…..an internal memo criticizing the General Council of the Congress for its style of management was leaked to the media earlier this week. In the communiqué, signed by presidents of the Belize Communications Workers Union and the Belize Water Services Workers Union, General Secretary Rebecca Suazo is chided for incompetence and unproductively. […]
Immigration Minister Godwin Hulse insists his troubled department has not tried to keep its records secret in relation to the issuance of visas, especially to Chinese nationals. It turns out that, according to Hulse, the Chinese paid more for their visas than all of the others issued visas in the same time period. Now, the […]
The Immigration Minister also defended the purpose of recommendation of persons to receive visas. He says it’s about who knows you, not who you know. Senator Godwin Hulse, Minister of Immigration “So this issue, that somebody would recommend somebody in China to come here and they don’t know somebody; when you ever recommend somebody […]
Thursday’s three-hour press conference included a live walk-through presentation by Immigration Officer Diego Bol covering the entire immigration process from start to finish. It was not taped, but it was intended to show the many failsafes put in place in the wake of the Special Audit Report. However, many of the names called in the […]
It’s been exactly one month since Hurricane Earl hit south of Belize City and swept through Belize and Mexico. While there were no casualties in Belize, in Mexico up to fifty persons perished due to the storm and thousand were affected. Today, a donation of fifty thousand U.S. dollars for hurricane relief was handed over […]
