The budget for fiscal year 2016/2017 was discussed at length by the Senate this morning, succeeding a two-day heated debate in the House of Representatives a week ago. Dubbed “Stability in a Time of Change,” G.D.P. growth is forecast at one point five percent with a deficit that expanded to five percent. While the proposed […]
The Opposition, for its part, describes the budget as both uninspiring and insipid and therefore the party cannot lend its support to the budget that has ballooned into a massive deficit. Led by Senator Eamon Courtenay, the People’s United Party proceeded to pick holes in the budget, particularly criticizing government’s failure to consult with its […]
With government and opposition senators weighing in on the budget in detail, one complimenting the financial plan and the other altogether condemning it, what is the union’s outlook for the year ahead? The wage bill for teachers and public officers will balloon to four hundred million, but the lack of consultations in crafting the budget […]
During today’s lengthy Senate debate, the church also had its say on the pros and cons of the annual budget. While Senator Ashley Rocke did not altogether pan the 2016/2017 budget, he did note that allotment for the churches has been discontinued. Instead, government has opted to contribute charitable funding to what are being described […]
Well-known Pastor Scott Stirm has come under some fire in the wake of the release of a video which has gone viral. In the edited video, Stirm is speaking to an audience at SP Ministries in the U.S. The section of that video which has caught fire is one in which Stirm makes reference to, […]
And then to the budget for the fiscal year 2016/2017! Starting with the leader of the Opposition, members on that side of the gallery claimed that based on all relevant statistics, the economy was in a recession, and the so-called stability budget was only a rhetorical farce. Prime Minister Barrow lashed back, accusing the Opposition […]
A major plank of the Opposition’s debate in the House was agriculture. They pointed to situations in the papaya, shrimp, citrus, sugar and banana and put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Government. Orange Walk South Area Representative Jose Mai led the charge on that front, blaming government’s inattention and neglect on what he […]
Prime Minister Barrow says that criticism is unfair based on the many factors which are completely out of government’s control. Additionally, he states that any claim that his administration has neglected the agro-productive sector is untrue, since it is this administration which has done the most for stakeholders in that sector. Prime Minister Dean […]
We close tonight’s coverage of the 2016/2017 budget debate with something we’ve hardly before been privileged to witness. The sessions in the House are always confrontational and testy, often hostile and very personal. But on Wednesday, the usually acerbic U.D.P. Whip and representative of Mesopotamia Michael Finnegan was nothing but love. Finnegan maintained throughout the […]
Espat concluded his presentation by taking a swipe at the Prime Minister, who in a prior session has used the privilege granted by the House to refer to Espat as a pig. The Cayo South Area Representative told the House that Barrow calling him a pig is indeed the greatest of ironies. Julius Espat, […]
And after complaining that Belizeans travelling to the Sarstoon as stalkers, and suggesting that those Belizeans are provoking Guatemalans, Elrington turned his attention to the media. He announced that he will no longer be granting interviews on his own, since the media apparently has an ulterior motive. Fortunately, as we found out, the views of […]
A group of women, a majority of whom are stakeholders in the local maritime industry, met this evening at a forum organized by the Belize Ports Authority and Women in Maritime Association of the Caribbean. WiMAC is a regional organization that was founded a year ago to bring women in the sector together. The establishment […]
A young mother from the Belize District heard the most devastating news earlier this week. After suffering a miscarriage and preparing for the burial of her unborn child, she was told by the Northern Regional Hospital that they could not locate the fetus she had left at the hospital. As she recovers and grieves, Shamika […]
A team from the three arms of the security forces returned to Belize today to a warm welcome. A motorcade through the streets of the Old Capital culminated on Coney Drive for the Belize Protectors. The thirty plus officers from the B.D.F., Police Department and Coastguard participated for the first time in the annual Challenge […]
Barring an official protocol governing the rules of engagement at the southern-most border of Belize, the Sarstoon, there seems little clarity on the situation there. Things came to a head just over a week ago when Guatemalan military came into Belizean waters in front of the Forward Operating Base and informed soldiers stationed there that […]
At least in the first quarter of 2016, violent crime has been on the rise, in record-setting numbers. Murders in particular have been spread out across the country, including in San Pedro, Belize’s primary tourism destination. While we’ve been the subject of various advisories in the past in which tourists have been warned to exercise […]
That confusion about the actual claim seems to give rise to some confusion about the seriousness and significance of Guatemala’s active ownership of the Sarstoon – ownership bolstered by military presence. The incident on Saturday when armed Guatemalan military came into Belizean waters to inform our B.D.F. soldiers that they could no longer go into […]
Minister Elrington maintained throughout the briefing that Belizean and Guatemalan diplomat politicians have been mature and responsible. The hard line has also been that military to military there’s absolutely no problem – peace all around. The only problem in the entire equation – the end all and be all – seems to be the Belize […]
The original primary agenda item for the meeting in Washington, and one which is still very pertinent, is the matter of funding for the O.A.S. Office inside the adjacency zone to the west. The hemispheric body has revealed that it has no further funds to keep the office open. Both the government and the Opposition […]
The concept of a child friendly city came about in recognition of a number of significant trends. Those tendencies include the rapid transformation and urbanization of societies across the world, the growing responsibilities of cities, towns and communities for their population, as well as the increasing importance of municipalities within national political and economic systems. […]
While Belize City is not officially a child friendly municipality, it is well on the way to achieving certification. UNICEF Country Representative Ivan Yerovi says the idea is aimed at giving young people a voice to speak about their concerns and urges those in authority to help in addressing those issues. Ivan Yerovi, Country […]
In the coming weeks, Cinderella Plaza will be receiving a long overdue facelift. Following the completion of work by the Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Project, the heavily trafficked area near the intersections of Douglas Jones Street and Freetown Road had been left somewhat neglected. After a brief finger-pointing between the Belize City Council and the contractors […]
Remedial works is also being planned for a number of streets, as well as the commercial center. Viewers would recall that the rehabilitation of that public building at Market Square has been scheduled for almost two years. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “We’re also going to launch an approximately three hundred thousand dollar program […]
Three minors have been detained as the gunmen in two of the recent homicides in the city; it’s a reality that is frightening because it is believed that minors are being recruited by gangs to commit these heinous crimes. But Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, whose jurisdiction these murders were committed, is not taking […]
Hundreds of Belize City residents participated in a BLACK March this morning. The procession is the second of its kind and seeks to create awareness on the effects of crime and violence in the city. News Five’s Duane Moody joined in as the wave of black and white flooded the city streets and made its […]
