Following the lengthy two and a half hour discussion, Minister of Health Pablo Marin would emerge optimistic, bearing what can only be described cautiously as good news since none of the representatives in that meeting would disclose the details of the agreements met. The good news, first and foremost for patients of K.H.M.H., is as […]
According to chairperson, Chandra Cansino, the Board of Governors of the K.H.M.H. along with representatives of the hospital staff, will form a task force to provide government with critical information that has been requested. Notwithstanding an end to the go-slow, Cansino told the media that she is unable to inform K.H.M.H. staff of what those […]
But while the K.H.M.H. staff was lobbying for a salary adjustment the hard way, by effecting a go-slow at the hospital, patients, including twenty-seven-year-old Irvin Cantun, were affected. After being viciously attacked with a machete during an incident in Palmar Village last Monday, Cantun has been in need of surgery to his face and arm. […]
While staff at the K.H.M.H. is looking to unionize, N.T.U.C.B. President, Marvin Mora, chimed in on the K.H.M.H. issue, emphasizing a need for employees to organize in order to proceed with a collective bargaining agreement. Marvin Mora, President, N.T.U.C.B. “We have always been advocating trade unionism , especially of areas of essential services in […]
The N.T.U.C.B. has come out swinging at Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, in response to comments he made during an exclusive interview with News Five late last week. In that interview Elrington spoke about both nations’ date with the ICJ, but the N.T.U.C.B. says he’s jumping the gun, since Belize hasn’t gotten the people’s permission to […]
While the K.H.M.H. staff continued its’ go-slow well into the afternoon, at midday the Belize Energy Workers Union commenced its own industrial action against the principals of B.E.L. A little over twenty employees began a peaceful protest in front of the corporate office on the Northern Highway, placards in hand, expressing their disdain for the […]
Today, Mayor Darrell Bradley concluded a two-week summer camp he hosted for the children of Caribbean Shores. Wearing his Standard Bearer hat, Bradley partnered with City Council and Diamonds International to treat the children to a fun and empowering camp. News Five attended the closing today at the B.T.L. Park. Andrea Polanco, Reporting A […]
Services at the national referral hospital were significantly reduced today, and will continue so for an indefinite period, affecting patients from the districts who require medical attention at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. As many as six hundred employees at the K.H. M.H. are staging a go-slow, having canceled all outpatient elective services and surgeries […]
Coming out of Thursday’s meeting, the staff of the KHMH is organizing a workers’ union and plans to negotiate on behalf of employees with the Board of Governors and government. They demand an equal wage increase to be paid retroactively. Peter Allen, C.E.O., Ministry of Health “I can certainly understand the staff’s requesting the […]
Five Belizeans were detained in Guatemala in mid-June and reportedly experienced a horrible ordeal at the hands of the Guatemalans military. The group was hanging out at a restaurant in the village of Santa Cruz which is just across the border when they were told to leave. Among the group was Councilor Ashton McKenzie of […]
There is another recent arrest by Guatemalan authorities. On July eleventh, 2015, Benque Viejo businessman and former Mayor, Edgar Contreras was arrested in Guatemala for having a gun not registered in that country. Contreras, who is cousin of Minister Erwin Contreras, reportedly keeps a licensed firearm because of his job as a money changer. On […]
It is known that there is a backlog of cases and decisions yet to be dealt with at the Supreme and Magistrate Courts level. According to the Foreign Minister Sedi Elrington, who is also the Attorney General, the way forward requires improved efficiency to boost the performance and capability of the judiciary. Wilfred Elrington, […]
The recent murders of two women, Juana Cardinez and Keisha Buller, that allegedly took place at the hands of their domestic partners, has prompted a reaction from the Women’s Issues Network of against the acts of violence against women. In a recent meeting that WIN Belize held with its thirteen member organizations, it was resolved […]
The Ministry of Foreign Trade and its partners held a seminar to discuss the Partial Scope Agreement (P.S.A.) with private sector partners. It’s an agreement signed a few years ago that aims to strengthen the commercial and economic relations between the two countries through facilitating the expansion and diversification of goods. Since the trade between […]
Today, the Social Security Board made a generous donation to the Belize Cancer Society. A handsome cheque of three hundred and seventy thousand dollars was handed over to the organization to financially assist children and women afflicted with cancer. The S.S.B. is partnering with the Ministry of Health and the Cancer Society to undertake this […]
In June, a Guatemalan gunboat GC-651, the Tecum Uman, crashed into the reef near Middle and Long Cays, causing damage estimated at around forty-eight thousand dollars. With all dispatch, the vessel was pulled off its perch and allowed to return to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, with a bill to follow. Well, that bill has been sent, […]
Employees of K.H.M.H. are staging a go-slow on Friday and will not be accepting any referrals to the hospital in protest of being excluded from a recent salary adjustment for teachers and public officers. The long awaited salary adjustment comes after months of negotiating with government. But while the unions are benefiting from an increase […]
Earlier in the newscast, we told you that Guatemala is objecting to the proposed construction of a forward operating base. This morning, we also had the take of the Port Loyola area rep., Anthony “Boots” Martinez, who says that Guatemala can’t stop Belize from building an FOB in our own territory. Anthony “Boots” Martinez, […]
The Government of Belize and the Organization of American States today signed a cooperation agreement for an initiative targeting marginalized families. The three-year project, valued at two hundred and sixty thousand Belize dollars, is financed through the Development Cooperation Fund of the O.A.S., and will be implemented by the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation […]
According to C.E.O. Alpuche, the ministry is working with the O.A.S. and the United Nations to ensure that the BOOST program evolves. Alpuche says the pilot project goes beyond cash transfers to now strengthen family units. Judith Alpuche, C.E.O., Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation “Looking at families and what is […]
But there is another story of national importance. Emotions were running high in Belize following an armed standoff between the Guatemalan military and the Belize National Coast Guard, on the Sarstoon River back in May when the Guatemalans confronted the Coast Guard. Today there is information that Guatemala is attempting to block the construction of […]
As we told you earlier, the Guatemalan government is yet to respond on a bill from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for damages caused to the reef when its naval gunboat ran aground near Glovers Reef in June. C.E.O. in the Ministry of National Security says they are yet to receive a response from Guatemalan […]
As we have reported, twenty-eight-year-old Leopold Myvette was shot and killed by police officers in Hope Creek over the weekend, in what is being described as a case of excessive use of force. According to a police report issued on Monday, Myvette allegedly produced a firearm and trained it at the cops. The officers responded […]
While activities like these strengthen the bond between the Ministry of Education and international organizations, Mace says that the experience for them is even more rewarding. Amy Mace, Teacher, PricewaterhouseCoopers “I think there are a number of reasons. Number one…you may not know this but we have to apply to come. And only about […]
On Monday, we reported that an intervention had been staged over the weekend by the Belize Police Department, involving feuding members of the Ghost Town Gang. The mediation saw the coming together of factions purportedly led by Ellis Meighan and Roger Anthony. Both groups have been at odds for quite some time and the fallout […]
