Government has gone on a PR push to counter an abundance of flak for their role in the recent sugar debacle. While it is true that farmers have decided to sign on with ASR/B.S.I., effectively ending the impasse, many are doing so under protest. The prevailing sentiment is that G.O.B. turned its back on the […]
There has been some confusion as regards a court case in 2010, when other associations took legal action to fight for the right to deliver cane to the factory. That matter played out to an uncertain end – with both parties making concessions through a consent order. Government undertook to make amendments to the Act, […]
One of the three biggest stumbling blocks which stood in the way of resolution was the issue of ownership of the cane. The factory has maintained that farmers must relinquish ownership of the cane once it is delivered and weighed. Farmers are of the view that they share ownership with the factory, since they don’t […]
Acting first on behalf of cane-farmer Lucilo Teck, and latterly on behalf of the B.S.C.F.A., attorney Audrey Matura-Shepherd sought an order of Mandamus from the Court. That order would effectively instruct the Sugar Industry Control Board to declare a start date of the crop, and force the factory to mill. The hearing is, or was, […]
While it has not to our knowledge become an official inquiry, there is increasing discussion in the B.S.C.F.A. asking government to roll Petrocaribe monies into the Association. According to officials, thanks to the forced disbursement of Fairtrade monies recently, there will be almost immediate layoffs and the shutting down of projects. They figure that since […]
Last week on ABC, Belize was named as one of the top destinations to visit in 2015. Well, today the Belize Tourism Board announced that 2014 was an excellent year for the industry. Confirming that the number of visitors had surpassed the projected target of a million visitors, the B.T.B. says that overnight arrivals were […]
But there is some good news delivered on Monday. This coming Friday, January sixteenth, attorneys and judges will meet for their annual Law Conference which is a major event in the Bar’s calendar. The theme is “Reforms, Rights and Remedies.” The conference will be marked by the historic visit of Justice Dennis Byron, the President […]
The January session of the Supreme opened on Monday with the usual fanfare. But beyond all the pomp and ceremony, there are serious issues facing the judiciary. The president of the Bar, Eamon Courtenay, pointed to a delay in the speed of dispensation of judgements, as well as to the inactivity of the General Legal […]
In responding to the concerns of the Bar Association, particularly the dormancy of the Court of Appeal, Attorney General Wilfred Elrington admitted that the matter was above his salary. That comment yielded more than a few chuckles from the congregation, as Elrington went on to promise that it would be brought to the attention of […]
A Belizean student of the national university is receiving royal honours tonight as one of the Queen of England’s Young Leaders. Denielle Neal is one of sixty young persons from across the Commonwealth, between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine, that are being recognized as exceptional leaders in their community. The Queen’s Young Leaders programme […]
The Vice Minister of Public Security, Maria Elizondo, and two other senior officials from Costa Rica are in Belize. The two-day visit to the jewel is to get a first-hand feedback on the success of the community policing initiative, the Gang Resistance Education And Training program. The program which is sponsored by the U.S. Government’s […]
The police department is not commenting as to why a complaint, subsequently followed by an order of the court, against George McKenzie Junior for anti social behavior, has been made. On Monday afternoon, the twenty-year old resident of Majestic Alley was detained and handed the order, which was issued from December fifteen 2014 and would […]
Belize has been getting its share of attention on the international media. We already know of the kudos from ABC in respect of the country as a Life-Affirming Destination. In the popular program Sabado Gigante, aired by Univision, a Belizean woman, originally from El Salvador, was featured. After thirty years of not seeing her nephew, […]
The traditional opening of the Supreme Court was held this morning in Belize City with all the usual pageantry and ceremony that are attached to the event. After a service at Wesley Church, the attorneys and judiciary moved over to the Supreme Court for the speeches that look at the state of affairs in the […]
The treatment and conditions of inmates at the Belize Central Prison are serious concerns which the Bar Association has been busy addressing. In November, leading Human Rights Attorney, Joseph Middleton, presented a report based on a study conducted at the Kolbe Facility during the summer of 2013. The comprehensive document includes input from members of […]
In January 2014, during his presentation at the last opening of the Supreme Court session, Attorney General Wilfred Elrington openly admitted that funding for the judiciary was rather inadequate. While little has changed on that end since the pronouncement a year ago, the judiciary has taken a proactive role in obtaining its own funds to […]
The revised Legal Profession Act caused some stir among members of the Bar Association in September when the amendment resulted in the discontinuation of compulsory attendance. In retrospect, the move by government is similar to the prescription presently being tossed around amid the sugar crisis…that individuals and parties should be free to establish associations independent […]
In this newscast, you’ve heard of charges for Displaying Gang Membership and Associating with a Criminal Gang, but did you know that under the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act there is an unusual charge for anti social behavior? Well today, one such order was issued by Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith on George McKenzie […]
Although the order was issued December fifteenth 2014 for the period of one year, it was not until after two this afternoon that McKenzie Junior was taken into police custody from his house in Majestic Alley. He was escorted to the police station where he was issued the order, almost a month after it was […]
Belize has received top marks among countries in Central America for its success in the GREAT Program of the Central America Regional Security Initiative to curb crime in the region. The Gang Resistance Education And Training Program, with the support of the U.S. Government and the Ministries of Education and National Security, was introduced to […]
Cayo North Area Representative Omar Figueroa has been sworn in as Minister of State in the Barrow administration after soundly defeating P.U.P. opponent Richard Harrison at the polls a week ago. This evening, at the Belize House in Belmopan, Figueroa was administered an oath by Governor General Sir Colville Young to serve the constituents of […]
Fresh off a huge win in Monday’s Cayo North by-election, Doctor Omar Figueroa is set to join cabinet. Following a special sitting of Cabinet, the office of the Prime Minister today announced that Figueroa, who is a doctor in Environmental Sciences by profession, is being appointed minister of state in the PM’s office as early […]
Earlier this week we told you about Guatemalan labourers lined up at the Western border to come into Belize to work. We understood then that they came in on one day passes, but were to work at Green Tropics in Western Belize for one year. On Thursday we asked Minister of Immigration and Labour Godwin […]
An organization has remained in the corner of the B.S.C.F.A. is the National Trade Union Congress of Belize which reaffirmed its solidarity with the farmers earlier today. The NTUCB demonstrated its encouragement for the association a few weeks ago and came under fire from government for being arrogant in the extreme. Notwithstanding the castigation, the […]
The NTUCB has also caught flak for seemingly leading the BSCFA impetuously. The release essentially goes on say that the NTUCB categorically refuses to fold under insults from government and that it’s primary focus is to lend continued support to BSCFA in an effort to safeguard the longevity of the organization. Rebecca Suazo, General […]
