The Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize (FECTAB) is once again up in arms over what it claims is unremitting preferential treatment being afforded to Chukka Tours. The Florida Caribbean Cruise Association and the Belize Tourism Board are currently hosting a five-day cruise conference organized by the Platinum Association Membership Advisory Council (PAMAC) in […]
According to Director of Tourism Laura Esquivel-Frampton, the tours being offered by Chukka are all free of charge since a select committee, which includes B.T.B., requested assistance from local members of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. Esquivel-Frampton says that FECTAB knew about the conference because its president made an inquiry with them. Laura Esquivel-Frampton, […]
It’s no secret that our country began as an settlement for buccaneers. There was little planning but eventually the colony of British Honduras rose to become Belize. And if you look at the twists and turns of Belize City and the drainage problems that have exacerbated over the years, you would know that planned environments […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow came out blazing last week, accusing former Prime Minister Said Musa and former Attorney-General Francis Fonseca of signing a secret agreement with Belize International Services Limited, the company which operated the International Business Companies Registry and the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize. The agreement in question extends BISL’s management contract […]
Amateur video of a police apprehension in San Ignacio on Saturday at around four pm has made the rounds of Facebook and has resulted in somewhat mixed reactions. The video shows officers escorting an individual toward a police mobile, and then shows the person being placed none too gently into the back of the pickup […]
Jaguars have not been combing through the dense forests, but also on the playing field. The national football selection, also known as the Jaguars, has been working extremely hard to prepare for the 2013 Gold Cup. Recently, the team played friendly matches with professional clubs in Guatemala. And following a win and a draw, the […]
The government took control of the Belize International Services Limited (B.I.S.L.) and nationalized the International Business Companies Registry (I.B.C.R.) and the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) on Tuesday, June eleventh. Not only did G.O.B. nationalize the two registries, it slapped the management company, B.I.S.L., with a whopping thirty million dollar tax assessment. After […]
The international business community is not the only sector that is taking a hit from G.O.B. The Belize National Teachers Union (B.N.T.U.) is considering its next move after Minister of Education, Patrick Faber, came out swinging at them and teachers during a press conference held on Thursday. The verbal jabs touched all bases including: dismal […]
The Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Public Utilities it’s in its own battle with OCEANA Belize. On Thursday, the ministry sent out a release responding to a recent statement issued by OCEANA on a Supreme Court decision in which the validity of several offshore oil contracts, granted to six companies under the previous […]
The ministry has also proceeded to issue maps indicating areas currently being held by various companies, including Princess Petroleum and Providence Belize Energy, for oil exploration. The Petroleum and Geology Department recognizes the aforesaid companies despite the nullification of their contracts under the ruling. Furthermore, it cited an existing lawsuit in Saint Lucia for which […]
The potential of a commercial oil find by Maranco Energy Belize Limited in northwestern Orange Walk was used by Prime Minister Barrow much like a dangling carrot back in April, during negotiations with the unions over much delayed salary adjustments. The likelihood of a wage increase for teachers and public servants is contingent upon an […]
The report was generated using cost data from BNE’s Spanish Lookout oil field, the existing terms of Maranco’s production sharing agreement, as well as corporate tax. The Production Sharing Agreement, Williams says, is favorable to the government. Tanya Williams, Exec. Dir., Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage “We had to use some assumption […]
Crime in Belize is typically categorized by murder, assault, carnal knowledge, robbery and burglary… So it is rare when a case falls out of those categories. But a senior citizen is being investigated for bigamy; that means he is married to two women. On Thursday, sixty-seven year old Faustina Coc nee Bol, a housewife of […]
When thirteen year old Jasmine Lowe disappeared in June, 2012, the nation joined her parents in fear, and Cayo residents combed the land for clues. The murdered teen’s death changed the nation and there were protests in San Ignacio in front of the police station, and all chants were for justice. It has been a […]
The headlines and the country’s immediate future are both mired in court battles. The former managers of the registries and OCEANA Belize are not the only people taking on G.O.B. in legal wrangling. It’s a productive month for attorneys on both sides of the divide. So it was not surprising to find attorney at law […]
The September celebrations are months away but the National Celebrations Commission held its 2013 competition for the theme. And earlier this week, the commission announced that this year’s theme is: “Belize In You, Belize In Me, Land Of The Free.” This theme will now anchor the celebrations for the two hundred and fifteenth anniversary of […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow was very vocal about what he called a secret agreement between G.O.B. and Belize International Services Limited at his press conference on Wednesday. In his own words, the PM said that nobody was aware of that agreement, not legal counsel Gian Gandhi or the Financial Secretary or anybody in the public […]
At his press conference Wednesday, the PM described the agreement to extend the contract for the management of the IBC and Ships Registries as having been signed off in secret and that nobody knew about it. When News Five produced a letter proving that the Financial Secretary as well as Gian Gandhi to whom the […]
This morning during the United Democratic Party’s radio station, WAVE, Minister of National Security John Saldivar spoke about the management contracts. Saldivar and his co-hosts made some very serious allegations about Morgan and Morgan, the prestigious Panamanian Law firm that the company that managed B.I.S.L. Apparently, the three co-hosts used their combined intelligence gathering efforts […]
On June twentieth, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin will issue his ruling on government’s application for a stay of execution of an injunction handed down by Justice Oswell Legall. The ruling by Legall declared that agreements between G.O.B. and six oil companies including Providence Energy and Princess Petroleum Limited were null and void. That matter, stay […]
In a release sent out by the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Public Utilities, earlier today, it pointed out that no order or judgment was made against any of the oil companies since they were not party to the proceedings. Furthermore, it stressed that only the legal authority of a ruling by the […]
Many of the repeat offenders at the magistrate court lack basic education. That is why it is important for schools to be constantly upgraded and the training of teachers are also paramount. Excelsior High School understands that message as a memorandum of understanding was signed today at the school grounds. The City Council giving back […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow called a press conference his morning. He touched on a number of subjects, but the hot button issue was the recent take-over of two private companies. On Monday evening, government revealed via a press release that it had assumed control of the International Business Companies Registry and the International Merchant Marine […]
P.M. Barrow says that the agreement signed between B.I.S.L. and former Prime Minister, Said Musa, and the then Attorney General, Francis Fonseca, was done in secret. That documentation sets out an extension of the contract until 2020 for a consideration of one point five million dollars paid into government’s coffers. But Barrow maintains that the […]
As we’ve told you, the agreement in the spotlight was signed by Said Musa and Francis Fonseca in 2005, and extended B.I.S.L.’s contract to 2020. The legality of that document will weigh heavily in what is sure to be protracted litigation. And perhaps in early preparation, the Prime Minister has gone to great lengths to […]
