Harmonyville, the grassroots community that initially began by Belmopan residents who wanted to cut out their piece of the Belizean dream, has been going at a steady pace. But one of the developers of the land at mile forty-one on the George Price Highway says that the process for many of the future residents of […]
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize and the representatives of the Belize National Teachers Union, the Public Service Union and the Association of the Public Service Senior Managers will meet with the government on Friday in Belmopan. They will sit down with Prime Minister Dean Barrow and the government’s ministerial committee which includes, Patrick […]
Tuesday’s demonstration staged by the B.N.T.U., the P.S.U. and the A.P.S.S.M. was a show of force. Thousands of teachers converged on the usually quiet capital city to send a message to the powers that be—they want a salary adjustment and respect. And if the government did not quite get the message from the masses that […]
An internal investigation has been launched by the police on the death of a Canadian national after spending a night in a holding cell in the San Ignacio Police Station. Reports are that when Jeffrey Furgala was picked up by police and taken to the station on Saturday night, he was intoxicated. He was placed […]
The current Belize City Council is no doubt one of the most active councils when it comes to infrastructural development. The twenty million dollar bond it floated last year has made it possible for many street upgrades across the city. The council plans to pay the bond with the funds that it should collect from […]
A glossy new publication was officially launched today. It is being published by Idea Labs and commissioned by Beltraide. Invest Belize, as it is called, is geared exclusively to attract foreign investments that has dipped significantly in the past years. At the presentation today, Minister Godwin Hulse said the first issue won’t disappoint. News Five’s […]
As far as the union negotiations go, the buck stops at Prime Minister Dean Barrow, but the man in the hot seat is Minister of Education, Patrick Faber. His name came up repeatedly in the chanting by union members in the demonstration, and they were not exactly chants of praise. Faber’s position today is markedly […]
A teacher’s demonstration has morphed into a massive protest; thousands are expected to show their muscle in Belmopan. It starts in about fourteen hours and teachers will be joined by other union members of the National Trade Union Congress when they descend on Independence Hill. The battle cry is over salary adjustments which the unions […]
Last Friday, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a statement regarding the wage bill issue that stands to increase salary adjustments are approved by government. It said that compensation increases for public sector workers should be tied in with measurable performance improvements. The B.C.C.I. also said that it can’t condone the area of […]
There is one face that won’t be at the N.T.U.C.B. protest in Belmopan. Former B.N.T.U. President, John Pinelo, had held the teachers union together for many years and led them through negotiations and protests with governments. Pinelo was in the frontline with the B.N.T.U. in the 2010 demonstration. The long-serving union president passed away over […]
He was responsible for the management of paroles, processing records and was the chairman of the inmates’ classification committee at the Central Prison. We say was because effective today, Lionel Ernest Smith Senior was terminated from his post at Kolbe Foundation. Smith Senior had been working at the Foundation for over a year and according […]
The Saint Catherine Academy hosted a science fair this morning; bright minds from eight different schools from the city were invited to observe the fair. The science projects covered a number of topics and were put together by students of all forms. News Five Jose Sanchez was also on hand to look at the work […]
The P.S.U. and the B.N.T.U. are finalizing the details for next week’s march in the Capital. But an enterprising individual and his friends have taken to the streets today for a different matter. Phillip ‘Faada’ Henry organized a protest in Battlefield Park in Belize City because of the increase in violent crime. Henry did not […]
On Wednesday, Minister of National Security John Saldivar, area representative for Belmopan, issued a response denouncing statements made by the Joint Unions Negotiating Team that a letter to meet with his constituents, particularly members of the Belize National Teachers Union, was a blatant act of union-busting. Despite a rather anemic attendance at the meeting, […]
The Statistical Institute of Belize conducted its most recent labor market survey in September 2012. There are some interesting results when compared to the previous survey at the end of April, 2012. The unemployment rate increased by one point seven percent to sixteen point one percent, meaning that more than three thousand persons were added […]
A historic decision will be taken this October. Belizeans will be deciding in a referendum whether or not, they agree to submit the Guatemalan territorial claim relating to land, insular territories or maritime areas, to the International Court of Justice. The stakes are high and the outcome of the referendum could lead to a definition […]
Citrus industry problems are endemic to the boardroom rather than on plantations. The Citrus Growers Association continues its battle with its investment partner Banks Holdings of Barbados over the future of Citrus Products of Belize Limited. While these groups engaged in a legal battle, the larger farmers formed a second group called Belize Citrus Mutual […]
A two-day conference ended today at the Biltmore Plaza where a cadre of engineers converged to discuss the use of geographic data to create successful businesses and make informed decisions. It’s the 2013 Belize GIS User Conference and this year, the number of participants increased over last year. Duane Moody found out that GIS is […]
The official launch of an education campaign for the October referendum process took place today. To give the event an air of bi-partisanship, both the leader of the opposition and the prime minister addressed the launch. The opposition remained on neutral grounds supporting the process, but stopped short of supporting a Yes vote. The Prime […]
The flag monument inside the roundabout by the Save U Plaza is a welcoming landmark at the Philip Goldson Highway entrance to Belize City. The colorful flags of the Caribbean normally fly at the monument. But about three a.m., someone took down the flags and replaced them with white flags that had a very clear […]
In the aftermath of the George Street massacre two weeks ago, opposition leader, Francis Fonseca, during a press conference, urged community leaders, political, social and religious, to visit residents of the crime-ridden neighborhood. The objective, as he put it, was to ensure the people that the state is on their side and that the heinous […]
When asked if he organized and financed the immediate departure of the George Street bosses to Gales Point following the tragedy, Finnegan told reporters that the assertion is baseless. As the Mesopotamia area representative, Finnegan says he was instrumental in bringing the relevant government ministers as well as the gang leaders to the negotiation table. […]
In our newscast on Mondays night, you heard the cries of the villagers of Santa Martha on the Old Northern Highway, about life without water. Today we re-visit Mahogany Heights, a community on the George Price Highway which has also been without tap water since last year. The problems with the supply of water, echoed […]
Belizean publisher Tanya McNab, renowned for her bestselling cookbook Flavors of Belize, was recently featured in the international media where exposure for the publication was broadcasted to approximately ninety-seven million homes across America. Tanya, a local culinary enthusiast, appeared on Daytime TV, a syndicated show hosted by Cyndi Edwards on WFLA News Channel 8 in […]
Dialogue between the Barrow Administration and the Belize National Teachers Union, the Public Service Union, as well as the Association of Public Service Senior Managers concerning the long overdue salary adjustment resumed in mid 2012, following a four year suspension. Since then the parties have been in negotiations; but have failed to arrive at an […]
