It has been and continues to be a practice of the Belize Police Department, whenever queried about the results of an investigation into a serious crime, to state that the file is with the Director of Public Prosecutions. All failure to charge, then, or delay in charging, is laid at the doorstep of the D.P.P. […]
On Thursday, the Belize Chamber of Commerce issued a release on the continued impasse in the sugar cane industry. It’s been criticized in some sectors because it doesn’t seem to take any strong position. Today, Chamber President Arturo Vasquez says that the release is not at all ambiguous and he feels that the chamber has […]
This afternoon, forty exhausted soldiers who are being pushed to the limits of their endurance completed in day-two of the Coast Guard’s Best Warrior Competition. There are five teams of eight members each, selected from the Coast Guard and the Belize Defence Force, which must undergo an intensive round of exercises designed to test their […]
While the Chamber spoke earlier about the sugar impasse, another discussion which has seen some rebirth is the issue of the thirteenth Senator, a commitment by the United Democratic Party at one point. It was an immensely popular campaign promise because it enhances transparency and accountability and allows the Senate valuable oversight capacity. Along with […]
The power of one point eight billion….that’s the global population of youths under the age of twenty-five years. The United Nations Population Fund believes that young people have the power in their hands to foster development and curb poverty. This morning, the UN agency launched the State of the World Population Report which that young […]
Recently, the B.T.B. announced that the number of visitors to the jewel had exceeded forecasts and had reached a million even before the tradition spike at the end of the year. That is good news for the industry, because the high season which is about to start, is expected to bring another boost in visitors. […]
Late this evening, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a release in respect of the impasse in the sugar industry involving a proposal by B.S.I./A.S.R. to bypass the elected Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and to deal directly with farmers. As it stands tonight, the association has given the Sugar Industry Control Board […]
Tuesday’s Special Sitting of the House of Representatives was crafted for the presentation and passage of what Prime Minister Dean Barrow is calling a validation motion relating to the Petrocaribe monies. As House meetings go, the debate stayed on target on the loan motion, even as the issue of the use of the Petrocaribe millions […]
Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca wasn’t buying the PM’s take on the matter, including G.O.B.’s assertion that the P.U.P. in its own time used and abused the Petrocaribe funds without accountability. Fonseca made no apologies for the fact that Petrocaribe came to life under the P.U.P. In fact, he lauded the program, stating that […]
It was a day for spirited repartee, and the Opposition was able to hold its own inside the House, even as thousands cheered and sang and danced in fine political spirit outside. Far from being fazed by the show of U.D.P. fervour and a veritable sea of red, the Opposition made much of the opportunity […]
Joeth ‘Chyna’ Pratt has been reported missing since November fourth when she disappeared from work at Cisco Construction Ltd. earlier that afternoon. A dedicated team of colleagues has scoured Medina Bank where the company truck she was driving that day had been discovered sometime later. Pratt, a resident of Lord’s Bank, is a former inmate […]
Honduran beauty queen Maria Jose Alvarado and her sister Sofia were laid to rest near their hometown of Santa Barbara today. The tragic story of jealousy and murder has caught the attention of many Belizeans who watched nineteen year old Maria take to the stage for the Costa Maya pageant in San Pedro in […]
Earlier we told you about the House debate in which both sides think the Petrocaribe program is a good thing – hundreds of millions worth of a good thing since 2012. To no one’s surprise, the motion was passed by the majority, but not without the Opposition getting in some good shots. Orange Walk Central […]
Member for Cayo South Julius Espat has been a particular thorn in the side of the government. It is his name, as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee that is affixed to a lawsuit against Prime Minister Dean Barrow. On Tuesday he lashed out at Barrow in particular, revisiting an old wound caused by the […]
The main business of the day was inside the House, where representatives from both sides debated the Petrocaribe Loan Motion of two hundred and twenty-eight million which has grown, at last count, to about two hundred and forty million dollars. Part of the funds, loaned from the Government of Venezuela, has already been spent, but […]
As we said earlier, the Special House meeting, called on the eve of Garifuna Settlement Day, centred around the Petrocaribe monies. The opposition is taking the government to court on it, but today the debate raged inside and outside the House. The ruckus outside could have been heard inside where the debate raged. Predictably, all […]
Minister of Education and Collet Area Representative, Patrick Faber has gone on record to defend the use of the Petrocaribe monies saying accountability of the funds can be seen on the streets. And he repeated that today in the House. For the U.D.P., it’s not about rules or financial regulations; it’s about development. Patrick […]
The Opposition has waged war on the Petrocaribe issue, condemning the government for accessing the funds without going to the House for approval. So it was open season today, and Orange Walk Central Area Representative Briceño came out firing. John Briceño, Area Rep., Orange Walk Central “On April twenty-fifth of 2008, in this honorable […]
Minister of National Security John Saldivar toed the party line today, claiming that because of the Petrocaribe monies, Belmopan has benefitted tremendously. John Saldivar, Area Rep., Belmopan “What you did between 1998 and 2008 is still relevant today because it is the same people that you are trying to recycle and bring back to […]
The firebrand from Cayo South closed off the debate on Petrocaribe today, lambasting G.O.B. for its accessing and spending of the Petrocaribe monies without approval. Espat, as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, is named as the claimant in the lawsuit brought against G.O.B. Julius Espat, Chairman, Public Accounts Committee “That authority for such […]
Across the country, Garifuna Settlement Day is commemorated on November nineteenth. Today, on the eve of national celebrations, Garifuna communities in Central America are launching a regional project which aims to strengthen the food security of the Garifuna people through the recovery of traditional production, as well as the promotion of local agribusiness. Five communities, […]
In many remote areas and villages, potable water is still unavailable due to the lack of infrastructure or water systems. For years, residents of the village of Sarteneja in the Corozal District have been clamoring for potable water as well as for a functioning water board. Following elections earlier this year, the Government through a […]
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy was adopted by the CARICOM Heads of State to allow the free movement of goods and services, labour, as well as a common trade policy, among member states. The Department of Immigration is charged with the administration of the free movement of people. In 2012, twenty-eight immigration officers were […]
At today’s press conference, COLA president Geovannie Brackett raised alarms on what he calls an issue that has the potential to shut down the existing cruise tourism industry. Fort Street Tourism Village (F.S.T.V.) holds bargaining power by being the only port of entry for cruise ships in Belize District for the next fifteen years, as […]
The firebrand activist signaled an intention for his organization to address this issue at length as COLA recognizes the importance that cruise tourism has for many families who survive off daily earnings. He insists that in the gridlock between FSTV, Stake Bank and the Government, COLA supports the small man. But, he adds, there is […]
