There is a developing land controversy in the community of Unitedville. The Government of Belize has given five acres of land in the community to Bernadette Fishcher. Those five acres form part of a compensation package, since Fischer’s family donated a small piece of land which is being used for the water reservoir. So far […]
As we reported on Wednesday, Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie says he’s uncertain of the whereabouts of the Penner files, a bundle of documents sent to him outlining various offences committed by former Minister of State Elvin Penner in facilitating Wong Hong Kim with a fraudulent Belizean passport. That information is believed to be languishing […]
Having exhausted all avenues to proceed with the private prosecution of Elvin Penner, Musa says that they are anticipating the prime minister’s assistance in handing over the files that are presently in his possession. Those documents should be submitted before May twenty-ninth. Kareem Musa, Attorney for COLA “Since nobody else wants to cooperate with […]
The United States Embassy in Belize, since the departure of Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally last year, has remained without an ambassador. Currently, Margaret Hawthorne is at the helm of the embassy as Charge d’ Affaires. While ambassador designate, Carlos Moreno, a former United States judge, was nominated in October 2013 following President Obama’s reelection, his appointment […]
What should have been a unified celebration in honor of all teachers on Friday, in Benque Viejo del Carmen, has been scaled down significantly to district level festivities commemorating National Teachers’ Day. That decision was taken by the Ministry of Education earlier this month when the Belize National Teachers Union failed to realize its quota […]
B.N.T.U.’s Executive Secretary, Keesha Young, says that despite the downgrading of activities, the day will be celebrated in grand fashion at a much smaller level. Furthermore, it is the sentiment of a majority of teachers that a unified celebration doesn’t do much for the individual schools and district branches. Keesha Young, Executive Secretary, Belize […]
The Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie has finally spoken about the investigation into the immigration scandal involving former Minister of State, Elvin Penner. A writ of mandamus instructing Whylie to formally commence a criminal investigation of Penner was issued by Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin on March third. The order from the Supreme Court came seven […]
When asked if the police department would not have proceeded with an investigation had a writ of mandamus not been filed, ComPol Whylie told the media that they were simply awaiting the outcome of the auditor general’s investigation. That report has been delivered to the office of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labor […]
On Tuesday, we reported that three female minors are missing from Marla’s House of Hope in Belmopan. The three missing girls have been identified as fifteen-year-old Selena Cal, fourteen-year-old Francesca August and fourteen-year-old Britney Gentle. The teenagers disappeared from foster care a week and a half ago. While family members have confirmed that the girls […]
The police department today received a hefty donation courtesy of the United States Embassy. It involves a brand new fleet of vehicles valued at more than two million dollars. The US Charge d’ Affaires, Margaret Hawthorne, says that the heavy duty trucks will be used to improve citizen security. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was on […]
Officers of varying ranks from across the police department are often invited to sit an annual exam to determine their eligibility for promotion. In the past a majority of those who have sat the test have done well. Others, in recent years, have simply failed to leave a lasting academic impression of police officers on […]
Today, Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse was corralled by the media and subjected to a grilling usually reserved for Prime Minister Dean Barrow. We have it all, but first the passport which was issued to South Korean national, Won Hong Kim. The scandal broke in mid-September 2013. It is now mid-May 2014, and the document […]
Apart from a private prosecution of Elvin Penner by COLA, the disgraced former Minister of State Elvin Penner has escaped all scrutiny. The COLA case has been negatively impacted by what seems to be state-sanctioned stonewalling at all levels. Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse says he has no clue what evidence COLA wants, since the […]
The Auditor-General’s department has been inside the Immigration Department since October 2013, allegedly to get to the bottom of the corruption. While the public remained unaware, a preliminary report on the findings of the comprehensive audit was submitted to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Immigration on March twenty-first, 2014. So what’s in that […]
The multi-million dollar Norwegian Cruise Lines tourism project in southern Belize has been all but given a green light by the Government of Belize. But government’s approval is not the same thing as welcoming arms everywhere. The Belize Tourism Industry Association has filed a lawsuit against the Government of Belize, and tonight there is word […]
Last week the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Finance, disbursed fifty thousand dollars to each of the seventeen U.D.P. Area Representatives, titled as a mother’s day program. It’s a decision which no doubt pleased the recipients of the fifty and hundred dollar bills handed out. Still, it’s the use of government funds for […]
As we said, close to a million dollars from the public purse were disbursed to select members in U.D.P.-controlled constituencies and there is growing controversy surrounding the initiative. U.D.P. area representatives, standard bearers and some village councilors, we are told, were given as much as fifty thousand dollars each to distribute among constituents on Sunday. […]
Port Loyola Area Representative Anthony Boots Martinez is also part of that team, and yes, he also got fifty thousand dollars to give to his constituents. Today, he seemed a little offended when asked about it. In fact, he accused Channel Five of ‘infiltrating misinformation.’ We’re not sure what that means. But whatever it is, […]
For several weeks it has been reported that former Pickstock area representative, Godfrey Smith, had been selected as the People’s United Party’s national campaign manager. Smith, who is a former minister of government, is tasked with developing campaign strategies going into both municipal and general elections. While confirmation had not been forthcoming, despite numerous queries […]
Municipal elections are less than a year away and both political parties are gearing up and putting together their respective slates to contest the various seats in local government. The results of those elections will be seen as a test of the upcoming general elections. While the P.U.P. has not announced its slate in Belize […]
Jamaican gay rights activist Maurice Tomlinson will have his day in court – the Caribbean Court of Justice, to be specific. He has been given leave to challenge the Immigration laws of Belize and Trinidad and Tobago on the grounds that they violate the rights of LGBT citizens. It’s a significant decision in an era […]
And over at the Radisson, representatives from eight Caribbean countries including the Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada and Dominica are gathered in Belize this week. The high level delegations are here as part of a Horizontal Cooperation Exchange on Social Protection. The focus […]
The new, not yet approved Director of Drug Inspectorate, Danini Contreras, has become a highly controversial figure. She is the daughter of U.D.P. Minister Erwin Contreras, and technical experts including Director of Health Services Michael Pitts say she is the wrong person for the job. Still, the Ministry of Health seems intent on pushing the […]
Senior Immigration staffers Ady Pacheco and Gordon Wade came under scrutiny for their roles in the Won Hong Kim passport scandal. An internal Immigration investigation fingered both of them, and Elvin Penner, in serious irregularities in the issuance of a nationality certificate for Won Hong Kim. Still, they seem practically unscathed in all this, unlike […]
Two hundred and fifty-four lots in Cotton Tree have been given to residents of Port Loyola. The Village Council has reacted by taking government to court saying that G.O.B. has violated the law by usurping the autonomy of the Council. Today, Port Loyola Area Rep., Minister Anthony “Boots” Martinez, says that government acquired the land […]
