Prime Minister Dean Barrow hopes for an answer from Elvin Penner by tomorrow. It’s not exactly an ultimatum, but the PM leaves the country en route to LA on Wednesday. The purpose of the trip is partly official, as Barrow will be meeting with Belizean-Americans, but the PM will also be consulting on his health […]
Former Minister of State Elvin Penner is not the subject of any investigation, administrative or criminal. That was confirmed today by Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie. It’s a stunning revelation. It was announced that the Police entered the picture on Tuesday at four thirty. Since then the media has been trying to find out if […]
The Police are not looking at Penner. What then will they investigate? Perhaps, they will investigate the persistent reports that there is a parallel passport scheme which bypasses the protocol and procedures at the Ministry of Immigration. At the press conference on Thursday, Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse admitted openly that he knows that there […]
And then there is the damning revelation of a quota system being operated by U.D.P. ministers. The Prime Minister admits to getting reports of that large scale nationality hustle, and claims that he has at every opportunity begged his ministers to “for god’s sake stop.” Here at News Five, we have consistently received credible information […]
On Thursday’s newscast, we showed you the highlights from a press conference which lasted nearly two and a half hours. The head-table was intent on looking to the future, while the media was just as intent on the here and now – specifically the ongoing immigration scandal and the involvement of former Minister of State […]
The nationality certificate obtained by Wonhong Kim, the South Korean fugitive who got Belizean nationality and passport states that Kim resides in Belmopan. There is no house number provided, but Kim’s address on the nationality certificate is simply stated as Piccini Site. Now, it is a crime to knowingly provide inaccurate information for official persons, […]
The involvement of Elvin Penner in the issuance of nationality certificates and passports has far reaching implications. Earlier today, Landy Espat, a member of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, wrote to its chairman, B.Q. Pitts. Espat, who has years of experience under his belt in the electoral process, says in his view there is great […]
At the break of the scandal, the Opposition asked Penner to resign or be recalled. Last weekend, the P.U.P. went into full gear and started the collection of signatures required to trigger a recall in the Cayo Northeast constituency. About twelve hundred signatures have been collected so far. The U.D.P. also went into motion asking […]
The two hour and a half press conference offered on Thursday by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Immigration was informative; it brought out information long in circulation that the hanky panky at the immigration department also likely includes a hustle. And while there are far more questions to be answered, the opposition believes […]
Since the last email Penner sent to the media in late September, he has remained mum and away from the watchful eyes of the public. The opposition has called for his resignation or recall, and amid all that there are reports that Penner may be talking to the People’s United Party even though crossing the […]
The Vision Inspired by the People political party says that Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse is a disappointment to them. Today that party came out swinging in the wake of the press conference – at Godwin Hulse and at the government. VIP public relations officer, Bobby Lopez, referred to the immigration measures announced Thursday as […]
The P.U.P. Deputy Leader, Julius Espat is also the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. The opposition has walked away from the scheduled hearings because a proposal to change its composition was flatly turned down by the government. Meetings of the PAC are in progress, but the committee is only now made up of government […]
Nine year old Jevaun Freeman from Belize City is afflicted with a rare disease which can’t be treated locally. He was first diagnosed with the condition on September twenty-third and the disease has him bleeding from his pores. His family is turning to the public for assistance to secure medical attention in Guatemala. Today, his […]
Tonight there is much of interest coming out of a government press conference which lasted two and a half hours at the Best Western Biltmore Plaza. The first half hour was spent outlining new measures in the nationality and passport departments – closing the gate after the horses are out, so to speak and following […]
The question was raised if the Prime Minister had the authority to allow Penner to sign nationality certificates and passports. That’s a matter of interpretation, but the PM did confirm that there is no law which confers Ministerial discretion on any Minister of State. So it is not known if whatever documents Penner signed off […]
Another burning question was the extent of Penner’s role in the passport scandal. Evidence suggests that he was right in the middle of it. Indeed, the PM was sufficiently convinced of his complicity to sack him immediately. But how thin is the line between wrong and criminal? The Prime Minister had previously suggested that Penner […]
Whatever the result of the criminal investigation, the PM is convinced that Penner, in the PM’s own words, was ‘damn’ wrong. So wrong in fact that he will never be allowed back into Cabinet to harm the U.D.P. So said the leader of the nation! But while the U.D.P. is shielded from Penner’s wrongness, the […]
And to nudge the people along to giving Elvin Penner that second chance, the U.D.P. has dispatched its general to the recall battleground in Cayo Northeast. Senior ministers Gaspar Vega, Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez and Michael Finnegan have all been sent to that western constituency to help persuade voters that a recall is not the answer. […]
To recall or not to recall – much was said today but the truth is that all the talk may be nothing more than rhetoric. That’s because Penner also has the option to walk – with or without a little financial incentive. Prime Minister Barrow says that he’s heard the rumours, and if that’s the […]
Rumours about Penner’s wandering are not the only ones the Prime Minister has heard. There is a much more serious report to consider – that of institutionalized hustling by ministers. For some time now the grapevine has been buzzing with news that select Ministers operate on a quota basis where visas are concerned. For example […]
We’ve covered the visa scam in which it is reported that government ministers are using a quota system, which the prime minister says could cause the fall of his government. But in the passport scandal, three public officers have been sent home; the suspension of the most senior member has been extended to five months […]
Elvin Penner came to public light when he won elections for Cayo Northeast in 2008. He became the first Mennonite to hold political office. Between 2008 and 2012, he was gifted with the rank as full minister, but in this second Barrow Administration, Penner returned as a junior minister as minister of state for immigration. […]
The Prime Minister said earlier today that Elvin Penner acted grievously wrong in the issuance of a passport to a South Korean National in jail in Taiwan. Notwithstanding, the U.D.P. is backing Penner whose political career has been destroyed by the scandal. Penner, however, still has the support of his cabinet colleagues. On Wednesday, the […]
Around the world the focus today has been on mental health and particularly in older adults. The reality is that people are living longer, are not working and as such are facing a myriad of social and health issues. In Belize, one of the biggest challenges is the stigma associated with age. Duane Moody reports. […]
Tonight there are very interesting developments to report in the passport scandal which shows absolutely no signs of going away. First, this morning a report went viral that a warrant was issued to search a house – but it wasn’t the home of the man who signed all those documents which are at the center […]
