The Belize Chamber of Commerce has had its say and today, the Belize Business Bureau fired off a release expressing similar sentiments against the expropriation of Belize Electricity Limited. The Bureau cites three reasons why it is gravely concerned about the takeover. Firstly, the public debt, which is already at eighty-five point eight percent of […]
Government’s latest fight is with the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. On Tuesday the Chamber issued a very strong statement against the expropriation of Belize Electricity Limited. The government today responded in kind and threw the Chamber under the bus in a highly explosive and emotional statement. The choice of language is similar to […]
So what did the Chamber say that has the government in a twist? Well, the Chamber was outright against the expropriation, the manner in which it took place and expressed concerns about foreign investment. Its comments on the forcible takeover of B.E.L. came along with a survey in which over seventy percent of its polled […]
The bills for the expropriation of B.E.L. were rushed in the House and Senate and by the end of Monday, the Governor General had signed off on them. On Tuesday morning, the Fortis privately owned company, changed hands and went under government control and a new Board and C.E.O. were installed. While the transition went […]
While the government’s release highly charged, today, Fortis issued its first statement out of Newfoundland, Canada where it is headquartered. The announcement was brief and concise, saying matter-of-factly that the government has expropriated the Canadian company’s controlling stake in the country’s main electrical distributor and that Fortis had owned seventy percent of Belize Electricity Ltd. […]
Former Chief Elections Officer-turned-author Myrtle Palacio today released two publications that, to say the least, are completely different in scope and focus. After sitting with the late John Mariano, a renowned spiritual healer within the Garifuna community, Palacio compiled a comprehensive book. Adugurahani: A Walk Through Garifuna Spiritualism is a piece of literature which delves […]
Myrtle Palacio’s other publication, “Electoral Politics in Belize: The Naked Truth” draws from statistical data on the democratic process that paints a picture of Belize’s political landscape. It is her hope that the book will be used as resource material by students interested in researching and writing on the nation’s political history. Myrtle Palacio, Author […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow headed to Guatemala City this morning. It was left for the acting Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega to head the team to oversee the transition assuming control of the Belize Electricity Limited. Vega, Board Chairman, Rodwell Williams and the new C.E.O., Jeffery Locke, who has worked in the citrus industry and is […]
The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry this morning sent out a stinging press release regarding the nationalization of B.E.L. in which it disagreed with the government for the hasty expropriation of the country’s only electric provider. According to the release, the Chamber “does not believe that it was necessary for the government of Belize […]
The private sector was not the only group to have concerns about investor confidence in Belize since the takeover. The Peoples United Party, though absent from the House Meeting in which the nationalization was the main focus, spoke about how it would take time to win back business confidence. According to Party Leader, John Briceño, […]
A little over three weeks ago, bus operators effected a countrywide shutdown of the transportation industry when negotiations with government failed over bus routes issued to West Line, owned by a high ranking U.D.P. supporter. In the days that followed, temperatures simmered when a number of operators including members of the Belize Bus Owners Cooperative […]
When asked if he has sought the support of the Belizean Bus Association in his fight against the Ministry of Transport, Gilharry flatly stated that the association has been conquered and a culture of fear has disadvantaged some members from getting their fair share of the runs. Froylan Gilharry, Owner, Gilharry Bus “They are not […]
Seventy-three year old Myra Cardinez, a resident of Belize City, is tonight appealing to the public to assist in locating her son who has been reported missing since Thursday of last week. Roy Cardinez, a partially blind forty-three year old, traveled to Dangriga Town to collect monies from the local Social Security Board branch. It […]
After nationalizing B.E.L., Prime Minister Dean Barrow headed to Guatemala for the International Conference in Support of the Central America Security Strategy during which, he will be meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon on the CFE’s credit line to B.E.L. P.M. Barrow left today and is accompanied by the Minister of Police, Doug Singh. The […]
The House and Senate approved the nationalization of B.E.L. with speed; the official opposition did not make it to today’s special sittings. They weren’t there because they claim the notice and House papers were not delivered to members until Friday night. The P.U.P. further states that the agenda did not warrant a special meeting and […]
It’s been seventeen years since the book Thirteen Chapters of a History of Belize was first published by renowned Belizean historian Assad Shoman. The acclaimed Thirteen Chapters was adopted into the classrooms by a number of secondary and tertiary level institutions across the country. But since 1994, there have been significant developments in the areas […]
But what is the future of B.E.L.’s top executive? C.E.O. Lynn Young has been presenting the B.E.L. case and on Thursday night, he addressed the private sector. It was a closed business mixer for members of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. According to Young, the ongoing energy crisis has been triggered by a […]
If the government nationalizes, B.E.L. it would be perhaps among the last times that Lynn Young will speak as C.E.O. of the company. He told the private sector that Fortis developed local management to run the company efficiently. Lynn Young, Chief Executive Officer, B.E.L. “How is this thing going to end? I came to the […]
Estelita Romero is a mother of three and the former common law wife of Marco Vidal, the commander of the dreaded Gang Suppression Unit. The couple has separated for some time and the children live with Vidal and his wife, Cheryl-Lynn, who is also the Director of Public Prosecutions. Romero came to our studios on […]
You’ve had a concert and a new gospel video, but there’s also karate. A group of security officers have concluded training and have acquired self defense techniques. The security personnel are employed by the Santiago Castillo Group and were trained by the House of Shotokan. News Five’s Jose Sanchez reports. Jose Sanchez, Reporting Karate is […]
Nature Fresh Belize Limited has taken a thrashing in the media over a fourteen point nine million dollar loan that the investment committee of the Social Security Board is recommending to the Board. The company is owned by the Mena group, which also owned and operated Fresh Catch that went into receivership in July 2010. […]
Belize Electricity Limited C.E.O., Lynn Young has made the point that the Public Utilities Commission is squeezing B.E.L. At the most recent Annual General Meeting, Young said that; “Rather than secure that we are able to finance our activities for customers and shareholders, the P.U.C. instead seems obsessed with destroying what we have built over […]
Eight young athletes are heading to Greece with the hopes of bringing back gold. They have been training and preparing for the games in which they will compete for the first time. Unlike the regular football, the boys will be testing their mettle in the five a-side football fielding five players, rather than the usual […]
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, which sets new goals to be met by 2015. Belize, was among the countries that signed on to the declaration in a high level meeting in New York. The declaration consists of sixty-five pledges, aimed at intensifying the international response to HIV/AIDS. But […]
A protest organized this morning in the Old Capital did not have the numbers that two others had in the past two weeks; only a small group turned out to protest a raft of social ills. The message, however, stayed on course and COLA says it all leads to a big demonstration in the weeks […]
