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In better days, Belizeans were encouraged to shop ‘til we drop and conspicuous consumption was the order of the day. But gone are the weekend trips to Chetumal just to purchase laundry detergent and groceries. With the financial crunch that the country is facing, many have turned to buying less or smaller different quantities than […]
Written on May 20, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Shop Now Belize is Retail to Suit the Financially Challenged
The Blair Athol Power Company Limited, BAPCOL, is vital to Belize’s national grid, with a production capacity of up to twenty-five percent of the country’s total power consumption. The company, which is a subsidiary of Bowen and Bowen, recently completed a major engine overhaul, a process that is arduous and time-consuming. Today, we spoke with […]
Written on May 20, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on BAPCOL Completes Major Engine Overhaul
The Board of Directors of the Belize Electric Company Limited (BECOL) has appointed Kay Menzies as President and C.E.O. of the corporation effective June first. The appointment follows the retirement of Lynn Young, outgoing President and C.E.O., after a thirty year career in the electricity sector. Menzies has considerable board experience having held chair and […]
Written on May 20, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Kay Menzies to Head BECOL: Retiring Lynn Young Becomes Ambassador
Earlier in the newscast, you heard that Belize will be opening its borders to visitors from Mexico at the end of the month, but international media outlets are reporting a steady increase in COVID-19 cases over the past five weeks, attributed to Easter tourism, in the state of Quintana Roo. In fact, Mexican officials are […]
Written on May 20, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Cancun Fun Leads to COVID-19 Wave
It may not have been part of larger strike actions, but today, there was a spontaneous walkout at the Philip Goldson International Airport. Employees there were incensed over management’s decision to place four members of the Civil Aviation Department on leave. Other public officers, wearing their yellow shirts, also showed up to stand in solidarity […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Civil Aviation Employees Walk Off the Job
Even as the employees, including air traffic control crew, abandoned their posts today in protest, they notified regional partners of the situation. However, it is up to the Civil Aviation Department and the ministry to officially call a lockdown of the airport. And they were not having it. According to Minister Andre Perez and Civil […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Civil Aviation Department Activates Contingency Plan
As we have seen over the past few weeks, it was once again the teachers union leading the charge in Belmopan today. And once again, they bused in from all over the country. This time, there was a church service on the Governor General Field before a march around the Belmopan Ring Road as they […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.S.U. President: Some of Our Members Don’t Know Their Own Power
The Public Service Union is calling on the Labour Commissioner, Anne Marie Thompson to stay out of matters that do not concern her. This is in response to Tuesday’s written statement by Thompson calling out the unions for acting ‘unlawfully’ by blocking highways and bridges. The Labour Commissioner condemned those actions and also out the […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.S.U. Responds to Labour Commissioner Statement
The Minister responsible for Labour, Oscar Requeña sought to put the Labour Commissioner’s statement in context, during his appearance on Channel Five’s Open Your Eyes. Minister Requeña argues the statement is not a scare tactic, but that the Commissioner is seeking to highlight the best interests of everyone, including citizens affected by the road blockades. […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Minister of Labour Says Unions Cannot Block the Roads
President Henry argues the Labour Commission’s release is an intimidation tactic. Other tactic, he says, include personal attacks on his fellow union leaders. Henry contends, however, no one will be able to dig up anything to try and use against him. Gerald Henry, President, P.S.U. “The only thing that has been happening is threats […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.S.U. Leader Says Intimidation Tactics Won’t Work
One of the guest speakers at today’s union event in Belmopan Kerm Thimbrel recounted meetings he held with former President of the N.T.U.C.B. Marvin Mora back in 2020. Thimbriel says allegations that these rallies are politically motivated are untrue, because of the unions’ tract record. However, he does not support road blockades. Kerm Thimbrel, […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Rally Speaker Points to Past Movements; Disavows Roadblocks
On the issue of the ten percent salary cut for teachers and public officers, today P.S.U. Vice President Dean Flowers questioned the involvement, or the lack thereof, of the private sector. According to Flowers, private sector businesses stand to be most affected as the move by government is removing in excess of two hundred million […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.S.U. Vice Prez: Where is the Private Sector?
The Joint Unions Negotiating Team is preparing its response to government’s most recent proposal, which was made public last Wednesday during a prepared address by Prime Minister John Briceño. Education Minister Francis Fonseca, sat on the government’s negotiating team. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education “Based on that consultation and that discussion, the joint unions […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Fonseca Says G.O.B. has Addressed Union Concerns
The letter from the Labour Commissioner also suggested that the unions who are engaged in industrial action are threatening public health and safety by congregating in numbers greater than ten, which is in violation of Quarantine Regulations. P.S.U. Vice President Dean Flowers did not mince words in his counter response. Dean Flowers, 1st Vice […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.S.U.’s Version of “Noh Watch Me, Watch Yoself”
In its move to end corruption, the Joint Unions Negotiating Team is calling for the installation of the whistleblower’s act, a piece of legislation that will allow for persons to come forward with information and proof of misappropriation of public funds or corruption by public officials. News Five spoke with attorney-at-law Darrell Bradley who broke […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Breaking Down the Proposed Whistleblower Act
But according to Bradley, the whistleblower act on its own does not have teeth. He says that there is need for strengthening of the investigative bodies as well as the inclusion of other pieces of legislation to recover misappropriated assets or monies. Darrell Bradley, Attorney-at-law “Anti-corruption legislation is not about one piece of legislation; […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Attorney Says Draft Whistleblower Legislation Not Enough
Much needed masks for the protection against COVID-19 have been donated to the Customs Department by the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Five thousand surgical masks were handed over on Tuesday by Ambassador David Kuan-Chou Chien to Comptroller of the Belize Customs and Excise Department, Estelle Bailey-Leslie. They will be used by frontline […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
Foreign Affairs,
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Comments Off on Taiwan Donation to Protect Border Personnel
Three UN agencies in Belize are holding virtual consultations this week to guide the development of a five-year social transformation plan. The United Nations Children Fund, United Nations Development Programme and United Nations Population Fund will use the input from the sessions to help draft the 2022-2026 Country/Sub-Regional Programme Documents. These C.P.D.s identify priority areas […]
Written on May 19, 2021 | Posted in
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Regional / International |
Comments Off on UN Agencies in Belize Seek Input on 5-Year Social Transformation Plan
What was most feared about the reopening of in-person learning at schools has happened. Today, a number of parents did not send their children to school at two primary schools in Belize City after word spread like wildfire on Monday night that there was a high possibility that COVID-19 was detected in a few students. […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Education,
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Health,
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Comments Off on Casino Connection: Students and Teacher Positive for COVID-19
Contact tracing is continuing after the COVID-19 outbreak at the Princess Casino in Belize City that started on May fifteenth. As you heard just now, the Central Health Region surveillance team has been able to link positive cases at Queen’s Square Anglican School and Wesley Primary School in Belize City. They are also urging anyone […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Contact Tracing Continues after Outbreak at Princess Casino
Today marks seventeen consecutive days that the unions have been on strike. This is historic. No union in Belize has ever undertaken strike actions for such an extended period. On Monday, we saw main thoroughfares across the country being blocked by protestors and now, protesters are getting more creative in their attempts to get public […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Unions “Bury” Corruption
The Joint Unions Negotiating Team held a press conference at the headquarters of the Belize National Teachers Union in Belize City. During the briefing, B.N.T.U. National President, Senator Elena Smith brought to light several omissions that were made in government’s proposal last Thursday. According to Smith, despite meeting with government representatives and agreeing on certain […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on J.U.N.T. and G.O.B.: A Tale of Two Agreements
Of concern for the Public Service Union is the fact that a definitive timeline has not been set for when a reduction in the salaries of ministers and other high-level government officials comes into effect. Coupled with that, says P.S.U. President Gerald Henry, is also the fact that community votes are never audited. That’s an […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.S.U. Says Area Rep Funds Go Unchecked
The offers made by PM Briceño to the unions last Thursday are, for all intents and purposes, government’s final proposal. There is no date for when both sides return to the table, however, the unions plan on formally responding to the prime minister’s offer in the days ahead. Senator Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U. […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Unions Will Respond to G.O.B.’s Latest Offer
Government’s proposal to issue teachers and public officers with promissory notes, as part of the package being offered to the unions, is yet to materialize. Despite an agreement which they say was approved by the Prime Minister, that understanding was never formalized. As for the docking of salaries for teachers who are paid directly by […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Unions Respond to Threat of Pay Cuts for Government-paid Teachers
