According to the PM, it was for the House to decide if the debt to the Belize Bank would be paid. His argument rested on the basis that the debt cannot be paid from the consolidated revenue fund without the approval of the House. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “We bring the bill so that […]
For years, the guarantee by the government on a loan to the then Universal Health Services has been debated and tried in the courts. Today, it came down to a historic vote in the House by only one side of parliament. Before Prime Minister Barrow stood up to wrap up the UHS debt debate, members […]
For the People’s United Party, the UHS loan guarantee goes back to the Musa Administration, one which this current government won’t let them forget. But when the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño made his contribution, he drew the line on the sand as it relates to a loan which started at thirty-three point five […]
Briceño placed the loan at the front door of the Prime Minister under whose watch the issue lingered before several courts for numerous years and remains unpaid. Briceño made the point that since the government did not intend to pay, it should have not spent all that money on legal fees. John Briceño, Leader […]
After tracing how the loan had meandered through the courts in Belize, London, New York, Miami, Washington and Trinidad, Briceño pointed to the law firms that had benefitted from legal fees: John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition “He decides to fight this judgment in courts. He has gone to seven courts all over the […]
Back to the House…Contributing to the debate was Fort George Area Representative Said Musa. Musa was the Prime Minister at the time when the government decided to act as a guarantor for the UHS loan. Back then, the Musa Administration had plans for the National Health Insurance scheme which fell apart after the Development Finance […]
Freetown area rep Francis Fonseca was attorney general when G.O.B. signed off to guarantee the initial loan of thirty-three million dollars. The amount owed today has tripled so he put that responsibility squarely on the lap of the P.M. Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown “So Prime Minister Barrow gave birth to this ninety million […]
Embroiled in controversy, President of the National Institute of Culture and History Sapna Budhrani dominated the news this week. Budhrani was put on the hot seat after leaked audit documents revealed a number of irregularities and mismanagement at NICH. The leaked documents showed correspondences between financial officer Edwin Alvarado and internal auditor Roberto Matus. The […]
Prime Minister Barrow also weighed in on the NICH debacle, reiterating that embattled president Sapna Budhrani will be placed on administrative leave as of Monday. Budhrani will remain president of the institute until she is either vindicated or implicated at the end of an external audit. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “As she said, obviously […]
Prime Minister Barrow is traveling to Cuba this weekend where he will be undergoing medical surgery on his spine on Tuesday. He will be gone for most of September and during his leave of absence Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber takes over. Following today’s house meeting, PM Barrow described the process of treatment and recovery. […]
Fear is settling in as it is almost a week since sixty-seven-year-old Sherris Stringham has been seen in Hopkins Village. She last messaged her friends on Saturday, promising to meet up for a scheduled social on Sunday, but that was the last they heard from her. This week, police found her vehicle without its license […]
On Saturday night, the Marion Jones Stadium will come alive with pre-carnival sights and sounds. At seven in the night the annual King and Queen of 2018 carnival will compete for the big cash and bragging rights. There will be twenty participants in the senior and junior categories. The President of the Carnival Association Sandra […]
The controversy at the National Institute of Culture and History continues to unravel with President Sapna Budhrani is in the hot seat. Since details began to emerge on the state of affairs at the statutory body, she had remained mum. This morning, however, backed up by the Board of Directors, Budhrani finally broke her silence, […]
The purchase of a compact crossover vehicle for use by NICH President Sapna Budhrani, as well as fuel consumption for the 2018 Honda CR-V raised eyebrows in the memo sent by Roberto Matus to Associate Director of Finance Edwin Alvarado on August twelfth. The purchase seemed questionable in the context of other vehicles within the […]
The gas bill for NICH during April and July was also queried by the internal auditor. According to his report, which was described as a draft audit, fuel consumption sprang to almost eighty-seven thousand dollars, up considerably from a budget of twenty-six thousand, five hundred dollars. As it turns out, the Board claims Matus’ calculation […]
On the issue of missing monies, Matus’ report indicates that funds collected from archaeological sites, including Altun Ha, have been unaccounted since March eighth. Heading the Institute of Archaeology since 2013 is Doctor John Morris. Today, he spoke on two occasions when monies went missing from the institute’s daily collection. Those funds, he says, went […]
Chairman of the Sugar Control Production Committee, Doctor Carlos Itza has finally heard from the Chairman of the Sugar Industry Control Board, Gabriel Martinez. But the letter gave him his marching orders. Itza was informed that his post as Sugar Cane Specialist and Sugar Cane Technical Assistant with the Sugar Industry Control Board has become […]
In another government department under the responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber, questions are being raised in respect of an internal audit conducted at the National Sports Council for the period September to November 2017. A memo sent to Chief Executive Officer Adele Catzim from Finance Officer Ena Codrington flagged several irregularities under the […]
G.O.B. has promptly responded to statements made by James Brodie and Company Limited, an importer of pharmaceuticals. On Wednesday, Brodies claimed that it stands to lose some ninety thousand dollars in medicine after the Government denied them entry of a shipment of medication that was ordered from Ziotis Company in 2017. The issue is over […]
On Monday we reported on the case in which two men were charged with drug trafficking of five kilos of cocaine and possession of firearm and ammunition without a gun license, but freed of the charges. Thirty-three-year-old Carlos Lopez and thirty-seven-year-old Peter Schmidt both walked when their attorney made a ‘no-case submission’ because the arresting […]
Taking the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice will be decided on April tenth, 2019 when Belizeans vote in a referendum. In one of his final interviews as British High Commissioner in Belize, Peter Hughes says that he is not sure that Belizeans are informed enough for the upcoming referendum. He says that […]
One of the questions that has been continuously raised is whether the country is being pressured into taking the territorial claim to the I.C.J. As a member of the Group of Friends of Belize, the UK rep was asked about this. Peter Hughes, British High Commissioner “There is certainly from elements of the international […]
The U.S. and others have come out in support of the education campaign, providing either technical or financial support to the process that will cost the country millions of dollars. Hughes says that the U.K. is going to provide one million dollars for the education campaign. We note, however, that as it relates to financing, […]
The People’s United Party’s Southern Caucus has decided that it will vote against taking the Belize/Guatemala dispute for resolution to the International Court of Justice. The caucus met earlier in the month and agreed that the Southern portion of the country stands the most to be negatively affected in the event of an unfavorable ruling. […]
On Wednesday, News Five featured a story on the ordeal of students from Machikilha, a Mayan village hidden deep in the jungles of southern Belize. These students have to trek five miles from their homes to catch a bus in Dolores Village before being transported to Corozan Creek Technical School ten miles away. The most […]
