There will be a special meeting of the Cabinet in Belmopan this Friday, where members will get the first look at the 2018-2019 General Revenue and Appropriation Bill, also known as the budget. It is then scheduled to go before the House of Representatives next week, March ninth. In confirming the announcement, Deputy Prime Minister […]
Earlier this week, Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño, revealed that what is left of the education budget is being raided, with Cabinet approval, to attempt to curry favor before elections. Parents are going to schools asking for letters so they can take it to their U.D.P. area representatives. The payments are then said to […]
There are more pre-schools and pre-schoolers in Belize than ever before, and the demand for early socialization, especially in a society vulnerable to impression from outside, is consequently greater. But the Ministry of Education believes that children’s greatest role models are their parents, and they hold the key to how the rest of the child’s […]
Between July of 2016 and October of 2017, when he was terminated, the first of several regular payments by journal voucher, for eight thousand two hundred dollars, was deposited to the Saint John’s Credit Union account of Kirk Lamb, only to be withdrawn days later. The pattern became similar: deposits every month, sometimes every week […]
This afternoon, Saint John’s Credit Union which is named as the institution where the deposits were made into Lamb’s account issued a brief release stating it will not be providing information on the account. The release states, “Saint John’s Credit Union Limited is aware that our institution has been mentioned in recent reports in the […]
While on the ground in Port Loyola, the P.U.P. were sure to put their two cents in on the revelations made by Kirk Lamb on Tuesday night. Standard bearer Gilroy Usher Senior and mayoral candidate Bernard Wagner both deplored what they see as bare-faced corruption and mishandling of public funds. Bernard Wagner, P.U.P. Mayoral […]
Minister “Boots” Martinez carefully distinguished between the non-governmental organization Housing for the Poor and the Southside Poverty Alleviation Project, the former of which Kirk Lamb claimed he deposited monies given to him for. The Minister says he is, as far as he knows, not aware that Lamb did any contract work for the N.G.O., but […]
The 2012-13 general audit conducted by the Supreme Audit Institution listed numerous instances of mismanagement and improper practice in several ministries of government, most notably Works and Education. Under the tenure of Anthony “Boots” Martinez, a total of nine hundred and forty-seven thousand dollars was expended to Special Effects and Special Effects Performance for tires, […]
A fuel crisis has been averted for now, even though a PDVSA tanker is in the harbour waiting to unload. It is claimed that government owes PDVSA, but that allegation has been refuted. Since Tuesday, nine overland tankers laden with some seventy-two thousand gallons of regular fuel have been arriving via the western border. A […]
A number of officers of various ranks within the Belize Police Department are barred from participating in law enforcement programs funded by the United States government. Contrary to reports made elsewhere in the media of a list of officers blacklisted by Homeland Security, Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Elrington confirmed today that some cops have […]
It was reported some time ago that the U.S. had canceled the visas of officers of various ranks for their alleged involvement in illegal activities. So does the most recent ban also affect the visa status of the blacklisted officers and their ability to travel to the United States? Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Home […]
A recent expedition to the Sarstoon involving a team of reporters from Belize and Guatemala ended in a confrontation with members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces. The attempt to travel upriver with the Belize Territorial Volunteers was frustrated when journalists were aggressed by the opposing military. Earlier today, we asked Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington to […]
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize is preparing for its annual general meeting this coming weekend in Dangriga Town. But one of the issues it will be discussing is a response to news from the Government that the country visit of the team of experts supervising Belize’s road to implementing the United Nations Convention […]
The end of the mayorship of Darrell Bradley came today. At a ceremony this afternoon, Bradley handed over the responsibility of the city to Administrator Candice Miller. The act ends his six-year tenure at City Hall which is now in transition until a new council is elected and takes office following next Wednesday’s elections. Bradley […]
Just hours after speaking with its area representative, News Five was back in the Port Loyola division for our final story in the ‘On the Campaign Trail’ series, introducing you to the men and women who are seeking your vote on March seventh. On Tuesday, we profiled Dion Leslie and the United Democratic Party slate […]
Richard Mcdonald, a tour operator of Belize City, is accusing a senior police officer of assaulting him inside the Police Department’s headquarters at Raccoon Street five weeks ago. Because the matter is officially under investigation by the Professional Standards Branch and McDonald has retained counsel for possible legal action, we will not call the officer’s […]
McDonald was detained and the senior officer indicated he would be booked for committing a mischievous act. But when he went to court the following Monday, officials there told him no charges had been made out for him and advised that he go on about his business until they had. As of news time tonight, […]
The street art festival held in the city yearly has been growing by leaps and bounds. This year, there were more artists, more art in many forms, entertainment and food as well as new attractions at the festival held in downtown Belize City. Hungry for culture and art, thousands of residents came out to be […]
The community of Sarawee is a small village on the fringes of Dangriga with just over three hundred residents. With the dry season now underway, the shortage of potable water for the past eight months continues to be a major problem, as it is forcing many to dig wells on their properties to access water […]
The death of forty-four-year-old Humphrey Mitchell on Saturday has prompted the Belize Police Department to revisit its standard operating procedures where arrests and transportation of persons in custody are concerned. Mitchell, a Jamaican national who moved to Belize several years ago, was being escorted from Sarawee Village to Dangriga in the pan of a pickup […]
Kirk Lamb had been an employee of Government Minister Anthony Martinez for nearly a quarter-century, until his recent termination. But Lamb says insult was added to injury when he found out recently that the Minister, without getting his approval, allegedly sent cash vouchers for thousands of dollars in his name to a local credit union […]
The Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala were today at the western border for an official visit to the office of the Organization of American States, joined by the new special representative to the O.A.S.’ Secretary General, Washington Abdala. They took in special performances from neighboring children of the area after a bilateral meeting, a […]
Both Foreign Ministers were asked about the positions in both countries concerning taking the claim to the I.C.J. It has been suggested that older Guatemalans are more predisposed to supporting the claim due to indoctrination at the height of tension between the countries; Jovel Polanco spoke on that aspect. Elrington emphasized that the I.C.J. route […]
There is another high level visit coming up. Officials from Mexico are scheduled to arrive this coming Friday. The Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, and the Executive Director of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation Agustín García-López Loaeza, will be here for a few hours. The purpose […]
Minister of Education and Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber last week insisted that Government could not find any money to pay school fees and for vehicles because of the Financial Secretary’s memo warning C.E.O.’s and accounting officers that the treasury is frozen until and after the Budget is read. But the Opposition P.U.P. says its […]
