The Ministry of Finance continues to investigate how a significant quantity of outdated military equipment scheduled for disposal ended up in the hands of three civilians, including a Mexican national. As it relates to the Belize Defence Force, a senior officer from the Air Wing was found to have communicated with one of the men […]
Earlier we heard from Private Sector Senator Mark Lizarraga on dated government expenditure that has just gone before the senate. Senator Osmany Salas, who represents the N.G.O. community, also spoke on government’s extreme tardiness in bringing forward the expenditure for approval from the senate. It has been seventeen months since Hurricane Earl devastated parts of […]
The twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena are in full gear for the March seventh municipal elections. Both parties are on the ground campaigning house to house and holding small assemblies. Like in other municipalities the issues are of national importance as well as local. The area is commonly known as the red […]
In the west, water levels rose cutting off access at Iguana Creek Bridge to the Spanish Lookout Community. Several other villages such as Santa Teresa and San Marcos are inundated. According to Assistant NEMO Coordinator Johnny Ramclam, western Belize experienced continuous rains, which started from six-thirty on Thursday through to this morning. In Benque Viejo […]
International Customs Day was observed around the world today in honor of this vital cog in the international financial and trade machine. As has become tradition, Belize’s Customs and Excise Department planned an outdoor open day in downtown Belize City at the Battlefield Park to bring its work to the general public along with selected […]
The news makes regular reports on persons caught with uncustomed goods, usually contraband from the free zone and Mexico. Often these matters are settled by the department without a need to go to court or even arrest. But does the law change when the offenders are repeaters and occasionally flagrant violators? Comptroller of Customs Colin […]
Earlier this week, News Five sat down with outgoing Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley in his final days as head of the municipal government. The two-term mayor spoke candidly about the need for good governance, as well as the doing away with corruption in public office. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “We need strong […]
Is the Barrow Administration guilty of breaking the Finance and Audit Reform Act? It’s an admission that Financial Secretary Joseph Waight reportedly made before the Senate on Wednesday, in respect of expenses related to Hurricane Earl and Belize Infrastructure Limited, BIL. That piece of legislation was brought into existence by government back in 2010, and […]
With the FinSec’s purported confession that the Finance and Audit Reform Act has not been complied with, is there a course of action that can be taken against government by the opposition? Eamon Courtenay, P.U.P. Senator “Anybody can make a complaint and I won’t speak for the other parties, I will speak for the […]
Many of the opposition’s detractors will perhaps say that the People’s United Party is simply looking to capitalize on political mileage ahead of the March seventh municipal elections, given the timing of this matter. Senator Courtenay addresses that criticism; he also says that someone in government must be held responsible for breaking the law. […]
Nearly every municipality in Belize now has its own multi-purpose center or sporting complex upgraded or built from the ground up by the special purpose vehicle Belize Infrastructure Limited. The most recent of these is the thirty-four million dollar colossus known as the Belize City Center, which remains shuttered until a management company can be […]
For the next year, Belize has been placed on a list of nations whose nationals are not eligible to obtain temporary U.S. work visas of the H-Two-A and H-Two-B non-immigrant status. It means Belizeans cannot work in agriculture or service industries, as nearly three hundred did last year. The move has been suggested as a […]
Ten days ago, former president and long-serving executive of the Public Service Union, Jacqueline Willoughby, severed ties with the union, although she continues to complete her remaining duties as a trustee. She accuses certain members of the P.S.U. Council of Management of repeatedly slandering her with accusations that she dishonestly obtained union funds, a charge […]
The public outcry on two beheaded jaguars was sounded across the city and a ten thousand dollar reward was set up to catch the poachers. But so far, there hasn’t been much luck in identifying who was the perpetrator. Minister Omar Figueroa says that while they haven’t identified the person responsible for killing the protected […]
On Wednesday, we reported on the exchange between the Protected Areas Conservation Trust and the Public Service Union over the fate of six PACT employees who are also members of the union. PACT is undergoing a “restructuring exercise” following years of review and employees were offered new contracts. The P.S.U. claims that two of its […]
Last week, we showed you the poor condition of the Indian Church-San Carlos Road, one of the sugar roads used by farmers of sugar cane and other agricultural products to get their goods to the factory at Tower Hill or to market in the major towns and Belize City. Orange Walk South area representative Jose […]
There’s a tsunami sweeping the country – but not the kind from the sea. According to the Ministry of Works, it will be very busy in 2018 with road construction and other infrastructure works across Belize. Contracts are already signed for works on the George Price Highway from outside of Belmopan to the Iguana Creek […]
Our series on the campaign trail today took us to the northern municipality of Orange Walk where a split council headed by a P.U.P. mayor controls the everyday operations of the administration. Former U.D.P. mayor Phillip De La Fuente has thrown his hat back into the political ring, after having challenged the mayorship back in […]
Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) is a new tool being used by marine and terrestrial conservationists in Belize. The software was introduced locally a little over five years ago – and since then it has been used to sustainably manage resources in different protected areas. It is widely used in different parts of the […]
Hand in Hand Ministries is known for building houses in three days, but their own headquarters took them a lot longer – three years and counting. And today they proudly showed off the two storey building to invited guests and media. The organization is now able to house all their programs under one roof. The […]
Should you or shouldn’t you invest in health insurance? We have all heard stories of families who after one major medical trauma have incurred major debt. Right here in our nightly newscast, we’ve aired many public pleas for assistance when families simply have nowhere else left to turn. So is investing in healthcare a practical […]
There was a single bill brought from the House of Representatives for passage through today’s meeting of the Senate, the first for 2018. The General Revenue Supplementary Appropriation 2016-2017 Bill proposes to formally appropriate some thirteen point nine million dollars already spent in 2016, apparently on relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Earl. Quite apart […]
Senator Courtenay requested that Financial Secretary Joseph Waight be called into the Committee of the whole Senate after debate on the second reading of the Bill, which he was. But before that the Government’s senators tried to insist that it was all much ado about nothing. Both Senator Stephen Duncan and later Godwin Hulse admitted […]
Wrapping up the debate, Senate leader of government business Godwin Hulse conceded that the bill was perhaps out of time, but he pointed out that there are other means of assessing the figures involved. And, he added, the value received on the ground was the most important factor of all. Godwin Hulse, Leader of […]
There is a back and forth tonight between the Protected Areas Conservation Trust and the Public Service Union over the fate of six PACT employees who are also members of the Union. PACT closed its offices last week as part of a “restructuring exercise” following years of review, and invited employees to accept new contracts […]
