Teachers from across the country were recognized today as part of Education Showcase 2017 for excelling in their profession. Eight outstanding teachers and school leaders took the spotlight at the annual event. News Five’s Duane Moody was present for the ceremony that lasted more than two hours. Duane Moody, Reporting “The best teachers open […]
We have covered many fires over the course of the last few weeks, which have caused untold damage to many families in Belize City and elsewhere. This morning there was another on the Philip Goldson Highway where one man was trapped in the flames and had to be rescued by the National Fire Service. Fortunately […]
Of course, the best defense against fire is not allowing one to start in the first place. And that is why Fire Chief Ted Smith took the opportunity in his interview with us to stress again the importance of minimizing avenues and sources of fire, especially for curious children. Not a few fires start because […]
Back in September we told you about the launch of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). The United Nations Development Programme, with support from the European Union and other partners, is financing this initiative. A one point six million dollar package will be invested over the next two years on a biodiversity finance strategy to ensure […]
On Monday night, you heard well-known educator Leroy Green speak out about missing records of his teaching career. Green told us that thirty-four of his forty-three years of teaching documents could not be found. He retired back in November and those missing records were affecting the processing of his full benefits. Well, tonight Green told […]
The Government of Belize signed an agreement earlier today for consultancy and supervision of the construction of the Airport Link Road Project. The stretch of road, approximately five miles long, will intersect the George Price Highway with a bridge crossing over the Belize River near Gentrac Belize Limited at the existing airport access road. The […]
Appearing at today’s public hearing of the Senate Special Select Committee at the National Assembly in Belmopan was former Minister of State for Immigration and Nationality, Elvin Penner. This is the first appearance of any Minister of Government, past or present, at the Committee since it opened its public hearings last November. But more so […]
The Committee disagreed. Chairman Senator Aldo Salazar told Penner that any questions put to him would not concern any action in court, nor that the Committee was in the process of a criminal investigation or finding because the Committee cannot recommend such except in the case of perjury. But his assurances were not enough for […]
And while that was Penner’s stance this morning, the Senate panel spent time on other matters before eventually returning to the Kim scandal in the afternoon session. What followed was a game of fencing between Penner and the Senators – the Senators probing for what they wanted, Penner doing his best to fend them off. […]
The thrust and parry continued with the panel’s Chairman, Aldo Salazar, scoring a point when he questioned Penner about the remarks of Gordon Wade, former Chief of Nationality at the department. Wade had told the inquiry and the auditors that Penner had approached him concerning the Kim file at some point after his appearance with […]
Chairman Salazar tag-teamed out to Senator Eamon Courtenay, who turned to the question of how Penner and Kim met in the first place. Here the former Minister was a little more forthcoming, but not very. He was asked where he was introduced to Kim’s “friends” and was quickly shut down by Penner, who did not […]
Penner was able to give further details of his meetings with Kim, which took place in both Chinas – the People’s Republic or Mainland China, and the Republic of China, on Taiwan. Kim is South Korean by nationality. The question is whether Penner was meeting with Kim in an official capacity as a Minister of […]
There are reports that disgraced former Immigration Minister, Elvin Penner, aspires to return to party politics. But his involvement in the Won Hong Kim scandal and the corruption at the Immigration Department, while he was there, remains etched in the minds of most Belizeans. But are his days as a politician for the U.D.P., a […]
The testimony today of ex-Minister Penner was broadcast on this station and our social media page. The feed got reaction from Belizeans at home and those in the diaspora. But Belizeans have become wary and cynical of the process. Questions are being raised whether persons named in the Auditor General’s Report—and who have since appeared […]
Back to the Senate Inquiry, which concluded just before four p.m. today…The issue of ministerial recommendations for visas in particular, especially to Asian nationals, has been a major thorn in the side of the Barrow administration. News Five has seen and obtained documents showing hundreds of such recommendations by multiple Ministers. Former Minister of State […]
Penner also contends that some visas which he recommended for approval were not approved. But why was it necessary to go through it, especially if it was not intended to positively influence the approval of the application? The former Minister of State admits he does not remember correcting anyone who asked for his assistance by […]
The panel turned to other questionable grants of nationality mentioned in the Audit Report. In the case of Yakup Sut, a Turk whom Penner met in Germany, it was clear that he had not met the requirements for Belizean nationality despite vetting by Penner himself. He still contends that he was personally satisfied that Sut […]
Another infamous case is that of Peter Pang, whose nationality certificate was backdated; his file was missing despite being requested by the Auditors, and there was no evidence that Pang had paid for his certificate. More importantly, Pang was not here long enough to qualify for nationality, having entered in April of 2013, though his […]
While Senator Eamon Courtenay was grilling Elvin Penner on the issue of the reason for his writing recommendations, he was suddenly distracted by chairman of the United Democratic Party Alberto August who was seated in the gallery. From our vantage point it appeared that August was pointing around and otherwise enjoying himself but the fun […]
The Gang Suppression Unit, despite a standing agreement among various Belize City groups to hold the peace, remains on a sustained campaign to crack down on these elements. Those sting operations have raised the ire of many in their respective communities, including activist Diane Finnegan, who has been quite outspoken on the issue of police […]
There has been a spate of fires since the beginning of the year. Though there have been no fatalities, there has been concern that the fire department has not been able to respond effectively. The City Emergency Management Organization held the first of a two-day conference on fire management at the Biltmore Plaza in Belize […]
Magistrate Norman Rodriguez, accused by a twenty-seven-year-old woman of rape, is expected to be charged and arraigned in the lower courts on Wednesday. Despite the crime having allegedly been committed in Dangriga on April eleventh, the magistrate will face charges in the Belize City jurisdiction. The woman, an ex-girlfriend of the accused magistrate, did not […]
In describing her ex-boyfriend, the alleged victim says that Rodriguez has managed to turn her family against her, reportedly through unfulfilled promises. During their brief relationship, the woman alleges that she was forced into having intercourse on a number of occasions against her will. Voice of: Alleged Rape Victim “We mi deh together like […]
From a legal perspective, Magistrate Rodriguez has retained the services of attorney Herbert Panton who will represent the accused when he is brought before the Chief Magistrate on Wednesday. According to Senior Counsel Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley, while Rodriguez enjoys protection from legal challenges in his capacity as a sitting magistrate, he is not insulated from […]
Maskall Village on the old northern highway is without running water and the Water Board says it is because most of the residents have not paid their monthly water bill. The electricity bill that accompanies the rudimentary water system has not been paid because the accounts are empty and even those residents who have paid […]
