Following incessant and expensive litigation over B.T.L. since 2009, the PM declared the half a billion plus final payment for the utility company a vindication and a victory for the government and people of Belize. If there was any very tiny silver lining in that dark cloud, it was that litigation was ended. But it’s […]
That seventy U.S. million dollars in litigation has caused Central Bank to issue a dire warning to the Government of Belize, claiming that such a payout would destroy what is already a very fragile economy. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “What I understand the Central Bank to be saying is this. We have a decent […]
The letter from the Central Bank seemed a dire forecast, even with the Ashcroft-request payment aside. There is talk of the economy contracting two percent in the first quarter of this year, a significant drop in revenue from the Free Zones, marginal foreign currency inflows from tourism and falling exports. As we told you on […]
There’s one more minister who today admitted that he had trekked up Intelco Hill to visit with William Mason. In Orange Walk Town today, we drilled the former Deputy Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega about reports that he too was chummy with Mason. While Vega confirmed he had been to Mason’s house, he denied introducing Mennonite […]
The former DPM could not say when exactly he met Mason, but was emphatic that he did not receive any monies from the accused murderer for campaign financing or other political activities. Reporter “Was it in the sense of political campaigning, trying to get financing from him?” Gaspar Vega, Former DPM “No, never. […]
But is it fair game to remove John Saldivar from cabinet because of his connections and business dealings with Mason? Saldivar’s integrity is being called into question and by extension that of the entire U.D.P. government. This is what Vega has to say. Gaspar Vega, Former DPM “I don’t know what dealings he had; […]
Earlier this year, a small group of caneros protested against ASR/B.S.I.; today in a second demonstration, the numbers had swollen somewhat. The bone of contention is that the miller is passing on to the farmers, part of the financial losses incurred from the Maillard Reaction which has been found in molasses in one tank at […]
The Belize City Council and the Christian Workers Union have entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement on behalf of employees at City Hall. The contract of employment, negotiated between management and the union, was first discussed during the tenure of former Mayor Steve Latchman in 1993. Twenty-three years later, the CBA has finally materialized and […]
Mayor Darrell Bradley, who signed on behalf of the Belize City Council, acknowledges the need for City Hall to adapt similar standards as that of the public service, where employees are protected against political victimization. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “I think that it’s very, very important for municipal governments to establish a public […]
Come next week, three young Belizean musicians will partake in a regional orchestra workshop in Trinidad and perform in two sold out concerts along with musical professionals in classic, pop and technical displays in that CARICOM state. It is a venture undertaken by the Belize Bank to develop a local orchestra in the next five […]
By any account, one of the biggest summer camp is held in Orange Walk. One thousand seven hundred students to be precise attended the event in the Orange Walk North constituency. It concluded today with a celebratory mood for the young participants. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting For over a decade, […]
And in Belize City, another summer camp held its certificate ceremonies for the more than four hundred and fifty participants. The camp is the brainchild of Growing the Future Projects and this is its thirteenth year of operation. As we found out this morning, the word camp may be somewhat of a misnomer since it’s […]
Attorneys for the Government of Belize and Dean Boyce, B.T.L. Employees Trust and Dunkeld International appeared before the Caribbean Court of Justice via teleconference this morning, for a case management hearing. Both parties are once again tangled in litigation, this time over the recently published compensation award handed down by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, […]
According to Senior Counsel Denys Barrow, the objective of the settlement agreement was to bring finality to the question of recompense. He says that while the Ashcroft Group may have anticipated a seventy-thirty split in its favor, which would have allowed them to collect fifty percent upfront that was not the outcome. Denys Barrow, […]
Government has indicated to the CCJ that irrespective of the outcome, it is unable to make the payment in U.S. dollars. The Central Bank of Belize, in a four-page letter written to Financial Secretary Joseph Waight, has informed government that it cannot meet its request to make available an additional seventy million U.S. dollars. Being […]
Government has put forward that it cannot meet a seventy million U.S. dollar payment should the CCJ rule in favor of the previous owners of B.T.L. While Central Bank has provided an initial twenty-nine million dollars, the Barrow Administration is basically on its own in finding the balance of the payment. Denys Barrow, Attorney […]
An official letter which was filed by the Government in the CCJ proceeding comes as close as we’ve ever seen to G.O.B. acknowledging that the sky is falling. It’s dated July twenty-second, and is addressed to Financial Secretary Joseph Waight, from Governor of the Central Bank Glenford Ysaguirre. Ysaguirre wasted no time on niceties, but […]
Accused kidnapper and murderer William ‘Danny’ Mason is preparing to spend his second full week as an involuntary guest at the Belize Central Prison, but the bizarre circumstances of his detention, and subsequent revelations continue to generate increasing interest. Perhaps the most attention has been focused on Minister of National Security John Saldivar who has […]
The man with many names remains an enigma to the general public. We know where he is right now – that one’s easy – but we don’t even know if his real name is William Mason, or Raj Ouellet, or Ramesh. But we are told that he was born in Guyana and left that country […]
Three decades plus five…that’s the length of time the BCVI has been around in Belize. To mark that milestone, the N.G.O. held an anniversary celebration this morning. The Executive Director, Carla Ayers Musa, says the gamut of services offered has grown tremendously over the years. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting The […]
Recently, the Image Factory in collaboration with the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired, BCVI, published a book about the adventures of Rowan Garel. But tonight, with assistance from Taiwanese Ambassador Benjamin Ho, “Walk Climb Dive; the Adventures of Rowan Garel” will be published and distributed within the school system in Taiwan. It will be […]
It has been announced that track and field athletes Katy Sealy and Brandon Jones will represent Belize at the Olympics 2016 in Rio. While the Sealy selection has stirred controversy because Kaina Martinez will not represent, tonight, we can report that twenty-eight year old judo instructor and athlete Renick James has been chosen as a […]
Creating a Safe Space Agenda is an initiative that was being implemented by the YWCA and involved children and young adults from Belize City and Belmopan participating in various programs. CASSA, as it is locally referred to, officially comes to an end in September. This morning, a second group of participants successfully completed the program […]
Any person who has been diagnosed with diabetes knows that what they eat is one of the most critical steps in managing their condition. The diabetes diet may seem very restrictive; but, that isn’t necessarily the case. As I find out in tonight’s healthy living, it’s about the right types of food at the right […]
William Danny Mason has been behind bars since July nineteenth, in a special facility at the Belize Central Prison reserved for high-risk prisoners. He is alone – or as alone as somebody in prison can be – having been separated from the four men arraigned along with him for the kidnapping and murder of Pastor […]
