While the Reporter’s Editorial is found to be lacking in accuracy, another article in circulation today puts perspective in what really is happening in the Chiquibul. Renowned professional photographer Tony Rath recently accompanied Friends of Conservation and Development into the depths of the Chiquibul National Park in Western Belize. His trip into the vast wilderness […]
Petrocaribe is celebrating eleven years in Belize, following the signing of an agreement with Venezuela on June twenty-ninth, 2005. The dream of former President Hugo Chavez was to promote regional harmony and relieve financial difficulties in Latin America and the Caribbean in the face of rising oil prices. The agreement allows for the direct sale […]
While the program under APBEL focuses on investing in Belize, there are plans for the company to branch out into the retail sale of fuel. Mencias provides a breakdown of revenues generated by APBEL as well details of its proposed foray into the retail market. John Mencias, Deputy Chair, APBEL “Remember we started September […]
The agreement provides for a portion of each invoice, known as the Financed Portion, to be paid over fifteen years at two percent interest with a two-year grace period. That is if the price of the product being purchased amounts to or is less than forty U.S. dollars per barrel. Mencias provides additional details. […]
Head of Mission Mykel Castillo Pena was also present at this morning’s Petrocaribe presentation. He explains the current hardship in Venezuela in the context of the Petrocaribe program. Mykel Castillo Pena, Chargé d’affairs, Venezuela [Translated] “The media has also made a gross lie against Venezuela. In fact, yesterday in Washington there was a meeting […]
The Public Utilities Commission announced via press release today that it has concluded a full tariff review for B.E.L. for the period July 2016 to June 2020. The final decision means that the PUC has approved the regulated values, the mean electricity rate, the tariffs, fees and charges which will be applied in the next […]
Public and private sector accountants from across the Caribbean have converged on Belize for the thirty-fourth annual Caribbean Conference of Accountants. With over three thousand seven hundred members, today, three hundred accounting professionals gathered at the Ramada Belize City Princess for the three-day summit. The event focuses on the challenges facing the Caribbean in tapping […]
To assist with the implementation of best accounting practices in the region, a consulting firm from Washington DC is establishing presence in the Caribbean with an Enterprise Resource Planning software that companies can use to manage their business. Zalena Khan, Co-Founder, Z-Cloud “The easiest way to say this is comparing it to an accounting […]
But what are the challenges that correspondent banking relations have posed to the accounting professionals? According to Conference Chair Shawn Mahler, clients have been affected drastically, and it has forced businesses to reduce their earnings or close down because of corresponding banking issues. I.C.A.C. President Jasmine Davis says that they are looking at different ways […]
The number of persons that are HIV positive is high for the size of the population. And even though men are the most affected; they are the least to be tested. The National AIDS Commission carried out testing across the country with the support of Scotiabank and PANCAP. The aim is to wipe out the […]
Starting Saturday, twenty Belizean poker players will be competing in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team has doubled since last year and all the players are eager and ready to compete against an estimated six thousand players at the WSOP’s Monster Stack Event. A News Five Team is in Vegas […]
An event took place in Belmopan today that is causing chatter and drawing controversy in some quarters. The Rainbow Flag, which is the recognized symbol of gay pride, was hoisted for the first time at the compound of the U.S. Embassy. There, it will fly until the end of the month to celebrate the ongoing […]
While members of the church did not gather en masse at the gates of the U.S. Embassy this morning, the leadership of the National Evangelical Association of Belize was present to voice its disdain for the controversial flag raising ceremony. According to President Lance Lewis, flying the LGBT flag is an outward expression that the […]
On Tuesday, News Five broke the story of what has every appearance of being a bailout of G.O.B. by S.S.B. at the Prime Minister’s request. If indeed it is a bailout, then there is good news for the government today because the Board of Directors met and green-lighted the investment. That’s probably not a big […]
News Five has learned that at Tuesday’s meeting Financial Secretary Joseph Waight was called into the meeting of the Investment Committee to provide some clarity on share value. There was also one other relatively major concern – that is, that S.S.B. would be guaranteed a buyback by G.O.B. in the event that it wishes to […]
The People’s United Party has condemned the transaction, claiming that G.O.B. is raiding the S.S.B. piggy bank because it is broke and needs a cash fix. In an extended interview on Wednesday, Briceño called on the gatekeepers at the S.S.B. to protect the people’s money and not to give in to the whims of their […]
Following talks in Washington between Belize and Guatemala on Tuesday, there’s been no clear sense that progress has really been made in resolving the conflict in the Sarstoon. Certainly there is no agreement on paper, no draft proposals or protocols and no clear-cut timeline. The Opposition seized on the recurring uncertainty following G.O.B.’s every diplomatic […]
Last week the P.U.P. announced that it would be withdrawing its representative from the talks with Guatemala. That move is designed to send a clear message that the P.U.P. believes that the negotiations status quo has got to go. Senator Eamon Courtenay told News Five that for the Opposition it’s anything but a game, and […]
As we showed you in our newscast, G.O.B. has orchestrated a hurried divesting of shares to raise cash and the Opposition seized on it to reiterate that the Barrow administration is broke. P.U.P. Leader John Briceño says it’s clear for anyone to see, and they can start by taking a look at the productive sector. […]
And of course there is the IMF report which was less that complimentary in reference to the status of the economy and G.O.B.’s performance. Briceño says he takes no pleasure in the country’s pain, but there are dark days ahead when the recommendations made by the IMF could very well be forced into play to […]
Earlier we told you that the S.S.B. Board has approved the purchase of shares in B.E.L. The utility company held its annual general meeting on Wednesday night and is reporting net earnings of twenty-nine point four million dollars. B.E.L. also says that it has repaid the ten million dollar loan from the Social Security Board […]
Gay rights activist Caleb Orozco and members of the local LGBT community are eagerly anticipating a decision from the Supreme Court on a constitutional challenge to strikeout Section Fifty-three of the Criminal Code. The case has been languishing before the high court since 2013 after submissions had been heard by all interested parties, including the […]
Caleb Orozco, Executive Director of UNIBAM, is at the forefront of the LGBT movement in Belize. He has been long anticipating the court ruling and today he spoke of the consequences of having come this far with the challenge. Caleb Orozco, Gay Rights Activist “From an advocacy perspective, no other legal case has triggered […]
Village Council elections are going into their fourth week, but strangely enough there’s been no real hype. Normally, by this time, both major political parties would have been claiming overwhelming victory in a majority of villages across the country. For the P.U.P., these elections are important because there has been a change of leader and […]
The Rainbow Flag has been hoisted at the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan and responses have been flooding in. Members of the LGBT community and supporters claim that it is a great day for Belize. Members of various churches and anti-gay activists call it an abomination and threaten fire and brimstone. Other more objective, less judgmental […]
