The home invasion in Rural Belize has also brought into stark focus the reality of vulnerability in rural areas. Christmas is a time for celebration and giving, but it is also a time for taking, and some criminals are all too happy to take very forcefully. Today Broaster outlined some tips on Christmas security for […]
A strike is called off and after four days off the job at the port, stevedores finally went back to work this afternoon. Vessels bringing hams and turkeys as well as other items being imported or exported this Christmas season, will be loaded and offloaded. The Pagola from Jamaica which has been moored at English […]
The strike by stevedores has been called off and they are back on the job. But the four-day standoff with the Port of Belize over retirement packages has had dire consequences for businesses large and small. The disruptions in operation were hurting the bottom line for businesses and the livelihood of stevedores. Duane Moody set […]
The C.E.O./Receivership at the Port of Belize, Arturo Tux Vasquez was away in Guatemala during the negotiations, but remained active throughout. He was part of a delegation from the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry that met with their counterpart in Guatemala. But on leaving Guatemalan today, Vasquez got into some trouble with immigration on […]
The story of the semen-injecting dentist who was licensed and ready to commence operations in San Pedro is shocking. Somehow John Robert Hall, an American dentist convicted for assault on seven of his patients, was granted a license by the Belize Medical Council. Not only that, but the license was issued in another name – […]
As we told you Tuesday night, all it took to get information on John Robert Hall was a visit to Google. His arrest in North Carolina for injecting semen into the mouths of seven of his female patients popped up immediately. So how did that get past the Belize Medical Council? Dr. Ramon Figueroa, […]
On November ninth, then Chair of the K.H.M.H. Board of Governors Chandra Nisbet-Cansino was approached and asked to step down. She had only recently signed a contract for an addition three years, and the announcement of her removal appeared sudden and unexpected. News Five was able to confirm political machinations in her removal and at […]
Last week at the House of Representatives, there was talk of yet another Immigration scandal. This one involved the procuring and issuing of nationality documents to residents of the southern community of Bella Vista for a thousand dollars each. Toledo East Area Representative, Mike Espat, went so far as to call the names of Acting […]
It happened too late for much news coverage on Wednesday, but one of the highlights of the Senate meeting was a request for an inquiry into immigration corruption, specifically in regards to the David Nanes Schnitzer fiasco. The matter was introduced at close to six in the evening, and it was clear early on that […]
On Tuesday Cabinet made the decision to hold off on approving the transit of Cubans stuck in Costa Rica through Belize. An official release claimed that G.O.B. is willing to join a regional discussion to find a resolution to the matter, but pending that is not inclined to make a unilateral decision to allow the […]
Ads advertising cheap rice from Guyana, imported by Xtra House, have been circulating for a couple weeks now – setting the stage for the rice which should arrive in country soon. It’s caused some concern among local producers because there is a rice surplus, and the rice which is allegedly on the way would sell […]
In September, the tragic deaths of two females hung like a dark cloud over the Western Regional Hospital. Lucia Cal and Nolberta Sanchez were both treated at that facility and both died amid allegations of criminal negligence by medical personnel. An investigation was started in September, and today we asked Health C.E.O., Doctor Ramon Figueroa […]
We also asked C.E.O. Figueroa about a series of financial shenanigans which allegedly took place under his predecessor Peter Allen. Multiple audits revealed serious breakdowns in and non-adherence to financial checks and balances which should have been instituted and monitored by the Ministry of Finance. Figueroa says that things will be different under his watch. […]
While the Guatemalans seem to have had a change of heart in respect of the erection of an F.O.B. on the Belizean side of the Sarstoon River, its government, via a recent diplomatic note, has made a rather absurd request. It is essentially asking that Guatemalan fishermen who continually exploit marine resources in the area […]
At news time, striking stevedores are still camping out at the Port of Belize where they have been since one o’clock this afternoon. But all is quiet despite reports that a group of men would be engaged to unload and upload ships with imports and exports at this busy time of the year. It is […]
The CWU has been having emergency meetings with the executive and the stevedores but the situation remains fluid. Audrey Matura-Shepherd, President, CWU “Decisions aren’t mine alone, so I keep going back and have emergency meetings to consult with the members. It is always important at all time that the key people, the stevedores tell […]
More than one hundred containers are waiting to upload and unload. The situation has dire consequences on many fronts. Exports represent thirty-seven million dollars while the imports so far for this year stand at one point five million dollars, which is a little over three percent. Eighty-five percent of what is used by the public […]
The Ministry of Immigration seems to be ever under scrutiny for a series of irregularities concerning documentation obtained through fraudulent means. At the House meeting last Friday Prime Minister Dean Barrow sombrely expressed his belief that addressing the corruption and high level collusion within the department would be an ongoing fight because there is just […]
On the table for discussion, debate and passage before the Senate this morning were two loan motions for road rehabilitation and tourism, thirteen agreements for ratification and the usually inflammable Petrocaribe appropriations bill. The session was the first official meeting since elections on November fourth and had the participation of a new president and six […]
And then the rest of the field from both sides of the Senate weighed in. From the Opposition side there is a clear problem because while they are being asked to approve the expenditure of more than forty-four million dollars between October and December 2015, they say they have been provided with absolutely no details […]
The government of Belize conducted a successful campaign leading up to general elections based in large part on an infrastructural surge across the country. And it has continued, as today the Senate was asked to debate a loan motion for the rehabilitation of the Hummingbird Highway. That’s all well and good, but government has also […]
Today is international anti-corruption day and around the world one hundred and seventy-seven countries are observing it. Belize isn’t one of those countries, but about seven persons representing the Belize Progressive Party today protested in front of the National Assembly, calling on government to sign on to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, UNCAC. According […]
As we have reported, the strike has implications with goods coming into and going out of Belize for the Christmas season. Caught in all this, is the importation of turkey which as you know Belizeans will want on the dinner table for the holidays. On Monday a cargo vessel, the Caribe Navigator, sailed away with […]
According to Barkman the impact is tremendous and the losses so far are about half a million dollars during one of the busiest times of the year. For now, the resolution of the standoff is crucial. On the Phone: Raymond Barkman, General Manager, Quality Poultry Products “I have another ship that I have some […]
Today at the Radisson Fort George in Belize City, OCEANA Belize held a conference to further discuss the issue of offshore oil exploration in Belize and the state of Belize’s waters. Named “The Energy of Nature versus the Nature of Energy,” the conference looked at the management and sustainable usage of natural resources while boosting […]
