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The Committee’s public hearings were briefly interrupted by an outburst from the public gallery. Its source has been identified as opponents of Senator Eamon Courtenay and supporters of the United Democratic Party, there for the specific purpose of continuing to call him out about his relationship with Lord Michael Ashcroft. The hecklers also turned on […]
This afternoon, the People’s United Party continued its assault on the Integrity Commission’s decision to look at only declarations of public figures for the year 2016. The Party argues that the decision, made on the basis that the Prevention of Corruption Act is unclear on the power of the Commission to be retroactive; that no […]
Briceño said that a Government he leads will change the Act to ensure that no political party has an overall majority on the Commission, which would also be expanded to include non-political elements such as a member of the Judiciary. But how does he explain why one of the members he appointed to the current […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow told reporters after Friday’s House meeting that he is seriously contemplating early retirement depending on how much longer his back is giving trouble, though his present timeline for the end of 2019 remains in place. An advertisement aired on local television attacks his deputy and the man widely tipped to be […]
Elvin Penner testified without major incident last Wednesday in Belmopan at the public hearing of the Senate Special Select Committee. But it appears authorities were ready for anything, as the anti-riot barrier was put up in front of the National Assembly and Police stood ready inside and outside the House. Were the Opposition People’s United […]
The countdown is on for the 2018 municipal elections. The People’s United Party is only defending one town council in Orange Walk, where Mayor Kevin Bernard is said to be running for a third term. Party Leader John Briceño says he is aiming to “fight” the election across the country as it expects a rebound […]
With the countdown officially on to the retirement of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, speculation has begun on the internal race to succeed him. Deputy Prime Minister and first deputy leader of the United Democratic Party, Patrick Faber, is considered the clear-cut favourite after defeating John Saldivar last May for the post. He has been boosted […]
The People’s United Party issued a statement today about the Integrity Commission further to the House meeting on Friday. The P.U.P. wants to know what Prime Minister Dean Barrow is afraid of, accusing him of circling the wagons around those of his Ministers who it says “have gotten inordinately wealthy and have amassed significant holdings […]
The House of Representatives met today in special session in Belmopan. Its main business was to introduce nine original and amended bills and two loan motions. We will get to all of that in a moment, but first to an extended interview at the conclusion of the House meeting with Prime Minister Dean Barrow. Two […]
According to the Prime Minister, today was a good day in terms of his back problems, but there are increasingly fewer of them. With his main goal of this term – a renegotiated Superbond – off the table, he admits there are few other things left to accomplish, canning corruption among them. So he is […]
Former Cayo Northeast area representative and Minister of State of Immigration and Nationality, Elvin Penner, resurfaced in Belmopan this week attending the Senate Special Select Committee’s public hearings as a witness. We have extensively covered his testimony, but part of it seems to give his former colleagues in Cabinet pause. Penner told the Inquiry that […]
Written on May 12, 2017 | Posted in
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For the sixth consecutive meeting of the House of Representatives dating back to his resignation as Minister of Agriculture and formerly National Resources, Orange Walk North area representative Gaspar Vega was absent. Indeed, he has not spoken publicly since the Government decided to bring a claim against his son Andre and attorney Sharon Pitts to […]
Written on May 12, 2017 | Posted in
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Last August, an independent investigative report commissioned by the Organization of American States cleared members of the Belize Defence Force who were part of a patrol in the Cebada area of the Chiquibul that encountered several Guatemalan nationals engaged in illegal activity. The resulting fire fight led to the death of Guatemalan minor Julio Rene […]
Inside the House, the Government introduced amendments to the Customs and Excise Duty; General Sales Tax; and Stamp Duties Acts to give effect to concessions promised to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry; amendment to the Trade Licensing Act to regularize its structure, and a new Economic Development Council bill to cement the partnership between […]
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 […]
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 […]
Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley enjoyed significant majorities in his two elections to the post in 2012 and 2015, continuing a dominant run by the United Democratic Party at City Hall. But his personal ambitions for national office have not fared as well – he lost to Kareem Musa in general elections in the Caribbean […]
The Belize National Teachers Union and the million dollar payout to non-striking teachers remain in the news tonight. The B.N.T.U. executive is saying that it is not buying the story by Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber that the U.D.P. did not have a hand in the run-up to the election of a new union president […]
Late last Thursday evening, upon emerging victorious as the new president-elect, Senator Elena Smith best described those moles as only she can. Having spotted the so-called U.D.P. operatives at the convention, Smith told reporters, “that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a duck.” While Palacio seconds […]
Information to News Five is that some teachers in the Anglican and Government-managed school systems received as much as five hundred dollars each as their honorarium or reward for not participating in the Belize National Teachers’ Union’s strike last October and for going to the classroom. While that is not confirmed and officially the Ministry […]
Written on April 20, 2017 | Posted in
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Officially, according to the Ministry of Education, the million-dollar honorarium for non-striking teachers has not been issued as planned for before the Easter break because it has not gotten the list of teachers that would qualify. But unofficially, News Five has received reports that some payments were made to teachers in an attempt to secure […]
Written on April 19, 2017 | Posted in
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The Ministry of Education confirmed this afternoon that the million-dollar honorarium promised by the Government to non-striking teachers will not go in on time. This is because several school managements have not submitted their list of teachers who attended school for make-up days in January and did not strike with their fellow teachers in October. […]
In the B.N.T.U.’s convention, Senator Elena Smith, Troy Coleman and Mario Mesh are vying to replace retiring three-term president Luke Palacio. Smith has the highest profile and is seen as the strongest candidate and she is outspoken against the government. Senator Eamon Courtenay believes that the million-dollar bonus is being used to influence teachers to […]
The condemnation of the Government’s plans has been widespread, from business to civil society to activist organizations to all major political organizations apart from the U.D.P. So what happens next? Eamon Courtenay, not normally one for rabble-rousing, told us today that the honorarium issue is serious enough that a campaign of civil disobedience – though […]
Separate press releases from the Belize Territorial Volunteers and Belize Progressive Party this evening condemned the Government’s decision to spend a million dollars of taxpayers’ monies as an Easter “reward” to teachers who stayed in the classroom in October of 2016 rather than join the Belize National Teachers’ Union on strike. Both parties called the […]
