Of course, that call by the Opposition at this point is nothing more than a rhetorical flourish. Castro’s involvement in a visa scam is a moot point because he recently blew away his opponent at convention for the Belize Rural North constituency. So while the PM has heard Fonseca’s call…he’s certainly not picking up. […]
And since the P.U.P. is on the subject of visas and a visa scam, Fonseca is also taking a hard look at the U.D.P. Dangriga candidate, Frank “Pawpa” Mena. Just like Minister of State Edmond Castro, Mena’s name is on a document which states that he personally facilitated visas for Chinese nationals. The P.U.P. leader […]
On Tuesday night, P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca praised Senator Father Noel Leslie and the Roman Catholic Church. Leslie and the Church have called on the government to repeal the controversial Petrocaribe Loan Motion even though last week at the Senate, he voted in favor of the amendment. Later, Leslie explained that his vote represented the […]
On Tuesday night we told you about a recording – another recording – of senior U.D.P. former Minister Melvin Hulse. In that recording Hulse claims that the U.D.P. will need to buy the Dangriga election because Frank “Pawpa” Mena will lose if they do not do so. More than that, Hulse makes very bold allegations […]
The ballot boxes from six polling stations have arrive at the Father Phillip Marin Parish Hall in Dangriga where counting is about to get underway to determine the new area representative for the Dangriga constituency. Mike Rudon and Isani Cayetano are on the ground and have a live report. Isani Cayetano, Reporting “Good evening […]
Both major political parties are in the south right now on the last sprint to Wednesday’s bye elections. News Five will have period reports all day from Dangriga as the voters go to polls to select a representative to succeed former area rep Ivan Ramos. Our coverage begins on Open Your Eyes and we’ll continue […]
Earlier today, the People’s United Party issued a statement on the withdrawal of a lawsuit in the Supreme Court by Minister of State, Edmond Castro against Alverine Burgess and Great Belize Productions. The surprise move by Castro came on Friday when oral closing arguments were to be heard before the presiding judge, Courtney Abel. Throughout […]
Last week Senator representing the Council of Churches, Father Noel Leslie, surprisingly voted YES for the very controversial Petrocaribe Amended Loan Act. We say surprisingly because on May first, when the Act was first passed, the Churches had voted NO. But over the weekend Leslie sent out a release on his own behalf and on […]
On Wednesday political newcomer Anthony Sabal, the P.U.P.’s David, will go up against veteran politician and the U.D.P.’s goliath, Frank “Pawpa” Mena. The U.D.P. has boasted that its victory will be massive, and has been on the ground for the past month in numbers. So has the P.U.P., which is chronically cash-strapped, but has been […]
Three weeks ago, there was some doubt that the P.U.P. would contest the bye-election and indeed, without serious internal agitation, perhaps it wouldn’t have. But today, Fonseca says the decision to contest was the right one, and a good one for the party, regardless of the outcome after the last ballot is counted. Francis […]
As we do just before any major election, over the weekend News Five went to the scene of the scheduled bye-election in Dangriga to get a last minute feel from both party candidates on campaign progress, challenges and just basically the atmosphere on the ground. Arrangements were made in advance with both political parties, but […]
As you heard earlier in the newscast, the situation in Santa Cruz is still very much on centre stage, and so is the issue of the CCJ consent order – what it actually orders, and what the term communal land really means. At the moment all of that is very much up in the air, […]
And inside the Senate on Wednesday, things got testy between Senators Thimbrel and Shoman. The U.D.P. senator said that the “U.D.P. Government” is spending the monies wisely and that the proof is in the pudding. Well, the way the “debate” was going didn’t seem to sit well with Shoman. Here’s how that exchange went. […]
And there is no debate of Petrocaribe without the now famous ‘tacos and beer’ trip to Corozal. Well, in the senate, Senator Godwin Hulse justified the use of Petrocaribe funds for the “free trip”- which, you may know by now, has been publicly condemned by many as irresponsible use of the funds. And it was […]
And whether it sounded like a debate or not, things were a bit calmer when Senator Joy Grant presented. She served up the usual figures and little political jabs here and there, but she told the senate that no matter how much the Petrocaribe is opposed – they, the U.D.P., did their home work. In […]
On Friday, the House meeting was abbreviated when the Opposition walked out of the House in protest, so the first actual debate on Petrocaribe occurred today in the Senate. The session included discussion on supplementary appropriations for 2014/2015 and 2015/2016, as well as the amended Petrocaribe Bill. It was a lengthy exercise with input from […]
Opposition Leader in the Senate Lisa Shoman asked for a division in votes for the approval of the supplementary appropriations for 2014/2015. That led to the bill being passed with seven, for and five, against. Interestingly, Senator Reverend Noel Leslie is on record voting ‘No’ to the Petrocaribe Loan when it first went before the […]
The debate on the amended Petrocaribe Bill started after two this afternoon. Right off the top it was classified by Senator Lisa Shoman as nothing more than a pig wearing lipstick and a carnival costume. We have part of the opening presentations from that long awaited debate on Petrocaribe. Mark Lizarraga, Senator, Business Sector […]
Senator Patrick Andrews was removed from the House at the instructions of the Speaker, Michael Peyrefitte during last Friday’s House meeting. That measure prompted the opposition representatives to walk out of the House and absent themselves from the debate of the important amendment to the Petrocaribe Loans Act. While the public is split on whether […]
U.D.P. loyalist, Delroy Cuthkelvin’s intention to contest the upcoming convention in Stann Creek West, is almost dead in the water. Cuthkelvin has worn several hats within his party including working out of the Prime Minister’s Office and as a public relations officer in the Ministry of National Security. For the aspiring politician, his initial dream […]
In other political news…Just one week away, Belize will see its second bye-election. The first was in Cayo North earlier this year and this time it will be the constituency of Dangriga which includes Sarawee and Hope Creek Villages. It’s going to be a P.U.P./U.D.P. race with newcomer Anthony Sabal and seasoned Frank Pawpa Mena […]
And after that bye-election is over on July eight, the focus is the road to General Elections. While speculations are that it may be as early as the end of this year or towards the start of next year, the P.U.P. says they have been putting the work in the places that it is going […]
Friday’s House meeting was cut short after the Opposition People’s United Party walked out in protest, but a lot was still said inside and outside the House. The P.U.P. used one of its questions to find out how many Guatemalans became citizens in 2014. It is all relevant because the new citizens eventually make their […]
When the P.U.P. lost its national audience in the House last Friday, they made up for it with a fiery impromptu press session outside. We’ve brought you much of what was said on a variety of critical issues including Santa Cruz and the explosive Melvin Hulse recording and resignation. But there was still more, including […]
Espat has led the Opposition’s charge where the use of Petrocaribe money is concerned. In fact, he is named as the claimant in a lawsuit seeking the Court’s judgment on the legality of spending Petrocaribe monies without first getting the approval of the House. His constant cry is that government is using the monies like […]
