P.U.P. Deputy Leader Julius Espat also weighed in on the mortgage giveaway which he says is pure nonsense. Apart from the shameless politicking, Espat claims that there is much better use for the Petrocaribe monies, which actually should be targeted specifically at poverty alleviation. We’re not sure paying mortgages for those who can actually afford […]
On October thirty-first, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Convention against Corruption. The Assembly also designated December ninth as International Anti-Corruption Day, to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it. While Belize is among few countries that are yet to sign on to the […]
Since announcing its Christmas loan program a few weeks ago, hundreds of Belizeans from across the country have stood in snaking queues at the National Bank waiting to apply for government-funded credit. Many are up before the break of dawn and journey to Belmopan to participate in the promotion. The initiative has come under intense […]
So when that good thing comes to an end, G.O.B. will deal with it. But for now, the coffers are chock full of the green stuff…overflowing even. And some of it will be tricking down this Christmas. As has been traditional, more will be trickling to U.D.P. Area Representatives than P.U.P. Area Representatives – a […]
The People’s United Party will participate in Government’s Christmas Cheer program, funded with Petrocaribe monies. That announcement by the Party’s Secretariat has been met with raised eyebrows in some quarters, since the P.U.P. has been the most vocal and vehement when it comes to the disbursement of the “Roll It” money. News Five asked P.U.P. […]
Less than a month from today, two untried and untested politicians will go up against each other in Cayo North. The seat up for grabs is Cayo North, which was vacated a few weeks ago by the unexpected resignation of P.U.P. Area Representative Joseph Mahmud. As we said, both aspirants are new, but that’s where […]
What’s going on with Mayor Darrell Bradley? There’ve been reports that he’s been threatening resignation and all sorts of calamitous political stuff. Then there’ve been reports of him packing up his office and retreating to his law firm. We’ve been unable to confirm any of that, but we do know there is serious discontent in […]
Belize City’s Mayor Darrell Bradley has been having his share of financial woes of late, since he is faced with the commitment of taking on one hundred and seventy new workers in January. Back in September, the mayor was forced into agreeing to take on the BML workers that were being displaced. Today his cup […]
Orange Walk’s first and only female Mayor to date, Agripina Espejo, passed away in Belize City on Wednesday afternoon. Espejo had served as the United Democratic Party’s Mayor from 1994 to 1995, and also for a portion of 1997. Today News Five spoke to Orange Walk’s current Mayor, Kevin Bernard, who remembered her as a […]
A peaceful protest by residents of Port Loyola, avid supporters of P.U.P. Standard Bearer Gilroy Usher Senior, ended in a brief squabble with area representative Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez this morning. Both men traded insults at length, much of which provided comic relief for onlookers in the area. The demonstration, organized by the two-time political aspirant, […]
On Tuesday, government announced that it was going ahead with a Residential Mortgage Payment Program it had first announced in September to pay interest and principal payments for mortgages for the month of December, 2014. Tonight, there is further information provided in respect of the program that involves mortgages with an original value of up […]
While the abrupt resignation of Joseph Mahmud from the House of Representatives has forced a bye-election in Cayo North, internal squabbling within the Santa Familia village council has resulted in the mass resignation of at least four councilors. According to Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai, the Ministry of Local Government has tendered a request to […]
There will be a bye-election in Cayo North, and it is set for January fifth, five weeks from today. The odds are stacked against the P.U.P., who have had very little time to find a candidate, and will have less time to mount a credible campaign…but campaign they will. There were two candidates for […]
Of course, the PM is not fazed in the slightest. Why would he be? The Petrocaribe money has been rolling all over the place and will no doubt roll into Cayo North in the five weeks leading up to the bye-election. But we asked anyway, and found the nation’s leader supremely confident and sure of […]
As we told you earlier in our newscast, the PUP has endorsed businessman Richard Harrison as their candidate in Cayo North. Harrison will go up against a well funded, popular Omar Figueroa who has had months to prepare. He is the underdog for sure, but he’s not backing down either. Harrison says that he’s going […]
Harrison is a businessman who has had his share of successes and failures. But politics isn’t generally a forgiving arena, and his critics have already started attacking his failures as a businessman. That question was put to Harrison and the P.U.P. leader today. Both were likely prepared for it, since it will come up in […]
Christmas is less than a month away which means that the government’s annual Christmas Cheer Program is around the corner. While the opposition takes credit for starting the program with Venezuela, it is taking the government to court because government did not get approval from the House. With all the criticisms thrown its way by […]
Joseph Mahmud handed in his resignation to the offices of the Speaker of the House on Monday indicating that with immediate effect, he was stepping down as P.U.P. Area Representative for the Cayo North Division. It means that the unprecedented resignation has left the division without an elected representative. Hours later, the government announced there […]
The People’s United Party is still reeling from the devastating blow it has suffered in the wake of that announcement. Party Leader Francis Fonseca has gone on record to express dissatisfaction with the manner in which Mahmud went about his abrupt departure. The bitter pill succeeds all previous indications by Mahmud in October that […]
While the date for the upcoming bye-election has been set for January fifth, 2015, opposition leader Francis Fonseca says that the P.U.P. will lead a spirited campaign in Cayo North, despite not having overflowing coffers like the United Democratic Party. Fonseca says he is confident in the credibility of both prospective candidates who have offered […]
The unceremonious stepping down of Joseph Mahmud on Monday as a duly elected area representative for Cayo North is raising serious concerns about the integrity and unity of the P.U.P. He is the second elected representative to bow out of electoral politics; weeks ago Orange Walk East area representative Marco Tulio Mendez announced his withdrawal. […]
Prior to Mahmud’s resignation, there were reports of contention within the P.U.P. Western Caucus. The rift was said to be between Deputy Party Leader, Julius Espat, and former chairman Mahmud and many believed it escalated to his sudden departure. According to the P.U.P. leader, the western caucus took a unanimous decision to hold a delegates […]
The issue of Joseph Mahmud’s resignation as Cayo North area was also discussed at today’s Cabinet meeting. News Five also raised the issue with Minister Anthony “Boots” Martinez on what he believes is the reason behind the unexpected resignation. While Martinez did not know that the date had been set for the bye-elections, he called […]
At news time tonight senior P.U.P. officials are in closed door session following the announcement of the resignation of Cayo North Area Representative Joseph Mahmud from the House of Representative. Yes, we know he resigned from the Party in late October – but this time he’s taken the big step of resigning from the National […]
Aside from the political battle in the Cayo North, there is another fight in the Collet division in Belize City. P.U.P. standard bearer Yasmin Shoman, who replaces Micah Gooding as the political hopeful in Collet, has hit the ground running, in her attempt to unseat three-time area representative Patrick Faber. Shoman had a constituency convention […]
