Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie continues to be the man in the hot seat, and the man under fire in the Penner immigration scandal. He did not hand over the file which contains all evidence compiled so far in the investigation. That effectively squashed COLA’s case today setting Penner free of the charges. The Commissioner […]
The 2015 municipal elections are right around the corner and across the country; political parties are putting together their respective slates to contend in the elections. The P.U.P. has had a minor glitch with its Belmopan slate and we’ll have that coming up. But what about its Belize City team that will have to take […]
The immigration scandal that has seen the removal of former Minister of State Elvin Penner has also reached members of the People’s United Party. In a leaked copy of the Auditor General’s Report on the immigration scandal, P.U.P. political aspirant Martin Cal’s name was called in the facilitation of Belizean birthrights to foreign nationals. The […]
The Belize Youth Movement, which is the youth arm of the People’s United Party, today held a high achievers forum at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza. The meeting saw the top performers from secondary institutions throughout the city being brought together to voice their opinions, share their ideas on issues affecting the country including […]
On Friday we told you about Martin Cal, a candidate on the People’s United Party municipal slate in Belmopan. Cal was asked to step down by party officials after his name came up in the Auditor-General’s report. He and another person were recommenders for at least four foreign nationals who were named in the Won […]
The Auditor-General’s report has had no visible repercussions on the man at the front and centre of the scandal, former Minister of State Elvin Penner. But it has had serious political repercussions for aspiring politician Martin Cal. Cal’s name surfaced repeatedly in the report, after he and another man were named as the recommenders of […]
A release from the Office of Prime Minister Dean Barrow late Tuesday evening has stirred a hornet’s nest in the Bar Association. The release targets current and past presidents of the Bar Association Eamon Courtenay, Andrew Marshalleck and Jackie Marshalleck. In a nutshell, it is a spirited defence of the appointment of Court of Appeal […]
While Fonseca vouched for the characters of all three attorneys named in the Prime Minister’s response, he says that the behavior is typical of government. According to the Leader of the Opposition, a draft of the resolution was circulated prior to a position being taken by the association. Francis Fonseca, Opposition Leader “I know […]
There were all manner of state matter to ask Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega about today, and we did. But we also asked him to don his party hat for a moment. Vega is the area representative in Orange Walk north, an area considered somewhat of a U.D.P. stronghold in the mostly P.U.P. controlled north […]
The House of Representatives met this morning in the Capital. The sitting concluded shortly after two this afternoon. On adjournment, members from across the aisle on the Opposition side brought up a number of issues of national importance. The immigration scandal involving the illegal issuance of a passport and nationality certificate to a South Korean […]
On Wednesday, Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley announced that he would be running for a second term of municipal office. He took time to laud the team he’s worked with which includes Councillor Eric Chang. Now Eric Chang’s name came up in the Won Hong Kim passport scandal. Chang had left the country for an […]
Today’s press conference started with a focus on Belize City Council matters, and the matter on the top of that list is the political future of Mayor Darrell Bradley. Earlier this week, Bradley was still uncertain whether he would run for a second term in office or would throw his hat into the ring in […]
Turning to politics…The convention for the Cayo Northeast constituency was hotly contested over the weekend. Four candidates placed their names on the ballot to replace former minister of state, Elvin Penner, who disgraced himself in the passport scandal that broke in September 2013. Penner’s expulsion from the U.D.P. left the field open for Sunday’s convention. […]
Will Mayor of Belize City Darrell Bradley run for a second term of municipal office? That’s the question that he’s been asked much more than a few times in recent months. We can report tonight that he is still not sure, and seems to be in no real hurry to decide. According to Bradley, he’d […]
In its second term in office, an organization called ACB, the Association of Concerned Belizeans brought pressure on the Musa administration. ACB dismantled soon after the government changed in 2008 and most if not all of their key players got contracts from the government. Today, a new organization was formed. It’s called R.O.C., for Rod […]
On April thirtieth the Public Service Union sent a letter to the Ministry of Labour asking for intervention in the appointment of Danini Contreras as Director of Drug Inspectorate. Now when Labour gets involved it’s usually because of a dispute, and it seems that the Ministry didn’t see one in the appointment. So the Labour […]
On Wednesday, Danini Contreras attended a teleconference session at PAHO. That in itself is no cause for cause for controversy, but in the current atmosphere at the Ministry of Health, there’s plenty of speculation and frustration. It is known that C.E.O. Peter Allen does not get along with Chief Pharmacist, Sharon Anderson. There is evidence […]
The proposed reappointment of Court of Appeal Justice Samuel Awich by the Prime Minister is facing opposition. The Justice’s contract ended on May fifteenth, and Prime Minister Dean Barrow has decided to extend it for another eight years, until Awich turns seventy-five. These appointments are generally done after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, […]
Last Thursday, Minister of State Mark King told the media that his government looks after U.D.P. first, Belizeans second and P.U.P. last. While those words are likely true, in this case honesty may not have been the best policy. King’s comments have gone viral. By Friday, the People’s United Party fired off a release calling […]
For months now, the political future of Darrell Bradley has been up in the air, and he’s certainly done nothing to change that. Tonight, there is every indication that Bradley has decided to seek another term as Mayor. But that’s still unconfirmed at this point. We do know that Prime Minister Dean Barrow met with […]
On Tuesday, Minister of State Mark King, in a candid interview with the media, made it abundantly clear that the needs of his political party and those of its supporters come before the wants of the Belizean people and, undoubtedly, way, way ahead of the opposition. While the comment was in reference to U.D.P. stalwarts […]
In February 2014 the People’s United Party wrote to the Government of Belize, submitting draft amendments to the Firearms Act and the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act. There has been no response from G.O.B., and the P.U.P. says that this is just plain lazy considering the Opposition has done all the work for them. […]
Last week the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Finance, disbursed fifty thousand dollars to each of the seventeen U.D.P. Area Representatives, titled as a mother’s day program. It’s a decision which no doubt pleased the recipients of the fifty and hundred dollar bills handed out. Still, it’s the use of government funds for […]
As we said, close to a million dollars from the public purse were disbursed to select members in U.D.P.-controlled constituencies and there is growing controversy surrounding the initiative. U.D.P. area representatives, standard bearers and some village councilors, we are told, were given as much as fifty thousand dollars each to distribute among constituents on Sunday. […]
For several weeks it has been reported that former Pickstock area representative, Godfrey Smith, had been selected as the People’s United Party’s national campaign manager. Smith, who is a former minister of government, is tasked with developing campaign strategies going into both municipal and general elections. While confirmation had not been forthcoming, despite numerous queries […]
