The People’s National Party base may be in the southern most district, however, their message and call for good governance is one that is expressed everyday on the streets. The recent firing of the Minister of State Edmund Castro and the immigration scandal which includes human trafficking of Chinese, Sri Lankans, Somalis, and Nigerians are […]
Since Edmund Castro was fired from Cabinet last week Thursday, several organizations have been calling for more to be done to clear the air about Castro’s wrongdoing. One argument put forward is that the Director of Public Prosecutions should get the file to determine if prosecution is necessary. The Opposition Party in Belmopan, Vision Inspired […]
Edmund ‘Clear the Land’ Castro has been cleared, clean out of his portfolio today. It is not exactly clear what Castro did to so peeve the Prime Minister that he was relieved of his duties as Minister of State for Works. But the news of his firing set off plenty speculation, from corruption to abuse, […]
During the ceremony at the Michael Finnegan Market, the minister made it very clear that he was quite pleased with the Belize City Mayor. A Moya move on the Mesopotamia division has always been rumored. News Five asked Area Representative for Mesopotamia Michael Finnegan and Mayor Moya about a possible Moya for Mesop candidacy. Michael […]
General elections are more than two years away, but the horses are already lining up at the gate. In the Caribbean Shores constituency, the campaign for divisional convention is heating up. The upstart Councilor Roger Espejo is taking on the incumbent, the Minister of Defense, Carlos Perdomo, an old hand in the division. News Five’s […]
The House of Representatives met in Belmopan today and by two-thirty this afternoon the session was over. The two big agenda items dealt with Telemedia and immigration but there were also a number of side events during the proceedings. The nationalization of Telemedia continues to be the Achilles heel of the prime minister and he […]
There is huge public outcry on the immigration scandal that is embarrassing the government of the day because it is alleged that the ring leaders are highly connected. The leader of the Opposition John Briceño made remarks at today’s house meeting making specific recommendations to clean up the mess and according to Briceño, he has […]
There is still no word on when the Belize Sugar Industries will be able to make the third payment to cane farmers for the crop year. In the House today, the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño, noted that the gravity of situation has caught everyone’s attention except the government. Instead, GOB’s focus has been […]
For some time the Prime Minister has been at odds with the Bar Association. That tension went up by more notches today when the Prime Minister publicly chided the fraternity of lawyers. It happened when Freetown Representative Francis Fonseca raised the issue of the state of the judiciary in the House. Fonseca expressed concern that […]
The programme is being quietly pushed forward by government and is a move that many political insiders believe could swing the outcome of a future election because those who get residency will eventually qualify for nationality. It could also open the doors for a number of undesirables to slip through the net to become bonafide […]
While the legal battles are now behind her and she can breathe a sigh of relief, the past thirteen months have been the most trying time of Moya’s political career. In a one on one with Marion Ali, the mayor revealed that the knocks of life have matured her but she remains committed to the […]
The statistics do not look good for women in politics. For starters, there currently is not a single woman in Cabinet and the few at the municipal level have taken a packing in the hurly burly of politics. Only a handful has made it all the way to the top, but the National Women’s Commission […]
The blue machine kicked into full gear over the weekend, a sea of blue swamped the south as the People’s United Party met in convention. Despite the public spats and internal wrangling in the past, on Sunday it appeared as if the PUPs had closed ranks for the unity convention. And as it is in […]
While the People’s United Party was energized by what they call a mammoth crowd, News Five spoke with the Party Leader, John Briceño, about pressing issues at hand, such as crime and the economy. We also asked Briceño about the absence of Albert and Lake Independence Area Representatives, Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde; two former […]
In other news from the PUP, the executive of the party met this morning at Independence Hall. From what we gather, the meeting was constructive and cleared the way for a number of contentious issues leading up to what has been billed as the Unity convention set for October seventeenth. Firstly, both Bill Lindo and […]
When the Senate met last Friday in Belmopan, one of the Bills passed into law was the Bill to Recall Elected Representatives before their term expires. It allows voters within any constituency the opportunity to recall their elected representative if they feel he or she is not working in their best interests. But while the […]
Despite the threat of Tropical Storm Matthew, the House of Representatives met in full session today. One of the most controversial bills debated and passed will legalize the government’s use of wire tapping or snooping of telephone lines. It did not go down well with the other side of the House. The leader of the […]
As we said earlier, the House of Representatives met today. Nine bills were debated and passed. While the ruling party had a full show, noticeably absent were PUP representatives Mark Espat, Cordel Hyde and Florencio Marin. Nonetheless the Leader of the Opposition made it clear that the Criminal Code Bill, in his opinion would not […]
One bill which had more bearing on the political life or death of elected representatives is designed to recall members of the House of Representatives before the expiry of their tenure in office. The member for Fort George Said Musa and Prime Minister Dean Barrow had opposing views on the issue. Musa said it should […]
There were conflicting tales of the same economy on Independence Day by Prime Minister Dean Barrow and the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño. One presented a picture of an economy on the rebound and the other spoke of a society gripped by extremely low poverty levels and rampant crime. According to the Statistical Institute, […]
When we last reported on the People’s United Party on Tuesday, the top posts in the new executive, except for two of the four deputies, had been settled. Francis Fonseca and Dan Silva had agreed to remain but of the two remaining seats, one was offered to brothers-in-law duo, Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde. The […]
The opposition People’s United Party is gearing up for a national convention on October seventeenth in Dangriga. Up to now, John Briceño, the leader remains unchallenged and most of the posts in the National Executive are also likely to go uncontested as Briceño puts his imprint on the new executive, which is looking like a […]
And while the PUP finalizes convention plans, it also prepares to celebrate its anniversary on September twenty-ninth. Of significance is that the amended party constitution opens up the number of delegates that can participate in party elections; that number is now in the range of two thousand persons. Briceño says after sixty years of trailblazing […]
As predicted, two deputy leaders and three other parliamentarians were no shows at the National Party Council meeting of the People’s United Party this past Saturday at Independence Hall. They boycotted the second highest authority of the PUP because they did not agree with the convening of the meeting and were opposed to a rumoured […]
While John Briceño was firmly in control at Saturday’s event leading up to the national convention, what’s the future for his Deputy Mark Espat? Briceño says he’s not running from a challenge and what’s more, he is giving the prescribed notice for any potential threat. As to what started the ruckus last week from the […]
