Reports out of Dangriga are that the United Democratic Party’s mayoral candidate Frank “Pawpa” Mena has injured himself and is currently admitted to ward at the Southern Regional Hospital. We understand that Mena was playing with a lighter when it exploded and set fire to his shirt. Health officials tell News Five that Mena might […]
Almost three years ago, on March fifth, 2003, elections were held for local leaders in the nation’s seven towns and two cities. But with the more crucial national polling held on the same day, the municipal voting received little public notice. This time around it’s different, with the spotlight shining brightly on races from P.G. […]
With only twenty-two more days to nationwide municipal elections, this morning the People’s United Party officially launched its manifesto in ceremonies across the country. And as we found out on Queen’s Street this morning, the P.U.P. is going all out to secure dominance in the country’s two cities and seven towns. Janelle Chanona, Reporting As […]
You would have thought that the two major political parties would have fought tooth and nail over electoral registration, but today, the appointed date for courtroom challenges to newly registered voters, there was an eerie silence from both P.U.P. and U.D.P. With a few minor exceptions for clerical errors, the voters list for the March […]
While much of the attention of the political campaigns for the March municipal elections appears to be concentrated in Belize City and Belmopan, by all accounts, the race for dominance in all seven towns and two cities will be tight. On Thursday, News Five’s Janelle Chanona travelled west and found contenders of all colours. Janelle […]
Several thousand Belizeans who have defaulted on small loans with the Development Finance Corporation are being relieved of their debt burden. The initiative, which according to a press release from the Prime Minister’s Office, involves close to six million dollars and one thousand, five hundred and twenty-five borrowers, was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday and […]
Despite the fact that municipal elections are only a month and a half away, there has been little political friction thus far in the campaign. This morning, however, the partisan heat was turned up a notch in what is normally one of Belize’s least confrontational communities: Belmopan. Protester ?Your actions are being irresponsible.? Anthony Chanona […]
With nationwide town and city council balloting set for March first, the Election and Boundaries Commission today held a press conference to outline how preparations are going. According to Chief Elections Officer, Stuart Leslie, at the end of 2005 the number of registered voters stood at one hundred and thirty-four thousand, nine hundred and seventeen. […]
The hype surrounding the upcoming city and town council elections cooled off over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, but with politics as something of a national sport, it will not take long for things to heat up between now and March first. Today, the UDP candidates in Belize City fired the year’s first electoral […]
Despite another series of skirmishes between the Speaker and members on the floor over proper standing orders, today’s hot topic in the House of Representatives was definitely the motion of a fifty million dollar loan negotiated by the Musa Administration and the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan. The Opposition charge a bailout […]
There has been a political upset in the west following municipal conventions by the United Democratic Party in Benque Viejo. Incumbent Mayor Said “Badi” Guerra will not represent the town in March following a blistering loss on Sunday to the former mayor Marconi Sosa. According to the U.D.P. secretariat, Sosa garnered five hundred and fifty-eight […]
With country-wide municipal elections only three months away, political campaigns are already in high gear. And while much of the country will be asked to choose candidates from the two main political parties, this Sunday, residents of Belmopan will be introduced to the men and women of a third entity offering themselves up for election. […]
The Belize Governance Improvement Commission released more documents to the media today, apparently determined to bolster its case and repair the reputation of the twelve members who resigned en mass earlier this month. The bulky file sent to News Five includes a complete breakdown of members, the commission’s terms of reference, and several letters of […]
Over the weekend, the People’s United Party held its endorsement convention for its Belize City candidates in the municipal elections scheduled for next March. Hosted at the Belize City Centre on Saturday afternoon, the bashment gave thumbs up to current councillor Marshall Nunez as its mayoral choice. Also running again as councillors are Eloisa Trujeque, […]
It was back to business in the National Assembly today and back to the front bench for area representatives Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde. But their return was not the subject of debate… instead the attention was focused on registry scandal and the new General Sales Tax set to replace the loophole riddled Sales Tax. […]
The official confirmation came in black and white this morning, courtesy of the Belize Times: Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde are once again ministers of government. Espat has been appointed Minister of National Development, Investment and Culture, with responsibility for the Social Investment Fund, Basic Needs Trust Fund, investment promotion, export processing zones and commercial […]
“Sue me”. Tonight that’s the open challenge from the Opposition United Democratic Party on the heels of the Prime Minister’s comments on the registry scandal. According to U.D.P. Leader Dean Barrow, his party’s call for Godfrey Smith’s head on a platter stands, as they are more convinced than ever of the minister’s involvement as a […]
Switching gears slightly to another hot political issue, Barrow commented on the imminent return of backbenchers Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde into the Cabinet room and presumably, the good graces of the People’s United Party. Dean Barrow ?They have no credibility whatsoever. They appear to be utterly unprincipled and completely selfish. And certainly in terms […]
He kept away from the media for over a week, saying he didn’t want to talk about the past…but the scandal surrounding the privatisation and re-nationalisation of the Companies Registry has occupied a large part of the nation’s political present, not to mention this administration’s future. So today, piggy-backing on a routine photo op with […]
Although the bulk of today’s chat focussed on the registry scandal, the P.M. did manage to admit that negotiations are well on their way toward the readmission of renegade representatives Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde into Cabinet. According to Musa, there are no hard feelings. Prime Minister Said Musa ?I have been long enough in […]
It once seemed that Minister of Tourism, Foreign Affairs and Information Godfrey Smith, had a skin of Teflon. He shrugged off a minor scandal involving the awarding of a contract to his brother, emerged unscathed from the G-Seven rebellion and was riding a wave of prime ministerial support that earned him the post of deputy […]
The result may not have come as much of a surprise, but Zenaida Moya’s resounding victory in Sunday’s U.D.P. Belize City mayoral convention, coupled with the massive turnout left no doubt that the Opposition will pose a serious threat to P.U.P. rule in the old capital. Karla Heusner reports from the grounds of the Anglican […]
It’s hardly likely to quiet the public outcry over the scandal at the Registry, but today the Ministry of Finance announced it has a received a refund of the two point five million dollars in stamp duty it paid to the Companies Registry from the sale of B.T.L. shares to Ecom and Sunshine Holdings on […]
For the first time since the public outcry against reports that the privatised Companies Registry collected more than a million and a half dollars in government’s sale of Belize Telecommunications Limited shares to two Michael Ashcroft companies, the Musa administration has officially commented on the issue. This morning, I approached Prime Minister Said Musa for […]
While government has figured out how to sell its B.T.L. shares to the public, it has apparently not yet made up its mind about how to deal with its embarrassing about-face on the issue of stamp duty on its previous share sales to Ecom. Following yesterday’s short press release stating that G.O.B. will end the […]
