When a reporter spends 4 hours on the road and finds the Prime Minister in a talkative mood the conversation is bound to be wide ranging. This morning Mr. Musa responded to some additional questions about recent developments on the political scene, including the cabinet shuffle and the withdrawal of the civil suit against V.H. […]
If there is one part of its manifesto that the People’s United Party government seems committed to, it is the pledge to build 10,000 houses. With a Cuban housing factory and low interest loans, the Ministry of Housing is making it possible for virtually anyone with a steady job to own their own home. Likewise […]
In related news the Ministry of Natural Resources is reviewing its policy on the leasing of house lots, particularly the time in which a lessee must build on the land. At present the time frame is 3 years to complete a house, after which time the lease may be cancelled if no construction has been […]
In news from Cabinet that all important body has approved a number of initiatives that effect Belize’s domestic and international agenda. Two pieces of draft legislation have been approved which will improve regulation of the offshore financial sector. Three new development concessions were approved, including one for a 30-room hotel south of Hopkins, the expansion […]
It dropped on the nation’s capital like a cold water balloon on a sultry afternoon. A minor cabinet shuffle…but with major implications. Four changes of portfolio were announced today and it appears that the man taking a rap on the knuckles is Jorge Espat. Espat, who holds the key position of Minister of National Security–that […]
Autonomy is a word brandished by almost every municipal politician. In Belize City this week local government officials from throughout the Caribbean are demonstrating their autonomy by meeting to share their problems and progress. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting The Secretariat of the Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities is taking steps to revitalize CALGA after the […]
One month ago, they were elected to office and today the mayors and deputy mayors of seven town boards and Belmopan City met in the capital. The mayor of Belize City was also there for this first orientation of the councils and town administrators. Besides outlining basic responsibilities and their role in running the country’s […]
Cabinet had some tourism news of its own this week. According to the Cabinet briefing, the government has given the Belize Tourism Board the green light to proceed with plans for the Tourism Village in the Fort Point area of Belize City. The Village will be developed and operated by a private sector entity, but […]
This week, the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will meet in New Orleans to analyze the financial situations of Latin America and the Caribbean. According to an IDB press release, reducing poverty, income distribution and capital flows in the region are some of the topics that will be discussed. One seminar […]
News of the riot, or protest, at the Hattieville Prison, stole some of the thunder today from the afternoon session of the budget debate in the House of Representatives. But radio news flashes and even comments in the House by the Representative from Mesopotamia Michael Finnegan didn’t interrupt the proceedings. At newstime, the presentations were […]
This week’s Cabinet meeting included discussions on ways to encourage Belizeans to seek work in the banana and citrus industries, copyright legislation and protecting the Belize Barrier Reef. A subcommittee made up of Minister of Agriculture Daniel Silva, Minister of Labour Valdemar Castillo and Minister of Citrus and Banana Industries Henry Canton will develop a […]
National issues such as the Guatemala crisis may have eclipsed in the latter days of the campaign, but the electors in seven towns and the capital city were not to be deterred from doing their civic duty with a record turnout. And they voted overwhelmingly PUP, with 7 out of 8 municipalities going blue. Even […]
Today the Prime Minister met the press in Belmopan to talk about the town council sweep. He says national issues were a factor in the campaign and believes that the tensions with Guatemala did influence the turnout in the border areas like Benque and Toledo, but the voters seemed most concerned about municipal matters. He […]
The United Democratic Party says despite their loss in the Town Council Elections, to them the statistics show that there is a strong opposition. Michael Finnegan, the UDP Area Representative for the Mesopotamia Division says the electorate was considering several issues when they went to the polls. Michael Finnegan, UDP Area Representative, Mesopotamia Division “As […]
While the UDP certainly didn’t get the outcome they were hoping for, the man who was elected as the first mayor of Belmopan certainly did. This morning Anthony Chanona told News Five he interprets the large number of split votes, the counting of which went on until early in the morning, as a sign that […]
Although final figures were not available at newstime, preliminary tallies suggest that overall turnout in today’s municipal elections could surpass the 1997 Town Board elections, in which two thirds of eligible voters cast their ballots. The Belmopan city council and seven town boards were up for grabs today with the incumbent People’s United Party and […]
While residents of towns all over the country were no doubt interested in their own local campaigns, for those in Belmopan, the event was unique. Of course they had their referendum to decide if they wanted to become a city in November, but this was their first city council election. I was in the west […]
In case you haven’t noticed amidst the tensions with Guatemala and the murder of another child in Belize City, the Town Board Elections are on Wednesday. 31,026 people have registered to vote in Wednesday’s Town Board election and the first Belmopan city council election. Chief Elections Officer Myrtle Palacio said Belize’s political culture has demonstrated […]
The problem of internal unity–or rather lack thereof–has always bedeviled Belize in its relations with Guatemala. On the surface this instance is no different, with the Opposition and Government sparring over who did what to whom and the exact conditions which must precede any united front. But at a press conference today, despite some righteous […]
Cabinet Ministers have begun to work out the details of the budget for fiscal year 2000 to 2001. Discussions will continue at a special meeting on Thursday and the Prime Minister Said Musa will give the budget speech to the nation at a House of Representatives meeting on March 7th. The budget debate in the […]
Things in Belmopan are heating up for the City Council Elections on March 1st. Candidates are running into controversy and the political parties are pulling out all the stops to promote their councils. But there are a few independents in the bunch and instead of plastering the town with posters, one independent has decided to […]
Minister of Economic Development Ralph Fonseca represented Belize at a Caribbean Development Bank/International Monetary Fund conference in Barbados over the weekend then met with potential investors in New York. The CDB/IMF conference covered topics such as repositioning the Caribbean for globalization, offshore services industry, fiscal and political reform, elimination of poverty and small states initiative […]
The move was telegraphed on Wednesday when Mesopotamia Representative Michael Finnegan proclaimed a linkage between the construction of government houses on land he claimed belongs to the UDP and his party’s participation in a unified commission on the Guatemala issue. Today Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow left no room for doubt. Calling the construction […]
For his part, Prime Minister Musa had a few choice words of his own. Although he spoke to News Five on Wednesday, well before receiving Barrow’s letter, the P.M. made it clear that Guatemala’s present position is identical to that advanced while the UDP was in office…and that the UDP’s five years and three months […]
It was a hot issue for a while but lately things have been pretty cool in the area around UDP headquarters near the Bel-China Bridge. That is until today, when the steady noise of a pile-driver marked the beginning of Government’s construction on land which the UDP claims belongs to the party. We found the […]
