The Political Reform Commission will be coming out of the conference room and hitting the airwaves to get your suggestions. The show, “Rock di system” will air on two stations KREM and LOVE FM on Sundays and Thursdays beginning this weekend. The hosts for this Sunday’s program at 11 a.m. on KREM are commission chairman […]
To protect children as well as combat violence involving youths last week the Government imposed a curfew for all children aged sixteen and under. The statutory instrument signed last Friday by Minister of Human Development, Dolores Balderamos Garcia specified that parents or guardians who allow a child to loiter, wander or be in the street, […]
While the United Democratic Party is opposing the new curfew, Cabinet is proceeding with additional security measures to protect children. Cabinet has approved the design and implementation of a school security initiative for twenty-two primary and secondary Belize City schools during school hours. The Ministry of Education has also established a truancy and child abuse […]
At the Cabinet meeting yesterday the Ministry of Economic Development made conditional approval for a paper company to operate in Belize. Caribbean Paper Company will manufacture a variety of paper products for the domestic market with the employment of nine people in its first year. The company has yet to meet certain criteria of the […]
The new budget was the subject of debate today in the House of Representatives. And if the spotlight was on the Prime Minister last week when he first presented the budget, today the Opposition took the floor, and held on to it for hours. U.D.P. Leader Dean Barrow characterized the budget, which boasts an operating […]
Area Representative for the Mesopotamia Division Michael Finnegan, whose humorous asides played off against Barrow as the straight man, then launched into his own lengthy criticism of the budget, stressing that crucial areas such as health and education were not being sufficiently financed. But the area that drew the most fire from Finnegan was the […]
Minister of Budget Planning Ralph Fonseca dismissed the Opposition’s criticism as baseless and said the U.D.P. was still licking its wounds after their resounding defeat. He commented on the Gaming Act, which is still in the initial stages, with all aspects and possible ramifications for the Belizean public being examined. He said gambling is already […]
The Prime Minister Said Musa defended the 83 point 3 million dollar new budget which he says, given the mess the government inherited from the U.D.P., is a combination of belt tightening and measures designed to spur investment and growth. He also addressed the issue of the 100 million dollar Loan from Taiwan which the […]
Seventeen scholarships have been awarded for Belizeans to study medicine, presumably in Cuba, beginning next month. The announcement was made at today’s Cabinet meeting by the Ministry of Education. The scholarships for general medicine are being awarded to: Selma Bermudez, Cynthia Terry, Patrick Estephan, John Arana, Keisha Westby, Maximiliano Riverol, Reymundo Bautista, Michael Sommerville, Beatriz […]
In keeping with its promise to keep the public informed about its progress, the Political Reform Commission says they are now well into the first of three phases of work. The Commission, appointed by the Prime Minister in December to examine Belize’s system of governance and make recommendations for improvement says they have been reviewing […]
New Mayors and deputy Mayors have been chosen in major towns across the country. Today the Ministry of Local Government announced the results. In San Pedro, Ambergris Caye the Mayor is Alberto Nuñez Sr., deputy Alfredo Salazar Jr. In Corozal the Mayor is Herman Ramirez, deputy Rolando Alcoser and in Orange Walk Reynaldo Burgos is […]
The City Council has elected Merilyn Young as Deputy Mayor. She will serve for one year. Portfolios were also assigned to each councilor at the meeting on Thursday night. Mayor David Fonseca will be in charge of budget and finance while Deputy Young will oversee sister city relationships, small business initiatives and council affairs. Councilor […]
The Minister of Sugar Industries and Local Government, and Latin American Affairs Florencio Marin represented Belize at a CARICOM Heads of Government conference in Suriname last week. High on the meeting’s agenda was the United States’ imposition of sanctions against the European Union Banana Import Marketing Regime. The CARICOM Heads issued a statement condemning the […]
In their weekly meeting, Cabinet reviewed reports on the tax reform proposals to be tabled at the next House of Representatives meeting. Cabinet urged those Ministers and public service managers to expedite their consultations. It was also announced that when VAT is repealed, the VAT unit employees will be absorbed into the tax collection system […]
After their win at the polls on Wednesday, the new P.U.P. City Council was sworn in today and is ready to get down to business. Hyacinth Latchman was at City Hall for the ceremony. David Fonseca, Mayor “I, William David Fonseca do being duly elected as a member of the Belize City Council do solemnly […]
Six months after massacring the Opposition in nationwide general elections the People’s United Party proved that its victory was no fluke. Amassing almost sixty percent of the total number of votes the P.U.P. installed a mayor and full ten member Belize City Council. The voting, which was largely along party lines, saw a former Mayor, […]
According to the man who garnered the greatest number of votes, Marshall Nuñez, the P.U.P. victory boiled down to a simple, but time tested formula: hard work. Marshall Nuñez, City Councilor “We had to go out there, myself and all the other candidates, we went from division to division throughout the city. We did all […]
One of the newest faces in the P.U.P. lineup was enthusiastic last night about the prospect of serving on the City Council. Yasmin Shoman committed herself to improving the city. Yasmin Shoman, City Councilor “We are a party that does not believe in excuses; we believe in getting the job done and doing it well. […]
The youngest face on the U.D.P. slate, who also got the most votes for his party, Patrick Faber said regardless of the end result, this election was a chance for the U.D.P. to show it can rebuild itself. Patrick Faber, U.D.P. with most votes “What is clear is that the old way is not working […]
Today the Leader of the Opposition, Dean Barrow said he has nothing but appreciation for Patrick Faber and all the new U.D.P. candidates who took on the challenge of running for a party which had just suffered such a stunning defeat. He says the results do indeed show that the U.D.P. is a viable party […]
After all the hype of the General Elections in August, the Belize City Council campaign has been tame by comparison, and so seemed the voter turnout today. Although Citco elections never generate the same enthusiasm as a national election and the official voter turnout numbers are not yet out, polling today could best be described […]
On the northside of Belize City the story at the polls was much the same. News Five’s Hyacinth Latchman spoke to some of the candidates and Prime Minister Said Musa about the race. Moving around the northside of Belize City today the People’s United Party members were definitely more visible than the United Democratic Party […]
The polls are now closed and all that remains is for the ballots to be counted. Standing by at Belize City Centre are News Five’s Stewart Krohn and Ernesto Vasquez. Stewart, what’s the situation like. Aired at approximately 6:25 p.m. Stewart Krohn “The situation out here is well under control. Directly behind me the first […]
You may not be feeling like it’s the day before elections but Belize City residents will be voting for their City Council tomorrow. But will the people turn out in significant numbers and what are some of the issues they would like the new City Council to deal with? News Five spoke with some voters […]
As part of their manifesto promise to improve recreational facilities for children, over the past two weeks the Belize City Council has been rehabilitating the Cinderella Park in the Caribbean Shores Area. Yesterday News Five visited the park and spoke with area representative for Caribbean Shores Jose Coye and City Councilor David Fonseca. Jose Coye, […]
