Ahead of the July first start of the long overdue re-registration exercise, the People’s United Party has shared many of its concerns about the preparation of the Elections and Boundaries Commission and Election and Boundaries Department for re-registering as many as two hundred thousand persons countrywide to vote. A few thousand of those are previous […]
Ahead of the start of the process, the P.U.P. has called on Prime Minister Dean Barrow to invite, as the Manuel Esquivel government did in 1997, the Organization of American States to an electoral observer mission. The P.U.P. leader shared the party’s concerns including a lack of recognition for the five members on the Elections […]
A decision is pending on whether the export processing zone status of Santander Sugar Limited will be amended to allow it to put part of its plantation sugar on the local market, where seven percent of the sales of A.S.R./B.S.I. is reserved. The northern cane farmers’ associations oppose the decision because of Santander’s status, which […]
Minister for Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington has told us that the work to establish the Sarstoon protocol continues with our western neighbour and the Organization of American States, but that it will take some time. The protocol would articulate how to minimize conflicts on the river and the wider Caribbean Sea. Today, Opposition Leader John […]
Earlier in the newscast, you hear the P.U.P. leader speak on a number of pressing national issues as well as party matters. But John Briceño opened his press conference today with an overview of the economic situation. He made note of the continuous price increases in fuel prices, which as has been pointed out, is […]
A total of seventy-nine murders have been reported, unofficially, across Belize to date, putting the country on course for another triple-digit year of killings. Other types of major crime reports, including burglary, robbery and theft have also been getting attention. Despite the change in command in Belize City and elsewhere and the plethora of plans […]
Earlier we heard about the P.U.P. statement on the deadly volcano that erupted in Guatemala killing as many as sixty persons so far. But the party has been going through internal turmoil and strife during its convention period. Following the fallout due to the disqualification of Patrick Andrews and Arthur Saldivar in the Belmopan constituency, […]
On Wednesday night, we told you about the controversy surrounding the Belmopan constituency for the People’s United Party. Arthur Saldivar and Patrick Andrews were both rejected from running in the convention and that has now left a three-person race. Two relatively unknown figures in the political landscape, Wieszman Pat and Michelle Rodriguez are up against […]
A series of contested conventions for the People’s United Party standard bearers are turning out to be thorny. Of five persons, two candidates have been disqualified from putting their names on the P.U.P. ticket in the upcoming convention for the Belmopan division. Patrick Andrews who had relocated overseas and then returned to Belize, as well […]
In the case of the suspension of the former Belize Rural North standard bearer, Arthur Saldivar remains on probation of two years which prohibits him from applying to contest for the party. That is not likely to faze Saldivar, who hosted an ‘online town hall’ session on social media running nearly two hours to respond. […]
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives has been making moves after a stuttering start due to several meetings being canceled. A report on the most recent Auditor General’s Report of 2012-2013 is due but according to Chairman Julius Espat, the consensus is that the government’s system of accountability and transparency in public […]
The Opposition People’s United Party has weighed in on the topic, from differing angles. Orange Walk South area rep Jose Mai, who is a cane farmer and staunch supporter of the established northern cane production, argues that Santander’s move is wrong on two fronts: in the eyes of the law, where their status as an […]
Cayo South area rep Julius Espat provided an alternative view focusing on the economic development provided by Santander in his area. He notes that farmers in the Cayo District have been providing cane to the Santander factory for their sugar, and many more are employed to harvest and produce, so he is more cautious about […]
P.U.P. caretaker Paul Thompson lost his initial bid to represent the Albert Division in 2015 when he ran against the then U.D.P. standard bearer Tracy Panton in the last general elections. As it turns out, the opposition senator shares the same Regent Street address as that of his opponent’s mother. That’s because when Thompson made […]
In other political news, the People’s United Party held a meeting today of the National Executive in Belize City. It debated several serious matters and heard from Thea Garcia Ramirez of Corozal, the first female chair of the Northern Caucus and Corozal Bay executive. After losing a convention for standard bearer, Garcia Ramirez is standing […]
Two weeks away from the Albert Division convention for the People’s United Party on June seventeenth, the campaign between Senators and People’s United Party’s aspirants Valerie Woods and Paul Thompson is getting contentious. Tonight, Senator Thompson finds himself on the defense and confirms that he is in fact currently registered to vote at the “home” […]
Paul Thompson is going head to head with fellow Senator Valerie Woods, who has prided herself as being born and raised in the division. But Thompson says he has been putting in the work on the ground with residents for two decades and wants another shot at Tracey Taegar Panton at the next general election. […]
In other political news, David “Dido” Vega, former mayoral candidate for the P.U.P. in Corozal Town, was elected standard bearer for Corozal Bay on Sunday in the party’s first contested convention of this campaign season. He defeated four other rivals to secure the seat with one thousand and twenty-seven of two thousand and forty-two votes. […]
In historic regional news, following a sweep of the country’s thirty seats in the House of Assembly by her Barbados Labour Party, Mia Amor Mottley was this afternoon sworn in as Barbados’ eighth Prime Minister and first woman to hold the post. Mottley took her oath in the presence of Governor General Dame Sandra Mason, […]
Votes are being counted at this hour, two hours east of Belize on the island of Barbados, where voters went to the polls today to elect a new government. The incumbent Democratic Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, is being challenged in its bid for a third term by the Barbados Labour Party, […]
On July first the People’s United Party will select its standard bearer for Belmopan. Last week, we understand at least three persons submitted their application; those persons are Patrick Andrews, Oscar Mira and Arthur Saldivar. It has been a while since we last heard of Saldivar and politics. If you can recall, in the 2012 […]
A few days ago, the Social Security Board issued a demand note for payment of outstanding contributions to the Belize City Council collected from employees, but not paid by the former Darrell Bradley administration. On May fifteenth, City Hall received the letter from the S.S.B. saying that for the period November to December 2017, an […]
But who was responsible for making the payments to the S.S.B.? That, says Deputy Mayor Oscar Arnold, was the responsibility of Candice Miller, the former City Administrator, who was initially placed on suspension for dereliction of duties before she was dismissed earlier this month. Arnold says that the Finance Department is verifying if contributions for […]
The Deputy Mayor questions the priorities of the previous administration given the fact that this outstanding payment lingered while the then-U.D.P. council put off a free concert in February. The concert cost City Hall one hundred and thirty-three thousand dollars, almost three times the amount owed to the S.S.B. The Deputy Mayor confirms, however, that […]
Before the I.C.J. referendum is held next year, there is the matter of the re-registration exercise spearheaded by the Elections and Boundaries Department, which is set to begin on July first. That exercise will run in the millions of dollars. Government has since allocated monies that will go toward a budget leading up to next […]
