The good news tonight is that the rain has stopped. But now the tough job of cleaning up the mess left behind by the flood waters has only just begun. Today like many Belize City residents, Troy Banner was hard at work cleaning his marley and rug after his floor was submerged under the foot […]
Belize Electricity Limited reports that they are making rapid progress in the restoration of service to areas affected by Hurricane Dean. According to a company release, current has been restored to essential service providers like Corozal Hospital, Belize Water Services and B.T.L. With ten crews in the area B.E.L. says that by the end of […]
Maybe people in Corozal expected too much. Maybe the people at NEMO planned too little. Maybe the media is focussing too closely on the suffering and not enough on the recovery. Those issues will no doubt be debated in the weeks and months to come but for now we can safely report that there is […]
Relief efforts in the north received a financial boost today from the Social Security Board. This morning the organisation donated ninety thousand dollars to NEMO and thirty-five thousand to the Belize Red Cross. The money, according to S.S.B. Deputy Chairperson, Elena Smith, came from funds set aside for disaster relief. Elena Smith, Deputy Chair, SSB […]
And while ninety thousand dollars can help a lot of people, according to Minister Responsible for NEMO, Godfrey Smith, a tally of the damage comes in at around fifty million dollars. This morning he told News Five about the work to be undertaken and how it will be financed. Godfrey Smith, Minister Responsible for NEMO […]
Water and electricity were not the only utilities affected by Hurricane Dean. While the larger B.T.L. network performed flawlessly in the critical hours before the storm’s landfall, by midmorning on Monday, SMART’s approximately thirty-five thousand customers began to experience difficulty making calls. According to Managing Director Jaime Briceno, the reason was congestion due to the […]
Also in the Free Zone today assessing damage was Belize Telemedia chief Dean Boyce. Boyce says that telecommunication services in all hurricane affected areas of Belize should be restored by weekend. Dean Boyce, Board Member, B.T.L. “We have some damage, usually to the drop lines, so this is the last couple of hundred metres to […]
While all eyes—quite rightly—are looking north, we’ll turn our attention for a minute on a place that was hardly touched by the storm … but may be in big trouble the next time around. News Five’s Kendra Griffith has the story from Belize City. Kendra Griffith, Reporting Rows of bottled water, boxes of bleach, milk […]
As chairman of the National Emergency Management Organization, Prime Minister Said Musa is the man who must listen to the advice of his experts and then make the key decisions on how best to deal with the situation. This afternoon he addressed the nation from Belmopan. Here are some of the highlights. Prime Minister said […]
While Belize City is not expected to experience the worst hurricane force winds, the geography of the low lying old capital makes it especially vulnerable to rain and high tide, both of which accompany Dean in abundance. This afternoon, as city residents did their last minute shopping Ann-Marie Williams joined them at a popular discount […]
Whether you’re watching local television, listening to the radio or have your eyes glued to the Weather Channel, there’s no shortage of information on Dean and where it may be headed. The question is: what will we do as the hurricane gets closer? News Five’s Kendra Griffith took to the streets to find out. Resident […]
In 2005 the National Committee for Families and Children partnered with the International Labour Organization, which was funding a regional programme to address the problem of child labour. The aim was to discourage the practice, particularly in rural communities. Chairperson of the N.C.F.C., Sandra Hall says another partnership, this time with the Ministry of Education, […]
One month after five families were left homeless by the Prince Street fire, the Belize City Council continues to extend a helping hand to the victims. Today, in a short ceremony, a three piece sofa set, donated by Adventura Furniture of Corozal, was given to one of the families. To decide which family would receive […]
Oil has been a hot topic in the news ever since the natural resource was discovered in commercial quantities below the Spanish Lookout community. But these days the discussion centres on how the find will financially benefit the country. On Monday, members of the Finance and Economic Development House Committee will meet at the National […]
After the report of the Senate Select Committee investigating the financial affairs of the Social Security Board sent the managers of the fund into crisis mode, the board’s directors have been working to rebuild S.S.B.’s reputation in the eyes of the public. Part of the official response has been sessions in policy making, transparency and […]
On Monday night members of a West Landivar citizens group were unyielding in their objection to a project planned by businessman, David Gegg. And while it appears that government will follow those residents’ wishes and stop any construction, today Gegg told us that the move makes no sense since there is ample precedent for such […]
This week the folks who run and inhabit Belize’s only prison are taking time to mark their achievements. Yesterday News Five’s Janelle Chanona made the trip to Hattieville and found that in five years of private administration much has changed. Janelle Chanona, Reporting On Tuesday, inmates of the Hattieville Correctional Facility put their talent on […]
If you were expecting fireworks last night between the two sides in the West Landivar land use dispute, you were probably disappointed. While there was no shortage of hard talk, it was delivered with only one intent: to stop the project proposed by businessman David Gegg. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story. Rhenae Nunez, […]
The Government’s involvement in the financial affairs of Universal Health Services has provided ample fodder for the Opposition United Democratic Party to attack the administration of Prime Minister Said Musa. And tonight the U.D.P. is using the third affidavit of Belize Bank’s Philip Johnson in connection with the injunction sought by the Association of Concerned […]
As that report demonstrates, members of the Police Department have the same weaknesses as the rest of the community … and they also have the same strengths … as I found out this afternoon in Hattieville. Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting Following a month of music lessons, the children of Hattieville Village have come together to form […]
Government plans to upgrade one hundred and forty-one miles of rural feeder roads in the Belize, Cayo and Toledo districts. The two point five million dollar project, which falls under the European Union funded Belize Rural Development Project, should begin construction in late 2007 or early 2008. According to a Press Office release, a contract […]
One week after the Ministry of Human Development reinstituted a curfew for Belize City children under the age of sixteen, coordinators are reporting success. For the past seven days, police and child protection officials have been combing the streets for unsupervised children, but according to Chief Executive Officer Anita Zetina, so far only a handful […]
To say that the unilateral submission of a report by the D.F.C. Commission of Inquiry by co-chair Herbert Lord has opened a can of worms would be an understatement; it’s more like a truckload. And the interesting thing–to stretch the analogy–is that every one of those worms seems to be crawling in a different direction. […]
As previously noted, Belize’s media houses reacted to the Lord report and subsequent injunction in ways that were not always predictable. For Kremandala it was a case of ignoring the report’s contents but lash the Prime Minister for accepting and releasing it. The U.D.P.’s Wave Radio was only too happy to use the report’s particulars […]
Exactly a week ago five families in the Albert Division escaped with little more than their lives after a devastating fire burned their homes and possessions to the ground. Today, as they try to pick up the pieces, those families received some much needed assistance from two generous business houses. One entrepreneur, who chose to […]
