At today’s House meeting, aside from the reduction in electricity rates and the S.S.B. write-offs, the prime minister gave a hint that debt forgiveness could possibly extend to DFC mortgages. That is only under consideration, but with elections not far away; that may be one more plum to the electorate. Both the leader of the […]
The highlight of the sitting should have been light rate reduction and the Social Security Board mortgage write-offs. But the controversy surrounding S.S.B. employees who allegedly committed insider trading have marred the entire project. The person at the top of the S.S.B., C.E.O. Merlene Bailey has been suspended pending an investigation on the insider trading. […]
Despite the dilemma of the C.E.O., Merlene Bailey and Internal Auditor, Denise Mahler, the Prime Minister explained the merits of the scheme. Dean Barrow “When I negotiated with S.S.B. to buy these mortgages in order to write them off for Belizean homeowners, I did so on the basis that the people to be covered would […]
The reduction in electricity rates was tabled this morning in the House following Thursday’s initial decision by the Public Utilities Commission. The government owned Belize Electricity Limited on December first, 2011 submitted a request to drop electricity rates by three point four percent, but after reviewing factors including the utility company’s business plan and sales […]
Avery says that there are several factors that made their proposed reduction higher than B.E.L.’s application. One reason is that the utility company had gone to court to block the P.U.C. from conducting a rate review for 2009, which froze electricity rates even though the global price of oil reduced significantly. B.E.L. had challenged the […]
A thirty-eight year old shopkeeper spent five months in jail after being charged for the Carnal Knowledge of a thirteen year old girl. The accused man, Arden Middleton was granted bail of twenty thousand dollars in December, 2011 and he was back in court today for the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry. Chief Magistrate, Ann […]
The driver that hit and killed a man who was riding on the sidewalk of Central American Boulevard also appeared before Chief Magistrate, Ann Marie Smith today. Twenty-eight year old Solemni Chun is facing a slew of charges in connection with the death of forty-four year old construction worker, Roberto Thomas Rivero who succumbed to […]
With the countdown to the March elections and early general elections, a mass naturalization exercise is taking place. The allegation has been due process is not being followed in the rush before the elections and earlier this week an Orange Walk resident disclosed that her house address had been fraudulently used. This morning at the […]
He is trained in the arts, but Hubert Neal Junior’s works are anything but conventional. At first glance his contemporary exhibition looks like the ordinary, but a closer look will reveal masterpieces that tell tales. Neal, who is a Belizean-American, is holding his first exhibition of his most recent works at the Image Factory tonight. […]
Over a hundred youths across the country will be benefitting from basketball skills training from the pros of the Cleveland Basketball School in the United States. A team of trainers and coaches are in the jewel working with the Belize Basketball Federation to execute a five day training session across the country. Today News Five […]
This Saturday, the new president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina will be sworn in to replace outgoing president Alvaro Colom. Perez Molina, a former army general, will have to tackle security issues and is giving priority to ending a long-standing U.S. ban on military aid imposed due to concerns about abuses during Guatemala’s thirty-six year […]
The prime minister has announced a number of incentives just before the March seventh municipal elections and general elections to follow. Just before news time, the Public Utility Commission (P.U.C.) released its Initial Decision on a reduction of electricity rates. And from the looks of it, it may not hurt your pocket if you turn […]
On Wednesday the board of the Social Security decided to suspend, effective immediately, C.E.O. Merlene Bailey and the Internal Auditor, Denise Mahler. It was an unprecedented move and a monumental blow to Bailey, who has generally been viewed as a model public officer. Bailey was the chair of the D.F.C. Commission of Inquiry in 2007 […]
Kim Simplis Barrow, the wife of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in early November. Since the stunning news, she has been back and forth between Belize and Miami where she has had two rounds of chemotherapy at the Baptist Hospital. There have been ups and downs as treatment progresses […]
Where will you be when the world begins anew? That’s the question that’s being tossed around the world since it is the year of the Maya Calendar. There is a lot of discussion on this issue and Belize is already one of the top ten destinations to visit this year. A number of events are […]
For the third time in as many months Wesley Church on Albert Street has been targeted by thieves. Sometime overnight the building was burglarized and an array of electronic items was stolen. To make matters worse the church had only just installed an organ a few weeks ago and a pricey piece of that equipment […]
A construction worker was hit by a van on Wednesday as he rode his bicycle on the sidewalk on Central American Boulevard. According to police twenty-eight year old Solemni Chun was behind the wheel of the Astro Van and when he attempted to overtake another vehicle on the right side of the road, he lost […]
The trial against Kaycia Fuller, ended in mid December with a conviction for Use of Deadly Means of Harm with Intent to Cause Dangerous Harm. Today, there was more bad news in court for the twenty-four year old, who stabbed Hibiscus Street resident Judean Brown multiple times on October second, 2009. Fuller appeared in court […]
Today the Belize National Fire Service officially welcomed a new intake of firemen. The recruits, who trained for three months will be attached to stations around the country. Aside from the lessons to tackle fires, at the ceremony this morning, they acknowledged the importance of teamwork. News Five’s Andrea Polanco was at the event, where […]
Fern Lane is located in the St Marin de Porres area of Lake Independence. It is an area that has gained notoriety for gang warfare that has ended the lives of many. Struggling to clean up their images, at risk youths have embarked on an exercise to rid the neighborhood of both the stigma and […]
Sixty wheelchairs were handed over this morning to various persons with disabilities as well as some organizations. It is part of a donation of two hundred and fifty facilitated by the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simpliss Barrow via a foundation in Taiwan. The KHMH, Voice and Stella Maris received their share of […]
The annual Revenue Tax Fair kicked off today in six locations across the country. Three departments that bring in revenue to the government coffers organized the event. In Belize City, activities were held at the Charles Bartlett Hyde Building on Mahogany where the Income Tax, GST and Customs partnered with stakeholders to educate the public […]
The third party known as Vision Inspired by the People has revealed their candidates for both Belize City and Belmopan Municipal Elections. And while they have fired up their yearning for serving their communities, the Chairman of the VIP, Robert Lopez has fired up his passion for the media. During Wednesday’s launch of VIP City […]
Do you notice an unusual tilt in your body? Do your child’s proportions seem asymmetrical? It could be scoliosis. Find out more about the symptoms and treatment options in tonight’s edition of Healthy Living. Marleni Cuellar, Reporting The image of the flexing and twisting of the vertebrae is one we’ve learned from our earliest science […]
There is a major shakeup in the Social Security Board tonight and it is the first of a kind. The Board of Directors at an emergency meeting today, recommended that its C.E.O. Merlene Bailey be suspended from her duties at S.S.B. This comes on the heels of a story we broke on Friday of insider […]
