There were no blackouts today and B.E.L. employees were on the job, despite threats of a nationwide strike. Disaster was averted because of a last minute intervention by Prime Minister Dean Barrow Tuesday evening. That led to a capitulation by B.E.L. management and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding late today which effectively signals […]
The MOU was signed at around five this evening, but that doesn’t mean that the management of B.E.L. is happy about it even though the union got less than they were bargaining for. Still yet, the situation would have been handled much differently if not for one thing – general elections in a month. Government […]
Marvin Mora is the spokesperson of the BEWU, but he is also the President of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. That umbrella organization was increasingly vocal on a number of hot-button topics of late, but the dynamic certainly changes with the announcement of elections. We asked Mora for his input on the issues […]
Mora also, interestingly, condemned the inability of trade unions to stand up for the people of Belize. It’s a criticism that’s certainly been expressed in different sectors, but coming from the President of the N.T.U.C.B., that’s pretty big news. Mora went so far as to say that for one reason or the other, the trade […]
Even as the Prime Minister has stepped in to pour water on the sizzling coals at B.E.L., he may have to think about doing the same at the Social Security Board. News Five has confirmed that employees of that statutory body are contemplating very immediate industrial action if their demands are not met. Those employees, […]
From the B.E.W.U. to the S.S.B. to U.B. …where we are told faculty and staff have given President of the institution Alan Slusher one week to respond to their demands for a fourteen percent salary adjustment. Those employees point out that just like public officers, in 2003 they received a raise and again, just like […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow formally announced the date for the upcoming general elections on Monday, sixteen months short of his five year term in office. The snap election is causing serious concerns in respect of the electoral lists. The Opposition Leader, Francis Fonseca, in a letter to PM Barrow dated September twenty-eighth, notes that the […]
Steadily declining profits, stagnant revenues, declining dividends….That’s what shareholders and senior management at Belize Telemedia Limited are facing six years after the utility company was nationalized. On Tuesday night, at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel, the company convened its Ninth Annual General Meeting. The financial reports were about a two-million-dollar drop in profits […]
Shareholders received twenty-three cents per share in dividends, down one cent from last year. Chairman of the B.T.L. Executive Committee, Anwar Barrow, has completed one year as the company’s effective Chief Executive Officer. Despite the two-million dollar drop in profits, the Prime Minister’s son says he is not overly concerned and that the company is […]
Also hanging over B.T.L.’s head is the twenty-two point five million-US-dollar loan facility acquired from the British Caribbean Bank during the first acquisition in 2009. B.T.L.’s board had refused to pay the loan despite decisions by the arbitration courts that the loan had to be settled. As part of the settlement with the previous owners, […]
There is a bizarre story of a minor being coerced by her older brother into being raped by her cousin which is making headlines tonight. A thirteen-year-old student of Santa Familia Village has accused her sibling of forcing her into having sex with her own cousin against her will. In the company of her mother, […]
Two weeks ago, a Toyota Hilux parked at the Ministry of Health compound in Belmopan was stolen. Today, that vehicle was recovered across the border. Working together with Guatemalan authorities, the vehicle was recovered and has now been brought across the border. As far as we know, a Melchor resident is being questioned about the […]
The Supreme Court has postponed one case and discontinued another as a result of the announcement of general elections on November fourth. The case of P.U.P. Cayo Northeast standard bearer Orlando Habet versus the Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai is to be discontinued with no order made for costs. Attorney Lisa Shoman, on behalf of Habet, […]
In the other case, the Leader of the Opposition, Francis Fonseca, was taking on Prime Minister Dean Barrow over the thirteenth member of the Senate. Today, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin postponed that case until November thirtieth, well after the elections. The U.D.P. had presented amendments to the Constitution to name a thirteenth Senator to represent non-governmental […]
Twenty-five year old Shannon Smith, a resident of Mahogany Heights, Belize District, who is accused in an alleged home invasion, was back in court today. In March 2015, a man allegedly forced himself into her house and tried to harm her, but instead he was stabbed in the chest multiple times. Smith, who was originally […]
The Consumer Price Index for August 2015 indicates that the costs of goods and services were point six percent lower last month than for the same period in 2014. The slight decrease is the result of diminishing fuel prices which offset the rising cost of some food items, as well as the cost of home […]
The Equator Prize 2015, a prestigious international award acknowledging exceptional local achievement in improving sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities, has been won by the Maya Leaders Alliance. The announcement came recently from the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where UNDP Administrator Helen Clark emphasized the importance of local climate and […]
The Belize National Library Service and Information System today held the fourteenth annual book fair at the Leo Bradley Library on Princess Margaret Drive in Belize City. It encourages youths to read and today, Duane Moody stopped by and has this report. Duane Moody, Reporting Throughout the year, the Belize National Library Service and […]
Will there be nationwide blackouts in the jewel on Wednesday? It seems to be a possibility, since B.E.L. employees who are members of the Belize Energy Workers Union will be on strike. The announcement of that very drastic industrial action at the country’s only power provider came today from General Secretary of the B.E.W.U. Marvin […]
A ccording to Mora, the strike has become necessary only after a protracted attempt to find middle ground with B.E.L. management. With that option seemingly off the table, the union seems prepared to stand its ground. In fact Mora says that since last month the union was prepared to strike. Marvin Mora, General Secretary, […]
The Santa Cruz Thirteen, including outspoken Maya activist Cristina Coc, were back in court today where they appeared before Magistrate Emerson Banner. The group has been back and forth before the magistracy since being arrested and charged on June twenty-fourth for the unlawful imprisonment of Rupert Myles. Myles has denuded parts of the sacred site […]
While the Mayans of Santa Cruz await their day in Court following another adjournment, one man who hasn’t been before a magistrate is Rupert Myles. That’s because the man who is said to have deliberately destroyed the sacred Mayan site, Uxbenka, has not been charged. Following the incident on June twentieth, Director of Archaeology John […]
After four nights on remand, sex offender Kenrick Bowman, is out free from the Belize Central Prison until his next court appearance. Last Friday Bowman was arraigned for a sexual offense against a fifteen year old minor and was granted bail by Magistrate Ladonna John which he was able to meet today. However, Bowman’s bail is […]
There was also a murder acquittal in court.Twenty-three year old Lincoln Hemsley Junior, walked free of the March 2012 murder of twenty-one year old David Alberto Hernandez after being on remand for three years. Judge Adolph Lucas upheld a no case submission and ordered that Hemsley Junior had no case to answer. The ruling came […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced on Monday that general elections will be held on November fourth, 2015, that is only three years and eight months into his second five year term in office. The Opposition feels that the Barrow administration will be rocked by various burning issues, including very recent settlements for the arbitrary nationalizations […]
