While the cases of Won Hong Kim and the eight visa foils are dominating recent headlines, there was no shortage of scandal at the Immigration Department that necessitated immigration officers being taken before the Public Service Commission for various offenses. At today’s hearing, Teresita Castellanos charged that the Department made recommendations for pursuing such matters […]
The second witness to appear at the Senate Special Select Committee this afternoon was George Reynolds. He is entering his twenty-seventh year with the Immigration Department and in 2013 was the Port Commander in charge of Immigration Services at the Department’s Belmopan headquarters, in charge of visas and other temporary permits such as for students […]
As a senior man in the Immigration Department, George Reynolds saw his share of important people coming in and out – even a Minister or two. But he told the Senate Special Select Committee that he personally saw little of them in his area and their interventions played a role. He also commented on the […]
From the senate to the courts…Belize’s highest court, the Caribbean Court of Justice, has ordered changes to the appointment of judges to the Court of Appeal. Today, the CCJ dismissed a claim by the Bar Association of Belize against the Attorney General concerning an amendment to the Constitution on the appointment and tenure of judges, […]
The Prime Minister currently has power to recommend the appointment of judges to the Court of Appeal, after consulting with the Leader of the Opposition, while the Judicial and Legal Services Commission has power over appointments to the Supreme Court. More importantly, by making only recommendations and not orders, Marshalleck concedes that only when the […]
As we reported earlier, the Senate Special Select Committee has called multiple witnesses on several occasions for public hearings in the past few weeks. While there have been rescheduling of witnesses due to various circumstances, only one invited witness, Immigration Clerk Ady Pacheco, has been unable to attend due to complications of pregnancy, and no […]
Is this the end of the line as far as the matter is concerned? Chairman Salazar said the Committee is considering its options and has not ruled out litigation, although the details are to be worked out privately. But how will this impact any findings of the Committee in relation to the pair and can […]
If you are a driver who uses the Cinderella Plaza area, you may just want to pay attention to avoid an accident waiting to happen. Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley was taken to task today about those traffic lights that are not functioning, specifically at the heavily trafficked intersection. The Mayor wasn’t too pleased with […]
But the mayor had positive news about the streets…If you are living in the south side divisions of Port Loyola, Lake I and Collet; you can expect to see some street works happening in your area. Mayor Bradley told us that cementing of streets will continue but these will be reinforced with some tar work. […]
In sporting news…for the first time, a Belizean now leads the Central American Table Tennis Federation, or CONCATEME. He is Arturo ‘Tux’ Vasquez, who was elected at the general assembly of the Federation in Guatemala City last Friday, February tenth. Vasquez is currently president of the Belize Table Tennis Association and with his presidency joins […]
The case against three men, who shot a police officer, fell apart today two weeks after it begun before Justice Adolph Lucas. The shooting of Police Constable Nigel White occurred on March twenty-six 2011 while he was on duty at the Belama Phase Two police station on Albert Hoy Street. The alleged brazen gunman was […]
Two others also walked free today of a charge of attempted murder when the office of the D.P.P. entered a case of nolle prosequi. They are notorious figures, Tyrone Meighan and Osman Mitchell, both of Belize City. According to the crown, the nolle prosequi was necessary due to the circumstances involving the witnesses in the […]
For about eighteen months the Belize City Council and its partners have been working on a gateway monument on North Front Street just below the Swing Bridge. Well, that project was officially opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony and unveiling of two plaques. This project segues into a bigger plan that the City announced […]
It has been more than a month since PASA informed the Solid Waste Management Authority that they would not be carrying out anymore works at the transfer stations and the regional sanitary land fill at mile twenty-four. While this is a matter between Central Government through the Solid Waste Management Authority and PASA, the Belize […]
The Youth Apprenticeship Program got a boost today with a donation that will go a long way in providing jobs for at-risk youths in the city. At the program headquarters on Youth for the Future Drive, a number of apprentices happily received the donation made possible through the CAPS project, between the Government of Belize […]
Healthcare is everybody’s business. The national referral hospital has been encouraging the private sector to invest in the K.H.M.H. Well, Atlantic Insurance has stepped up and retrofitted a room within the medical ward. The private room has been transformed into a recovery room and will hopefully bring in revenue for the hospital. News Five’s Duane […]
Today, the Ministry of Labour held an inauguration ceremony to reactivate the labour advisory board, tri-partite body and the national child labour committee – made up of members from government agencies, the Belize chamber of commerce and the unions. These committees were formed a couple years back but they never quite functioned as they were […]
A handful of protesters headed to the steps of the law firm, Courtenay Coye LLP, on A Street this morning as the United Democratic Party heats up its campaign against Senator Eamon Courtenay. Under the banner of an ad hoc, C.O.L.A.-styled group known as Belizeans Against Lord Ashcroft and Courtenay (BALAC), they were there to […]
The target of the protestors’ ire returned to his office just before they arrived. He had been at court for an unrelated matter and spoke briefly in response to the idea of the protest. Having been on the frontlines a time or two himself, he appreciates the importance of free speech and free will, although […]
The Government and the United Democratic Party are on a campaign claiming that Senator Eamon Courtenay is a textbook case of conflict of interest since he sits on the senate for the People’s United Party and represents the Ashcroft Group of Companies as its attorney. But Courtenay today cited many cases, including that of the […]
Courtenay says that the Crown Proceedings Amendment Law, which was passed at the same time as the Central Bank International Immunities Law, is not only unconstitutional, but a direct attack on his profession. Two lawsuits have been filed against both pieces of legislation. Courtenay explains that his firm is counsel in one of them, on […]
On Monday during the People’s United Party’s press conference, the party’s legal adviser, Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck, gave reporters a primer on the issue of legal immunity. As he explained, the new legislation passed by the Government concerns enforcement of the judgments, and for the most part have no effect as the U.S. Foreign Sovereign […]
In a release issued last Friday, government claimed that Courtenay aborted the senate inquiry to travel to Washington on another case against Belize even though an important witness was to testify. The case in DC was in relation to the Universal Health Services (UHS) loan from the Belize Bank. While addressing government’s claim, Courtenay says […]
But when all is said and done is the senator being used as a scapegoat to deflect from the major financial problems of the country, including a proposed increase in taxes that is to come in the new budget? Courtenay says that the people must not be distracted from the real issues the country is […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow is headed to New York City again on Superbond business. The Government last week extended the time for response to its consent solicitation offer to February twenty-fourth, 2017, four days past the due date for the interest payment due on the current iteration of the U.S. five hundred and thirty-seven million […]
