As is often the case, the Government has tried to shift blame for the results of the Superbond on the P.U.P. as their predecessors in administration. Alleged “failed” projects cited as proceeds of the Superbond range from the former satellite city Mahogany Heights, to Galleria Maya. But the real purpose of the loans, according to […]
At what cost does the renegotiation of the Super Bond come to Belizean taxpayers? It’s a question that remains to be answered definitively, in dollars and cents. The proposed offer is expected to be approved by bondholders; however, the price tag for doing business with the Creditor Committee will cost a pretty penny. That figure […]
The additional expense, as we’ve mentioned, will be placed squarely on the backs of taxpayers. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington, it was necessary to restructure the Super Bond in order to save the country from what would have otherwise been a sinking ship. Isani Cayetano “While that achievement is being lauded, […]
The budget for the financial year 2017/2018 will be tabled at the House of Representatives this coming Monday. It is known that government will have to do belt-tightening and increase revenues through various forms in the range of a reported seventy million dollars. Prime Minister Barrow, during a press conference on Wednesday, allayed all fears […]
Despite the prime minister being mum about specific tax increases, it is known that ministries will experience cutbacks in their budgets. Minister of Foreign Affairs Elrington confirms his ministry is being affected. Isani Cayetano “The Prime Minister has mentioned that there will be fiscal constraints by way of belt-tightening and what-have-you. In terms of […]
World Wildlife Fund and local partners marked the start of Reef Week with a symbolic handing over of over two hundred and fifty thousand petitions to the office of the Prime Minister. All these petitions were gathered since April of last year through an online campaign that seeks to get the Belize Barrier Reef off […]
Back to the issue of the super bond…It’s restructuring has been balked at by the Opposition who criticize it as nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Reproach aside, when we caught up with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington today, he told us that Belizeans should all be breathing a collective sigh of relief, […]
Our coverage this week of Wednesday’s Senate Inquiry has been extensive, but tonight, we touch on two more issues. A combative Lindsay Wade directly challenged the Senate panel on his guilt or innocence in relation to the removal of eight visa foils from the Western Border office where he worked in 2012. Wade, who says […]
As we have already seen in the Senate Inquiry and confirmed by no less than Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse, the business of visas, especially for Chinese nationals, is big and often murky. Accountant Patrick Tillett ran a side business as a facilitator for friends in Belize who wanted visas for their countrymen to visit […]
Two-term area representative for Cayo South, Julius Espat, appeared in local media last week with pointed criticism for his own party. Espat questioned why his fellow parliamentarians are not driving the decisions of the party’s National Executive, instead of “bench players” who have gotten too comfortable fighting the incumbent administration. Espat is no stranger to […]
A slew of famous Belizeans have died in recent weeks, and several of them have direct ties to the People’s United Party. A black bow has adorned the front gate of Independence Hall, the P.U.P.’s headquarters, for several weeks now following the passing of former Chief Education Officer and Mayoral candidate Doctor Cecil “Chubby” Reneau […]
March tenth is recognized as National Women and Girls’ HIV Awareness Day; this year, under the theme: “The Best Defence is a Good Offense.” The activities bring into focus the reality that HIV/AIDS has no barriers and affects everyone and must therefore be addressed holistically. News Five’s Duane Moody was at a health fair which […]
On Thursday evening at the University of the West Indies Open Campus in Belize City, a new publication was released, targeting upper division for primary schools as well as first and second form students. ‘Rootsville’ is a compilation of locally inspired stories and a play, authored by Althea Garbutt, a teacher at the Nazarene High […]
There were many reasons to celebrate this week. Aside from celebrating women on the occasion of International Women’s Day, the folks at Courts Belize reached out to the elderly population. Courts partnered with HelpAge Belize and adopted each member of the Sister Cecilia Home. The guests brought joy to the residents of the home by […]
The People’s United Party has offered a quick response to Wednesday’s analysis of the restructuring of the Superbond by the Prime Minister. P.U.P. Leader John Briceño says that it isn’t really a restructuring at all. The result of the U.D.P.’s abject failure to stimulate the economy, protect jobs and investments and think smartly about decisions […]
Briceño was joined by attorney Christopher Coye to explain the implications for Belize’s economy. The Prime Minister insisted on Wednesday that Belize would never enter into any stand-by arrangement, much less a full program, with the International Monetary Fund while it is in charge. But it remains a possibility, especially with the looming spectre of […]
The Government appears to have a turnaround on the issue of re-registration. The Election and Boundaries Commission had decided a few weeks ago that the exercise, postponed twice since 1997, would be postponed a third time to 2018, which is after the municipal elections and after redistricting of electoral boundaries. Following outcry, Government has written […]
Briceño was further questioned about whether it is worth it to wait for the Senate’s inquiry to be completed. The P.U.P. has a vested interest in pursuing re-registration because of the over two thousand one hundred persons it says illegally got nationality during the run-up to the 2012 general election. This, it says, tipped the […]
Is this man the shadowy “Mister Middleton” to whom all focus has turned in the ongoing Senate public inquiry? Middleton, we are told, is a car salesman based in Orange Walk Town, but it is his activities in Immigration that have landed him in the news. On Wednesday, News Five brought you the various testimonies […]
A fatal road traffic accident was reported sometime after one-thirty this afternoon near mile nine on the Stann Creek Valley Road. Late this evening, police confirmed that the well-known physical therapist Rubia Analicia Briceño lost her life in the collision. News Five understands that the doctor was en route to visiting with a patient when […]
Last week, we aired a video of events that transpired at a training program conducted by the Belize Defense Force of recruits. The video went viral and became a topic of discussion in many sectors; there are some who believe that the B.D.F. soldiers conducting the training had breached multiple protocols, while others believe the […]
Another layer of intrigue has been added to the ongoing investigations of the Senate Special Select Committee. On Wednesday, former Deputy Mayor Eric Chang; accountant and Financial Controller with the Belize City Council Patrick Tillett; and former Immigration Officer at the Western Border Station, Lindsay Wade, all appeared, telling widely different stories and leaving an […]
The then Ambassador of Belize to the Republic of China (Taiwan), Cherie Nisbet, detailed in emails later used by the Audit her encounter with Eric Chang on the day he sought Belizean visas for two businessmen from Korea, who were to visit Honduras, but wanted to come to Belize in search of “investment opportunities.” Ambassador […]
Comments have been limited in light of the edict of the Standing Orders on publication of evidence from within the Senate Special Select Committee; even though it is broadcasting its hearings live. But that does not prohibit public discourse and the Leader of the Opposition updated his position when questioned by News Five today. He […]
PM Barrow is on record stating that as long as he is head of cabinet, government will not pay a single cent towards the US judgment recently handed down in favor of Ashcroft group of companies by the United States Supreme Court. It’s a position he repeated at Wednesday’s press conference. In fact, Barrow has […]
