A special sitting of the House of Representatives took place in Belmopan today on an issue that has been thorny and divisive. Prime Minister Dean Barrow, as Minister of Finance, presented the Appropriation Bill to pay a ninety-five million-dollar compensation award for the Universal Health Services debt. The loan ballooned to over ninety-five million dollars after […]
The PM has taken the view that the judgment from the Caribbean Court of Justice which ruled that the loan is legal, cannot be paid from the consolidated revenue fund unless the National Assembly votes to so do. Before today, cabinet members had public said they would vote ‘NO.’ Prime Minister Dean Barrow “This […]
According to the PM, it was for the House to decide if the debt to the Belize Bank would be paid. His argument rested on the basis that the debt cannot be paid from the consolidated revenue fund without the approval of the House. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “We bring the bill so that […]
For years, the guarantee by the government on a loan to the then Universal Health Services has been debated and tried in the courts. Today, it came down to a historic vote in the House by only one side of parliament. Before Prime Minister Barrow stood up to wrap up the UHS debt debate, members […]
For the People’s United Party, the UHS loan guarantee goes back to the Musa Administration, one which this current government won’t let them forget. But when the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño made his contribution, he drew the line on the sand as it relates to a loan which started at thirty-three point five […]
Briceño placed the loan at the front door of the Prime Minister under whose watch the issue lingered before several courts for numerous years and remains unpaid. Briceño made the point that since the government did not intend to pay, it should have not spent all that money on legal fees. John Briceño, Leader […]
After tracing how the loan had meandered through the courts in Belize, London, New York, Miami, Washington and Trinidad, Briceño pointed to the law firms that had benefitted from legal fees: John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition “He decides to fight this judgment in courts. He has gone to seven courts all over the […]
Back to the House…Contributing to the debate was Fort George Area Representative Said Musa. Musa was the Prime Minister at the time when the government decided to act as a guarantor for the UHS loan. Back then, the Musa Administration had plans for the National Health Insurance scheme which fell apart after the Development Finance […]
Freetown area rep Francis Fonseca was attorney general when G.O.B. signed off to guarantee the initial loan of thirty-three million dollars. The amount owed today has tripled so he put that responsibility squarely on the lap of the P.M. Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown “So Prime Minister Barrow gave birth to this ninety million […]
Twenty-three-year-old Shakedi Baizar of the Eight Miles community was shot and killed today in Belize City. It is reported that around this two this afternoon Baizar had just exited the Matron Roberts Clinic on Magazine Road when a man approached him near an alley. Eyewitnesses in the area say that Baizar fell at the entrance […]
Today, News Five caught up with Acting Commissioner of Police Chester Williams at an event in the city. As head of operations for the Belize Police Department, Williams was asked about the perceived incompetence of the department to secure evidence or their inaction in high profile drug plane landings. This is in reference to a […]
The postings on Facebook were made by an account belonging to a ‘Vincent Edwards,’ who is believed to be highly connected and the man on the ground during these illegal plane landings. There are reports that this person, initial referred to as a mystery man, has been sighted before and after in the vicinity of […]
The online posts have caused the Ministry of National Security, specifically the Belize Police Department, to kick into gear. Operations Commander Chester Williams told News Five today that along with the B.D.F., the police are conducting operations across Orange Walk and Corozal carrying out searches at the homes of purported drug dealers in northern Belize. […]
We also asked the acting Commissioner of Police about the case against thirty-three-year-old Carlos Lopez and thirty-seven-year-old Peter Schmidt. Earlier this week, the duo walked free of charges for the trafficking of five kilos of cocaine and possession of firearm and ammunition without a gun license. By all accounts, the prosecution had an ironclad case; […]
Embroiled in controversy, President of the National Institute of Culture and History Sapna Budhrani dominated the news this week. Budhrani was put on the hot seat after leaked audit documents revealed a number of irregularities and mismanagement at NICH. The leaked documents showed correspondences between financial officer Edwin Alvarado and internal auditor Roberto Matus. The […]
Prime Minister Barrow also weighed in on the NICH debacle, reiterating that embattled president Sapna Budhrani will be placed on administrative leave as of Monday. Budhrani will remain president of the institute until she is either vindicated or implicated at the end of an external audit. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “As she said, obviously […]
Prime Minister Barrow is traveling to Cuba this weekend where he will be undergoing medical surgery on his spine on Tuesday. He will be gone for most of September and during his leave of absence Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber takes over. Following today’s house meeting, PM Barrow described the process of treatment and recovery. […]
In recent years, as early as 2011, the issue of Sargassum has been on the front-burner across the Caribbean. Here, in Belize, it was first recorded in late 2014. This year alone, the Sargassum has caused at least two fish kill in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. But the fish kill is just one of the […]
Fear is settling in as it is almost a week since sixty-seven-year-old Sherris Stringham has been seen in Hopkins Village. She last messaged her friends on Saturday, promising to meet up for a scheduled social on Sunday, but that was the last they heard from her. This week, police found her vehicle without its license […]
The Belize Coastguard is recording its largest number growing from strength to strength in its thirteenth year history. Today, just under eighty new members joined its ranks which have swollen to four hundred and fifty. The new recruits graduated in a ceremony also attended by proud family members at the Coastguard headquarters in Belize City. […]
On Saturday night, the Marion Jones Stadium will come alive with pre-carnival sights and sounds. At seven in the night the annual King and Queen of 2018 carnival will compete for the big cash and bragging rights. There will be twenty participants in the senior and junior categories. The President of the Carnival Association Sandra […]
The controversy at the National Institute of Culture and History continues to unravel with President Sapna Budhrani is in the hot seat. Since details began to emerge on the state of affairs at the statutory body, she had remained mum. This morning, however, backed up by the Board of Directors, Budhrani finally broke her silence, […]
The purchase of a compact crossover vehicle for use by NICH President Sapna Budhrani, as well as fuel consumption for the 2018 Honda CR-V raised eyebrows in the memo sent by Roberto Matus to Associate Director of Finance Edwin Alvarado on August twelfth. The purchase seemed questionable in the context of other vehicles within the […]
The gas bill for NICH during April and July was also queried by the internal auditor. According to his report, which was described as a draft audit, fuel consumption sprang to almost eighty-seven thousand dollars, up considerably from a budget of twenty-six thousand, five hundred dollars. As it turns out, the Board claims Matus’ calculation […]
On the issue of missing monies, Matus’ report indicates that funds collected from archaeological sites, including Altun Ha, have been unaccounted since March eighth. Heading the Institute of Archaeology since 2013 is Doctor John Morris. Today, he spoke on two occasions when monies went missing from the institute’s daily collection. Those funds, he says, went […]
