Even as the Unemployment Relief Fund has closed to new applications, hundreds of affected Belizeans are still lining up hoping the get assistance. On Monday morning in Corozal Town, the line to the Social Security Board on Seventh Avenue was snaking for about a mile as men and women waited under very hot temperatures to […]
The Guatemalan Government was granted by the International Court of Justice, a six month extension to submit its memorial on its maritime and territorial claim to Belize. Guatemala cited the COVID-19 pandemic, which presented challenges to prepare for its submissions. Belize’s attorneys objected to Guatemala’s request proposing instead a two-month extension, but the I.C.J. went […]
A shooting incident in Dangriga on Monday night has left two persons hospitalized with gunshot injuries. Frederick Coote and Tamera Nunez were attacked inside a residence sometime around eight p.m., just about curfew time, when multiple shots were fired at the house. Coote was struck by a bullet to the chest, while Nunez was injured […]
The number of active coronavirus infections has been reduced tonight to seven and the latest figures from the Ministry of health show that twenty-six are under investigation. It means that at least for now, there is improvement but still Belizeans are not expected to put their guard down. . But earlier this week, Director of […]
Though the number of active cases is now down to seven, there has been a persistent call for the Ministry of Health to begin using rapid testing kits in detecting COVID-19 among persons exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Those tests, it is argued, will significantly reduce the time taken to determine the coronavirus status of persons; however, […]
The trans-border trade of livestock between Belize and Guatemala remains at an indefinite standstill now that cabinet has decided to halt the informal trade that has been flourishing for decades. And despite a formal trade agreement with Mexico, cattle is yet to be exported via the Santa Elena crossing. On Monday, the Prime Minister said […]
C.E.O. Alpuche gave the required three months notice on his resignation. The matter was also raised today during the Senate hearings by Senator Chebat. But on leaving the Senate, Alpuche’s substantive boss, Minister of Agriculture Godwin Hulse did not wish to confirm the motive for the C.E.O.’s sudden departure. Here is how that went in […]
Globally, COVID-19 is having an impact on life as well on the business environment in significant ways. The Bowen and Bowen group has a workforce of over one thousand two hundred employees and is one of the largest employers in the production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The virus does not discriminate and has been […]
In the Senate today, P.U.P. Senator Michel Chebat shared the contents of a letter written by the Senator for the Non-Governmental Organizations on behalf of the Belize Network of N.G.O.s. The letter, dated April twenty-seventh, was addressed to the National Oversight Committee which is chaired by Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Opposition Leader John Briceño. […]
In the letter, the N.G.O. says that it was agreed that this decision as well as the suggested way forward would have been shared with and reviewed by the oversight committee prior to public release which had been scheduled for Friday, April twenty-fourth, 2020. It complains that if the committee does not so do, it […]
The focus on the House meeting on Monday was related to the state of emergency which will continue for another two months. But the House heard that in the first thirty days, families across the land endured hardships due to the CVID. Both Cordel Hyde and Julius Espat spoke on the plight of families. Here […]
A sum of twelve thousand dollars was handed over to the Belize Red Cross from the diplomatic community and the international organizations accredited to Belize. The diplomatic community here is small and their countries have also been hit hard, but the gesture is significant to assist families facing financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19. […]
Bowen and Bowen Limited and Companies are making a half a million-dollar donation to the Ministry of Health to assist in the fight against COVID-19. Since March, when there was the impending threat of the novel coronavirus, the company had pledged to assist the government, but there have been delays in getting eight ventilators among […]
In a recent interview Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero, told News Five that there had been issues with the procuring of medical supplies, namely swabs and reagents to test for COVID-19. Although most had been paid for, the supplies were delayed by the U.S., which is restricting the exportation of medical supplies and […]
Educators across the country, those whose salaries are covered by government, will be paid on April twenty-ninth, along with all other public officers. The unusually tardy payday is the result of monies having to be allocated by government amid the economic hardships stemming from the COVID-19 calamity. Following Monday’s special sitting of the House of […]
Time is quickly running out for Gas Tomza Limited, Southern Choice Butane, Zeta Gas and Belize Western Energy Limited to continue in business. That is because the Supreme Court has ruled against the LPG importers who were seeking an interim injunction that would have allowed them to continue in the business past April thirtieth. Last […]
In her ruling last week, Justice Michelle Arana, was of the view that there exists issues to be resolved by the court in a pending constitutional claim. Attorneys for the importers are relying on the rights of the importers to freely conduct business and that by denying them a license; the government is violating the […]
Responding to the LPG importers today was Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte. As mentioned, Gas Tomza Limited, Southern Choice Butane, Zeta Gas, and Belize Western Energy Limited have decided to appeal the ruling of Acting Chief Justice Michelle Arana who denied the companies an interim injunction to tie the government’s hand. Peyrefitte would not comment in […]
The Alliance of Ministers and Leaders of Belize is petitioning the government to reconsider the position of the church as it relates to the State of Emergency. The clergy is not listed as an essential service and many churches across the country have found new ways to conduct praise and worship sessions. But the Alliance […]
There was a special sitting of the House of Representatives this morning in Belmopan where only the bare minimum necessary to have a quorum was allowed to participate in the tabling of a motion to extend the state of emergency for an additional sixty days. A total of seven elected officials, including Prime Minister Dean […]
Lake Independence Area Rep., Cordel Hyde was in favour of a thirty-day extension. In speaking on the motion to extend the existing state of emergency for an additional sixty days, Hyde pointed to the massive economic impact that the countrywide shutdown has had on citizens, restricting movements and possibly citizen’s rights. Hyde also said that […]
The economic picture for Belize remains grim and dismal, due to the new coronavirus crisis. Government’s revenue is falling by almost half a billion dollars as a result of the recent economic meltdown caused by the state of emergency imposed at the beginning of April. While several offices, including the Ministry of Natural Resources and […]
Opposition Leader John Briceño also sits on the National Oversight Committee as co-chair. While he has been abreast of government’s need to reopen the economy as quickly as possible, the question of whether a sixty-day extension is in itself excessive has also arisen. Aside from openly debating the need for a two-month addition, Briceño also […]
The Super Bond, as well as other external debts owed to international creditors, is also an area of concern for government given the financial crunch it has found itself in as a result of the economic shutdown. While being circumspect in response to whether Belize can continue to meets its external debt obligations, Prime Minister […]
The online portal of the Unemployed Relief Fund closed on Friday; as many as eighty-one thousand persons applied for benefits, having lost their jobs due to COVID-19 or were jobless before the virus. As of Friday, government paid out three million dollars in unemployment relief, but there are still thousands of applications to review. Today, […]
