Last week, we told you about the troubling issue of gender-based violence, with a look at how women and girls are mostly affected. In the second part of our story, we look at some of the measures in place to help those who are affected by this violence. While a lot more has to be […]
Ten farmers from Mayan communities in Toledo went on an organic farming tour in the Mountain Pine Ridge today. Many of the farmers are in the livestock business but also practice small scale farming. For the past ten years, these farmers have been working with Ya’xche Conservation Trust to find more sustainable means of farming, […]
From Culture Capital to the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida for one of the world’s biggest sporting events. This year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of the qualifying teams in this year’s Superbowl LV, features “The Belizean Beast.” He is Rakeem Nunez Roches, born in Dangriga. Roches is now a defensive tackle for the […]
Meanwhile on the home front, organizers say it will be one of the biggest multi-sporting events ever to be held in Belize. It is being organized to coincide with the country’s fortieth anniversary of independence. The Independence Games Belize 2021 is being planned to attract athletes from thirteen sporting disciplines in games held at eight […]
The presentation of the 2021 budget by the Briceño administration is still a few weeks away, but putting together the financial plan, despite severe austerity, is well underway. Earlier this week, Prime Minister John Briceño and Minister of State Christopher Coye, along with several other government officials, sat down with the business community to discuss […]
The outlook for the upcoming financial year is not promising. The Government of Belize has been operating in the red before the COVID-19 pandemic, which has only made matters worse for our local economy. A new fiscal calendar will be rolled out on April first, but there won’t be any celebration. Those twelve months will […]
The perpetual albatross that is the Super Bond also stands at roughly one point two billion Belize dollars, with an interest payment of twelve million dollars due in May. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began affecting the government’s bottom line, the Barrow administration turned to bondholders seeking permission to capitalize interest on five hundred […]
The Public Accounts Committee will be expanded to include three social partner senators. The government will introduce a statutory instrument to reconstitute the membership in parliament on Friday. The Public Accounts Committee will now be comprised of four members from government, two members from the opposition and three social partners to be nominated by the […]
With a new constitution of the Public Accounts Committee, it is expected that the working group will hit the ground running. But where does it begin and what is the scope of its responsibilities? It’s a question that the incoming chairperson is also openly asking, in the context of moving forward with the work of […]
In our ongoing series on K.H.M.H.’s response to COVID-19, as Belize’s only national referral hospital, we have covered several areas, including the establishment of a COVID Unit. We have also focused on the use and surcharge for personal protective equipment. Tonight we look at critical care and the cost of being admitted to the ward […]
Over the weekend, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize held its annual general meeting virtually under the theme “N.T.U.C.B.: Overcoming the Challenges, Living our Purpose, Realizing Meaningful Reforms.” A new executive team was announced with Luis Martinez as the president, while Miguel Aguilar was elected as the second vice president. Martinez says that one […]
Another issue that Martinez hopes to tackle during his time as president of the N.T.U.C.B. is the Occupational Safety and Health Bill. Martinez aims to revive the discussion and talks of the OSH Bill with the Briceño administration. Luis Martinez, President, N.T.U.C.B. “OSH has been a long dragging matter. So I had mention before that OSH is […]
Last month, Prime Minister John Briceño signed an order convening a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the sale of government assets between October 2019 and November 2020. The meeting will be held in public, so we’ll get to see how the commission investigates the procedures and processes for the sale of assets by the Barrow […]
The battle between the Public Service Commission and the Ministry of Public Service continues tonight. The five commission members are refusing to step down – something that Prime Minister John Briceño said they should have done since November twelfth. It is a tradition that whenever there is a change in administration, politically appointed commissions and […]
According to Flowers, allegations have surfaced that members of the present commission acted bias, which would then constitute misbehavior. Flowers says that the ministry may have evidence supporting these allegations and enough of it to warrant the commissioners’ forcible removal. Dean Flowers, First Vice-President, P.S.U. “It is said that they acted bias. It is […]
Tonight, we feature a twenty-three-year-old entrepreneur from Orange Walk Town, who is pushing through to earn an income and support his family despite adversity. For over a decade, Marvin Gonzalez was stuck at home, but he did not give up on finding a source of income. When he couldn’t find a job, he started his […]
He is twenty years old and Patrick Williams is entering politics. He says that he closely monitored the campaign trail of the two major parties for weeks, but it was the Belize Progressive Party that caught Williams’ attention. He is running for the municipal elections under the green banner and says he has chosen to […]
Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise Abelardo Mai has been on a countrywide tour in the past weeks. He has been visiting farmers and other producers in the agro-productive sector. That tour took him to Central Farm today to learn more about the sheep and goat breeding project. It’s a joint venture between Taiwan […]
UNICEF Country Rep Alison Parker met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Eamon Courtenay on Wednesday where the UNICEF Rep shared the organization’s priorities and support activities in Belize with senior officials of the ministry. Among those activities include UNICEF’s birth registration campaign and ongoing COVID-19 related assistance. In the meeting, opportunities to advance child protection […]
Today, a joint release was issued by the National Women’s Commission and the Office of the Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children condemning all cyberbullying against women. The release comes on the heels of a video with sexual undertones casting aspersions on a young female politician, who is being attacked and sexualised […]
Teachers of Unity Presbyterian School in south side Belize City are tonight once again pleading for help as their classrooms have been burglarized for the second time this month. It is a perennial problem that the school has been facing, and it seems that this time, they have been left alone to deal with the […]
A vehicle was destroyed by fire on Wednesday afternoon shortly after midday on Joseph Andrews Drive near the Sacred Heart College in San Ignacio. Information to News Five is that the 2016 Mazda SUV was driven by Brenton Ferguson, the son of Minister of Public Utilities Rodwell Ferguson when it burst into flames. Fortunately, no […]
Belize’s access to the coveted COVID-19 vaccine is progressing. The first batch of vaccines should be available in about two months. The Ministry of Health and Wellness established several committees to prepare for the eventual vaccine rollouts. Those include the National Coordinating Committee, which consists of professional associations and ministry officials. The National Immunisation Technical […]
Senior customs officer Ian Haylock is suing Prime Minister John Briceño and challenging Estelle Leslie’s appointment as Comptroller of Customs. Haylock strongly believes that he was overlooked and deserves the post based on seniority and experience. In a three and a half-hour virtual session this afternoon, Haylock was represented by former Prime Minister Dean Barrow […]
Several patients who’ve accessed the healthcare system to treat COVID-19 infections are up in arms over the cost of P.P.E.s being tacked onto their bills. Personal protective equipment, as they are otherwise known, are a staple in the medical profession, especially during the pandemic. Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital has come under fire recently for charging […]
