Home » June, 2023
You are currently browsing entries posted in: June, 2023
And, while B.S.C.F.A. says it supports the Government of Belize in the implementation of the latest regulations, it is also requesting that the Cabinet approved Commission of Inquiry to examine the modernization of the industry be established immediately. The new sugar industry regulations do not address the association’s longstanding dissatisfaction with the method for sugarcane […]
Written on June 6, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment |
Comments Off on B.S.C.F.A. Demands Immediate Establishment of Commission of Inquiry
On Monday night, track and field athletes who represented Belize at the 2023 CADICA Championships in Guatemala City returned to the country after winning big in the regional tournament. During the sporting event, Belize won seven gold, eight silver and two bronze medals in various disciplines; in one instance, Belizean American athlete Brooklyn Little broke […]
Written on June 6, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places,
Regional / International,
Sports |
Comments Off on Track & Field Athletes Win Big in 2023 CADICA Championships
…and the training continues. President of the Belize Athletics Association, Jaheed Smith says that the win is encouraging and with additional support, the athletes will be ready to compete in other regional and international competitions. Jaheed Smith, President, Belize Athletics Association “It is very encouraging. Later on in the year, we have another competition […]
Written on June 6, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment,
People & Places,
Sports |
Comments Off on Belize Athletics Association Preparing for Upcoming Track Games
A construction supervisor was executed on Saturday night inside his home on Caye Caulker. It is the first murder on the island in several years and residents in the Black Neighborhood were startled at the report of gunfire in the vicinity. When the shooting subsided, Floyd Samuels was mortally wounded and his common-law wife had […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Crime,
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on South is Shot Dead on La Isla Carinosa Briceño
Within hours, there were reports of another murder on Saturday night, only this time in Libertad Village in the Corozal District. Kurtis Usher had just returned home along with his common-law wife and their three-year-old son when a gunman opened fire in their direction. Usher was mortally wounded while the baby was grazed to the […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Crime,
Environment,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Kurtis Usher Ambushed, Killed in Libertad; Baby Grazed to the Head
Contractor General Maria Arthurs is being asked to look into the circumstances of the signing of the Definitive Agreement between the Government of Belize and Portico Enterprises Limited. A letter dated June second, 2023, cites various sections of the Contractor General Act that empower Arthurs to launch an investigation, following a review of the information […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on P.B.L. Asks Contractor General to Investigate Signing of Definitive Agreement
This afternoon we caught up with United Democratic Party Senator Michael Peyrefitte in Belmopan. We asked him for a response to Portico Enterprises Limited’s June first press release in which they sought to set the record straight on the company’s relationship with Morales Peyrefitte L.L.P. The release was issued after Peyrefitte went on record to […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Mike Peyrefitte Doubles Down On Non-involvement in Definitive Agreement
We also asked Peyrefitte to weigh in on his party leader’s letter to the Ombudsman requesting an investigation into Prime Minister John Briceño for alleged corruption and wrongdoing, in relation to Definitive Agreement. Here is what he told us. Michael Peyrefitte, U.D.P. Senator “It is insignificant as to who drafted the document or which […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on U.D.P. Chairman Supports Party Leader’s Call for Investigation into PM Briceño
Today the Senate met and debated three matters of national interest in Belmopan. One of them was the Special Prosecution Bill, which proposes to amend the laws of Belize to allow the Attorney General to make instructions for revisions of the laws of Belize on an interim basis. The Bill was proposed four months after […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Senate Debates and Turns Back Special Prosecution Bill
And because it did not receive the support of the majority in the upper house, Senator Courtenay informed the Senate that the bill would be sent back to the House for revision. But he took the time to explain that currently, the Law Revision Act only allows for a revision of the law to occur […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Senator Courtenay Explains Logic Behind Special Prosecutions Bill
Michael Peyrefitte The second debate in the Senate was over a ninety million dollar loan that the government has secured from the Saudi Government to build a state-of-the-art replacement tertiary-level hospital for the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan. The facility will be built on the University of Belize campus and would also serve as a […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Senators Peyrefitte and Chanona Raise Concerns Over $90 million Hospital Project
Senator Courtenay criticized Peyrefitte for speaking of the Saudi’s gesture to offer Belize the loan as a joke. Courtenay stated that the loan came soon after Belize and Saudi Arabia cemented diplomatic ties. Meanwhile, Senator Isabel Bennett-Moody, who is a career administrative nurse, answered the question raised by Senator Chanona. Isabel Bennett-Moody, P.U.P Senator […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Courtenay Criticizes Peyrefitte for Slighting Saudi Government’s Loan
Among the first topics of debate on the agenda in the senate was a loan facility that the Development Finance Corporation has entered into with the Belize Social Security Board to provide financing for an ongoing mortgage finance program. The S.S.B. Board had approved the loan totaling twenty million dollars in June of last year. […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Senator Mike Peyrefitte: $20 Million Loan from S.S.B to D.F.C is Unjustifiable
Senator Courtenay responded to Senator Peyrefitte by pointing to the U.D.P.’s record of building homes during their three terms in office. He clarified that the D.F.C. Board comprises professionals from a cross section, and that the government has minority representation on the board that makes the decisions regarding these investments. Eamon Courtenay, Lead Government […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Senator Courtenay: With or Without U.D.P Support, We’ll Build Homes for People
Last week, we told you that the U.D.P.’s National Party Council has decided to reinstate Patrick Faber s standard bearer in the Collet constituency at the next general elections. Ian Jones, the U.D.P.’s initial replacement for Faber in Collet stepped down and the N.P.C. agreed to endorse Faber in Collet. But, anybody who has been […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places,
Politics |
Comments Off on N.P.C. Supports Patrick Faber’s Return to Collet
The Belize Prize for Investigative Journalism held its inaugural award ceremony on Saturday evening at the House of Culture here in Belize City. Short-listed for the award were three journalists, including News Five’s Marion Ali, Seven News Director Jules Vasquez and Cherisse Halsall. Marion’s investigative piece took a critical look at the contraband trade and […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Jules Vasquez Wins First Belize Prize for Investigative Journalism
Despite a ban and subsequent phase out of single-use plastics and Styrofoam, plastic pollution still remains an issue for the Department of Environment. With a goal to improve solid waste management, today the D.O.E., which falls under the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management, handed over lift trailers to Santa Familia […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Lift Trailers for Santa Familia to Address Plastic Pollution
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a determination”. That’s a quote from Usain Bolt. And, over the last decade, winning an Interoffice Softball Championship seemed impossible for the MOE Chiefs. That was until Friday night when the Chiefs […]
Written on June 5, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment,
People & Places,
Sports |
Comments Off on A Look Back At This Weekend in Sports
Former Justice of Appeals Samuel Awich has filed a claim against the Social Security Board and the Attorney General of Belize to the tune of six hundred thousand dollars. Awich served in the judiciary from 2001 to 2022 when he retired from the bench. During his twenty years of service, the judge earned less than […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
Law,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Former Justice of Appeals Takes S.S.B. and Attorney General to Court
The attorney general says that she doesn’t know what to make of the former justice’s claim. Back in 2014, the People’s United Party and the Bar Association raised several objections to the reappointment of Justice Awich to the Court of Appeal. Two claimants brought a claim for his removal before the Supreme Court. That matter […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
Law,
People & Places |
Comments Off on AG’s Office Tries to Make Sense of Former Justice of Appeals’ $600,000 Claim
Portico Enterprises Limited has fired off a press release to set the record straight following allegations of corruption regarding the Definitive Agreement entered into with the Government of Belize. As we have reported, the Leader of the Opposition wrote to the Ombudsman requesting an investigation into the Prime Minister for corruption in relation to that […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Featured,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Portico Enterprises Limited Seeks to Set Record Straight on Allegations of Wrongdoing
The next general election is about two and a half years away, scheduled for November 2025; that is, unless the Briceño administration calls early elections. But News Five has received information that would suggest changes to the electoral composition of the House of Representatives. In fact, we are told that the first official proposal for […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Redistricting Update: A Proposal to Increase Constituencies by Two?
As we reported on Thursday, weather forecasters are predicting an almost normal hurricane year for 2023 in terms of storm activity, despite the fact that they are also expecting an El Nino phenomenon to occur. While this often suppresses hurricane development, the extremely warm temperatures that are accompanying the El Nino this year are also […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment,
People & Places,
Weather |
Comments Off on CDEMA: Even During El Nino, Warm Temperatures Can Cause Storm Development
Riley advised people in the Caribbean to listen to the advisories that the National Meteorological Service will give when a storm is threatening. She said that because each storm will have different characteristics from another with similar strength, paying attention to the details of the forecasts can be the difference between life and death. […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment,
People & Places,
Weather |
Comments Off on CDEMA Advises People to Pay Keen Attention to Storm Advisories
The Belize Electricity Limited has noted a sharp and unprecedented rise in electricity usage over the past few weeks. They say this is being caused by the unusually hot and humid weather conditions being experienced across the country. In fact, according to the utility company the demand for electricity at certain times during the first […]
Written on June 2, 2023 | Posted in
Economy,
Environment |
Comments Off on B.E.L Records Unprecedented Rise in Electricity Usage over the Past Few Weeks
