Today, members of the private and public sectors converged on the city for the Prime Minister’s business forum at the Biltmore Plaza. We’ll have a comprehensive look at that event in a later newscast. But tonight, we have what the Prime Minister Dean Barrow says was his last media interview before elections. There are a […]
Barrow says that in the years since the nationalization, G.O.B. and the people have collected eighty million dollars in dividends, so we should all be happy to relieve B.T.L. of the additional burden. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “They make a lot of money which is shared in terms of dividends, in terms of the […]
The PM also spoke on the operation of the Public Accounts Committee…which actually isn’t operational. Months ago there was a push for the inclusion of the social partners in the PAC, to the extent that neither the government nor the opposition would form a majority. That never panned out because the government refused to accept […]
That stance doesn’t go down well with PAC Chairman Julius Espat. He told News Five today that the reason the Public Accounts Committee doesn’t work, and hasn’t for a long time is because the government is a majority on that committee, and it is over those ministers that the PAC is designed to provide oversight. […]
Governments of the P.U.P. and the U.D.P. have both been accused, rightly or wrongly, of rampant corruption and unchecked abuse of public monies. For that reason, many believe that this next general election will hinge largely on which party is willing to limit its own power and allow for real oversight. The body which theoretically […]
We’re not sure what that means where the fate of the Integrity Commission is concerned under this administration. As to PAC, well…that’s not going to happen, a fact for which the PM, interestingly, blames the Opposition. Reporter “If that is the situation, does that mean that you will not have an Integrity Commission since […]
We note that all that’s being said on all these issues is subject to a decision which will be made on November fourth. Which brings us to Petrocaribe. Will those many millions at the U.D.P.’s disposal be used to affect the result at the polls? According to Prime Minister Dean Barrow….while there is no direct […]
The Belize Progressive Party is inching toward forming a national slate for the general elections on November fourth. BPP last week announced its formation and named eleven candidates to contest the elections; today it added another group, promising that the movement will be able to field remaining candidates in the days to come. News Five’s […]
The Bar Association’s request to the CCJ to make available their decisions on the nationalizations of B.E.L. and B.T.L. hasn’t thrilled the government or its attorney. And even if those decisions are provided, it wouldn’t affect the terms of the settlement which have already been signed and sealed. Still, the Prime Minister doesn’t believe that […]
The Albert Division for decades was dominated by Phillip Goldson, it would eventually turn blue in 1998, 2003 and 2008 and then in the last general elections in 2012, it went to the United Democratic Party. This election is being hotly contested between two aspirants, who have worked the area under the blue tent. Paul […]
There was another protest today on the heels of the ongoing Social Security demonstrations. The faculty and staff of the University of Belize staged a small demonstration this morning at its Belmopan campus. The protest succeeds an ultimatum given to UB President Alan Slusher as it concerns a demand for a fourteen percent salary increase […]
Barrow says that unrest at this time as regards industrial action and threats of the same are to be expected with the imminent approach of elections. But with that said, those attempts to pull government’s hand will be unsuccessful. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “Part of the democracy and I suppose to be expected since […]
Since the beginning of the week, we’ve been reporting that S.S.B. employees who are members of the Christian Workers Union have been protesting during their lunch break at S.S.B. offices countrywide. On Wednesday afternoon, they all walked out of the offices claiming they were not feeling well. But there are a series of events that […]
At the core of the problem is the collective bargaining agreement, which according to the CWU reps, the S.S.B. has refrained from discussing. That CBA includes salary adjustments for the employees. According to union reps, they are asking for sixteen percent across the three-year period 2014, 2015, 2016. The issues of the uniform and the […]
According to CWU President Audrey Matura-Shepherd, this crisis could have been averted since last November, when the board was requested by the union to start negotiations on the collective bargaining agreement for its members. Matura-Shepherd went on the defensive to call out the chairman of S.S.B., Doug Singh, saying that the staff is being used […]
Audrey Matura-Shepherd’s name has come up as a likely candidate for electoral politics in more than one party. Recently, in the instance of the new Belize Progressive Party which is recruiting candidates for the general elections, her name was top of the list. When we caught up with her at an event, Matura-Shepherd was clearly […]
The video of a rat in the incubator at the Western Regional Hospital has gone viral. But while the image is devastating, generally the rat is only one in a series of very significant and even tragic mishaps in the Ministry of Health stretching back many months. Will those mishaps affect the political candidacy of […]
Another Minister under siege is Wilfred Sedi Elrington who has been much maligned for his handling of the ongoing territorial dispute with Guatemala. Elrington is running in Pickstock, and is being challenged by the P.U.P.’s Francis Smith. He’s also, now, being challenged by the Belize Progressive Party’s Patrick Rogers. When asked about that development, PM […]
The sustained attack on Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington recently took on new life after his UN address last week. Critics say that Elrington did not devote sufficient time to the issue with Guatemala, and that should have been priority one when provided with a forum on such an international stage. Elrington has also come under […]
