The Senate Special Select Committee resumed hearings in public today into the Auditor General’s report, calling three witnesses. One of the witnesses called today was Barton Middleton, the elusive Orange Walk businessman who previously caught a severe case of amnesia over his alleged role in facilitating visas for Chinese nationals, following a purported surgery for […]
Retired Immigration Officer Therese Chavarria has seen it all in thirty years at the Department, dating back to 1986. She took her leave last year after being transferred to Punta Gorda following assignments in the Passport Section and the head office in Belmopan, which was where she was at the height of the period documented […]
Chavarria spoke to the issue of shortcuts in the Department to benefit a chosen few, accomplished through bribery. In one instance, a prospective applicant for a passport, accompanied by a woman well-known to the Department, flunked his interview after his particulars were taken. He was not able to identify where he was born or even […]
As to how the passport was caused to be printed despite Chavarria’s investigations, it turns out that former Cabinet Minister Carlos Perdomo was the one pushing for it. He apparently appealed directly to Director Meighan who later belatedly informed Chavarria of the decision. As for the five hundred dollar bribe to look the other way, […]
At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, fuel prices at the pump went up for a second time in less than a month. As the fiscal year kicked in, on April first, premium gasoline, regular and diesel went up on the heels of an announcement by the Prime Minister during his budget presentation that eighty […]
The prospect of government purchasing the Chon Saan Building in Belmopan is officially off the table, and Cabinet has given the green light to the Immigration Department to scout around once again for a new office space. Well, they aren’t looking very far. In fact, a pretty huge piece of unused real estate is being […]
As the Immigration hearings continued into the afternoon, simultaneously in Belmopan, a swearing-in ceremony took place, across the plaza, at the civic center. More than a hundred individuals became citizens of this country after taking the oath of allegiance. The new citizens heard from the Minister of State for Immigration, Beverly Williams. News Five’s Isani […]
Back to the senate inquiry…the final witness called was officer Omar Phillips, who worked the front desk and received the Won Hong Kim application for a passport in 2013. Phillips came face to face with then-Minister of State Elvin Penner when he presented the application, but he said he does not recall any conversation with […]
Chairman of the Committee, Aldo Salazar, addressed reporters after the hearing concluded this afternoon. He pointed out that other aspects of Barton Middleton’s situation – the brain tumour surgery; the alleged criminal case for Immigration offences and other matters – were not within the Committee’s purview except as it relates to any interaction with the […]
Since the beginning of the week, there has been disquiet among members of staff at the Immigration and Nationality Department over the promotion of employees whom they consider to be unfit for the new posts. That uneasiness has been bubbling below the surface for several weeks, but was tempered following a meeting with the Public […]
According to Williams, the selection of officers for promotion is vetted by the Public Service Commission and that positions within the Immigration Department aren’t arbitrarily created to promote employees. Beverly Williams, Minister of State, Immigration “We don’t have a reason, we haven’t looked at anybody’s file and say, “Oh, this is a bad egg,” […]
A woman alleged that she was held hostage, beaten up badly then raped by an attacker who left her locked up in a house. She resorted to a machete, but her attacker used it on her and she was left naked and bleeding when two men rescued her. But today, after two days of trial, […]
A climate change awareness campaign was launched today following a ‘Knowledge, Attitude and Practices’ study across Belize, which indicated that more needs to be done to sensitize the public about the effects of climate change, as well the practices. The programme is in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, to keep global warming below two degrees […]
The Ministry of Health has embarked on an exercise this week to get persons immunized from a number of preventable diseases. At schools and work places, health personnel are encouraging individuals to “Get Vax to Celebrate a Healthy Tomorrow.” The vaccinations are being administered for free. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting […]
Today, the Police Department carried out its weekly meet and greet on the north and south sides of the city. We went to Antelope Street Extension area where we caught up with Regional Commander, ACP Chester Williams engaging with residents. Williams told us that residents were generally satisfied with the level of community policing. […]
In about two months, the south side top cop will no longer be walking the streets and leading the officers in Eastern Division. He will be in Belmopan behind a desk, taking up new responsibilities in the Professional Standards Branch. His replacement is former GSU leader Marco Vidal. Today, we asked ACP Williams how the […]
