Today’s session of the House of Representatives had a loaded agenda. Several bills were returned for second reading, including the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. There were also new bills introduced, including the Petroleum Operations (Maritime Zone Moratorium) Bill imposing the moratorium on exploration for petroleum and other […]
Later, when the bill was brought up for debate on the second reading, Opposition Leader Briceño landed a telling blow when he brought up the extensive salary and benefit package for C.E.O. of Belize Telemedia Limited Rochus Schreiber. With the departures of top senior Belizean officials from the company in recent years – former C.E.O. […]
It was revealed at today’s House of Representatives that in 2008, the U.S. Embassy passed on the results of polygraph or lie detector tests to Belizean authorities for thirty-four senior officers in the Police Department, Coast Guard and Belize Defence Force. It is not clear who authorized or asked for the tests, but a majority […]
Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Elrington rose in reply to defend the senior command of the Police Department. Though his speech was in context of the greater crime problem, Elrington put his head on the block for the current team, stating that they have a handle on the greater crime problem and that they are […]
Cordel Hyde and Wilfred Elrington went toe-to-toe on the issue of crime and how to stop it in its tracks on the adjournment in the House of Representatives. According to Hyde, the removal of Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams to a desk job in Belmopan in July has seen a spike of murder and […]
Marijuana users can breathe a little easier tonight, as the amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act sailed through the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. Both Leader of the Opposition John Briceño and Freetown area representative Francis Fonseca noted the contrary arguments raised by churches and other moral authorities against marijuana as a “gateway […]
Both the substantive and de facto ministers of police rose in response to further outline what the amendment does and does not do. Possession of marijuana above ten grams remains a crime with the usual penalties, as is cultivation and intending to traffic. Elodio Aragon Junior, the Minister of State, made note of the fact […]
Back in August Prime Minister Barrow announced that that there will be an indefinite moratorium on offshore oil exploration in Belize’s territorial waters. In a letter to Oceana’s Vice President, P.M. Barrow committed that government would take it to parliament this month. Well, the date for that landmark decision to be tabled in the House […]
As you heard, the offshore petroleum moratorium is an unprecedented step towards protecting Belize’s Barrier Reef Reserve System, as the ban covers Belize’s entire maritime area including the exclusive economic zones. In terms of next steps, the public is invited to participate in the House Committee phase of the legislative process. The offshore oil moratorium […]
On the crime blotter, activist Albert Cattouse was murdered last week in Belize City. Up to now there have been no arrests but his family is preparing to bid their final goodbyes on Saturday. On Wednesday they heard the Prime Minister provide details on what transpired when Cattouse was shot and killed inside his taxi. […]
Police brutality is a real existence that Belizeans are faced with seemingly on a daily basis. We have reported on numerous occasions the physical abuse of civilians at the hands and feet of law enforcement officers. Tonight, there is a short clip of a policeman beating up a homeless man that has since gone viral. […]
An eighty-two year old Belize City man is dead and the circumstances surrounding his death are not clear. There are several reports that eighty-two year old Ricardo ‘Rick’ Vasquez was robbed and beaten sometime on Saturday night. Reports are that he was in a game shop on the corner of Water Lane and West Street […]
The Bar Association has been critical of the backlog of judgment by the Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin, so much so that the Prime Minister went on record several weeks ago to inform that outside assistance would be given to the C.J. to fulfill his workload. But now, a decision has been taken not to have […]
The decision to refrain from bringing in outside legal experts to lend a hand, says the A.G. would have raised eyebrows locally. Peyrefitte says that assurances have been given that all pending judgments will be delivered by December according to a timeline given by the Chief Justice. Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General “It was laid […]
A sixty five-year old granny picked up another theft conviction but was lucky to be fined instead of serving jail time. On Friday, Martha Parchue, a grandmother to three young children appeared before the Chief Magistrate Sharon Fraser and changed her not guilty plea to guilty for the theft of a seven-dollars and fifty cents boneless […]
The Bar Association and the Belize National Teachers Union are on record saying that Franz Parke does not qualify as a Justice on the Court of Appeal. The opposition has gone further and filed a legal motion against the appointment of Parke, who is already sitting in this session of the Court of Appeal. That […]
Have you seen Mark Pollard? What about Brindis Constantino? Pollard and Constantino are two persons who have gone missing in separate incidents for more than a month. Constantino is a thirteen-year old school girl of Lords Bank who has been missing since September eighth. Her family believes she may be in the Frank’s Eddy area. […]
The bizarre and shocking story of an alleged kidnapping of three school girls in broad daylight has left many with more questions than answers, and it appears that even the police have a hard time putting together the pieces of the story. As we reported on Monday, the incident happened “El Progresso” Community also called […]
Last week we told you the story of sixty-nine year old Norwegian-Belizean businessman Chris Rogemma who went to scout a property in St Margaret’s Village in the west and got lost. His body was found five days later. Rogemma’s cause of death shows that he died of natural causes as we confirmed with his friends. […]
The Government of Belize has recommended the re-appointment of Contractor General Godwin Arzu for a further two-year term. But if the Opposition had its way, the answer would be no. Arzu has been in the post since 2009. His name was most recently in the news as signing off on the Imer Hernandez-awarded contract for […]
Kareem Musa, Caribbean Shores area representative and attorney for Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action, is awaiting the formal response from the Ministry of Works to peruse the contract for the re-construction of Faber’s Road among other things. But today he could not resist the opportunity to personally challenge the Prime Minister over what he […]
This week Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation Manuel Heredia Junior confirmed that Imer Hernandez won the bid for the Caye Caulker municipal airstrip reconstruction. He noted that there were changes to the bid and according to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the contract, for which money is being sought by the Airports Authority but not […]
The B.T.B. brought together over a hundred tourism stakeholders in Belize City for its annual tourism conference. The theme this year focused on Sustainable Tourism and to bring across the message, the B.T.B. lined up internationally acclaimed presenters and local speakers. B.T.B.’s Marketing Manager tells us why it’s important for the B.T.B. to shine the […]
