Eight years of costly legal battles between the Government of Belize and Dunkeld International Limited, a subsidiary of the Ashcroft Group, over the final payment for the 2009 B.T.L. acquisition, ended in an eight minute ruling handed down by the Caribbean Court of Justice this morning. The government has been given ten days to pay […]
A release from the CCJ points out that the court is holding G.O.B. to tough terms if payment is not met in the prescribed timeline, thereby imposing an interest rate compounded on the existing amount on a quarterly or an annual basis. During his reading of the judgment, Justice Hayton provided a detailed breakdown, in […]
The predicament that government now finds itself in, according to Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay, is entirely the responsibility of PM Barrow, who privately negotiated the settlement of compensation package with Lord Michael Ashcroft in Miami in 2015. As for the monies that were set aside for charitable work in the name of Belizeans, only a […]
So, roughly eighty million U.S. dollars in ten days. It’s perhaps the biggest disbursement that government would have made in respect of the B.T.L. saga within such a limited span. To make matters worse, that hundred and sixty million Belize dollar payout is likely to impact the country’s financial reserves, as it represents approximately twenty […]
Prime Minister Barrow, following this morning’s decision, called a press conference this afternoon to address the judgment. While government will meet its obligations to Dunkeld and B.T.L. Employees Trust in their entireties, PM Barrow is not too happy with the outcome. He says that the CCJ verdict leaves a lot to be desired. The quantum […]
As we’ve reported, government’s attorneys made it a point before the CCJ that they would not accept the results of independent audits done on behalf of Dunkeld and the Employees Trust. The CCJ, in turn, flatly rejected government’s position to verify and agree to the liabilities only after being allowed to peruse relevant documents pertaining […]
The drawing down on seventy-eight million U.S. dollars from the Central Bank’s reserves at this time of year raises serious concerns. Will the local economy be adversely impacted by the withdrawal of such a significant sum within a nine-day period? According to PM Barrow, it should not be a cause for worry since the funds […]
The drafting of the settlement agreement between the Prime Minister and Lord Michael Ashcroft, as well as their respective attorneys, has been criticized as poorly put together. The CCJ bench has clearly stated the terms outlined in the agreement ought to have been fine-tuned, thereby preventing legal back and forth over the quantum, as well […]
This afternoon, the People’s United Party released a statement of its views on the judgment, which it calls an “absolute disaster” for Belize. It points out that the timing of the judgment comes in the run-up to the Christmas season, when demands on foreign reserves are highest, and warns that the Government must ensure that […]
Burglars roaming in the Corozal District have traumatized the community. The latest victims of armed robbers are expats Michael and Janet McGhee. The elderly U.S. couple has been living in the quiet village of Ranchito since 2011. Early on Monday morning, however, as they slept, the McGhees were surprised by armed masked men who bound […]
A Belize City youth has been arraigned for the attempted murder of well-known taxi-man, James Swazo, who was shot on October twenty-ninth, 2017 at his home in the Jane Usher Boulevard area. After three days of an intensive search, police arrested and charged twenty-year-old Joshua Gillett of Belize City. When he appeared in court, Gillett […]
Minister of Immigration and Nationality, Senator Godwin Hulse, made his first appearance before his Senate colleagues on the Special Select Committee this morning in Belmopan. He was questioned on various aspects of the work of the Department, which he has said he closely supervised with the assistant of junior Ministers like Elvin Penner and Beverly […]
Opposition Senator Eamon Courtenay revealed during this morning’s testimony that, among the rush of secret informants to the Special Select Committee, an unnamed source visited him some time ago with an interesting tale about his personal involvement in the rush to grant nationality to unqualified persons at the prodding of Ministers of Government. According to […]
The law on granting visas for entry into Belize places discretion solely on the shoulder of the Director of Immigration, assisted by her juniors in the department, to accept or deny such documents. But it has been well-established that certain ministers of government had expectations that their written recommendations and, in some cases, phone calls […]
Notwithstanding the exorbitant cost that the people of Belize have ultimately paid for B.T.L., PM Barrow maintains that it was all worth the money. That’s a hefty price tag of more than half a billion dollars. He says that under the previous accommodation agreement the then-privately owned company, in the hands of Lord Michael Ashcroft, […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow this afternoon lent his support to a full investigation of Belize Jungle Experience Limited. The company is being audited by the Audit Department for appearing to defraud the government and the Belize Defence Force of monies paid for the training of German soldiers in Belize’s jungles between 2015 and 2017. For […]
Back to the senate hearings…Former minister Elvin Penner was appointed back in 2012 to join Godwin Hulse in the immigration ministry and was assigned direct responsibility for the Immigration Department. Hulse testified today that with the heavy workload of portfolios assigned to him at that time by the Prime Minister, he left Penner to do […]
The infamous Won Hong Kim affair, while not the start of the Immigration Department’s troubles, certainly exacerbated them. After its discovery multiple investigations were triggered, including the one that led Minister Godwin Hulse to today’s Senate meeting. While there was limited discussion of the circumstances surrounding how Kim obtained a passport and Belizean nationality without […]
Criminal activities linked to gangs continue to be one the challenges for local cops. Since 2008, the Belize Police Department has been tackling the growing issue through the Gang Resistance and Education Training, better known as the GREAT Program. Today, Ladyville Police certified another one hundred and twenty plus students of the program. The students […]
