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The House was convened this morning for the budget presentation for the new fiscal year that starts on April first, 2020. It was the Prime Minister’s final budget presentation, but it took backstage as the House went into rancorous debate on two other matters. First some house-keeping…the line-up has changed dramatically on the government side. […]
Written on March 5, 2020 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Changes in Seating Arrangement on Government Side in the House
A motion for a vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Dean Barrow and his government prompted a rowdy start to this morning’s Special Sitting of the House of Representatives. The contentious debate on the Opposition’s motion came in the afternoon, but the drama began playing out as the first order of business today. The motion […]
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Comments Off on Opposition Calls for Debate on No-Confidence Motion
Today’s sitting was set aside to present the budget for the new financial year 2020. And, as the Prime Minister would say, it was his swan song as Minister of Finance so he did not want to be robbed of the moment. The motion was placed as the last item on today agenda’s to give […]
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Comments Off on PM Barrow Objects to Debate Prior to Budget Presentation
The Opposition was quick and nimble on its feet today. Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño pointed out that because of the recent leadership election in the U.D.P., Prime Minister Barrow ought not to be sitting as Prime Minister. Briceño’s suggestion brought PM Barrow to his feet, telling Briceño to take a “simple” pill. The […]
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Comments Off on “Tek Yoh Simple Pill” – Barrow to Briceño
Amid the back and forth over whether the no-confidence motion should have been debated prior to the presentation of the 2020 Budget, the Opposition decided that it would walk out of the House of Representatives. They did so collectively shortly after Prime Minister Barrow, Minister of Finance, rose to introduce the upcoming budget for the […]
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Comments Off on Opposition Walks Out Before Budget Presentation
We caught up with Opposition Leader John Briceño outside of the Assembly Building following the walkout. While he remained steadfast that the motion of no-confidence should have been debated as agenda item number one, Briceño reiterated that PM Barrow should no longer be leader of government, since the results of a recent U.D.P. convention determined […]
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Comments Off on Johnny B Calls Budget Presentation a Mockery
The issue of the one point five billion dollars in government expenditure that has been deemed to be illegal by the Supreme Court is also a sticking point for the People’s United Party. John Briceño also commented on the surprise appearance of Orange Walk North Area Representative Gaspar Vega, who has been absent from House […]
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Comments Off on “I would have been ashamed to show my face…” – Johnny B on Gapi Vega
We take a break from the House and head to Corozal Town where the third military funeral took place for this week. Hundreds of students and residents lined the streets as the Belize Defence Force carried the fallen officer to his final resting place. Major Adran Ramirez, the commander of the B.D.F. Air Wing, was […]
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Comments Off on B.D.F. Pilot Laid to Rest in his Hometown
Of the three bills that were introduced in the House today, the Government Contracts (Validation) Bill 2020 was the most controversial. The Barrow administration sought and successfully tabled the first reading of a proposed legislation to make legal or authorize the omission by the Minister of Finance to lay government contracts on the table of […]
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Comments Off on Government Gets Past First Reading of Controversial Validation Bill
Late this afternoon, the People’s United Party proceeded to table its vote of no-confidence which was succeeded by a spirited debate from both sides of the floor. While Opposition Leader John Briceño launched the debate by firing the first salvo, the ruling party also got in a few jabs of its own. Here’s how the […]
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Comments Off on Debate on Motion of No-Confidence Runs Long and Loud
This last item from the House in tonight’s newscast….From a legal perspective, former Attorney General and Pickstock Area Representative Wilfred Elrington weighed in on the conventional process of moving a vote of no-confidence. In juxtaposing what he said against was argued by former Prime Minister Said Musa, it is apparent that economic performance is a […]
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Comments Off on Motion of No-Confidence Batted Down by Parliament
Police say that they have several persons detained in connection with the fatal shooting of Michael Barrera. The social worker was shot dead on Tuesday evening as he waited to buy food from a restaurant on Central American Boulevard. As we’ve reported, police confirmed the family’s theory that Barrera was not the intended target; he […]
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Comments Off on Several Persons Detained for Michael Barrera’s Murder
Keith Courtenay was shot multiple times just a few feet from his mother’s door on Tuesday evening. Courtenay reportedly shielded his grandson with his body and took as many as eight shots. He later died at the hospital. His family says that he was a quiet and easy going man, but today police say that […]
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Comments Off on Was Keith Courtenay’s Murder Gang-Related?
On Monday afternoon, Gregory Martinez tried to get away from his killer, but he was shot dead inside a dollar van. The shots also resulted in injuries to a couple and their eight-month-old baby. The family survived the gun violence, but police say the bullets were meant for Martinez and it may have been as […]
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Comments Off on Was Gregory Martinez’s Murder a Retaliation?
Police say that John Crawford was shot a few weeks ago and a second attempt was made on his life on Tuesday afternoon sometime around four. The barber was inside his business place when a man fired shots at him, one of which caught him in the face. Crawford is now recuperating, but police say […]
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Comments Off on A Target on the Barber’s Back?
There was a fire on Wednesday afternoon in San Joaquin Village, Corozal. The fire destroyed a wooden house occupied by Maria Aban. Today, cops said that no one was at home and a cause of the fire is not yet known. Supt. Alejandro Cowo, O.C., C.I.B., Eastern Division “Around 1:10 p.m., information was received […]
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Comments Off on Fire Destroys Home in San Joaquin, Corozal
As COVID-19 makes its way across borders and into countries, here in Belize, the Ministry of Health continues to monitor the situation. There are no confirmed cases of the virus in Belize. The ministry says, however, that some persons are in isolation as precautionary safety measure after it was learnt that these persons were in […]
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Comments Off on Belize Still Free of COVID-19
All this week we’ve been reporting on the stevedores’ industrial action. On Wednesday night, it appeared that some progress was made. That’s because the C.W.U. met with the Port of Belize management, as well as Minister of Labour and the Labour Commissioner. Today, the C.W.U. briefed the press on the matters after consulting with the […]
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Comments Off on CWU Meets; Commitments Made
As a part of the commitments, the C.W.U. decided to go back to work on Wednesday night, with the expectation that today the P.B.L. should have sent them a letter agreeing to three points they had agreed upon, including that within twenty-one days they would negotiate and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with C.W.U. on […]
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Comments Off on CWU Says They Made Good on Commitments, but P.B.L. Didn’t
Climate change, ocean acidification, marine pollution and irresponsible fishing are considered very real threats affecting the region. Recently, G.O.B. declared gillnets a destructive fishing gear even though OCEANA, among other conservation groups, has been calling for a ban on the gear. But on the regional scale, the illegal unreported and unregulated fishing continues to be […]
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Comments Off on Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Still Affecting the Caribbean
The month of March is being celebrated as Child Stimulation Month under the theme, “Hug Me, Listen to Me, Read with Me, Help Me Grow.” Across the country, there are various activities being held to highlight the importance of early childhood development. Today, a national storytelling competition was held at the Bliss Centre for the […]
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Comments Off on Teacher Andrea Cal of Midway Government Preschool Wins National Storytelling Competition
The number of coronavirus cases has tripled as the virus grows rapidly across the world. There are no confirmed cases in Belize, but the Ministry of Health has been adopting new measures to face the novel virus. The ministry has moved away from sending samples overseas and local health professionals have been trained to conduct […]
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Comments Off on Healthy Living: Testing for COVID-19 Done in Belize
