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Prime Minister John Briceño chaired his first House meeting today. A marathon sitting that just concluded less than a half-hour ago. During these COVID-19 times, the chambers have been retrofitted with plastic cubicles separating the area representatives. The P.U.P. Government commenced with explosives details about a land hustle in the Department of Lands. When the […]
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Comments Off on Minister Cordel Hyde Reveals Massive Land Scam
Minister Hyde then spoke of another incident of clear land fraud. According to Hyde, the victim this time was a man named Florencio Talbert, and the alleged perpetrator was the former C.E.O. of the Ministry of Works, Errol Gentle. Hyde told the House that Gentle reportedly acquired lands in the Mountain Pine Ridge area in […]
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Comments Off on Minister Hyde Names Former MoW C.E.O. Errol Gentle in Land Scam
Minister Hyde then revealed that the investigation into the Lands Department uncovered the unthinkable; something he says he would have never thought would have been done. In these challenging times of COVID-19, Hyde says that the land compensation budget ballooned with the then Barrow Administration issuing out fifteen million dollars in compensation in September alone. […]
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The repossession of government assets from past ministers continues. The Ministry of Infrastructure Development, formerly the Ministry of Works, is pursuing the recovery of missing inventory. Earlier today, at mile three and a half on the George Price Highway, the police retrieved heavy equipment from former Minister Anthony Boots Martinez’s property. A bitumen batching plant, […]
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Maintaining order in the House of Representatives, amid the constant verbal exchanges across the floor, has always been a challenge. Despite being regarded as the honorable house, Parliament has long been the venue for heated interactions between the government and its opposition. Today was no different, even though it was the first working session since […]
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Comments Off on House Speaker Val is in Control!
On the heels of a stunning defeat at the polls on November eleventh last year, it was expected that all U.D.P. appointed chairpersons on various statutory bodies, including the executives of the Belize Tourism Board, would step down as the respectable course of action. Director of Tourism Karen Bevans, who signed a five-year contract to […]
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Comments Off on Perusing the Director of Tourism’s Plum Contract
We got a chance to ask Prime Minister John Briceño about Bevans’ contract today. Bevans has threatened, through Barrow and Williams law firm, to sue Prime Minister John Briceño for defaming her in a previous media interview when talking about her contract. Briceño is sticking to his guns, telling Bevans that she does not want […]
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Comments Off on Does Karen Bevans Have the ‘Guts” to Sue PM John Briceño?
Beleaguered former Lands Commissioner Wilbert Vallejos and his family in Patchakan, Corozal District were the subject of an intelligence-led operation on January fourth where their residence was searched by personnel from the Mobile Interdiction Team. The Belize Police Department had received actionable information, which led to the officers raiding the property. The operation yielded a […]
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Comments Off on Police Finally Speak on Wilbert Vallejos Raid
Much of today’s proceedings within the National Assembly Chambers were statements by ministers. It was until two in the afternoon that the House moved into the day’s business, starting with introducing the Good Governance in Belize Motion 2021. In the evening, the Briceño introduced the two general revenue supplementary bills. These bills, according to Prime […]
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But the Briceño administration is facing a financial dilemma. As the PM said in his New Year address, the government ‘bruk.’ A ballooning wage bill burdens the fiscal budget. In fact, the wage bill and the pension bill together are eighty percent of the country’s billion dollars budget. Briceño says that there are no retrenchment […]
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Comments Off on Ballooning Wage Bill Briceño’s Burden
The most recent COVID-19 prevention measures outlined in Statutory Instrument 175 included a fifty percent capacity on all public transportation. Bus owners immediately voiced their discontent with the decision as it was simply not feasible for them to maintain their runs. The compromise made then was to allow for seventy-five percent capacity per bus. But […]
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Shaw says that in this first meeting with the new minister, they discussed a range of issues that are central to the survival of the bus transport industry. Among those issues were road permits, bus schedules, and parking, but at the heart of the conversation was the issue of subsidies for bus operators. You’ll recall […]
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Estelle Leslie is the first woman to ascend to Comptroller’s post, a singular seat in the Customs and Excise Department. In 1988, when she began as an entry-level officer, Leslie dreamt of someday rising to the highest rank. Today, thirty-two years later, she has accomplished that feat. The journey to get here was not easy. […]
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Comments Off on Estelle Leslie is Belize’s First Woman Comptroller of Customs
The Belize Airports Authority has a new seven-member board of directors. Ricardo Martin is the newly appointed chairman of the board of the B.A.A. A press release from the Belize Airports Authority says that Martin brings years of experience and leadership skills that will (Quote) “ensure the prosperity of the B.A.A. by collectively directing the […]
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Less than a month after the price for liquefied petroleum gas was introduced, there is another change to the fixed control prices, which will take effect on December ninth. The prices are up across the board by twenty-three cents per gallon for both wholesale and retail. A release from the Belize Bureau of Standards advises […]
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Comments Off on LPG Prices Increase by 23 Cents per Gallon
Attorney Estevan Perera was sworn as the Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission in July 2020 under the Barrow Administration. He is a known U.D.P. supporter who has also served on various boards, including the Social Security Board, Belize Water Services, and the Belize Liquor License Board. And like several other political appointees, Perera […]
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Comments Off on PM Briceño Calls on Steve Perera to Resign
Who sits as the head of the elections and boundaries commission is important to the ruling administration as in less than two months, voters will be returning to the polls for the municipal elections. As we reported on Thursday, well-known athlete Kaya Cattouse has submitted an application to the People’s United Party’s executive for a […]
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Comments Off on Mayor Bernard Wagner Seeking Re-election, but Who Will Make Up His Slate?
Reflecting on the completion of his term, Mayor Wagner acknowledges that the economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic did impact the councils’ ability to fulfill its manifesto promises. According to Wagner, he feels they get to about eighty to ninety percent. He says that this third year was primarily crisis management, but that […]
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Comments Off on Belize City Mayor on Fulfilling his Manifesto
A teenager in Succotz needs your help to seek medical attention in Guatemala. Thirteen-year-old Kendra Avalos was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer a few years ago. In 2015 she had one of her kidneys removed. But as a part of her recovery, she needs a regular medical check-up, and according to the teen’s mom […]
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Comments Off on Teenage Cancer Patient Needs Your Help!
And this unfortunate update, earlier this week, told you about the Quan’s family appeal for blood donors. Orlando Quan Senior was hospitalized with severe COVID-19 and needed blood transfusions and platelets for treatment. Sadly, despite the medical team’s support and generous blood donors, Quan Senior succumbed to the disease on Thursday night.
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Comments Off on Orlando Quan Sr. Loses Battle to COVID-19
The new Miss Universe Belize will be crowned on Saturday at three p.m. during a live virtual event right here on Channel Five. Like so many other traditions during the pandemic, the selection process had to be modified. Instead of a pageant, fifteen hopefuls applied via a casting call held in November 2020. And now […]
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Comments Off on Destinee Arnold’s Farewell as Miss Universe Belize
They just released the latest crime statistics for 2020. Now the Belize Crime Observatory wants to recognize outstanding journalists. The media competition is an extension of a data training workshop that the organization held last February. According to Adele Ramos, the Technical Coordinator of the B.C.O., the purpose is to recognize journalists for their work […]
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Comments Off on A Media Award Competition
