The government continued budget consultations today, preparing for the presentation of the budget in March. Today, a team of high-level ministers met with the Belize National Teachers Union. Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde and Ministers Francis Fonseca and Henry Charles Usher sat down with B.N.T.U. National President Senator Elena Smith and members of the executive. […]
National President of the Belize National Teachers Union Senator Elena Smith says that the meeting was cordial. Smith says the government was open to suggestions. However, they did not discuss the matter of a wage cut. Senator Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U. “The minister presented to us the situation with the country, what is […]
Following today’s budget consultation with the B.N.T.U., Deputy PM Cordel Hyde and Ministers Francis Fonseca and Henry Charles Usher were asked if cabinet ministers received a ten percent salary cut. Prime Minister John Briceño made that announcement in December 2020, but in a recent interview with the media, the P.S.U.’s first vice president Dean Flowers […]
Earlier this week, we told you about the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s letter to Prime Minister Briceño. The B.C.C.I. wrote PM Briceño to share their concerns and recommendations regarding wage cuts in the public service. Some have expressed that the more considerable problem is that a wage cut can have a ripple effect […]
Cabinet approved the reopening of maritime borders for yachting tourism. The reopening does come with conditions including adherence to public health safety protocols, which means that crew and passengers must present a negative COVID-19 test to enter Belize. Port Commissioner Retired Major Gilbert Swaso says that the reopening of the maritime borders for tourism requires […]
The body of forty-seven-year-old Michael Escalante was found dumped on the George Price Highway just before midday on Wednesday. The Belize Police Department is actively searching for Escalante’s missing red four-door Great Wall Wingle pickup truck that was stolen. Escalante was found dead between miles thirty-three and thirty-four in a pool of blood. Witnesses say […]
One of the key promises that the People’s United Party made before coming into office was to give land to first-time landowners. At the Lands Department in Belize City, dozens of persons would gather to submit applications. Hundreds more would appear when DPM Cordel Hyde would hold public consultations in different areas. His next location […]
On Tuesday, we reported on the joint statement from the Maya Leaders Alliance, the Julian Cho Society, and the Toledo Alcaldes Association on the former Commissioner of the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission, Lisel Alamilla’s new venture. Through a newspaper advert, Alamilla announced that she is the agent for a private landowner around Indian Creek […]
Will the former U.D.P. Minister of Works, Rene Montero, and his C.E.O. Errol Gentle face criminal charges? The answer now lies with the Director of Public Prosecutions. That’s because the Belize Police Department has reportedly handed the file over to the D.P.P.’s office. The police began investigating Montero and Gentle after the Ministry of Infrastructure […]
And in today’s COVID-stats, there are seven new confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to twelve thousand one hundred and fourteen for the country. Fortunately, no new deaths were reported today so that total stands at three hundred and thirteen. The Ministry of Health and Wellness confirmed this evening […]
Today, a virtual certificate ceremony was held for the first of a 2020 cohort of public officers who completed a professional development training. It’s been over a decade that public officers have not been allowed to train, but these forty public officers are now eligible for promotion. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, […]
If you have the budget, it’s a great idea to treat your Valentine to some lobster this weekend as the 2020-2021 Lobster Season winds down on Sunday at midnight and reopens on June fifteenth. Once the season closes and you are found with lobster in your possession, you will be charged. But this closure, according […]
As the season comes to a close, the Fisheries Department reports that lobster production is up for the 2020-2021 period, with seven hundred thousand pounds of lobster tail processed. According to Fisheries Officer Mauro Gongora, the lobster sector is stable and has been performing well. Annually, lobster brings in revenues of just under thirty million […]
Like all other celebrations in the past year, this February – the month of love – doesn’t feel quite the same. Even with restrictions in place, our reporter Duane Moody found out that Belize City residents are still looking forward to the celebration while staying safe at home. What about finding a gift for a […]
It’s no surprise that former U.D.P. ministers have been openly critical of the Briceño Administration and their decisions. But a recent post by former Minister John Saldivar on Facebook did garner a bit of attention as he blamed the Briceño Administration for causing the suffering of more than two hundred thousand Belizeans. PM Briceño was […]
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and Immigration Eamon Courtenay, participated in a virtual extraordinary meeting between Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Central American Integration System and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. Minister Courtenay highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic presents new and exacerbated challenges for refugees and the national systems that […]
She’s the executive director at the Southern Environmental Association and previously worked as the Advocacy Manager at the Belize Audubon Society. Now, Arreini Palacio Morgan has been appointed by the Ministry of Human Development, Families, and Indigenous Peoples Affairs as the new chairperson for the National Committee for Families and Children. The mother of two […]
The Super Furia Band is celebrating a major milestone in its history – thirty-five years in existence! The family band of Orange Walk also welcomed their anniversary with an award – a proclamation from the Governor-General of Belize. To celebrate the band’s thirty-fifth anniversary, they are hosting a free virtual show on Sunday at five […]
