After weeks of back and forth between the Prime Minister, his Cabinet and Financial Secretary and the joint unions who have now filed notice of industrial action, the 2021-22 national budget was presented in the House of Representatives this morning. News Five’s Isani Cayetano has the details. Prime Minister John Briceño “The sixth most […]
Once today’s House Meeting was adjourned, the press met Prime Minister John Briceño outside the National Assembly chambers. As viewers may be aware, while PM Briceño has debated numerous budget presentations as Opposition, today was his first budget presentation as leader of the country. His presentation went on for approximately eighty-three minutes, a personal record. […]
The five-member opposition, led by Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber, walked out of the National Assembly this afternoon, following the use of an offensive remark made by Cayo South Area Representative Julius Espat. In rising on a point of order, the Leader of the Opposition was referred to as a boy. The term, while belittling […]
A new area representative for Corozal Bay took the oath of office in the National Assembly this morning, succeeding her late brother who lost his battle with COVID-19 shortly after unseating former Area Rep Pablo Marin in November 2020. Elvia Vega won decisively over U.D.P. opponent Hilberto Campo during a by-election on March third and […]
The rapport between the unions and government has been generally contentious. What began as consultations during the preparation of the 2021 budget has resulted in a salary cut that sees the wages of teachers and public officers being reduced by ten percent. The P.S.U. has expressed discontent by serving a twenty-one day notice of intended […]
While the PM did mention the ten percent salary cuts and three-year increment freeze for the public service, he did not belabor the point during his budget presentation. Outside the House, reporters asked PM Briceño whether he had taken a deliberate decision to spend so little time on the these controversial issues. Prime Minister […]
The Government of Belize is putting in place the necessary measures to keep the public service operational should the Public Service Union take industrial action. As we have reported, the Public Service Union has already served G.O.B. with a twenty-one-day notice. Among the public servants are key revenue collectors whose absence from office could possibly […]
SpeedNet, a parent company to Smart Belize, is reportedly indebted to the Government of Belize to the tune of eleven point one million dollars in GST. The sum has accumulated overtime as a result of interest and penalties accrued. The outstanding debt is in the name of one Vanessa Briceño, a relative to the Prime […]
The Governor General of Belize Sir Colville Young tendered his resignation on April fourth. In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the Governor General noted that he is resigning in keeping with a request made by the Prime Minster on March fifteenth, 2021. He noted that the PM should not hesitate to call on […]
Another member of the Opposition Shyne Barrow, the Area Representative for Mesopotamia, also spoke during the budget presentation today. He says the Briceño administration needs to do more for parts of Belize like his division where residents are struggling to keep up with the cost of living. In his view, the Port Loyola Expansion Project […]
A Santa Familia family is grieving the loss of their only daughter. The eleven-year-old girl and her little brother were mowed down by an alleged drunk driver behind the wheels of a truck. It happened just a stone’s throw away from the children’s home. Reporter Andrea Polanco travelled west today and has the following story. […]
Two men who were arraigned on Tuesday on charges of raping a twelve-year-old girl were today granted bail. Supreme Court Justice, Herbert Lord granted Tashane Williams and Theodore Andrew bail of ten thousand dollars, but they must report to the police three times a week, not communicate with the victim or go within one hundred […]
Three people, including a seventeen-year-old minor, were today arraigned before Magistrate Trecia Pitts-Anderson after police allegedly nabbed them with almost nine pounds of marijuana and a little over half-a-pound of crack cocaine. Police conducted a search Aaron Rowland’s home in the West Landivar area of Belize City on Thursday, when they reportedly found the drugs. […]
Several former and current employees of the traffic department in San Pedro have been detained by the police as an investigation continues into a traffic sticker scam in the island town. Today, Mayor Wally Nunez spoke with News Five about how some residents were conned out of their money in exchange for fake traffic stickers; […]
So as you heard, there were also fake insurance documents being issued. Mayor Nunez says that the investigation continues to determine the extent of the scam as well as the total amount of money that was fraudulently acquired in the obvious breech of process. But what happens to those who unknowingly purchased these fake stickers […]
Since taking office, the new P.U.P. San Pedro Town Council has been pouring over the accounts at the council and the findings, according to Mayor Wally Nunez, are shocking. Between 2019 and 2021, twelve million dollars in property taxes have not been collected; the council has an overdraft of two million-dollars, exorbitant utility bills and […]
During our one-on-one interview with Mayor Wally Nunez, we asked about the road to recovery for San Pedro businesses and resorts as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Thousands have lost their employment and a number of businesses shuttered when the tourism industry crashed. Visitors to the island have increased over the last few months, especially over […]
This morning, a volcano on the island of Saint Vincent erupted and since then, there have been several explosions. Residents on the island have been evacuated from the immediate area, but ashes have been permeating the air in the neighbouring island country of Barbados. News Five’s Duane Moody’s report includes a first-hand account from the […]
