Belize Times 101114

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

1

PIPPLE DI BAWL OUT YA SUNDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Issue No. 4719

$1.00 www.belizetimes.bz www.pup.org.bz

NO MONEY FOR CANEFARMERS

Office of the Leader of the Opposition Belize City, Belize Central America Telephone 670- 2644 REF

OL/POL/02/11/2010 (5)

The Honorable Dean Barrow Office of the Prime Minister Sir Edney Caine Building Belmopan

The People’s United Party has demanded the immediate intervention of the Government of Belize in the disbursement of a loan from the Social Security Board to the Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. The $10m loan was approved months ago but SSB has delayed the disbursement. As a consequence, BSI was unable to make

their third scheduled payment to more than 8,000 cane-farmers in Orange Walk and Corozal last Friday.

In the northern districts, approximately 50,000 Belizeans are dependent on the sugar industry for their survival, but that fact seems to have escaped the notice of the (Continued on pg. 3)

ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE!

9 November 2010 Prime Minister Barrow: The future of the Sugar Cane Industry in Belize is a matter of national importance.

A few months ago the Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI) wrote the Social Security Board (SSB) seeking a $10m loan. According to BSI officials, this loan was sought to enable them to pay cane farmers and to commence operations for the 2010/2011 crop. This loan was approved by the Social Security Board, but has yet to be disbursed.

As you are aware, last Friday the Belize Sugar Industry Limited (BSI) announced that they were unable to make the third payment due to Belizean cane farmers. This announcement is of grave concern to me because the inability to access these funds will make it impossible for cane farmers and BSI to commence the much needed preparations for the 2010\2011 crop.

Prime Minister I believe it is important that the Government ensures that BSI can access the approved loan from SSB. The Sugar Cane Industry is one of the largest foreign currency earners in our nation; it generates significant employment and is a pillar of the Belizean economy. We cannot afford another crisis in the industry and as such I appeal to you to call upon the Social Security Board to disburse these much needed funds to BSI. I am prepared to work with you to support such an intervention.

Sincerely,

Hon. John Briceño Leader of the Opposition cc: Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association Executive Director: BSI

The last time Cane-farmers protested, Atanacio Gutierrez was shot dead by Police.

Today the Belize Times spoke to Chairman of the Committee of Management of the Cane Farmers’ Association Alfredo Ortega, who told us that if the cane-farmers do not receive their third payment by the middle of next week, protests will be imminent. According to Ortega, “if things are not cleared up very soon, it will be unstoppable.”

More than 8,000 cane-farmers anticipated their third payment from BSI which was due on Monday, only

to be told that there was no money for them. According to Chairman Ortega, the farmers in the north are fighting for their bread and butter and at this point are desperate. As he explained, many of the farmers pawned out jewelry and other possessions to get them through the rough times leading up to the third payment, anticipating that they would be able to retrieve their property when they received funds. With those funds held back, the farmers are in danger of (Continued on pg. 3)

2

The Belize Times

A Nation in Peril

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belize has issued an official and officious press release in a bizarre and unsuccessful attempt to justify the abrupt dispatch of Belize’s chief diplomat in the United Kingdom, High Commissioner HE Kamela Palma. Ms. Palma disagreed with an edict from CEO in the MFA Alexis Rosado and expressed her disapproval in terms which were considered disrespectful…so disrespectful, in fact, that Ms. Palma singlehandedly placed the entire nation of Belize in peril – or at least that is what is stated in the press release.

The short version of the story is this – HE Kamela Palma was proceeding on five (5) days leave and as is her responsibility had made arrangements for the High Commission to operate in her absence. CEO Alexis Rosado, for whatever reason, went around the instructions of the senior diplomat and instructed that First Secretary Tanya Hulse, who is the daughter of UDP Minister Melvin Hulse, would act as High Commissioner for the five (5) days. HE Palma disagreed with the instructions of her CEO, placed it in writing and was fired for her refusal to comply forthwith.

But it is not exactly as clear-cut as that. In her letter to CEO Alexis Rosado, HE Kamela Palma makes distinct allusions to the mishandling of public monies by the First Secretary, stating that – “I am very prepared to elucidate more on the matter of lack of trust in handling Government of Belize's funds, of the fact that this has been reported to HQ in three reports and that the seriousness of these three reports have been either summarily dismissed, misinterpreted, or ignored.”

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saw fit to release the inter-ministry letter from HE Palma to CEO Alexis Rosado, the memos containing the instructions from CEO Rosado were not released…nor were the three reports sent in to headquarters containing the details of the mishandling of public funds. The Prime Minister himself stated that he has decided not to give the allegations any ‘currency.’ And that seems to be the end of that. He has made no mention of the reports, no mention of any detail of the allegations; no commitment to look into the matter. In fact, the Prime Minister seems peculiarly nonchalant regarding the allegations of what amounts to criminal betrayal of the public trust.

That comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the operation of this Barrow administration. The Belize Times broke the news of public funds allegedly being mishandled by the daughter of UDP Minister Melvin Hulse more than six months ago. Those reports were rampant within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in diplomatic circles, but that is as far as it went. And if not for the ‘disrespect’ which placed our entire nation in peril, nothing more would have been heard about Ms. Hulse and her shenanigans.

Mr. Barrow apparently gives very high currency to issues of respect and the absolute compliance with directives whatever they may be. In fact he was recently on national television adding his condemnation of HE Kamela Palma because she did not comply with the directive of the CEO. It was of no consequence that the senior diplomat was acting in the best interest of the nation as she saw it, or that she was protecting the public purse. It was of no consequence that she explained her actions. According to Mr. Barrow, it was not her place to question why…it was but her place to do or die. As he put it succinctly – ‘complain but then comply’ – end of story.

The behavior of Mr. Barrow brings to mind another situation which hits close to home. The leader of this nation once had a protégée for whom he had the highest regard. With his full financial backing and support she was placed into high municipal office in Belize City. Not long after, reports circulated that money was being misappropriated at City Hall. Entering politics penniless, Mr. Barrow’s golden girl was now able to embark on the construction of a multi-million dollar mansion in front of the sea. But Mr. Barrow said not a word. The family of the Mayor thrived from a series of sweetheart contracts…but Mr. Barrow said not a word. The Mayor’s colleagues presented evidence of her wrongdoing – Mr. Barrow said not a word. The Ministry of Local Government accused this woman of misappropriation of funds, but Mr. Barrow said not a word. Senior employees of City Hall resigned en masse, condemning the actions of the Mayor, but Mr. Barrow said not a word. An official audit of the Belize City Council showed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing…but Mr. Barrow has said not a word.

But then the Mayor went on national television and questioned the existence of Mr. Barrow’s testicles, and she was immediately smitten with Mr. Barrow’s rod of correction. All political hell broke loose. Mr. Barrow who had been so silent ordered the issue of a UDP release accusing the Mayor of theft…many months after the act. See, it wasn’t about the act…it was all about the disrespect.

HE Kamela Palma has not, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so ludicrously claimed, imperiled the entire nation…far from it. She has rather performed a valuable service to her nation in an attempt to protect the public purse. But she won’t receive any thanks nor will she receive awards of appreciation from Mr. Barrow.

Her contract has been terminated because for Mr. Barrow the most important issue is not the public interest…but rather the perception of disrespect.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

A Crying Shame Dear Editor: Please allow me space in your newspaper to register my disgust with the driver and conductor of one of the Tillett buses which services the Corozal district. I don’t know what has become of our society when we treat each other like animals and seem to have given up any hint of decency.

My cousin has a child who is chronically ill and i s f o r c e d t o u s e a w h e e l c h a i r. T h e t h e r a p y h e n e e d s periodically is not available in Belize because of this useless UDP and incompetent fool Pablo Marin, who I am sad to say is my Area Representative. Anyway, I was shocked this week when my cousin told me about the problems she has every time she takes her son to Chetumal for his treatment. I literally could not believe it.

According to her, the conductor of the Tillett Bus gives trouble each and every time she tries to take her child on the bus. First he refuses to allow the wheelchair on the bus. I mean what is wrong with people. This is a small child and a small wheelchair. For her to get her son on the bus she is forced to pay the conductor two times the fare that she would normally pay for passage for both of them, and even then she has to practically be begging for him to allow them on.

I would like to tell this conductor and the bus driver that the world is indeed round and the hatred and suffering that they give to others will be returned to them tenfold.

I would also like to ask the owners of Tillett bus to look into this matter and deal with it if possible, because I am sure that they would never approve of the actions of people like this.

Especially in times like this which are very hard, we cannot forget to offer each other the hand of kindness at each and every opportunity. Right now it is my cousin’s child who has to suffer the indignity of bad treatment at the hand of callous individuals. But tomorrow it could be your child. I will continue to pray for all of us.

One in God Catherine Pate Corozal Town

THE BELIZE TIMES ACTING EDITOR

Lucilo E. Alcoser OFFICE SUPERVISOR

Fay Castillo-Mckay PRINTING/PERSONNEL SUPERVISOR

Doreth Bevans

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte PRINTER

Oscar Obando

DESKTOP PUBLISHER-

Lucilo E. Alcoser

TYPIST-

Rachel Arana

Printed & Published By The Belize Times Ltd. #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize Tel: 224-5757

Editor: 671-8385

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

Pipple Di Bawl Out Ya (Continued from pg. 1)

Government of Belize which has consistently ignored the ongoing crisis in the industry. In the release, the PUP reminds the Barrow administration that “The Sugar Cane Industry is one of the largest foreign currency earners and a pillar of the Belizean economy. The neglect of this industry by the UDP Government threatens its very survival and the very way of life for many of the people of the northern region.”

T h e i s s u e o f S S B ’s n o n disbursement of a loan which was already approved months ago has received additional attention in the wake of the indecent haste in which $50m of SSB funds were approved for the purchase of shares in the very controversial and litigation heavy BTL. In a release issued early this

week, the PUP pointed out that “it is just and proper to lend $10 million of the people’s money to ensure the survival of 50,000 Belizeans, in contrast to risking $50m to purchase shares in Belize Telemedia.” The use of that $50m was rammed through against protest from all the social partners including the unions and the business sector, who insisted that the investment was foolhardy at this time considering pending litigation which could place the $50m in taxpayer monies at risk.

In the case of the BTL/SSB deal, the Prime Minister pushed every button to ensure that the monies would be available against a storm of protest.

His stake in that situation was personal since he had come under attack for his arbitrary and perhaps illegal takeover of BTL for which he has still not paid

compensation. Mr. Barrow used every means at his disposal including the highly unethical placements of his ex-wife Lois Young and stooge Net Vasquez to ensure that SSB monies (our monies) was available to make the high-risk investment.

But in the case of the sugar industry Mr. Barrow has remained mute, as he has in every single crisis between BSI and the farmers since the UDP took office. The plight of more than 50,000 Belizeans who depend on sugar cane for their daily bread seems inconsequential to the leader of the nation.

T h e P e o p l e ’s U n i t e d P a r t y condemns the negligence of this UDP administration, warns of dire consequences ahead for the industry and calls on the Barrow administration to intervene immediately – “While the government is aware that BSI did not receive the $10m

from the Belize Social Security Board, it has done nothing to address the matter and has failed to make any intervention on behalf of the farmers and BSI. The inability to resolve this issue can result in a serious conflict between the farmers and BSI. If the Government of Belize is truly concerned about the plight of the 8,000 can farmers, their families and related businesses, they must ensure that SSB disburses the approved loan to BSI for payment to the cane farmers thereby guaranteeing the commencement of the sugar crop in early December 2010.”

As we go to press tonight, cane-farmer have still not been able to access their third payment from BSI, as funds from SSB remain undisbursed and the Government remains mute on the issue.

be able to access or facilitate the necessary funds anytime soon.

And while the situation on the ground for cane-farmers is bad enough and getting worse, the reality is that the new crop season set to start in the first week of December is in jeopardy.

Ortega told us that the farmers depend on the third payment to invest in their equipment, buying tires and paying insurance. “A delay of two weeks in payment could translate into a delay of 1 month in the start of the crop season and as things stand right now

I don’t see that a resolution is near,” Ortega stated.

On the ground, Ortega reports that there is ‘high-tension’ as farmers grow more desperate. He and his committee have been travelling through the communities trying to organize a general meeting for November 21st, he said, but nobody wants to hear about a meeting – they only want to know when they will receive the monies due to them, claiming that if monies are not received by the middle of next week their utilities will be cut out and they will not be able to put food on the table.

The last time there was a protest by cane-farmers in the north, the Prime Minister refused to meet for discussions with the cane-farmers.

Instead he gave the order to break it up using any means necessary and cane-farmer Atanacio Gutierrez was murdered and 8 others injured. That fateful day, February 2, 2009 has not been forgotten by cane-farmers in Orange Walk and Corozal. But with that said, if government remains mute and unwilling to help and BSI remains insolvent protests will be imminent and all hell will break loose in the north of the country.

people, some of whom looked up to him until then, he didn’t even take a can of milk for them to feed their children in their time of distress. Dressed in pricey leather shoes, he arrived empty-handed and left behind nothing but promises.

Barrow, when he appeared on a local station on Friday morning, admitted that the response by the National Emergency Management Organization was slow and that, given the storm was only a category one, the aftermath did not place a vast majority

of the country in need of basic food and construction supplies. But while he criticised the response, personnel within NEMO say that the truth is that there are not sufficient supplies stashed away to provide even for those affected by a category one hurricane.

The PM pulls out paper with figures of supplies that have supposedly found their way to the affected, but when one visits these areas, and the areas are many, the feedback is far different from what the paper suggests. Maybe the figures on the paper represent the items still on their way to those people affected.

ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE! (Continued from pg. 1) losing their items.

Ortega claims that several members of his committee held a meeting with the Prime Minister on Tuesday but apart from saying that he would see how government would help, there was absolutely no commitment to resolve the problem which is swiftly escalating out of control. Sources within the Office of the Prime Minister have told the Belize Times that at this point there is no way that the government will

The People Need Help...Not More Promises!

Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned to the country after attending a Caribbean Development Bank Board of Governors Meeting in Barbados and was in the country for days before he saw the need to visit with the impoverished and needy who were rendered homeless by Hurricane Richard on October 24th.

In fact, it had to take the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. John Briceno, who took the charge last Thursday evening and, in a true show of leadership and compassion, went to see the many

3

people suffering in the Yarborough community.

Party Leader Briceno did not go empty-handed either: he took items that the people needed the most in this time of great need - thousands of dollars worth of grocery items for the mostly single-mothers and their children.

The much-appreciated goods were distributed among the neediest families in the area, which borders with Barrow's Queen Square division. It's a shame that the next day when he visited with the

4

The Belize Times

Lest We Forget...

Th er e u s ed to b e a time in Belize when each November many Belizeans would wear a red flower on their clothing to m a r k A r m i s t i c e D a y. I t w a s a part of the Poppy Appeal and the contributions collected from the sale of these poppies would go to help our veterans...those men and women who served.

A poppy back in the day would cost anywhere from 10 cents to $1.00 depending on how much one could contribute. These imitation flowers were sold by the Salvation Army as well as other volunteer organizations.

I can clearly recall my days in school when our teachers would tell us about the Flanders poppy, which is a weed that was grown originally in North Africa and later in great abundance i n E u r o p e . We l e a r n t t h a t t h i s weed with the red flower was seen on the battlefields in Europe and even in the trenches where

soldiers waited for the call to charge.

We were even taught a poem t i t l e d “ I n F l a n d e r s ’s F i e l d ” b y John McCrae which was written by a soldier whose friend had died in battle. In his poem McCrae spoke of the poppies that grew in the fields where blood was spilled, where soldiers were buried - “In Flanders field the poppies blow; between the crosses, row on row.”

The poppy became a symbol, a reminder to all of us, of the many lives that were lost in b a t t l e , n o t j u s t t h e F i r s t Wo r l d Wa r, b u t i n a l l t h e o t h e r w a r s since. So many people fought and died in those wars including Belizeans, who in WWII were sent to fight in Europe and Africa. So each year on the 11th November, Belizeans join with others across the Commonwealth in what is now called Remembrance Day. During this time we wear our red poppy

as a sign that we will never forget the sacrifice of human life in the fight for freedom.

So that even today when we have a new generation of Belizeans who have chosen to serve in the US, UK or Canadian armed forces, we continue to have our people make that sacrifice and put their lives on the line for the safety and security of others.

Here at home we are also engaged in a war; it is a war that is taking place in our streets - it i s a n u r b a n w a r. M a n y o f o u r young men who have become angry and frustrated with their lives and who have lost hope have turned to a life of violence and crime. They have joined the urban armies we call street gangs and have accepted a life of crime and violence.

In the fight to rid our streets o f c r i m e a n d g a n g a c t i v i t y, w e have called upon the men and women of our Belize Defence Force to join with our Police O ff i c e r s i n t h i s f i g h t . W h i l e I firmly believe that our armed forces must always be used to defend our borders, I am grateful to the men and women in uniform for their service in this struggle to save our communities. I look forward to the day when we will all be able to return our BDF to working exclusively on military operations. In the meantime I value their contribution in the fight to rid our communities of crime, violence and gang activity.

During Hurricane Richard Memorial Park sustained quite

Sunday, November 14, 2010 a bit of damage. In addition to the roof being ripped off the pavilion and parts of the fence collapsing, the monument to the unnamed soldier was severely damaged. I would like to appeal to the members of the Belize ExServicemen’s League to call on the Mayor of Belize City and the Councillor responsible for parks to restore this monument as soon as possible, for it is a symbol which every Belizean should honour and it must be preserved.

So as I write this on Armistice Day (Remembrance Day) let us honour the work of all those brave Belizeans who went to war in the hope of winning peace. Let us honour our Belizeans who are currently serving in the military both at home and abroad and let us always be thankful for all those who serve for the betterment of humanity.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE

at www.belizetimes.bz ~ POST YOUR COMMENTS ~ VOTE ON ARTICLES ~ VIEW OUR PHOTO GALLERY ~ CHECK OUT A PDF VERSION OF THE PAPER We are the most visited newspaper website in Belize

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Pray for us sinners…

The sticky-fingered birdbrained integrity-challenged Mayor of Belize City Zenaida Moya in an interview after charges against her were thrown out gave thanks to the Almighty, her attorney, her family and the prosecution for agreeing to fall to the ground and play dead in the case against her. Well no, she didn’t actually thank the prosecution but she

sure as hell should have because this monumental waste of the people’s time was as perfectly choreographed as baldy’s speeches. Zenaida says the experience has brought her closer to her maker, but we’re not exactly sure who she’s talking about because either God or baldy would fit that description.

And finally, ‘sticky’ claims that after consultation with the Almighty who has been by her side through it all, she is thinking about running in the next general elections. That news sent shockwaves through the ranks of the Council of Churches, which immediately met in emergency session to ask the Almighty to reconsider his advice to Zenaida. As one devout Christian put it succinctly – Oh Lord send me out into the desert for 40 days and 40 nights…send the devil to tempt me and I will remain steadfast and strong but please oh Lord please keep Zenaida away from us. Amen…If Da Noh Soh! Moses Jamal Shyne Moshe…

The gangster rapper formerly known as Jamal Barrow formerly known as Shyne formerly known as Moses Leviy formerly known as Belize’s Music Ambassador is now known as Moshe Levy Ben-David or something like that. About the only thing we know for sure is that Jamal Shyne Moses Moshe whatever has left

the building and has now announced that his new home is Israel. Damn, daddy Dean must be feeling a little bit stupid right now. Anxious to make up for whipping out on the baby boy and forgetting that he existed

The Belize Times

all these years, the deadbeat daddy conferred diplomatic status on the boy, bypassing many Belizean musical and cultural legends to appoint the gangster rapper Belize’s Music Ambassador and cultural representative and an example to our children all over this country. We all knew it was stupid but hey, when people got to make up for years and years of neglect they do some crazy shit…daddy Dean is no exception. Anyway about a week after this prestigious appointment Jamal Shyne Moses Moshe took a page from his daddy’s book and whipped out and he hasn’t been seen since…well at least in this corner of the world.

According to DD (daddy Dean LOL) his precious son was locked away in a studio making a song about Belize.

Hey. Big Daddy, we’re still waiting…

If Da Noh Soh! Minister of Crying…

The Prime Minister has been accused of being the coldest most uncaring leader in Belize’s history and his administration has been rightfully accused of having no compassion for or interest in the plight of the Belizean people. It’s an image (and a reality) which the Prime Minister with the help

of a PR specialist has been trying hard to change, hence the tour last week and him actually picking up a child and kissing her on the forehead. And now the PR expert has come up with a new gem. It was agreed this week in Cabinet, though it hasn’t yet been officially announced, that there will be another reshuffle. According to sources inside Cabinet Minister Carlos Perdomo will be assigned another portfolio. First they tried him as a Police Minister but he couldn’t stay upright and coherent long enough to give orders…then they made him a Minister of Immigration but his vision was always blurred so he couldn’t see what he was signing but NOW, Carlos Perdomo will be given the perfect assignment. Introducing (drum roll here) the Minister of Crying!

According to a source within Cabinet, Minister Perdomo will be assigned to tour poverty-stricken areas across the country and CRY. The PR specialist claims that this will solve two purposes – (1) to get Carlos away from any area where he can do more damage and (2) with Carlos crying all over the place, the public is supposed to get the impression that this government does care about them. Good luck with that…If Da Noh Soh! Say what?

Best indications at this time are that Prime Minister Dean Barrow sat down and wrote the speech which

5

was presented by the IDB President last week and which has been aired ad nauseum at taxpayer’s expense.

That’s the only explanation. Either that or the IDB president got his countries

mixed up. Listen…the IDB president congratulated baldy cause he emerged from the recession in good shape. Boss, Dean Oliver and his family emerged in good shape but the rest of us in the country sure as hell didn’t. Where did he get his info that our economy never contracted? Official statistics for BELIZE show that in the first quarter of 2009 the economy contracted by 2.2% and it also contracted for the second and third quarters of 2009.

Not to get snooty or anything, but one would think that the president of the IDB would have a responsibility to deal in factual statistics and not what is whispered in his ear by a bald-headed fellow…know what I mean? If Da Noh Soh! Drunk and disorderly…!

This thoroughly disgusted columnist has been able to confirm reports that Corozal North Area Representative Nemencio Acosta is, shall we say, severely underdeveloped (or maybe we should say developmentally challenged) in certain areas of his ‘privates’ life. Jeez I don’t

881

want to spell it out because Kim said that we have to be more sensitive. But anyway, the secret is out because the other night when nasty Nemencio was drunk at a bar he just whipped out that little fellow and mistook the gentleman sitting beside him for a urinal, to put it nicely. Needless to say, the fat fellow and his ‘little’ sidekick (LOL) were escorted off the premises to his fancy government ride parked outside. With one hand on the wheel and one hand trying to restrain his little pal, nasty Nemencio promptly drove the vehicle into a deep ditch located in front of the said establishment. What a moron.

Anyway to make a long story short the fat drunken fellow with his poor ‘wee’ buddy firmly in hand were pulled out the ditch and escorted home to fight another day…disturbing but true…If Da Noh Soh! Laura who?

Somebody wake me up please. I feel like I’ve stepped into this parallel universe where the smart people are scorned and the idiots are glorified and awarded. That is the only possible explanation for anybody trying to give idiot plenipotentiary Naco Marin

an award for anything. When the man heard that he was receiving the America’s Award 2010 Laureate he asked…‘Laura who?’ True story! The other day at the Ministry of Health somebody was asked to write a speech for Naco and the only instruction he was given was to write it at a level that a Standard III student would understand. The man is that stupid.

You know those ‘your mama’ jokes?

Well in the Ministry of Health you’ll only hear ‘your Minister jokes’ as in… your Minister is soooo stupid…LOL. An award for Naco? Pinch me I must be dreaming…If Da Noh Soh!

It’s been days since the Kendall Bridge was washed away. How much longer must we wait for a new bridge, Mr. Prime Minister?

6

PARTY PAGE

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

1st Meeting of the New THE BLUE MACHINE PUP National Executive

THE PUP CALLS ON THE GOVERNMENT OF BELIZE TO URGENTLY ADDRESS THE ISSUES AFFECTING THE SUGAR CANE INDUSTRY

On Friday the Belize Sugar Industry announced that they were unable to make their third payment to Belizean cane farmers because they have no money. The People’s United Party (PUP) is seriously concerned about the future of the sugar cane industry in Belize and calls on the Government of Belize (GOB) to immediately intervene with a view to resolve the recent developments in the Sugar Cane Industry.

Several months ago BSI approached the Social Security Board (SSB) for a $10m loan to enable them to pay cane farmers and to commence operations for the 2010/2011 crop. This loan was approved by the Social Security Board, however to this date the $10 million has not been disbursed.

The Sugar Cane Industry is one of the largest foreign currency earners and a pillar of the Belizean economy. The neglect of this industry by the UDP Government threatens its very survival and the very way of life for many of the people of the northern region, especially the more than 8,000 cane farmers of Belize who were expecting to receive their third payment due to them by the Belize Sugar Industries Limited for cane they delivered for the 2009-2010 crop.

It is important that the Government of Belize, BSI and the Cane Farmers Association fully understand that the survival of the industry is dependent on the three parties complying with the requirements that will ensure an adequate flow of quality production of cane and optimum performance in the processing of sugar. Government as the regulator and overseer must make strategic and timely interventions in the sugar industry to ensure these conditions.

While the government is aware that BSI did not receive the $10m from the Belize Social Security Board, it has done nothing to address the matter and has failed to make any intervention on behalf of the farmers and BSI. The inability to resolve this issue can result in a serious conflict between the farmers and BSI. If the Government of Belize is truly concerned about the plight of the 8,000 can farmers, their families and related businesses, they must ensure that SSB disburses the approved loan to BSI for payment to the cane farmers thereby guaranteeing the commencement of the sugar crop in early December 2010. The PUP believes it is just and proper to lend $10 million of the people’s money to ensure the survival of 50,000 Belizeans, in contrast to risking $50m to purchase shares in Belize Telemedia.

We Da Blue

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

UDP Politics as usual

Imperiling a nation…

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs went to great lengths to cast aspersions on their chief diplomat in the United Kingdom, HE Kamela Palma. They even released a letter which she wrote to CEO Alexis Rosado which GOB claims was disrespectful enough to warrant the immediate termination of Ms. Palma’s contract. In the letter Palma defends her right to decide the affairs of the High Commission during the time she was on leave, and chastised CEO Rosado for meddling in the affairs of her office all the way from Belmopan. Specifically she refers to the CEO going behind her back to appoint First Secretary Tanya Hulse, the daughter of UDP Minister Melvin Hulse, as Acting High Commissioner during her absence even after she had made other arrangements. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the letter from the senior diplomat was disrespectful and insubordinate and, get this, put the entire nation of Belize in peril. We’re not sure exactly how the snappy comments from Palma, written in a private inter-ministerial letter, imperiled the nation. Frankly, the release from the Ministry is ludicrous and has done nothing to enhance the image of that Ministry or the people in charge there…

What it did…

Actually what this entire brouhaha did was draw attention to a situation which has been festering in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for some time. Almost six months ago the Belize Times broke the story of allegations of mishandling public monies being made against First Secretary Tanya Hulse, the daughter of UDP Minister Melvin Hulse. In fact, that story has been circulating within the Ministry and diplomatic circles for some time now.

Apparently what was happening within the Ministry was no less than a very high level cover-up, since HE Kamela Palma revealed that she has submitted reports to headquarters about what she calls “the matter of lack of trust in handling Government of Belize's funds, of the fact that this has been reported to HQ in three reports and that the seriousness of these three reports have been either summarily dismissed, misinterpreted, or ignored.” Why were the reports submitted by the senior diplomat ignored, since she is considered a highly respected figure holding down a very significant and crucial post in the United Kingdom? And since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saw fit to release the letter from the diplomat to the CEO, would it also be willing to release the three reports she submitted? What happens to Ms. Hulse now since all this has come into the open? Judging from the airwaves and talk on the streets, this one isn’t going to go away so easily, as much as GOB would want it to.

Complain but comply…

According to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the letter written by HE Kamela Palma to the CEO was outrageous. He stated on national television that he supports her contract being terminated. In fact, said Dean Oliver, her mandate as a subordinate of the CEO was to complain if she felt it absolutely necessary, but then to COMPLY. So it didn’t really matter that Ms. Palma had, on three separate occasions, submitted reports alleging mishandling of public monies by Ms. Hulse. It didn’t matter that there were serious allegations by the senior diplomat that the public trust had been betrayed. It didn’t matter that the CEO was insisting that the very person against whom the allegations were made be elevated to a critical position of Acting High Commissioner.

None of that mattered to Mr. Barrow. That gentleman feels that our chief diplomat in the UK was supposed to lap her tail and say ‘yes massa’ when she received an order. I’m not too sure in what century Mr. Barrow is living but this one will come back to bite him for sure.

Reinstated…

Reports are that at Cabinet on Tuesday it was decided that HE Kamela Palma be reinstated to her post at the UK. No doubt the powers that be decided that the fallout was just too great to continue with her termination. I’m pretty sure that if all had gone as planned Ms. Palma would have seen fit to make very public her own findings in regard to Ms. Hulse and in regards to the cover-up in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So giving her back her job was just damage control, but after much of the damage had already been done.

This one isn’t finished by a long shot…

Big boys don’t cry…

According to the Minister of Immigration Carlos Perdomo, when he is faced with the many challenges of corruption within his ministry, he just wants to break down and cry. Well crying just isn’t going to cut it, Mr. Minister. We need a man at the helm; we need a leader, not a crybaby. In an interview on

7

Channel 7, Perdomo was clearly overwhelmed by what he feels is an insurmountable task. He just can’t handle the job. In fact, he stated that it is very likely that he was the one who signed off on some of the illegal entrants into Belize. He’s confused…he just doesn’t know. He has no idea what to do now. As the Minister he should be the one tearing apart the department to root out corruption. He should be the one implementing new policies and safeguards…laying down the law, so to speak. The funny thing is, though, that after Minister Perdomo spent an inordinate amount of time complaining about the corruption which has pervaded and overwhelmed Immigration, the interviewer asked him if in light of that revelation he would agree that there needs to be a Commission of Inquiry. Perdomo immediately stated that he doesn’t feel that we need to go so far. Strange…one would think that if corruption is so bad and he is pure and full of integrity as he claims, he would welcome a Commission of Inquiry!

No money my bottom…

In response to a letter from the leader of the Opposition demanding a Commission of Inquiry into the Immigration scandal, the Prime Minister refuses, stating that this thing is a done deal because all the guilty parties have already confessed. He also claims that a Chinese national in Belize is the mastermind, but when asked he claimed he does not know the name of the individual (yeah right) or how far the investigation into that individual is (bullshit). The Prime Minister has stated publicly that he does not have the money to waste on a Commission of Inquiry…even as his Minister of Immigration has stated that corruption within that ministry is rampant and practically insurmountable. Apparently the security of our borders is not a high priority for the Prime Minister… continued breaches of our immigration procedures are not worthy of too much attention. I wonder what our friends up north will have to say about that, since Belize is being used as a transit point for people being smuggled into the US. Singh a song of sixpence…

Is the Minister of Police in the country? Do we even have a Minister of Police right now? In the past few days there have been five murders and shootings and robberies and assaults and burglaries…this ain’t a good place to be, Jack. With GOB taking flak for so much else that is going wrong in the country maybe Mr. Singh feels that he can limbo under the radar but NOT SO. What the hell ever happened to Operation Restore Belize? Where are we now in regard to increased Police presence on the streets? Where are we in terms of the so-called safe zones? Right now nowhere in Belize City is safe. Every single time the Prime Minister does a photo op he spouts fancy prose about all these new initiatives which will make our streets safe, but nothing ever happens.

Out judicial system is in shambles, our DPP’s office is a joke, our Police Department is riddled with corruption and incompetence, our criminals are enjoying unprecedented freedom and the Minister of Police is taking a siesta.

Vindicated my ass…

Mayor Zenaida Moya claims that she feels vindicated because the indictable charges against her were thrown out.

Everybody knows that this entire trial was bogus from the start…not because the Mayor wasn’t guilty as charged (and guilty of so much more than that) but because it was only a political game being played by the Prime Minister. Moya was being chastised by her boss but from the onset it was obvious that it was only meant to be a little slap on the wrist and not much else. The prosecution fell down on the job and from adjournment to adjournment it quickly became obvious that it was a set play. Maybe I should change that…the prosecution didn’t fall down on the job…they were instructed to lie down and play dead. Mayor Zenaida Moya is as guilty as the day is long but without the political will to punish her for her actions, this al remains just a game and a monumental waste of the people’s time.

8

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

There’s no crying in politics…

By: Mike Rudon Jr. I don't regret being challenged with it but there are moments that I feel like cry." – Minister of Immigration Carlos Perdomo I’ve always liked that 1992 film ‘A League of Their Own’ when Tom Hanks shouts – ‘Are you crying?

There's no crying! There's no crying in baseball!’ I was reminded of that quote on Friday when our Minister of Immigration Carlos Perdomo stated on national television that his job is so challenging that it makes him want to cry sometimes. What the hell!

The girls in that old movie were in a league of their own, but my friend Carlos Perdomo is obviously completely out of his league.

I say this with absolutely no personal malice because I have nothing personal against the Minister. Back when he was appointed Minister of Police I thought that he was the wrong man for the job even though it was obvious that he thought it had been tailor-made for him. As far as that story goes the facts speak for themselves. Mr. Barrow will never admit it because he is all powerful and all knowing and all that, but he kept Carlos on the job long after he should have done so. Crime soared and we suffered. And still, instead of sending Carlos to the locker room, Mr. Barrow left him on the starting squad but playing another position. And look where that has us now.

I watched the interview Channel 7 conducted with Carlos Perdomo and saw a beaten man. I saw a man who is completely washed-up. I did not see a man who can be trusted to take the helm and steer us through rough waters. I did not see a man who is resolute, hell-bent on making sure that things are done right; I did not see a man who should be making policies and setting out guidelines; I did not see a leader. I don’t think anybody did.

How could we as a people have confidence in a Minister who admits that there are loopholes in the process of issuing legitimate visas, admits that there are cases of Belize being used as a transit point by Chinese, but seems clueless on how to deal with it? In fact, Perdomo went so far as to admit that he personally has probably issued visas to such persons ‘unwittingly.’ It would have been nice to hear concrete plans to ensure that it never happens again, but there was none of that.

It certainly wasn’t reassuring to hear that as Minister of Immigration he personally has been approached to facilitate corrupt deals. He claims that he was once offered two bottles of whiskey (yeah right…only that?) to facilitate a deal, and certain family members and friends were sent to him to soften up corrupt practices. But nowhere was there an indication that Perdomo was resolute in terms of integrity and banished or initiated prosecution against those who had attempted to bribe him. In fact, the most I got from Perdomo’s interview was a very quiet and unconvincing claim that ‘so far’ he has been able to resist all such offers.

But with all that said, when Perdomo was asked if he would then support a Commission of Inquiry into the Immigration scandal, he

hurriedly backed down and stated that he wouldn’t go as far as that.

Hmmm indeed! The man spends hours ranting about the corruption in immigration which makes him want to cry, but does an about turn

when the talk shifts to a Commission of Inquiry. Not very confidenceinspiring, is it? Makes you wonder about how lily-white and virginal Perdomo really is, doesn’t it?

So where does that leave Perdomo’s boss? Mr. Barrow has stated that there is no need for a Commission of Inquiry because he does not have the money to waste, but nobody believes that crap anyway. The big cheese claims that the investigation is done and dead because all guilty parties have confessed so there is no need to do any more…case signed, sealed and delivered. But everybody knows that is bogus. Everybody knows that there is collusion at the highest levels of Government and it is for that reason and that reason alone that Mr. Barrow wants this one pushed into the ‘closed-files’ drawer of his

desk, right next to the audit report on the Belize City Council.

And even with that aside, the fact is that Dean Oliver will very soon have to make a hard decision when it comes to the political viability of Carlos Perdomo. Perdomo is washed-out, washed-up and in his latest interview it is clear that he realizes it and is just waiting for the political axe to fall on his head.

Methinks for the benefit of the Belizean people who are already bearing the brunt of Perdomo’s disastrous stint as Minister of Police, the axe should fall sooner rather than later.

Visit Us Online at: www.belizetimes.bz & www.pup.org.bz

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

9

Sugar Industry in Crisis under the UDP

After seventy years of existence, the Belize Sugar Industry seems to be seriously in crisis. Its future, which only two years ago looked promising, is now shaky. Never in the history of Belize has the sugar industry been so vulnerable and on the verge of collapse.

The management of BSI recently made public the news that there may be no harvesting, delivering and processing of sugar cane for the 2011 crop if they are unable to draw down on a $10 million loan from the Social Security Board (SSB).

This comes after a year when cane farmers had to leave close to $20 million worth of cane in the fields due to processing inability.

According to industry experts, this did not happen overnight and the signs of a looming problem started a long time ago.

Currently the relationship between BSI and the Cane farmers continues to be acrimonious and the Ministry of Agriculture seems either incapable or unable to do anything to bring the two parties together.

The Sugar (SICB) appears lost and confused offering little by way of guidance to its clientele.

More than 3 years ago approval was granted for more than $120 million in assistance from the EU as compensation for the erosion in preferential prices for our sugar.

These funds were to be used to make the farmers more competitive. To date none of the projects submitted by the Barrow Administration on behalf of the industry has been accepted by the EU. The only project accepted was the road upgrading project submitted under the PUP. Despite the difficult economic times, cane farmers must be applauded for the fact that they have increased production and surpassed production targets. Even though BSI in their 28 October 2010 press release implied that the cane farmers are to blame for the challenges facing the industry.

The question surrounding this issue however is whether famers should be penalized for BSI/BELCOGEN inefficiencies and as such required to absorb the cost of this through a lower final payment.

Under the PUP, the sugar cane production became a major economic activity in Belize and made significant contribution to the agriculture sector’s national income and export earnings. Under the PUP sugar production accounted for 9.4 percent of the value of total agriculture output and averaged almost 4.5 percent of the total GDP. The total revenue generated in 2006 and 2007under the PUP was $111 m and $99 m respectively and this is because, the revenues were declining but the industry held on strong and those in the industry worked hard.

The Sugar Industry, in 2001 under the PUP administration contributed to the lowest unemployment rate in the northern districts of 4.8% and 5.5% for Corozal and OW respectively.

It seems that this UDP Government fails to realize that the

sugar industry is critical to the still largely agrarian economy. When the PUP took over the economic reins of this country and it restored the sub-sector, sugar cane accounted for 10% of total agriculture output.

Sugar processing contributed to 18% to the manufacturing sector. It is the PUP Government that has had to navigate the industry through rough seas and challenges between 1998 and 2008. The PUP, during its tenure in government steered the industry forward, despite the effects of inclement weather and shifting and disappearing preferential prices. Two years into the UDP’s administration 2008- 2010, we have what is now considered the remains of what was once a robust sugar industry.

Under this UDP government their actions have not been in the best interest of the sugar cane industry. For example, the cost of diesel fuel rose to the highest price

in the history of this country, has seriously affected not only the cane farmers, but the entire industry. It is under the UDP that the cost of diesel reached and all time high of $11.00 per gallon. The UDP offered a 2.00 dollars subsidy but increased fuel taxes by 1 dollar. In the budget presentation the Prime Minister mentioned that cane farmers would receive an increase of .50 cent fuel subsidy due to the constantly increasing fuel prices.

It is under this UDP administration that farmers are unable to apply fertilizers to cane fields because the cost rose from $38.00 to $120.00, more than 300% increase. It is under this UDP government that the cost of some herbicides escalated up 200 %.

So much so, that the farmers were unable to carry out proper weed control leading to drastic reduction in sugar cane yields per acre. The

cost of the most commonly used herbicides, Glyphosate and Diuron rose from $37.00 to $86.00 and from $41.00 to $96.00 respectively.

The recovery process from damages suffered from the effects of Hurricane Dean and Tropical Storm Arthur and from a froghopper infestation was well underway at the beginning of the crop 2010.

The massive outbreak of the Frog Hopper coupled with the inability to acquire the high priced insecticides and a constant increasing fuel cost placed the industry in an extremely vulnerable situation. BELCOGEN completed the damage.

How can an industry which provides employment to 13.7% of the working population reach such profound depths?

I guess the response many people will have to these questions is “only under a UDP Government can this happen.”

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF BELIZE A.D. 2010

(Criminal Jurisdiction)

NORTHERN DISTRICT List of Cases for trial at the Sitting of the Supreme Court In its Criminal Jurisdiction Commencing Tuesday 2nd November, 2010

No. Name of Accused

District

Charge(s)

1.

Hilberto Hernandez

2.

Victor Hendy

Corozal

Murder

3.

Alex Garcia

Corozal

Attempted Murder (in the Alternative) Dangerous Harm

4.

Carlos Ico

Corozal

Maim

5.

Audrey Pech

Corozal

Rape, Abetment to Rape

6.

Manuel Fernandez

Orange Walk

Rape

7.

Kevin Alvarez

Orange Walk

Murder

8.

Nimrod Tillett

Orange Walk

Murder

9.

Eric Gonzalez

Orange Walk

Murder

10.

Paulino Assi

Orange Walk

Manslaughter

11.

Byron Medina

Orange Walk

Attempted Murder

12.

Jerome Stamp

Orange Walk

Rape

13.

Cornie Weibe

Orange Walk

Causing Death by Careless Conduct

14.

Gregorio Lopez

Orange Walk

Unnatural Crime

15.

Romero Jimenez

Corozal

Carnal Knowledge of a Female Child

Corozal

DATED this 29th day of October, 2010 ELIZABETH D. HUMES (MS) Assistant Registrar

Murder

10

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Ghetto Fabulous slain near family home

His name has been making the news since as far back as 1999 when he was charged with the murder of a money lender near Saint John's Church on Regent Street in Belize City. A deportee from the United States, Eric "Ghetto Fabulous" Savery, 37, made the news for the last time last Friday afternoon when he too was slain by a bullet to his head.

The attack on Savery, a father of five, began from earlier in the morning when someone tried to execute him on West Canal. The slugs missed their intended target that time and punctured his tire, but at 2:05 that fateful afternoon, the bullets from a high-powered weapon perforated Savery's beige Mazda four-door car and one found its mark in his left temple

Teen Shot Dead after Celebrating Birthday

Eric "Ghetto Fabulous" Savery

as he headed down Mex Avenue and reached its intersection with George Street. The shooter reportedly occupied another vehicle which came up from the

opposite direction and got out of the vehicle and shot Savery at close range. A friend who was in the car with Savery took hold of the car and sped straight down past Rocky Road where Savery's family home is located. That friend drove the vehicle contrary to the free flow of traffic up West Canal and clipped the side of a green SUV before barely making it across a narrow bridge that connects the two sides of the canal. In the process, the vehicle lost its front bumper as it bumped the SUV. As it veered onto East Canal, now in the flow of traffic, it crashed into a red car before coming to a halt. A Police mobile on patrol in the area quickly took charge and probably stopped the other vehicle from

pursuing Savery's car any further.

Witnesses on East Canal said they never saw the other vehicle.

Barely alive, Savery was rushed by Police to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital but he succumbed to his injury about a half hour later. A man that Police believe was the killer had perhaps stalked Savery as he went to repair the tire that was damaged from the attempt on his life that morning.

Savery's brother, Ernest, meanwhile, barely escaped an attack on October 18th as he drove his car from the Hattieville Prison on the Boom/Hattieville Road that night towards the Western Roundabout in Hattieville. In the assault, female prison officer Miriam Gillett, was shot dead.

DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION “Your Partner in Development”

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITION)

Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons to join the Management Team of the Development Finance Corporation. Particulars of the vacancy are listed below. For a detailed job description, please contact the General Manager’s Office at 822-2350/60.

ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER, FINANCE & INTERNAL SERVICES

Kenroy Mejia

Seventeen year old Kenroy Mejia had just wrapped up celebrating his birthday and retired to his makeshift abode in the jungle area off East Canal in Belize City, a far cry from his original home in Dangriga. Since relocating to the old capital Mejia felt safe, but his feelings of security were proven false when someone found him in the wee hours of Saturday morning and shot him twice to the head while he slept. Mejia was still in a sleeping position when friends found him the next morning, lying on his side with both hands still tucked under his face and his sheet covering him.

One of his friends strongly suspects that Mejia's killer was a youth who wore a black jacket in whose company he had seen him around 1:00 Saturday morning. A neighbour recalls hearing two gunshots in the still of the night that residents later tied to the homicide. While questions circulate as to what motive the killer had, one fact is that Mejia was a suspect for the October 7th shooting murder of Carlos Sucuqui, a Guatemalan vendor who made Belize his home. Sucuqui was gunned down at around six that morning as he prepared his vegetable and fruit cart to sell for the day. He never left his workplace, also on East Canal, because a youth on a bicycle rode past and shot him at close range in the head. Since Mejia was released for insufficient evidence Police have yet to make an arrest for Sucuqui's murder.

Qualifications & Skills:  Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance or Accounting or a Master’s Degree in Finance.  At least 5 years experience working in a senior managerial position, preferably in a financial institution.  Must be results-oriented, analytical and self-motivated with excellent planning and organizing skills  Good leadership skills  Must be proficient in Microsoft Office Applications.

Major Responsibilities include:  Serve as the Chief Financial Officer of the DFC with responsibility for direction and oversight of financial planning; financial management, analysis &control and asset/liability management.  To provide direction and oversight to the Human Resources & Administration and the Information Systems functional areas of the DFC with a view to ensuring efficiency of services both internally and externally.  Oversee the management and coordination of all fiscal reporting activities for the Corporation including: organizational revenue/expense and balance sheet reports, reports to funding agencies and external auditors and other agencies.  To serve as an active member of the DFC management team  To serve as an active member of Board and Management Subcommittees as they relate to the financial and services areas of the DFC  To represent DFC both locally and regionally Salary & Benefits: The DFC offers an Attractive salary and benefits package including free Health and Life Insurance coverage, Vacation Grant and participation in Pension Scheme.

Interested persons should submit their letters of application along with a detailed Curriculum Vitae, 2 letters of Recommendations and copies of their most recent qualification to the below address by November 24, 2010: General Manager Development Finance Corporation P. O. Box 40 Bliss Parade City of Belmopan Belize, C. A. RE: VACANCY – AGM, FINANCE & INTERNAL SERVICES

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Keon Myvette's Murder is the 112th for 2010

The Belize Times

San Ignacio Resident Murdered in San Pedro

Lionel Pinelo Keon Williams

There seems to be a resurgence of street violence plaguing Belize City as there have been four murders since last Friday. The latest victim is Keon Williams Myvette, a 28 year old father of two who was shot dead one lane from his mother's house on York Street.

The homicide occurred at around 6:00 on Monday evening at a lamp post at the corner of Lancaster and Castle Streets.

Myvette's killers, two youths who rode bicycles, approached him from behind and the gunman fired five shots at Myvette at close range. At least two of the bullets found their mark near his left temple. Myvette slumped to the paved street, and even though he was rushed to the Emergency Ward at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, he died just minutes later.

Mark Rowley, who was standing with Myvette at the corner, was also shot in the upper body. He continues to recuperate from his injury.

Myvette's mother Jennifer Williams said she was at home and heard the shots that killed her son but didn't think it could be him because she had seen him not long before when he came to visit with her. Meanwhile his girlfriend, Odessa Bailey, said incidentally she had just made an appointment for Myvette to see a specialist at the KHMH that same night because he had a back problem. He was scheduled to undergo an x-ray at 7:00 pm and her last conversation with him was when she called him that evening to inform him that she had made the appointment for him, an engagement that he never lived to meet.

Myvette stood trial twice for the murder of Michael "Poppa" Gladden, 32 in 2007. A retrial was ordered the first time when the jury could not reach a verdict and on the second trial, the charge was reduced to manslaughter, a charge which he also walked away from in July of this year when a conviction could not be reached after eight hours of deliberations. Police had initially detained two youths pending investigations into the murder but charges are yet to be filed.

Send your letters to the editor to:

belizetimesad@yahoo.com

11

San P e d r o To w n w a s r o c k e d for the s e c o n d c o n s e c u t i v e w e e k after a y o u t h w a s v i c i o u s l y attacke d a n d s t a b b e d t o d e a t h outside a b a r o n t h e i s l a n d over th e w e e k e n d . T h e a t t a c k in fron t o f L o s C o m p a d r e s B a r on Con c h S h e l l S t r e e t c l a i m e d the lif e o f L i o n e l P i n e l o , 2 4 , who le f t h i s h o m e t o w n i n S a n Ignacio To w n , C a y o , t o s e e k

employment and escape trouble.

But trouble followed him to San Pedro on Friday night when he b e c a m e t h e t a rg e t o f a n a s s a u l t that would result in his death.

Police say that at around 9:30 that night Pinelo, who lived in the DFC area, became embroiled in an altercation with a group of other youths from the Boca del Rio area on the other side of town. The fight was averted and the two parties moved on, but later met in front of the bar at a r o u n d 11 : 3 0 t h a t s a m e n i g h t .

Pinelo, by this time, was in a golf cart with four others and as they reached in front o f L o s C o m p a d r e s B a r, o n e of three men standing outside h u r l e d a l i q u o r b o t tl e a t t h e m .

Aggrieved by the incident, the four stopped and approached the men, but just then, four friends of the men who had allegedly thrown the missile exited the bar and joined in a

melee that quickly escalated out of control. One of the men from the other group reportedly picked up a piece of a broken bottle and stabbed Pinelo to his left ribcage. His friends rushed him to the island's Lion's Clinic and he was later put in a boat a n d t r a n s p o r t e d t o B e l i z e C i t y, where he died the following morning.

Police had initially detained five youths and were seeking two more to conduct their investigations but have l a i d m u r d e r c h a rg e s a g a i n s t only Jason Reyes. Pinelo had for years been in run-ins with youths from San Ignacio while he lived there and moved to San Pedro three years ago to avoid further conflict. It has not been established if his killing was related to an "old beef" from San Ignacio or if it was the result of a new rivalry that has erupted on the island between two opposing groups.

DEVELOPMENT FINANCE CORPORATION “Your Partner in Development”

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Applications are invited from suitably qualified persons to join the Management Team of the Development Finance Corporation. Particulars of the vacancy are listed below. For a detailed job description, please contact 822-2350/60 Ext. 257.

Manager, Internal Audit & Quality Control

Qualifications and Skills  A Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting or Finance. Additional Accounting Qualification that meets requirements of the International Financial Standard would be an asset.  At least five years experience managing internal audit services  Must be results-oriented, analytical and self-motivated with excellent planning and organizing skills  Knowledge of Business Processes  Must be proficient in Microsoft Office Applications.

Major Responsibilities include:  To evaluate the adequacy of systems established to ensure compliance of laws, regulations, policies and procedures.  To review the reliability and integrity of financial and operating information and the means used to identify, classify and report such information  Where necessary to verify the existence of the Corporation’s assets and evaluate the means of safeguarding the said assets.  To conduct periodic review of loans and collateral held by the Corporation countrywide, with a view to classifying loans according to degree of risk and to evaluate the performance of staff in relation to loan and collateral administration.

Salary & Benefits: The DFC offers an attractive salary and benefits package including free Health and Life Insurance coverage, Vacation Grant and participation in Pension Scheme.

Interested persons should submit their letters of application along with a detailed Curriculum Vitae, 2 letters of Recommendations and copies of their most recent qualification to the below address by November 24, 2010: Chairman Board Audit Committee Development Finance Corporation P. O. Box 40 Bliss Parade City of Belmopan Belize, C. A. RE: VACANCY – MANAGER, INTERNAL AUDIT & QUALITY CONTROL (Only shortlist applications will be contacted.)

12

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Why was MoW CEO Cadet Henderson Given a prime piece of land allocated to NEMO in Belmopan for only $100?

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

Hospital Attendant Imprisoned for .38 Special

Jamar Gentle

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE

at www.belizetimes.bz ~ POST YOUR COMMENTS ~ VOTE ON ARTICLES ~ VIEW OUR PHOTO GALLERY ~ CHECK OUT A PDF VERSION OF THE PAPER We are the most visited newspaper website in Belize

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 11, 2010 KHMH attendant Jamar Gentle, 25, who reportedly found a .38 special revolver with 5 rounds of ammunition while he was walking his dog on Princess Margaret Drive, pled guilty to keeping a firearm and ammunition without a gun license when he appeared in the #2 Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 8.

He was sentenced to 2 years for each count. Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser, who imposed the sentences, stipulated that they are to run concurrently so Gentle will only serve 2 years.

The incident occurred at a r o u n d 6 : 4 0 a . m . o n M o n d a y, November 8. The Police reported that they were on mobile patrol on Princess Margaret Drive when they saw Gentle. They stopped him and when they searched him they found the firearm in the left front pocket of his pants.

Gentle said in Court that he was walking his dog when he found the firearm and he picked it up because he figured he could sell it and make some money for Christmas.

13

Burrell Boom Burglar Sentenced To 4 Months for BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov.10, 2010 Selvin Seguro, 26, an unemployed man of Burrell Boom who allegedly committed three separate offences in Burrell Boom, was charged for them when he appeared in the #8 Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 8.

Seguro was charged with aggravated burglary, theft and handling stolen goods. He pled guilty to handling stolen goods and he was sentenced to 4 months by Magistrate Emmerson Banner.

The charge arose from a cell phone that was stolen from Fiona Usher during a burglary of her house which occurred between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on September 29.

The aggravated burglary occurred on September 30. Andre Verducia, the owner of Royal Palm Estate, reported to the Police that he was knocked unconscious as he opened the front door of his house to go outside. Nothing was stolen. The theft occurred between October 29 and November 8. Ralph Stevens, a resident of Burrell Boom, reported to the Police that his fiberglass canoe, valued at $200.00, was stolen.

Selvin Seguro

Seguro had pled guilty to t h e f t a n d a g g r a v a t e d b u rg l a r y but Magistrate Banner entered an equivocal plea of not guilty for both charges because Seguro did not agree with the facts.

Send your letters to the editor to:

belizetimesad@yahoo.com

14

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Tevin Abraham and Tyrone Westby Guilty Of Robbery Shawn Edwards BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 11, 2010 before he could reply Abraham put a

Tevin Abraham, 19, one of two rusty gun to his head and told him to Charged With persons charged in connection with an “run it”. Lewis said he tried to knock incident in which a Smith and Wesson the gun away but he was not successful Robbery firearm was stolen from an Atlantic and a struggle ensued between him and Bank security guard, was found guilty Abraham. He said during the struggle

Shawn Edwards

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 10, 2010

Shawn Edwards, 23, a resident of Maskall Village who was shot about 3 weeks ago and charged with attempted murder 2 weeks ago, was back in Court on Monday, November 8, charged this time with robbery. Edwards pled not guilty to the charge. Magistrate Emmerson Banner of the #8 Court explained to him that the Court could not offer him bail because the offence was committed with a firearm. He remanded Edwards into custody until December 8.

The robbery occurred on October 14. The complainant, Shane Fairweather, 24, a sales assistant who resides at #35 Fairweather Street, reported to the Police that he was at his work place at Benny’s Bargain Center, located on Freetown Road when a young man, armed with a firearm entered and held him up at gunpoint.

Fairweather said the gunman stole his Alcatel cell phone, valued at $210.

On Monday, November 8, the Police held an identification parade and reported that Edwards was positively identified by Fairweather as the person who robbed him.

About 2 weeks ago Edwards was charged with attempted murder, attempted robbery and wounding for an incident that occurred at Picame Bar on October 16. Edwards was shot three times and he had to undergo surgery at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE at www.belizetimes.bz ~ POST YOUR COMMENTS ~ VOTE ON ARTICLES ~ VIEW OUR PHOTO GALLERY ~ CHECK OUT A PDF VERSION OF THE PAPER We are the most visited newspaper website in Belize

of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in the #3 Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, November 9. Magistrate Emmerson Banner sentenced him to 5 years for robbery and 1 year for conspiracy to commit robbery. He stipulated that the sentences are to run concurrently so Abraham will only serve 5 years. Abraham was also charged with keeping a firearm and ammunition without a gun license but he was found not guilty of those charges because it was not certain which firearm the Police saw him throw away.

The second defendant, Tyrone Westby, 18, did not appear in Court for trial. He was found guilty in an ex-parte trial. He was sentenced to 6 years for robbery, 18 months for conspiracy to commit robbery and 2 years for keeping ammunition without a gun license.

Tevin Abraham

The incident occurred at around 2:30 p.m. on March 11, 2010 at the Atlantic Bank Collet Agency at the corner of Magazine Road and Cemetery Road. Security guard Francis Lewis testified that two young women approached him and asked him when the bank was going to close. Lewis said

he fell to the ground and while he was on the ground his firearm was stolen by Westby.

Abraham and Westby ran when a second security guard, Leroy Young responded to Lewis’ cry for help. Young testified that he fired three shots at the fleeing men and one of them, Westby, was shot in his elbow. A Police patrol quickly responded to the sound of the gunshots. As a result Abraham and Westby were apprehended on Magazine Road.

Abraham testified and denied that he committed the offences. He said he had gone to La Popular Bakery to buy donuts and when he was leaving he heard gunshots. He said he sensed trouble so he ran on Magazine Road and that was when the Police picked him up.

on s g n i t i r W the

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

WALL 15

rod says: November 10, 2010 at 7:45 am where is the pm on all these murders where is the chief of police ill tell you hiding behind their incompetence and impotence on crime but when it comes time to protect their corrupt gov. there mouths are wide open .

Robert says: November 10, 2010 at 1:39 am SOMEBODY has been treating the city’s treasury like their own ATM machine. MONEY IS MISSING. If the mayor is not responsible, who is? WILL THE MAYOR LEAD THE CHARGE TO FIND, ARREST, AND CONVICT THE THIEVES? Or will this be just another case in which the people of Belize are victimized, and nobody is punished for it. And the beat goes on. ivan says: November 10, 2010 at 10:42 am ‘I agree it was all cover up- like always the police not doing its job the dvd was not presented as evidence…FOR MANY YEARS ZENAIDA MOYA HAS BEEN STEALING THE CITY COUNCIL USING FUNDS FOR HER OWN BENEFIT AND THE PEOPLE SUFFERING IN THE CITY, she barrowed $$ thousands to her brother for his own benefit has he returned it? and what has beeen done in the city under moya? -their is no change at all no difference if its not for the buisness comunity’s cooparation it would a look worst! it was her own UDP COUNCELORS THAT ACCUSED HER AND EVIDENCE WAS SHOWN’ THE MANY CHEQS SHE SIGNED TO HER BROTHER IT IS CORRUPTION.”ITS THE PEOPLE’S MONIES. Earl says: November 10, 2010 at 3:02 pm Mayor MOYA-FLOWERS……………IS USELESS. WHAT WILL BE HER LEGACY??????

TWO TERMS and all she has to show is A ROUND-ABOUT???????

ZENIDA………….. you not want her……….WE NO WANT HER…. NIETHER.

cal says: November 10, 2010 at 10:14 am ‘belize cannot put its own minister a national security to investigate its own self\crimethats a joke .we need more transparency -so imajine if all this is going on how many more corrupt dealings has been covered? corruption is RAMPANT just that more corrupt dealings are about to come to light sooner or later,just watch and see…LiKE ALWAYS ONLY THE SMALL FISH GETS caught. GOB will cover all scandals. xXxRGxXx says: November 10, 2010 at 10:21 am This is a cover up. Listening to what the prime minister has to say about the situation, it is clear that they are trying to just sweep the whole thing under the rug. It is not an openshut case. A further investigation by a third party must be done! How long has it been since this “scandal” has came out, and up to now we do not know if the ppl that got the visas are in Belize, or have already left Belize. ic says: November 11, 2010 at 11:29 am thats rite there is RAMPANT CORRUPTION,minister perdomo knew about the flt he said that it was not the first time so should be investigated….we need a commision of INQUIRY TO DO THE INVESTIGATION RIGHT AWAY, dean barrow promised tranceparancy and accountability and what example is he giving to the nation of Belize-he is just covering up all the mess.,,,and to be honest with you really nothing will be done because on the last corruption scandal involving doctors\ dr.ricardo fabro .. from the KARL HEUSNER MEMORIAL HOPITAL THEY STOLE THOUSANDS OF OUR TAX PAYERS MONIES AND IT JUST GOT COVERED BY THIS government of dean barrow…so belizeans have lost hope and we just have to continue like this fi more years-WE ARE RULED BY A DICTATOR.”

Posts are from www.belizetimes.bz, Belize Times Press Facebook Account, John Briceño Facebook Account, www.channel5belize.com

16

The Belize Times

Mexican mayor-elect abducted, killed

The mayor-elect of a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz was abducted and killed Monday, the government-run news agency reported.

Gregorio Barradas Mirabete and two other men were forced to get into a blue Hummer sport utility vehicle Tuesday afternoon in the municipality of Juan RodrĂ­guez Lara, the Notimex news agency said. The bodies of the three men were found in neighboring Oaxaca state Monday night, Notimex said.

The other two victims were identified as Omar Manzur and Angel Landa Cardenas.

Officials said Monday night they were still trying to determine the details of what happened.

Fourteen mayors have been killed this year in states throughout Mexico.

And a leading gubernatorial candidate in Tamaulipas state, Rodolfo Torre Cantu, was gunned down in June.

The killings are believed to be the work of drug cartels seeking to increase their influence over the towns and municipalities in the areas where they operate.

Federal authorities dismantled a large-scale cocaine trafficking organization in Denver, Colorado, with the indictment of 35 people, officials said Monday.

Six remained fugitives Monday, but the others were in custody, authorities said.

The 35 people, some of them gang members, had ties to a drug cartel in Juarez, Mexico, authorities said. It is believed that they were responsible for shipping more than 20 kilograms of cocaine every week across the border from that Mexican city to El Paso, Texas, and then to Colorado, authorities said.

During their investigation, law officers seized 53 kilograms of cocaine, 35 pounds of marijuana, and more than $650,000 in cash, including $500,000 from one defendant's home and $122,000 from a car stopped in downtown Denver, authorities said.

Authorities also confiscated almost 60 pounds of cocaine from two traffic stops in Pueblo, Colorado.

Law officers seized 15 vehicles and nine firearms, authorities said.

The arrests were made by 150 law enforcement officers representing 20 agencies, said U.S. Attorney John F. Walsh in Denver.

"Budget support is, however, not a blank cheque. Policy dialogue constitutes a central part of its provision. Nor is it paid to every country. Eligibility criteria and disbursement conditions have to be met," the European Commission said in a statement.

The worldwide consultation on the future of budget support to developing countries is open to individuals, organisations or public bodies.

A statement from the European Commission (EC) Delegation in Guyana - home of the CARICOM Secretariat - quoted Ambassador Geert Heikens, head of EU delegation as saying that "since 1976, the EU has been a constant supporter of development in Guyana.

"The European Commission has important budget support programmes with Guyana, both general and also sector ones for sugar. We are confident that the consultations will enable us to continue to better provide effective assistance in the future."

It said that throughout the world, budget support is the transfer of financial resources from the EU to the national treasury of a partner country, following the respect by the latter of agreed conditions for payment.

In the case of Guyana, budget support has become the EU's main aiddelivery instrument, the Delegation

observed.

Between 2003 and 2009, the EU made budget support commitments totalling over â‚Ź13 billion (US$18.05 billion).

However, the EC noted that increasingly however, a number of questions about the quality, value for money and impact of budget support are being raised by a range of stakeholders. With this in mind, this worldwide consultation has been launched to refine our approach to budget support by drawing lessons from across the globe.

The Green Paper on Budgetary Support is aimed at finding out, among other things, how to decide on the amount of funds; combing the monies with other types of support to the beneficiary-country; whether budget support can contribute to lower-aid dependency; and how budget support can be used to strengthen domestic and mutual accountability.

The consultation also wants answers to what are the advantages and disadvantages of providing both general and sector-budget support within the same country, or having one single budget-support instrument; and how can donors meaningfully respond to any deterioration in the underlying principles while protecting the development benefits and predictability of budget support.

Authorities dismantle alleged cocaine ring with ties to Mexican cartel

EU reviews budgetary support to region

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Tomas aftermath raises concern over worsening cholera outbreak

Health and hospital officials in Haiti braced for the worse Monday, fearing the hurricane that battered the Caribbean nation over the weekend could worsen the cholera outbreak that has killed hundreds of people and hospitalized thousands since it began last month.

The official death toll attributed to the outbreak was 544, with more than 8,000 confirmed cases, Health Minister Alex Larsen told CNN. On Monday, Dr. Toni Eyssallenne of Hospital Bernard Mevs confirmed the first case of cholera -- in a 3-yearold boy -- to originate and manifest entirely in Port-au-Prince.

Previous cases had been centered in Haiti's Artibonite and Central Plateau regions, including the city of St. Marc, north of the nation's capital. Until now, health officials said that those being treated for cholera in Port-auPrince all contracted the disease elsewhere.

The young Port-au-Prince boy lived in a tent city across the street from a place that sells macaroni, and he had not traveled in over a year nor had he had contact with people from St. Marc or the Artibonite region, Dr. Eyssallenne said.

After suffering from nausea and diarrhea, the boy was treated and released from the hospital after his condition improved.

This was one of scores of tests being carried out on 91 residents of the capital -- all of whom live in or near the city's densely populated Cite Soleil slum, Larsen said. Except for one per-

son who died over the weekend, all the others have recovered, he said.

Hurricane Tomas' trek past Haiti killed 20 people and injured another 36, a Communications Ministry official said Monday. Seven people were missing and 5,954 were homeless, the official said.

Health officials fear that the water dumped by the storm will worsen the outbreak. The concern is that overflow from latrines and septic tanks could contaminate the supply of fresh drinking water and contribute to the spread of the bacteria.

In the capital, the canals were not overflowing, said American Red Cross spokeswoman Andrea Koppel. But that was not the case in cities west of the capital, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Tomas, she said.

Still, even Port-au-Prince looks and smells like a dump -- a caldron of water, garbage and human waste. "We get used to it," said one resident.

Ten months after a magnitude-7 earthquake laid waste to much of the nation, people compete with animals scavenging through the ubiquitous dumps for scraps of food.

"The quick solution is management," said Environment Minister Jean Marie Claude Germain. "Management meaning that you have a structure in place, but the structure was not conceived with the slums in mind."

But most of the residents of Portau-Prince live in slums.

"We're working on it," Germain said. "We will work with the private sector."

At least 16 people died and another 22 were injured Wednesday in a fire at a juvenile detention center in El Salvador, said Mauricio Ramirez Landaverde, the interim chief for the national civil police force.

The cause had not been determined, Ramirez said, but officials suspect an electrical shortcircuit.

The incident occurred in the city of Ilobasco, in central El Salvador. The city is nearly 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of the capital, San Salvador.

El Diario de Hoy newspaper

reported on its website that some of the injured have burns over 70 percent of their bodies.

The Hospital Rosales emergency department reported it was treating 10 victims, the newspaper said.

Photographs on the website show a man's badly burned hands.

Another photo shows someone wrapped in sheets and being loaded onto an ambulance on a stretcher. A third image shows a man with apparent burns on his shoulders and upper torso also being wheeled on a stretcher with medical personnel at his side.

At least 16 people dead in El Salvador juvenile facility fire

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

17

Gibeti Wayumaha, Gumesela Wadagimanu Our aspirations are many, let the work begin‌ Buseintina nafureinderu Garifuna. (I want to learn Garifuna.)

Can you match the following statements in Garifuna to the correct English translation?

Use the clues below to fill in the correct answers.

Across 4. This is a song and dance of supplication and is one of the four types of dances performed at Dugu ceremonies.

7. He produced the People's Garifuna Dictionary.

9. This is the most sacred and elaborate ancestral rite practiced by Garinagu.

Down 1. In 1922 he founded the Carib Development and Sick Aid Society. He worked to provide help for the sick, proper burial of the dead, cultural promotion and the reunification of Garinagu in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.

2. This masked dance is normally performed throughout the Caribbean at Christmas time. It is known by many as John Canoe.

3. This is a graceful, noble social dance in which each man dances with each woman in turn.

5. The visionary leader Thomas Vincent Ramos founded Garifuna Settlement Day in 1941. In which Garifuna settlement was it first celebrated?

6. He was chief of the Caribs in St. Vincent and between 1795 and 1796, he led the Caribs as they fought three wars against the British for possession of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

8. This is the Garifuna name for St. Vincent.

Garifuna Word Search Find and circle the words listed below.

AMARIEDA BADIA BADISE BAGASU BINU DABULA FADIRI FALUMA FANIDIRA GABANA GANIESI GULIERU

IYUN LAMIDA LARU LIDOUN LIGILISI MUDU SABADU SIMISI TASU VERU YARA YEIN

Answer:

Arienga ya bei nu...

Tell me again‌

a. Am I saying it good? b. What is the name of this in Garifuna? c. Teach me a little Garifuna d. What is your work? e. What is your name? f. What is your village or town?

1. B 2. C 3. A 4. E 5. F 6. D 4. Amalihani 7. Roy Cayetano 9. Dugu 1. Thomas Vincent Ramos 2. Wanaragua 3. Gunjai 5. Dangriga 6. Joseph Chatoyer 8. Yurumein

1. Ka liri le lidan Garifuna?

2. Arufudahaba murusu Garifuna nu 3. Beiti sa narienguni?

4. Ka biri?

5. Ka bageria bei?

6. Ka bifisiute bei?

18

The Belize Times

Grace

Amazin

Is the Separation of Church and State God’s Design?

I’m reminded about a story of a man challenging God that he could make a human. God took up the challenge, got some dirt, formed a man and breathed into him. He then told the man “your turn”! The man stooped down to get some dirt but God said “no, no… make your own dirt!”

I find it amazing and sometimes appalling when I hear the word separation of church and state. You would believe that we human beings made the earth and all that’s within it. You know in the scripture, Psalms 24:1 to be exact; it says that the earth is for the Lord and everything in it, and the people in it!

How can we separate from the Owner of the universe what is His? If I’m at home and I bake a cake with ingredients that are mine, with gas and stove that are mine, who is that cake for?

Imagine, I bought two little feisty Chihuahuas for five hundred dollars.

They make pups. Who are the pups for? Can you say they are not mine because I only bought the mother and the father? See when Adam sinned he became a slave to whom he obeyed (Romans 6:16)! Therefore all his descendants were legally slaves to whom he obeyed similar to the dogs which were mentioned earlier!

Jesus came and bought back what Adam lost. He was the only one worthy to pay the price, as it had to be someone without sin! Now legally if we accept the free gift of salvation, we don’t have to pay the ultimate price of death (Romans 6:23) for our sins as Jesus has already paid it.

The truth is that hearing all this seems unreal to many as we are moved by what we can see and feel and no one has seen God. Man then comes up with their own theories, gods, live care free lifestyles, completely disregarding the words and instruction of God, ending up in dead end situations all over their lives.

We need to keep in mind that the church is not the many buildings we find standing up around our country with crosses on them. The church is the people that time and again enter into the buildings. The church is the people that say drunkenness, fornication, stealing, murder is wrong and not the building in which these people practice fellowship. In a similar fashion, when we use the word “government” we are not referring to a building. We are rather making reference to a group of men and women having the authority and charged with the task to both run and make decisions for our nation. To govern is to exercise authority over something, give direction, provide restraints etc. Their responsibility is to see that the Constitution is followed and even amended when necessary etc.

The church, then, are the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven, who represents the authority, direction and restraints of the King of Kings (the real owner of the earth and all in it).

This is the real reason why many times there is a cry for separation.

Earthly leaders and people desire to live by their own reprobate impulses and the church becomes a hindrance as its principle and light exposes this deficiency in man. By moving the church out the way we are then free to make our own laws, living in ways that are pleasing to us but an abomination to God. We must be careful as to what we are attempting to separate. If a car wheel needs five lug nuts and we take off three because it is too much work to put on all five, by disobeying the manufacturer’s instruction we put ourselves at immediate risk.

To be clear and fair, I must also add that there are laws that are personal to different religious denominations that are not laws of Scripture but apply only to that specific church; these can be separated from the state.

But to attempt to separate the true laws of the Word of God from the state is one of the primary reasons why as a nation we are faced with the level of crime, lack of values and value of life, selfishness and with such level of independence from God. To separate church from state is to separate a fish from water, oxygen from a human, to take a plant from the soil expecting its life to continue as normal.

Instead, if we desire abundant, prosperous, and fulfilling lives, let’s measure them against the Word of God and adjust them accordingly! A nation is only as good as its people, and I’ve heard someone say a nation is only as good as its men! What is the condition of the males in our nation? Well that’s a completely other topic!!

Let’s keep the manual of God for us as priority and in so doing continue to enjoy the benefits of this! Until next week God bless!!

Sunday, November 14, 2010 Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES)

BELIZE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM PROGRAM (STP) PUBLIC SECTOR- TOURISM Loan No. IDB-2060/OC-BL Project No. BL-L1008 Contract/Bid No. EOI-PS-008

The Government of Belize through the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture (MTCAC) has received financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and intends to apply part of the proceeds to payments under the project Sustainable Tourism Program, for an experienced and qualified firm to carry out a needs assessment and provide capacity building support to communities to promote market access to the Maya, Garifuna, and Creole Cultures in selected destinations in Belize.

This capacity building program for Hopkins/Dangriga, Toledo and Belize City is a deliverable under the policy and planning component of the STP. The firm will plan and conduct a needs assessment to determine capacity building and training priorities in the promotion of tourist access to the Maya, Garifuna and Creole cultures, maintaining a sustainable approach to cultural tourism development. This assessment will subsequently guide the development and delivery of relevant interactive training materials, in addition to the implementation of other complementary capacity building initiatives recommended in the assessment, as a further responsibility of the consultancy firm Duration of the assignment will be a maximum of 25 weeks and scheduled to begin in January 2011.

The MTCAC, Belize Tourism Board (BTB) and the STP Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) now invite eligible consultants to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultants must provide information establishing that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.). Consultants may associate to enhance their qualifications.

Consultants will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the Inter-American Development Bank: Policies for the Selection and Contracting of Consultants financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (current edition) and is open to all eligible bidders as defined in the policies.

Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Expressions of interest must be delivered via direct mail or e-mail at the address indicated below by 12:00 noon on Monday 15th November 2010.

Sustainable Tourism Program Attn: Mr. Carlos Mendez, Financial and Procurement Specialist 106 South Street Belize City, Belize Tel: (501) 227-2687 Fax: (501) 227-2914 E-mail: cmendez@sustainabletourismbz.org

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

19

SCA girls win NSSSA volleyball champs

The St. Catherine Academy girls won their 4th back to back to back National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) volleyball championship in the tournament hosted by Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico at Andres Campos Civic Center in Corozal Town over the weekend. The tournament opened Friday afternoon with Game 1. In the Southern Division champions, the Stann Creek Ecumenical High School girls, qualified to the finals by winning against the Western Division champions, the Sacred

Heart College girls in the best of 5 sets. Clara Sabal, Leeanna Aranda and Leann Gongora led the Ecumenical girls’ attacks, spiking on balls set by Donna Neal, with Rosalyn Salam and Jackiva Murillo digging up some saves as they won the first 2 sets 25-18 and 25-14.

Sacred Heart College’s Beatrice Alfaro, Jhonique Anderson, Jasmin Armstrong, Victoria Gonzalez, Isabel Lopez and Yadira Mai rallied to win the 3rd set 25-22; but the Ecumenical girls took the 4th set: 26-24.

In Game 2, the SCA girls qualified easily to the finals by blowing away the Northern champions, the San Pedro High School girls, in three sets. SCA’s Krystal Bevans and Ashli Habet set the ball for Analisa Habet and Sherika Burton to spike at the net while Khadijah Broaster and Emily Evans received and kept the ball in play to win the first set: 25-9. San Pedro’s Yu r e m i e C a s t a n e d a , Amber Diego, Emilie G o n z a l e z , Ya k a r e l i s Hernandez, Mishielly Leiva and Rachelle Lisbey gave a better account of themselves in the next two sets, which the SCA girls won 25-16 and 25-15. In Game 3 on Saturday morning, the Sacred Heart girls enjoyed some success as they won the consolation game for 3rd place in three sets: 25-20, 25-19 and 25-19.

In Game 4 Saturday afternoon, the championship final went to 5 sets as the Ecumenical High School girls mounted a real challenge against the defending champs, the SCA girls.

This time MVP winner Emma Hoare

led the attack, hammering kills on balls set by Ashli Habet and Krystal Bevans, while Sherika Burton and Briany Staine received and kept the ball in play to win the 1st set 25-12.

Ecumenical’s Catherine Leslie served 5 aces in the 2nd set, while Clara Sabal and Leanna Aranda blocked the SCA girls’ attempts to spike and Rosalyn Salam and Jackiva Murillo dug up the spike attacks that got through. Donna Neal set the ball for Clara Sabal to spike and they won the 2nd set: 25-16.

Ana Lisa Habet served 7 consecutive aces to help the SCA girls win the 3rd set: 25-21, but Ecumenical’s Donna Neal also served aces to help her team win the 4th set 25-21. The fifth set was also close as the Ecumenical girls won points on SCA’s errors, but the SCA girls pulled through to win the 5th set 15-13.

The champs, 2nd and 3rd place winners received trophies and individual medals at the closing ceremonies; and SCA’s team captain Emma Hoare won the Most Valuable Player award for a 2nd year. As national champions, the SCA girls will represent Belize for a 4th time at the 16th CODICADER Central American Students’ Games to be held in San Salvador, El Salvador in September 2011.

TCC boys win 2010 NSSSA volleyball champs The Toledo Community College boys won their 4th back to back to back National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) volleyball championship in the tournament hosted by Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico at Andres Campos Civic Center in Corozal Town over the weekend.

The tournament opened Friday evening with Game 1, as the Southern Division champions, the TCC boys qualified easily to the finals with a 3-set win against the Western Division champions, the Belmopan Comprehensive School boys. Rudy Arzu and Darius Avila led the attacks, hammering kills at the net on balls set

by Tarrel Flores and Evir Aranda while John Godoy and Raluni Bernardez received and kept the ball in play as they won the first set 25-11.

Belmopan’s Marlon Salazar, Akeem Watters and Khalil Bennett scored some hits and blocked the TCC boys’ spike attacks while Eldon and Kevin Brown and Christopher Enriquez received and kept the ball in plaQy, but TCC’s captain Denver Lino and John Lucas helped the TCC boys overcome to win the 2nd and 3rd sets: 25-16 and 25-15.

In Game 2 Friday night, the Northern Division champs, the San Pedro High School boys advanced to the finals by dominating the Central Division champs, the Wesley College

boys, in three sets. Irvin Chacon and Enrique Marin led the attacks, on balls set by Julio Chacon and Yani Garcia while Bryan and Nano Marin received and kept the ball in play. Jermaine Madrill and Brandon Lopez led the Wesley boys’ attacks, spiking on balls set by Calbert Jeffries and Jared Tillett, but libero Flavio Montejo rotated into the game to defend when San Pedro lost the serve and the island boys won the 1st set: 26-24. The Wesley boys rallied for a comeback but the San Pedro boys went on to take the next two sets 25-22 and 25-16.

In Game 3, the consolation game for 3rd place on Saturday morning, the Belmopan Comprehensive boys won over the Wesley College boys in a contest that went to 5 sets. The Wesley boys won the first set: 27-25, but the Compre boys came back with spike attacks from Marlon Salazar, Akeem Watters and Khalil Bennett, while Felix Requena kept the ball in play, sometimes tricking the ball over the net to win the 2nd set: 25-21. The Wesley boys were undaunted and won the 3rd set: 26-24, but the Compre boys were not about to let them have it all their own way as libero Cardinal Garnett, Christopher Enriquez and Arren Roches helped the Belmopan hitters win the fourth set 25-16.

Salazar’s and Watters’ spikes and blocks denied the Wesley boys as the Compre boys won the 5th set: 15-9.

In Game 4, the championship

finals, the TCC boys had an equally hard battle for the title, as the San Pedro boys were not about to make it easy. MVP Denver Lino, Trevor Muschamp and Darius Avila led the TCC offensive with spikes on plays set by Tarrel Flores and Evir Aranda and John Lucas served up some aces to win the 1st set 25-13.

San Pedro’s Charles Richards, Kevlin Roddeon and Irvin Chacon spiked through the TCC defense on plays set by Guillermo Rivero and Ramses Ramirez while libero Flavio Montejo and Enrique Marin kept the

ball alive to win the 2nd set 27-25.

TCC’s Yserri Palacio and John Godoy helped their squad win the next 2 sets: 25-22 and 25-17 to clinch the championship. The champs, 2nd and 3rd place winners received trophies and individual medals at the closing ceremonies; and TCC’s captain Denver Lino won the Most Valuable Player award. As national champions, the TCC boys will represent Belize for a 4th time at the 16th CODICADER Central American Students’ Games to be held in San Salvador, El Salvador in September 2011.

20

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Bombers, Racqueteers, Garage Crew, Phoenix enter BTTA table tennis playoffs

The Bombers, Racqueteers, Garage Crew and Phoenix teams have entered the 2nd Annual Brothers Habet team table tennis playoffs in the competition held under the auspices of the Belize Table Tennis Association, at the home of table tennis, the Belize Elementary School auditorium on Saturday.

In the 1st Division, the Bombers enter the playoffs undefeated as the No.1 seed with 10pts from 5 wins.

The Bombers won 5-1 over Team No mercy from Cayo, with David Jones winning 3-0 against Landy Habet and 3-0 against Jamil Bedran.

His teammate Hector Lopez won 3-0 over Eduardo Perera and 3-0

against Landy Habet.

Bombers’ Alvin Amoa also won 3-1 over Eduardo Perera. No Mercy’s Jamil Bedran won 3-0 over Alvin Amoa. The Racqueteers squeaked past the Rivero’s Welders 5-4 and are now into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed with 9pts from 3 wins. Racqueteers captain A r tu r o “Tu x ” Vas q u ez won 3-2 over Sheran Murillo, 3-0 over veteran Ernesto Rivero and 3-1 against Nicholas Martin.

Racqueteers’ Peter Wong also won 3-1 against Sheran Murillo.

The Welders’ Ernesto Rivero won 3-1 over Amir Vasquez and 3-0 against Peter Wong, and Nicholas Martin won 3-1 over Peter Wong

and 3-0 against Amir Vasquez to tie the series at 4-4, before Amir Vasquez won the 9th game 3-1 over Sheran Murillo to give the Racqueteers the 5-4 win.

I n t h e 2 n d d i v i s i o n , Te a m Phoenix: David Ho, Ted Marin and Hollis Parham won 5-3 over the Hurricanes to enter the playoffs undefeated as the No.1 seed with 12 pts from 6 wins. David Ho won 3-0 over Ravesh Sukhnandan, 3-0 over Samuel Sukhnandan and 3-0 over Joseph Sukhnandan; while Hollis Parham won 3-0 over Ravesh Sukhnandan and 3-0 over Samuel Sukhnanadan.

Te a m H u r r i c a n e s ’ S a m u e l Sukhnandan won 3-0 win over Ted

Marin and Joseph Sukhnandan won 3-1 over Hollis Parham and 3-0 over Ted Marin. The Hurricanes are the No.2 seed entering the playoffs with 10pts from 4 wins.

Te a m G a r a g e C r e w e n t e r s t h e playoffs as the No.3 seed with 10pts from 4 wins as they swatted the Assassins 5-0. Mike Sanchez won 3-0 over Mark Babalola and 3-2 against Ricardo Bailey; Emilio Perera won 3-1 over Harry Eusey and 3-0 over Mark Babalola, and Harold Young won 3-1 over Ricardo Bailey.

The Assassins enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. The playoffs and championship finals are scheduled for Sunday, November 14.

Edwin Ramirez wins 2010 Mr. Belize and Kayla Myvett wins Ms. Bodyfigure

S a n P e d r o ’s E d w i n R a m i r e z , a f o r m e r M r. B e l i z e , r e c l a i m e d his title in the 2010 edition o f t h e M r. B e l i z e c o n t e s t h e l d by the Belize Body Building and Body Fitness Association ( B B B B FA ) a t t h e B l i s s C e n t e r for the Performing Arts on Friday night.

The contest was held in 2 segments: the under 170lbs

division and the over-170lbs division. Defending champ Deon Danderson won the under 170lbs weight division and Dion Ortiz took 2nd place while Allan Halliday claimed 3rd place and Giovanni Gomez had to settle for 4th place.

In the over 170lbs division, Edwin Ramirez displayed such muscle definition and volume

in his pectorals, abdominals, deltoids, biceps and triceps, gluteus maximus, thighs and calves that the judges had no choice but to award him the title.

New kid on the block Rigo Ve l l o s w a s e q u a l l y w e l l defined, but Ramirez had the edge in his thigh development; Ve l l o s t o o k 2 n d p l a c e , b u t we will hear more from this young man in the future.

Dion Banner had the bulk but not the muscle definition of his rivals, and won 3rd place w h i l e Vi c t o r Va l e n c i a t o o k 4 t h place. Defending Ms Belize bodyfigure Kayla Myvett won t h e w o m e n ’s b o d y f i g u r e a n d f i t n e s s c o m p e t i t i o n . Tw o t i m e Wo m e n ’s C r o s s C o u n t r y cycling champ Gina Lovell won 2nd place, while Olga Vi d a s t o o k 3 r d p l a c e . N e w k i d on the block, the fastest woman in Central America Kaina Martinez had to be content with 4th place.

C i n d y Ay a l a , w h o h a s b e e n living on Caye Caulker for over 15 years and who has operated a spa on San Pedro where she offers massage and physiotherapy took time out to strut her stuff as a guest p o s e r.

The Belize Shotokan Academy under sensei Kelly also gave a demonstration of how the discipline of karate c a n l e a d B e l i z e a n s t o h e a l t h i e r, safer and happier lives. The competition climaxed with a face-off between under170lb champion Dion Danderson and E d w i n R a m i r e z f o r t h e M r.

Hercules trophy and Ramirez won, but an error in the judges’ tabulations resulted in Danderson erroneously receiving the trophy from B e l i z e ’s d e l e g a t e t o t h i s y e a r ’ s M i s s Wo r l d P a g e a n t in Sanya, China: Miss Jessel Louriano. The Association promises to correct this error o n S a t u r d a y.

Science

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

TIMES

of the HOUSEHOLD TIPS TO KEEP YOUR ENVIRONMENT CHEMICAL FREE

The buzz word these days is “going green” and reusing, recycling and double duty as much as we can. One place where going green can be a money saver and preserve health is in the use of natural or non-toxic products in cleaning around the home or office.

With this being flu season and all, we are all a little more prone to catching a bug, even at the office. But there is a simple and chemical free way to sanitize the communal utensils at work: the HAND SANITIZER. -put a little hand sanitizer on a paper towel and wipe door knobs, water cooler handles and even wipe down the touch pad on the office microwave.

-a small glop of sanitizer can be used on a paper towel to wipe off the toilet seat -do the same thing to keep the phone from being an incubator for the flu bug -of course, utilize this gel after and even BEFORE going into a meeting where you will be expected to shake hands.

-it is recommended that with the cooler temperatures, you use a sanitizer with MOISTURIZER to keep hands from getting chapped.

Still at work, you can keep the coffeepot clean and sparkling by once a week dropping a denture cleaning tablet into it with 8 ounces of water. It will foam up and remove all residue if left to stand overnight. Rinse well, put in a drop of white vinegar and rinse again before brewing. Your coffee will taste absolutely fresh and not have the tinge of burnt toast that develops when coffeepots are not properly cleaned over a period of time.

In the home, we can begin to go green by cutting back on the use of harsh detergents and cleansers. Again, bring on the

Many of you may have noticed that your favourite television show and basketball game is now coming on an hour earlier. Some people may have missed their novellas for the first two days this week as Mexico two reverts to Standard time after several months on Daylight Saving Time.

The practice of “turning back the clock “the last Sunday in April” began in the eighteenth century in the US and was pushed by the venerable inventor, thinker and tinker Benjamin Franklin. He rationalized that the young nation could get more done in the daytime if daylight hours lasted a little longer. He could not hold back the sun but he could turn back the clocks and have the hours of natural daylight increase by an hour. This practice continues globally today and last Sunday night at 2am, clocks in continental USA, Europe and Mexico

reverted back to standard time as the hours of natural light shortened with the change of season. In other words, the darkness was coming on too soon.

Countries who have done the analysis say that they save billions of dollars in electricity use, fuel usage and productivity losses when the daylight is extended in the spring. When the sun is still up at 7pm we are using less electricity, spending more time outdoors and are less likely to drive on a short errand if it is still light.

But for us here who do not observe Daylight Saving Time and the return to Standard time, it might have seemed like a nuisance at best. Now you know.

So remember the clocks are back to normal, Chetumal has the same time as we do if you are travelling via Cancun and your TV shows and games are on one hour earlier. Enjoy.

THE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

21

sanitizer. A large glop of sanitizer on a rag will clean (and sanitize) the toilet seat, flush handle and the fixtures on the basin.

-clean bathroom mirrors and all glass surfaces by spraying rubbing alcohol or sanitizer on a paper towel. Sometimes water spots and shaving products or facial cleansers, even toothpaste gets splattered on mirrors and they are unsightly and hard to clean. The sanitizer/alcohol on paper towel takes it off with little or no elbow grease required.

-keep drains in bathroom and kitchen free flowing and free

from the “back-draft” odour by pouring a half of a small box of baking soda down the drains and kitchen sinks followed by a half bottle of cheap, white vinegar.

Let it go through its reaction and foaming up before pouring a pint of boiling water down the drain. You won’t need harsh sodium hydroxide (lye) products e.g. DRANO to unclog drains.

-if you pour greasy cooking by-products down the kitchen sink, you may need to do this once weekly to avoid clogging and the huge bills of the plumber Finally, think about installing a water filter on your water line just before it enters the house. A chlorine filter will considerably soften the water for up to six months, reducing the need to use the chemical abrasives on your tub, tiles and stainless steel sinks to remove hard-water deposits. The initial investment is under fifty dollars and replacement filters every six months cost half of that. The price to not have to scrub your sinks and tubs and not have to keep chemicals around that could harm you, your kids, your pets and the environment - well, that is priceless. Be green!

22

The Belize Times

Sober

Reflections It’s not what you do… it’s who you are!

Constable as a criminal mastermind, the ringleader of a vast network which had orchestrated countless brazen robberies including a heist in Spanish Lookout which resulted in the murder of a guard and a bounty of more than $300,000. The Police (accompanied for some unspecified reason by Dean Oliver’s driver and UDP financier Lee Mark Chang) ransacked the home of this young police officer in front of his

By: Mike Rudon Jr. Dean Oliver claims that he doesn’t have any damned money to waste on a Commission of Inquiry into the immigration scandal/smuggling ring.

Doesn’t matter that he probably spends much more travelling all over the place so Kim can get in some shopping!

Doesn’t matter that his royal ass is pampered in a fancy ride which cost taxpayers a quarter of a million dollars!

Doesn’t matter that he routinely pays his ex-wife Lois hundreds of thousands of dollars with a single voucher! Nope… none of that matter when it comes right down to it. Dean Oliver doesn’t want a Commission of Inquiry because he doesn’t want the truth. He doesn’t want the full scope of this smuggling thing to see the light of day. So he smiles sincerely and states that he loves Carlos Perdomo to bits and that bloody Carlos so saintly and sweet that he would never do anything wrong. End of story!

Dean Oliver has done the same thing for his friend from Port. In fact, he won’t even entertain any questions about that candidate for sainthood. I remember right before elections when Boots used to come to the House of Representatives in an old broken down van. More often than not we used to have to give him a jump to get it started after the House meeting. As early as a couple months after elections, though, Boots was living the life of the wealthy and privileged, making hundred thousand dollar cash deposits into his account. I hear that by last count he has built six large cement houses in the city and lives in another large house which he rents on St. Thomas Street. He and those very close to him are living the high life.

Hell, everybody has heard about the warehouse with materials stored… everybody knows that there’s something not so kosher with the Housing for the Poor operation (lucrative for Boots but not kosher)…everybody has heard about the kickbacks on the purchase of construction materials. But Dean Oliver says that Boots is the bomb and would never be involved in anything shady.

End of story!

I remember when Dean Oliver destroyed the life and career of a young Police Officer, Detective Constable Mangar. It was around Easter and based on the word of a criminal, our Prime Minister stood before the nation and named the young Detective

common-law wife and daughter. They arrested him and threw him in jail. In the end it was all bogus, but the damage had been done to the young officer and his family who are still struggling to make a living and return their lives to some semblance of normal.

And then I listened to Dean Oliver in the most recent debacle involving the daughter of one of his senior ministers, who has been accused of mishandling taxpayer funds at the Belize High Commission in London.

The accusations have been made by no less than Belize’s High Commissioner to the UK Kamela Palma (who has since been relieved of her post).

According to Ms. Palma she sent three reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this alleged wrongdoing but her reports were ignored and dismissed.

But Dean Oliver stated quite clearly – ‘I certainly am not going to give them (the accusations) any currency…’ It doesn’t matter that one of our highest ranking and respected diplomats made the allegations and felt they were serious enough to put them in writing three times. It doesn’t matter that it is our funds which was allegedly mishandled and that amounts to no less than a criminal betrayal of the public trust.

Sunday, November 14, 2010 None of that matters. Because the girl against whom the charges were made is the daughter of a UDP Minister, Dean Oliver won’t give them any currency.

See, the currency these people use is different from the currency used by us common folk. Dean Oliver didn’t give a damn when he shredded the reputation and destroyed the life of a young police officer on the word of a criminal who was offered a deal. We is po’ common folk, not worthy of certain considerations! When it comes to Tanya Hulse, the daughter of the UDP minister, ain’t nothin’ going to come of this except that now that the space of UK High Commissioner is vacant she may be bumped upstairs. That’s how it works in this UDP. The Belize Times broke the story of Tanya Hulse and allegations of mishandling of public funds more than 6 months ago. This is nothing new… but it has no currency, says our beloved Dean Oliver. In this UDP, it doesn’t matter what you do…it’s all about who are and who you know!

Our Telephone Number is:

671-8385

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

23

George W. Bush says flying over New Orleans after Katrina was his greatest mistake

We did the flyover... there were too many areas to visit...

Hon. Dean Barrow, 7 News Interview

24

The Belize Times

GIBBS CATCHES SPIES

By Lennox Grant An early-morning police raid, ordered by Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, on a secret snooping agency within the National Security Ministry has brought to light an extensive list, including Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar and private citizens, whose phone calls, text messages and e-mails have been monitored over five years.

Special Branch and Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau officers, who locked down the St Vincent Street, Port of Spain, offices of the Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) at 6 a.m. on October 23, also found $5.9 million in a fireproof safe and a stash of firearms.

In a shock response to the discovery of an elaborately equipped and well-funded "intercept suite" within the SIA, the People's Partnership administration, as disclosed in Government documents made available for viewing yesterday, has: • fired Nigel Clement, director of both the Strategic Services Agency and the SIA • retained two Canadian technology security experts to sweep for further evidence of the tapping of phone, text and e-mail messages, and to develop a secure communications network for use by the Prime Minister and top officials • begun a review and reorganisation of State security apparatus to discover exactly which agencies are doing what and to clarify their lines of reporting • drafted for tabling in Parliament tomorrow a bill to outlaw interception of private communication, unless authorised by the order of a High Court judge.

The National Security Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, though weekly briefed by National Security Ministry agencies, had been, until two weeks ago, kept in the dark about the existence and the activities of the SIA "intercept suite".

Documents detailing investigators' findings listed dates and times and brief reasons for interception of the electronic communications people targeted under a variety of titled "operations".

The targets include politicians of all parties, independent senators, trade unionists, High Court and Appeal Court judges, county

councillors, business people, academics, media people, lawyers in private practice and popular comedians.

What remains unknown to officials is who received the information gathered from such sources and what use was made of it.

But they say the SIA, with some 200 staff, has operated out of various safe houses, and ran private companies as fronts for its channelling of millions of dollars of cash to people described as "informants".

The discovery of deep-secret telecommunications snooping by SIA heightened curiosity about which other agencies have been tapping into private talk and electronic chat.

Immediately before the firing of Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT) director Brig Peter Joseph, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar had charged SAUTT had tapped her own phones and that of others.

Hard evidence of this has not come from sweeps of SAUTT systems, however. In one document reviewed yesterday, a SAUTT technical manager last September called on all staff to remove from the system all compromising material at this critical time while SAUTT is under scrutiny.

It was in response to the 1990 security failings connected with the coup attempt that the SSA had been enacted by Parliament in 1995. Under the SSA Act, President Max Richards yesterday signed the order revoking the appointment of Clement.

On April 1, the Patrick Manning Cabinet had appointed Clement, a former Coast Guard officer, the director of both the SSA and the lesser-known SIA. Government documents showed a July 2009 Cabinet decision to amalgamate the SSA, the SIA and the Police Special Branch into a single unit.

This decision had apparently not been implemented by last month when the Special Branch, with the ACIB, busted the SIA and proceeded up a wider investigation involving telecommunications intercepts, millions of unaccounted cash dollars, and unregistered firearms.

Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar is expected to address the issue in Parliament tomorrow.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Press Release Final Cane Payment – 2010 Crop On October 28, 2010 the Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI) informed the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association about its proposed final cane payment to cane farmers for the 2010 crop. The Belize Sugar Industries Limited is proposing to pay Corozal cane farmers $2.45 per ton of cane and Orange Walk cane farmers $3.19 per ton of cane, compared to $ 11.14 and $ 11.54 paid to Corozal and Orange Walk cane farmers respectively for the 2009 crop.

As a result the Belize Sugar Cane Famers’ Association has expressed deep concern to Belize Sugar Industries Ltd over the very low sum it proposes as final payment for sugar cane delivered to the Tower Hill Factory in the 2010 crop year. In doing so the Association has notified BSI as follows: -

-

-

Cane farmers should not be expected to absorb the cost of the various difficulties encountered by BSI ltd and Belize Cogeneration Energy Limited (Belcogen) in the starting up of its energy project and the poor cane quality resulting from the extensive and unprecedented delays arising there from; It was forecasted that the Tons Cane/Ton Sugar ratio for the 2010 crop would be even better than that for 2009 (9.94) and also that cane deliveries would exceed one million tons, which it did; It was also forecasted that, because of better organizational arrangements by cane farmers, especially better timed burning of cane, and efforts to reduce mud levels, improvements to cane quality would be observed; The major delays caused by the Belcogen project, including inadequate steam generation for the mill, and the inadequacy of retrofitted cane shredding equipment at the mill have not been cited by BSI Ltd as factors affecting the extended low intake of cane, leading to backed-up deliveries and therefore loss of cane quality at the line.

The delay in the final cane payment will increase the financial hardships of cane farmers and their families, who have foregone income from being unable to deliver between 200,000 and 250,000 tons of sugar cane during the 2010 crop which remained as stand over cane in their cane fields, and who are currently experiencing an actual loss in income due to the fact that 50% of this stand over cane is not fit for processing for the 2011 crop.

Farmers have also voiced dismay that BSI will not be able to make its scheduled payment on 8th November 2010, which it is required by agreement to do.

The Belize Sugar Industries Limited has explained that it may not be able to make payment of the final price by November 8, 2010 due to a major setback in its long standing financing arrangements with the ING and First Caribbean International Banks, and the lengthy process involved in obtaining short term financing from the Belize Social Security Board (BSSB).

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers’ Association points out that, in assessing and reporting on the situation, BSI Ltd should also have shown that it took fully into account the unprecedented problems experienced by Belize Cogeneration Energy Limited and the resulting milling delays at the Tower Hill Factory that severely affected the quality of cane supplied by cane farmers. The impact of these problems on the cash flow situation of the BSI Group of Companies could then be better understood The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, therefore, proposes that an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the problems experienced by Belcogen be made to determine its impact on the quality of sugar cane supplied by cane farmers and on the cash flow situation experienced by BSI Together with this there should be a determination of the actual sales of sugar and molasses and cash received to date with a view to compensating farmers for the deterioration in the quality of their sugar cane and for them to be promptly paid the final cane price.

Alfredo Ortega, newly elected Chairman of the BSCFA Committee of Management, states the following: “We find it unfair that BSI is urging cane farmers to improve production and quality, while at the same time depriving them of the timely payment for cane they have already supplied.

“We are requesting that BSI does all in its power to make payment of $3,191,558 to farmers by the agreed date of November 8, 2010 as a partial final cane payment, while an adjustment to this payment is being determined. We are prepared to discuss a pricing formula that would be fair to both farmers and processors.

Failing this, we shall request the Minister responsible for the sugar cane industry to order an investigation into the circumstances leading up to the present situation and to provide direction on its resolution.”

Message from the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association: Committee of Management

25

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Deputy Party Leader Mike Espat cordially invites you to the grand Garifuna Drumming Competition in Toledo This weekend.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY The Central Bank of Belize, the statutory body responsible for fostering monetary stability, especially the stability of the exchange rates and the promotion of credit conditions, is seeking to recruit an Examiner.

Examiner – Financial Sector Supervision Department

BELIZE RURAL FINANCE PROGRAMME ICB SIGNING CEREMONY ANNOUNCEMENT Kindly be informed that the Ceremonial Signing of the Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) Agreement originally scheduled for Monday November 15, 2010 at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Hotel has been postponed. The new date for the Ceremony will be communicated at a later time.

ALL INVITEES ARE ASKED TO KINDLY NOTE THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE EVENT. Thank You. Management, Belize Rural Finance Programme

The Examiner will conduct both off-site surveillance and on-site examinations of Financial Institutions Licensed/registered under the Banks and Financial Institutions Act (BFIA) or International Banking Act (IBA).

The Examiner’s essential duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to the following: • Support the Deputy Director and Examiner-In-Charge in conducting on-site examination of

banks and financial institutions.

• Perform off-site surveillance on a portfolio of banks and financial institutions. This includes

preparation of the Quarterly Financial Performance Analysis Report of the institutions.

• Process applications for banking licenses.

• Prepare Papers for submission to the Board.

• Report on the financial condition, management, operations and prospects of institutions examined.

• Monitor and follow up on credit facilities to ensure compliance with the provisions of the BFIA and IBA. • Verify compliance with the BFIA and IBA. • Prepare schedules of all facilities approved under the BFIA and IBA for the portfolio of banks.

• Prepare monthly liquidity position of the banking system.

• Record minutes of Bankers Meetings.

Applicants should possess: A Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Banking, Finance or Management Information Systems from an accredited University or a closely related field. Experience in auditing, commercial banking or information technology would be an asset.

Sensitivity to confidential matters with a high level of professionalism and the following skills and abilities are required:• Analytical ability; • report writing ability; • proficient in Microsoft Office suite; • communicate effectively both orally and in writing; • interpersonal skills; The remuneration package is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Applications together with curriculum vitae, copies of transcripts, certificates and three letters of reference must be submitted

by Monday, 29 November 2010 to: Director Human Resources Department Central Bank of Belize P.O. Box 852 or Gabourel Lane Belize City, BELIZE Email: cbbhrd@btl.net Ref: Examiner Website: www.centralbank.org.bz All applications will be treated in strict confidence.

FOR SALE Sunday, November 14, 2010 The Belize Times FOR SALE

By Order of the Mortgagee

By ORdER OF thE MORtgAgEE FOR SALE FOR SALE Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered unBy Order of the Mortgagee der the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of BeScotiabank (Belize) Ltd., company duly registered unBy ORdER OF athE MORtgAgEE lize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered ofScotiabank (Belize) a company duly registered unfice at Cor. Albert andLtd., Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, der the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Behereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power lize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered ofof sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the fice at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, 31st day of December, 2007, between DAVID CORREA hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, Belize District of the of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the one part, and Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., of the other part, 31st day of December, 2007, between DAVID CORREA andSan recorded at the Land Titles Caye, Unit inBelize DeedsDistrict Book Vol. of Pedro Town, Ambergris of the 2 of 2008 at folios 45 – 74, and the said Scotiabank (Beone part, and Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., of the other part, lize)recorded Ltd. willatatthe theLand expiration of three monthsBook fromVol. the and Titles Unit in Deeds of theatfirst publication sell the property 2date of 2008 folios 45 – 74, of andthis thenotice said Scotiabank (Bedescribed in the schedule hereto. lize) Ltd. will at the expiration of three months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property All offers in to the purchase the hereto. said property must be made in described schedule writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained the saidthe Scotiabank (Belize) All offersfrom to purchase said property mustLtd. be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

SCHEDULE ALL THAT pieceSCHEDULE or parcel of land being Lot No. 15

comprising (496.56 square metres) situate in the AmberALL THAT piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 15 of gris Bay Subdivision, approximately 3.5 miles North comprising (496.56 square metres) in theDistrict AmberSan Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye insituate the Belize gris Bay Subdivision, miles North of of Belize and boundedapproximately and described 3.5 as shown

by Plan San Ambergris Caye in theFiat Belize District No. Pedro 870 ofTown, 2003 attached to Minister’s (Grant ) No. of Belize and bounded and described as shown by Plan 870 of 2003 dated 21st June, 2004 TOGETHER with all No. 870 ofand 2003erections attachedstanding to Minister’s (Grant ) No. buildings and Fiat being thereon.

870 of 2003now dated 21st June, 2004 TOGETHER (Property declared under trhe Registrationwith Sec-all buildings erections standing and being thereon. tion of Sanand Pedro) (Property now declared under trhe Registration Section of San Pedro)

der the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company unCor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize duly City,registered Belize, hereby der thenotice Companies Act, Chapter 250 of its thepower Laws of of sale Belize, gives of its intention to exercise Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at as Mortgagee under a Deed of Assignment and Transfer Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby of Mortgage made the 30th December, 2005, recorded in gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale Deeds Book Vol. 3 of 2006 at Folios 601 – 632, between as Mortgagee under a Deed of Assignment and Transfer Belize Mortgage Company 2002-1 (the Assignor) and Scoof Mortgage made the 30th December, 2005, recorded in tiabank (Belize) Ltd., which said property was mortgaged Deeds Book Vol. 3 of 2006 at Folios 601 – 632, between

by FLOYD LYNDON NEAL and DORETTA DENESE Belize Mortgage Company 2002-1 (the Assignor) and ScoNEAL to(Belize) the saidLtd., Development Finance Corporation on tiabank which said property was mortgaged theFLOYD 8th day of October, NEAL 2003, recorded in Deeds DENESE Book Vol. by LYNDON and DORETTA 37 of 2003 at said Folios 1151 – 1196;Finance and theCorporation said Scotiabank NEAL to the Development on (Belize) Ltd. will at the expiration of two months from the the 8th day of October, 2003, recorded in Deeds Book Vol. dateofof2003 the first publication this and notice property 37 at Folios 1151 – of 1196; thesell saidthe Scotiabank describedLtd. in the hereto. of two months from the (Belize) willschedule at the expiration date of the first publication of this notice sell the property All offers in to the purchase the hereto. said property must be made in described schedule writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained the saidthe Scotiabank (Belize) All offersfrom to purchase said property mustLtd. be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

SCHEDULE SCHEDULE ALL THAT lot piece or parcel of land being Lot No. 269 in

the subdivision known as Los Lagos, situate in the Mile 13 ALL lot Highway, piece or parcel of land beingDistrict,.

Lot No.As 269surin Area,THAT Northern Ladyville, Belize the subdivision known as LosLicensed Lagos, situate in the Mile 13 veyed

by Kenneth A. Gillett, Surveyor and recordArea, Northern Ladyville, Belize District,.

As sured at the Office Highway, of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, veyed

by Kenneth A. 16 Gillett, Surveyor andwith recordBelmopan at register EntryLicensed 4460 TOGETHER all ed at the Office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

Belmopan at register 16 Entry 4460 TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

DATED this 1st day of November, 2010.

DATED this 1st day of November, 2010.

DATED this 1st day of November, 2010.

DATED this 1st day of November, 2010.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS 91 North Street MUSA & Front BALDERAMOS Belize City 91 North Front Street Attorney-at-Law for Belize City Scotiabank (Belize) Attorney-at-Law forLtd. Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

NOTICE NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the company named

Notice is hereby given that the company named

HEARTLAND ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. HEARTLAND ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. has been dissolved and struck off the International has been dissolved and struck off the International Business Companies Register with effect from Business the 7th dayCompanies of November,Register 2010. with effect from the 7th day of November, 2010.

Power Point Management (Belize) Limited Power Point Management (Belize) Limited Registered Agent Registered Agent

MUSA & BALDERAMOS 91 North Street MUSA & Front BALDERAMOS Belize City 91 North Front Street Attorney-at-Law for Belize City Scotiabank (Belize) Attorney-at-Law forLtd. Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

26

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

27

Asesinato de Keon Myvette es el 112 para el 2010

DOMINGO 14 de NOVIEMBRE , 2010

Parece haber un resurgimiento de la violencia callejera azotando la ciudad de Belice ya que ha habido cuatro asesinatos desde el viernes pasado. La última víctima es Keon Myvette Williams, un padre de 28 años de dos hijos que fue asesinado a tiros a poca distancia de la casa de su madre en la calle York. El homicidio ocurrió alrededor de las 06:00 en la noche del lunes en una farola en la esquina de las calles Lancaster y Castle.

Los asesinos de Myvette, dos jóvenes que andaban en bicicleta, se le acercaron por detrás y el pistolero disparó cinco tiros a Myvette a corta distancia. Al menos dos de las balas dieron en el blanco cerca de su sien izquierdo. Myvette se deplomo en la calle pavimentada, y aunque fue trasladado de urgencia a la sala de emergencia del Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, murió pocos minutos después.

Marcos Rowley, que estaba de pie con Myvette en la esquina, fue baleado también en la parte superior del cuerpo. Él sigue recuperandose de su lesión.

La madre de Myvette, Jennifer Williams, dijo que estaba en su casa y escuchó los disparos que mataron a su hijo, pero no creo que podría ser él porque lo había visto no mucho tiempo antes, cuando vino a visitarla.

Mientras tanto, su novia, Odessa Bailey, dijo que dicho sea de paso que acababa de hacer una cita para Myvette para ver a un especialista en el hospital KARL HEUSNER MEMORIAL esa misma noche porque tenía un problema de espalda. Estaba programado para someterse a una radiografía a las 7:00 pm y su última conversación con él fue cuando ella lo llamó esa noche para informarle de que había hecho la cita para él, un

CHECK OUT OUR NEW WEBSITE at www.belizetimes.bz ~ POST YOUR COMMENTS ~ VOTE ON ARTICLES ~ VIEW OUR PHOTO GALLERY ~ CHECK OUT A PDF VERSION OF THE PAPER We are the most visited newspaper website in Belize

Issue No. 4719

Keon Myvette

$1.00

www.belizetimes.bz

The Truth Shall Make You Free

compromiso que nunca vivió para cumplir.

Myvette fue juzgado dos veces por el asesinato de 'papá' Michael Gladden, 32 en 2007.

Un nuevo juicio fue ordenado por primera vez cuando el jurado no pudo llegar a un veredicto y en el segundo ensayo, los cargos se redujeron a homicidio, un cargo del cual también salió librado en Julio de este año, cuando no se pudo llegar a una convicción después de ocho horas de deliberaciones. Ini-

cialmente la policía había detenido a dos jóvenes en espera de las investigaciones sobre el asesinato, pero no se han hecho cargos al respecto.

PUP Think Tanking Sessions Every Thursday, Independence Hall at 7:30pm

28

The

The Belize Times

Belize TimesEn

Español

Sunday, November 14, 2010

ditorial

UNA NACION EN PELIGRO

Desde el Ecritorio del Lider del Partido

POR SI SE NOS OLVIDA...

Solía haber un tiempo en Belice cuando cada beliceño llevaba en Noviembre una flor roja en sus ropas para conmemorar el Día del Armisticio. Las contribuciones recaudadas por la venta de estas amapolas iban para ayudar a nuestros veteranos... aquellos hombres y mujeres que sirvieron.

Una amapola en el día costaría entre 10 centavos a $ 1.00 dependiendo de cuánto se podría contribuir. Estas flores de imitación fueron vendidas por el Ejército de Salvación y otras organizaciones voluntarias.

Yo recuerdo claramente mis días en la escuela cuando los maestros nos hablaban de la amapola Flandes, que es una hierba que se cultivaba originalmente en el norte de África y más tarde en gran abundancia en Europa. Nos enteramos de que esta hierba con la flor roja se vio en los campos de batalla en Europa e incluso en las trincheras donde los soldados esperaban la llamada para la batalla.

Se nos enseñó incluso un poema titulado "En el terreno de Flandes", de John McCrae que fue escrito por un soldado cuyo amigo había muerto en batalla. En su poema McCrae habló de las amapolas que crecían en los campos donde se derramó sangre, donde los soldados fueron enterrados - "En el campo de Flandes las amapolas se mecen, entre las cruces, fila en fila."

La amapola se convirtió en un símbolo, un recordatorio para todos nosotros, de las muchas vidas que se perdieron en la batalla, no sólo de la Primera Guerra Mundial, pero en todas las otras guerras desde entonces.

Así que muchas personas lucharon y murieron en las guerras incluyendo beliceños, que en la Segunda Guerra Mundial fueron enviados a combatir en Europa y África. Así que cada año el 11 de Noviembre, los beliceños se unían a otros a través de la Comunidad en lo que ahora se llama Día de la Memoria. Durante este tiempo llevábamos nuestra amapola roja como señal de que nunca olvidaremos el sacrificio de la vida humana en la lucha por la libertad.

Así que hoy en día, incluso cuando tenemos una nueva generación de beliceños que han elegido servir en los EE.UU., Reino Unido o Canadá en las fuerzas armadas, seguimos teniendo a nuestra gente que hace el sacrificio y pone sus vidas en peligro para la seguridad y la seguridad de los demás.

Aquí en casa también estamos comprometidos en una guerra, es una guerra que está teniendo lugar en nuestras calles - se trata de una guerra urbana. Muchos de nuestros jóvenes que se han enojado y frustrado con su vida y que han perdido la esperanza se han vuelto a una vida de violencia y la delincuencia. Se han unido a los ejércitos urbanos que llamamos pandillas callejeras y han aceptado una vida de crimen y violencia.

En la lucha para librar las calles de la actividad de la delincuencia y las pandillas, se les ha pedido a los hombres y mujeres de nuestra Fuerza de Defensa de Belice que se unan a nuestros oficiales de policía en esta lucha. Si bien creo firmemente que nuestras fuerzas armadas se debe utilizar siempre para defender nuestras fronteras, agradezco a los hombres y mujeres en uniforme por su servicio en esta lucha para salvar a nuestras comunidades. Espero el día en que todos seremos capaces de volver a nuestros BDF a trabajar exclusivamente en operaciones militares. Mientras tanto, valoro su contribución en la lucha para librar a nuestras comunidades de la delincuencia, la violencia y la actividad de las pandillas.

Durante el huracán Richard, Memorial Park sostuvo un poco de daño. El monumento al soldado no identificado fue severamente dañado. Me gustaría hacer un llamamiento a La Liga de Belice de Ex Hombres de Servicio, para que le hagan un llamado a la alcaldía de la ciudad de Belice y al concejal responsable de parques para restaurar este monumento tan pronto como sea posible, porque es un símbolo que todos los de Belice deben honrar y debe ser preservado.

Así que mientras escribo esto en el Día del Armisticio (Día del Recuerdo) vamos a honrar el trabajo de todos los beliceños valientes que fueron a la guerra con la esperanza de ganar la paz. Honremos a nuestros beliceños que están actualmente sirviendo en el ejército, tanto en casa como en el extranjero y vamos a estar siempre agradecidos por todos aquellos que sirven para el mejoramiento de la humanidad.

El Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Belice ha emitido un comunicado de prensa oficial y oficiosa en un intento extraño y sin éxito para justificar el despido abrupto del jefe de la diplomacia de Belice en el Reino Unido, el Alto Comisionado HE Kamela Palma. Sra. Palma no estuvo de acuerdo con un edicto del CEO en el MFA (por sus siglas en Ingles) Alexis Rosado y expresó su desaprobación en los términos que se consideraron una falta de respeto... tan irrespetuosamente, que de hecho, la Sra. Palma sin ayuda, ha colocado a toda la nación de Belice en peligro - o al menos eso es lo que se afirma en el comunicado de prensa.

La versión corta de la historia es esta - HE Kamela Palma estaba a punto de irse por cinco (5) días de vacaciones y como es su responsabilidad había hecho arreglos para que el Alto Comisionado operara en su ausencia. El CEO, Alexis Rosado, dio vuelta a las instrucciones de la diplomática y pidió que la Primera Secretaria Tanya Hulse, quien es la hija del Ministro Melvin Hulse, actúe como Alto Comisionado para los cinco (5) días. HE Palma no estuvo de acuerdo con las instrucciones de Jefe Ejecutivo, lo puso por escrito y fue despedida por su negativa a cumplir sin demora.

Pero no es exactamente tan claro como eso. En su carta al Jefe Ejecutivo, Alexis Rosado, El Ato Comisionado Kamela Palma hace alusiones distintas al mal manejo de fondos públicos por la Primera Secretaria, Tanya Hulse, indicando que - "Estoy muy dispuesta a aclarar más sobre el asunto de la falta de confianza en el manejo de fondos gubernamentales de Belice, el hecho de que este se ha informado a la sede en tres informes y que la gravedad de estos tres informes han sido ya sea mal interpretados, o ignorados. " Si bien el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores tuvo a bien soltar la carta entre el ministerio del Alto Comisionado Palma y el Jefe Ejecutivo Alexis Rosado, las notas con las instrucciones del Jefe Ejecutivo Rosado no fueron dados a conocer... ni tampoco los tres informes enviados a la sede que contiene los detalles de la mala gestión de los fondos públicos. El propio Primer Ministro dijo que ha decidido no dar a los alegatos ninguna “validez” Y ese parece ser el final de eso. Él no ha hecho ninguna mención de los informes, no menciona ningún detalle de las denuncias; no se compromete a estudiar el asunto. De hecho, el Primer Ministro parece singularmente indiferente con respecto a las denuncias de lo que equivale a la traición criminal de la confianza pública.

Eso no es ninguna sorpresa para aquellos que están familiarizados con el funcionamiento de esta administración Barrow. El Belize Times dio a conocer la noticia de los fondos públicos presuntamente mal manejados por la hija del Ministro UDP Melvin Hulse hace más de seis meses. Esos informes estuvieron rampantes en el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y en los círculos diplomáticos, pero hasta allí llego todo. Y si no fuera por la "falta de respeto" que puso a toda nuestra nación en peligro, nada más se habría oído hablar de la Sra. Hulse y sus travesuras.

El Sr. Barrow aparentemente da validez a las cuestiones de respeto y el cumplimiento absoluto de las directivas. De hecho, recientemente en la televisión nacional agregó su condena por el Alto Comisionado Kamela Palma por no haberse ajustado a la Directiva del CEO. Carece de importancia que la diplomática estaba actuando en el mejor interés de la nación, o que ella estaba protegiendo el erario público. Carece de consecuencias que ella explica sus acciones. Según el Sr. Barrow, ella no estaba en la posición de preguntar por qué... Como él lo dijo de manera sucinta – ‘ Quéjense pero cumplan” - final de la historia.

El comportamiento del señor Barrow trae a la mente otra situación aquí en casa. El líder de esta nación tuvo a una discípula de la que tuvo la más alta consideración. Con su pleno respaldo financiero y apoyo ella fue colocada en la oficina municipal de la ciudad de Belice como alcalde.. No mucho después, los rumores circulaban que el dinero estaba siendo objeto de apropiación indebida en el Ayuntamiento. Al introducirse en la política sin un centavo, la chica de oro del señor Barrow era ahora capaz de embarcarse en la construcción de una mansión de varios millones de dólares frente al mar. Pero el señor Barrow no dijo una palabra. La familia de la alcalde prospero a partir de una serie de contratos dudosos... pero el señor Barrow no dijo una palabra. Colegas de la Alcaldía presentaron pruebas de su delito – pero el Sr. Barrow no dijo una palabra. El Ministerio de Gobierno Local acuso a esta mujer de malversación de fondos, pero el señor Barrow no dijo una palabra. Empleados de nivel directivo del Ayuntamiento renunciaron en masa, para condenar las acciones del alcalde, pero el señor Barrow no dijo una palabra. Una auditoría oficial del Consejo de la Ciudad de Belice mostraron cientos de miles de dólares que faltaban... pero el señor Barrow no ha dicho una palabra.

Pero entonces la alcalde apareció en la televisión nacional y puso en duda la existencia de testículos del Sr. Barrow, y ella fue corregida en publico por el señor Barrow. Todo el infierno se desató pues el Sr. Barrow, que había estado tan silencioso ordenó la emisión de un comunicado del UDP acusando al la alcaldesa de robo... muchos meses después del acto. Véase, no se trataba de la ley... se trata de la falta de respeto.

HE Kamela Palma no ha, como el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de manera absurdamente dice, puesto en peligro a toda la nación ... ni mucho menos. Ha realizado más bien un valioso servicio a su nación en un intento de proteger el erario público. Pero ella no recibirá ningún tipo de gracias ni recibirá premios de apreciación del Sr. Barrow. Su contrato ha sido rescindido por el señor Barrow pues la cuestión más importante no es el interés público... sino más bien la percepción de falta de respeto.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The

The Belize Times

Belize TimesEn

No es lo que haces….. sino lo que eres.

Por: Mike Rudon Jr. Dean Oliver afirma que no tiene dinero para gastar en una Comisión de Investigación sobre el escándalo de inmigración y de contrabando. No importa que probablemente gasta mucho más viajando por dondequiera para que Kim pueda hacer compras en algunas tiendas! No importa que su trasero real es mimado en un paseo de lujo que nos cuesta a los contribuyentes un cuarto de millón de dólares! No importa que habitualmente le paga a su ex esposa Lois cientos de miles de dólares con un bono único!. Dean Oliver no quiere

una comisión de investigación porque no quiere la verdad. Él no quiere que el tema del contrabando vea la luz del día.

Así que sonríe sinceramente y dice que ama a Carlos Perdomo porque Carlos es tan santo y dulce que nunca haría nada malo. Fin de la historia!

Dean Oliver ha hecho lo mismo por su amigo del puerto. De hecho, ni siquiera duda acerca de que el sea candidato a la santidad. Recuerdo que justo antes de las elecciones cuando Boots llegaba a la Cámara de Representantes en una vieja camioneta desglosado. Más a menudo que no teníamos que darle un empujón para ponerlo en marcha después de la reunión. Luego en un par de meses después de las elecciones, Boots estaba viviendo la vida de los ricos y privilegiados, haciendo depósitos de miles de dólares en efectivo en su cuenta. He oído que en el último recuento ha construido seis casas de cemento grandes en la ciudad y vive en otra casa grande que alquila en la calle Saint Thomas. Él y los que están muy cerca de él están viviendo la gran vida. Rayos, todo el mundo ha oído hablar de la bodega con

Español

los materiales almacenados... todo el mundo sabe que hay algo muy raro con eso de la Operación Viviendas para los Pobres (lucrativo para Boots ) ... todo el mundo ha oído hablar de los sobornos en la compra de materiales de construcción. Pero Dean Oliver dice que Boots es la bomba y nunca participaría en algo sombrío. Fin de la historia!

Recuerdo cuando Dean Oliver destruyó la vida y la carrera de un joven oficial de policía, el detective Mangar. Fue alrededor de la Pascua y se baso en la palabra de un delincuente, nuestro Primer Ministro se paró frente a la nación y nombro al joven detective Mangar como un genio criminal, el cabecilla de una vasta red que había orquestado un sinnúmero de robos descarados como el robo en Spanish Lookout que resultó en el asesinato de un guardia y una recompensa de más de $ 300.000. La Policía (acompañado por alguna razón no especificada por el conductor de Dean Oliver y UDP financiero Mark Lee Chang) saquearon la casa de este joven oficial de policía frente a su esposa y hija. Lo arrestaron y lo arrojaron en la cárcel. Al final todo era falso, pero el daño ya estaba hecho al joven oficial y a su familia que todavía están luchando para ganarse la vida y volver a la normalidad.

Y luego escuché a Dean Oliver en el debacle más reciente relacionado con la hija de uno de sus ministros, que fue acusada de mal manejo de fondos de los contribuyentes en la Comisión Superior de Belice en Londres. Las acusaciones han sido hechas por no menos de que por el Alto Comisionado de Belice al reino Unido Kamela Palma (que desde entonces ha sido relevada de su puesto).

Según la Sra. Palma, ella envió tres in-

29

formes al Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores sobre este supuesto fraude, pero sus informes fueron ignorados y destituidos. Pero Dean Oliver señaló con toda claridad - "Yo desde luego no voy a darles validez ( a las acusaciones) ..." No importa que uno de nuestros más altos diplomáticos de rango y respetado ha hecho las alegaciones y se veían lo suficientemente graves como para ponerlos por escrito tres veces. No importa que se trate de nuestros fondos, que hubieran sido mal manejados y que ascienden a nada menos que a una traición criminal de la confianza pública. Nada de eso importa. Debido a la chica contra la que los cargos fueron hechos es la hija de un ministro del UDP, Dean Oliver no les dará validez..

Vea usted, la moneda que estas personas usan es diferente de la moneda utilizada por nosotros, la gente común.

Dean Oliver no le importa un comino cuando destrozo la reputación y destruyo la vida de un joven oficial de policía basándose en la palabra de un criminal a quien se le ofreció un trato.

Nosotros la gente común y pobre no somos dignos de ciertas consideraciones!

Pero como se trata de Tanya Hulse, la hija de un ministro del UDP, nada va a salir de esto, excepto que ahora el espacio del Alto Comisionado del Reino Unido está vacante y la Srta. Hulse se le puede otorgar esta posición. Así es como funciona este UDP. El Belize Times dio a conocer la historia de Tanya Hulse y las acusaciones de mal manejo de fondos públicos hace más de 6 meses. Esto no es nada nuevo... pero no tiene validez, dice nuestro querido Oliver Dean. En este UDP, no importa lo que haces... es todo acerca de quién eres y a quien conoces!

Belize Electricity Limited advises customers in the Cayo District that the supply of electricity will be temporarily interrupted on Saturday, November 13, 2010.

Time: 7:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Affected Area: The entire Cayo District including Belmopan City, San Ignacio, Santa Elena and Benque Viejo Towns and surrounding areas.

Reason: To facilitate maintenance work on the 115 KV Transmission Line and upgrade the distribution system in the area.

BEL regrets any inconvenience that may be caused by this power interruption.

Customers may call toll free for any additional queries or other customer related issues at: 0-800-BEL-CARE or 0-800-235-2273.

View scheduled outages online at: www.bel.com.bz/services_outages.asp

30

The

The Belize Times

Belize TimesEn

Español

Sunday, November 14, 2010

NO SE VALE LLORAR EN LA POLITICA…

Por: Mike Rudon Jr. “No importa ser desafiado por ello, pero hay momentos que siento deseos de llorar. " - Ministro de Inmigración Carlos Perdomo Siempre me ha gustado la película de 1992 ‘ A league of their own’ ( Una Liga Propia) "cuando Tom Hanks dice -" ¿Estás llorando? No debes llorar, No hay llanto en el béisbol! "Me acordé de esa cita el viernes, cuando nuestro Ministro de Inmigración Carlos Perdomo declaró en la televisión nacional que su trabajo es tan difícil que le hace querer llorar a veces. ¿Qué diablos! Las muchachas en esa vieja película se encontraban en una liga propia, pero mi amigo Carlos Perdomo esta, obviamente, completamente fuera de su liga.

Digo esto sin ninguna malicia personal porque no tengo nada personal contra el ministro. Anteriormente, cuando fue nombrado ministro de la policía pensaba que él era el hombre equivocado para el trabajo, aunque era obvio que él pensaba que el trabajo era perfecto para el. En cuanto a la historia, los hechos hablen por sí mismos. El Sr. Barrow nunca lo admitirá, porque es todopoderoso y omnisciente y todo eso, pero permitió que el Sr. Carlos continuara en el trabajo a pesar de todo. La delincuencia se disparó y nosotros hemos sufrido por eso. Y aún así, en lugar de enviar a Carlos a los vestuarios, el Sr. Barrow lo dejó en el equipo, pero jugando otra posición. Y miren en lo que nos tiene ahora.

Vi la entrevista del Canal 7 con Carlos Perdomo y mire a un hombre golpeado. Vi a un hombre que está completamente fracasado. No vi a un hombre en quien se puede confiar para tomar el timón y dirigirnos a través de aguas turbulentas. No vi a un hombre que está decidido, empeñado en asegurar que las cosas se hagan bien, no mire a un hombre que debe ser la elaboración de políticas y el establecimiento de directrices, no vi a un líder.

Es mas, creo que nadie vio en el a un líder. ¿Cómo podemos como pueblo, confiarle a un ministro que admite que hay aberturas en el proceso de expedición de visados legítimos, que admite que hay casos en que se utiliza a Belice como punto de tránsito por los chinos, pero parece no tener

Por Joana Maldonado Chetumal El subdelegado federal de la Secretaría de Economía (SE), Víctor Braulio Salgado Pedraza, anunció que recientemente, en una reunión con autoridades de Belice, se acordó analizar un tratado de colaboración de empresas quintanarroenses para la repavimentación de las alcaldías del país vecino.

El funcionario federal, aseguró que desde hace unos días, se presentó esta propuesta por parte del Ministro de Desarrollo Económico del país vecino, en donde Nicolás Ruíz Beltrán, alcalde de Benque Viejo en Belice y representante del resto de las alcaldías, ha mostrado gran interés en concretarlo.

Refirió que en los próximos días, se estarían reuniendo para analizar en conjunto con empresarios, posibles nichos de mercados en materia de pavimentaciones de las distintas alcaldías de Belice.

“Es una oportunidad que no podemos dejar de lado, sabemos que en el sur hacen los materiales, pero requieren equipos para que sea lo más

rápido posible las repavimentaciones”, anunció, Afirmó que con la participación estatal y federal, la CMIC cuenta con un financiamiento a través del sistema nacional de garantías, que es un financiamiento a PyMes en donde el gobierno federal pone las garantías para que no se requiera de ellas de manera física por parte de los empresarios.

Derivado de este fondo, detalló, el año pasado se obtuvo una derrama importante de 850 millones de pesos en créditos, y se estima que este 2010, se cierre con una cifra similar.

Salgado Pedraza, dijo que en este sentido, la capacitación, construcción, consultoría e internacionalización de las empresas quintanarroenses, está segura y éstas son apoyadas para incentivar su competitividad.

“La competitividad de las personas es asunto de ellos, nosotros solamente apoyamos, somos el andiamaje, pero la competitividad es realmente de los empresarios y el estado tiene la obligación de hacer más sencillos sus trámites”, precisó.

Podría Belice contratar a constructoras mexicanas

ni la menor idea sobre cómo tratar con él ? De hecho, Perdomo admitió que él, personalmente, probablemente ha expedido visados a estas personas 'sin darse cuenta. Hubiera sido bueno conocer los planes concretos para garantizar que no vuelva a suceder, pero el no hablo sobre ello!

Ciertamente no fue tranquilizador saber que como ministro de Inmigración él personalmente ha sido abordado a fin de facilitar transacciones corruptas. Él afirma que fue ofrecido una sola vez dos botellas de whisky (hm… solo eso?) Para facilitar un acuerdo, y ciertos miembros de la familia y amigos fueron enviados a él para suavizar prácticas corruptas.

Pero en ninguna parte hubo una indicación de que Perdomo fue resuelto en términos de integridad y hacer el intento de iniciar un proceso contra los que lo habían intentado sobornar.

De hecho, la mayoría de lo que mire en la entrevista con Perdomo fue una declaración muy tranquila y poco convincente que "hasta ahora" ha sido capaz de resistir todas las ofertas.

Pero con todo lo que dijo, cuando a Perdomo se le preguntó si él es capaz de apoyar a una comisión de investigación sobre el escándalo de Inmigración, se apresuró para dar marcha atrás declarando que no iría tan lejos como eso. Hmmm de hecho!

El hombre pasa horas despotricando sobre la corrupción de inmigración que le hace querer llorar, pero cuando se habla de involucrar a una Comisión

de Encuesta a el no le parece una buena idea. No inspira mucha confianza su actitud ¿verdad? Hace que te preguntes si en realidad el Sr. Perdomo es un lirio blanco y virginal.

Entonces, ¿dónde deja eso al jefe de Perdomo? El Sr. Barrow ha declarado que no hay necesidad de una comisión de encuesta, porque no tiene dinero para gastar, pero nadie cree en esa tontería de todos modos. El gran Queso alega que el caso esta cerrado ya, porque todos los culpables han confesado así que no hay necesidad de hacer de mas, el caso esta... firmado, sellado y entregado. Pero todo el mundo sabe que es falso. Todo el mundo sabe que hay colusión en los más altos niveles del Gobierno y es por esa razón y esa razón nada mas que el señor Barrow quiere que éste asunto sea empujado en el cajón "cerrado los archivos" de su escritorio, justo al lado del informe de auditoría sobre el Consejo de la Ciudad de Belice.

Y aún con eso a un lado, el hecho es que Dean Oliver muy pronto tiene que tomar una decisión difícil cuando se trata de la viabilidad política de Carlos Perdomo. Perdomo esta mal y en su última entrevista, es claro que él se dio cuenta y sólo está esperando que el hacha política caiga sobre su cabeza. Me parece que para el beneficio del pueblo de Belice que ya nos hemos llevado la peor parte de la temporada desastrosa de Perdomo como ministro de Policía, el hacha debe caer más pronto que tarde.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Belize Times

31

Grand San Andres Fiesta 2010 Saturday and Sunday 27th and 28th November 2010

FOR RENT 2 bedroom house, fully furnished located in Vista Del Mar Area, Ladyville Area, Belize District. Call 623-2205 for more information.

Rooms with cable, water and electricity unfurnished. For more information contact 623-2205.

FOR SALE 2 Ice Machines; 1 Walk-in Freezer/Cooler; 2 Water tanks (600 gallons) and also 1 Ice Display.

Asking Price: $12,000.00. Call 622-3469 for more information.

LIQUOR LICENSE NOTICES Notice is hereby given that Sarita Moh is applying for a Publican Special Liquor License to be operated in Caledonia Village, Corozal District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Elba Alicia Mejia is applying for a Restaurant Liquor License to be operated at “Los Cocos”, Chan Chen Village, Corozal District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Maria Whittaker is applying for a Restaurant Liquor License to be operated at “Memo’s”, Hall’s Layout, Corozal Town under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Mike Huesner is applying for a Restaurant Liquor License to be operated at “Belize River Lodge”, Ladyville Village, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Wu Guan Ning is applying for a Shop Liquor License to be operated at “Sky City Supermarket”, 8 ½ Miles Northern Highway, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Yan Jun Cao is applying for a Shop Liquor License to be operated at “Ladyville Committee Shop”, 9 Miles Northern Highway, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Jun Ming Zhao is applying for a Publican Special Liquor License to be operated at “ Enjoy Bar & Restaurant”, Front Street, Caye Caulker Village, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that Mike’s Club is applying for a Membership Club Liquor License to be operated at “Mike’s Club”, #17 Regent Street West, Belize City under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Prayer To The Holy Spirit O Holy spirit, you who are the fountainhead of all knowledge, who illuminate the pathway which enables me to reach my goal. You who share your divine gift permitting me to forgive and forget past insults and injustices, and who are always at my side within reaching distance. I desire in this short supplication to thank you for all that you have done for me, and to assure you once more that I never want to be separated from you under any circumstances, no matter what the incentive. I want to be with you, I along with my loved ones, cradled in your unending love. Thank you for your never failing kindness towards me and those I call my own.

(Prayer to be offered for three consecutive days; faith in the Holy Spirit will cause him to respond to your request no matter how difficult the problem might be.)

Publish prayer as soon as request has been granted.

S.H.M.

Prayer To The Holy Spirit O Holy spirit, you who are the fountainhead of all knowledge, who illuminate the pathway which enables me to reach my goal. You who share your divine gift permitting me to forgive and forget past insults and injustices, and who are always at my side within reaching distance. I desire in this short supplication to thank you for all that you have done for me, and to assure you once more that I never want to be separated from you under any circumstances, no matter what the incentive. I want to be with you, I along with my loved ones, cradled in your unending love. Thank you for your never failing kindness towards me and those I call my own.

(Prayer to be offered for three consecutive days; faith in the Holy Spirit will cause him to respond to your request no matter how difficult the problem might be.)

Publish prayer as soon as request has been granted.

R.E.R.

Program

Venue: San Andres Village Football Field & Community Center Corozal District

Saturday 27th November 2010: • • • • • • • •

Under 13 years bicycle race (Xaibe to San Andres) Football Mundialito game Company Booth eg: Smart Promotion Food Stalls Contact #663-7230 Mechanical rides Beer drinking contest (Male) Official ceremonies and Cultural Presentation Massive Dance with the Gilharry 7 Band only $10 for couples.

Sunday 28th November, 2010: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Adult Bicycle race (Patchakan to San Andres) Football Exhibition game Softball Exhibition game Volleyball Exhibition game Greasy Pole Water melon eating contest Tag & war Lime & spoon Sack race Mechanical rides Pepper eating contest Beer drinking contest (Female) Dalla Bash – Dance

Bring your family to have lots of fun! Fun! Fun!

NOTICE The following persons are applying for a Liquor License: Name XIANG PEI ZHEN SU HONG SHAO MEI WU XUE XIN RONG XIN WEN XU WAN JI WU JING LI LIU ZHONG PING WU RUN QIANG WEN LINA RONG XOE YUN RONG CHANG JIA WU WEN JIE LEI ZHONG RU WU QIANG QING SU WAN BI WU XUE SI MA ZHONG JIN LUO FANG FEI YANG ZHEN YI LUO QUI LIAN LI CAN JIN CHEN DA QUAN LI KUN YONG CHANG MIAO NA LU

Name of Shop HENRY'S SUPERMARKET RONG'S SUPERMARKET NEW BRIDGE SUPERMARKET XUIA STORE CENTRAL SUPERMARKET BORDER RESTAURANT GALLITO SUPERMARKET CZL CHINESE RESTAURANT FELIZ RESTAURANT LINA'S RESTAURANT T.S. SHOP TANG SUPERMARKET ROMATIC RESTAURANT ASIA RESTAURANT BUMPER RESTAURANT 99 FAST FOOD FAMILY RESTAURANT RAINBOW RESTAURANT YANG SUPERMARKET HAN YAN SHOP GUO TAI STORE SKY BLUE RESTAURANT DENG SUPERMARKET REXO RESTAURANT SKY BLUE RESTAURANT

Address COLLEGE ROAD 4TH AVENUE #91 7TH AVENUE COLLEGE ROAD #1 PARK STREET SOUTH #6 PARK STREET SOUTH 2ND STREET SOUTH #89 7TH AVENUE #3 PARK STREET SOUTH #14 4TH STREET SOUTH #33 7TH AVENUE #38 SANTA RITA ROAD 4TH AVENUE 7TH AVENUE #93 7TH AVENUE #3 SANTA RITA ROAD 6TH AVENUE #3 STREET SOUTH SAN ROMAN VILLAGE SAN NARCISO VILLAGE #41 7TH AVENUE SECOND 5TH AVENUE #19 7TH AVENUE #197 SANTA ELENA RD PARK STREET SOUTH

under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980

32

The Belize Times

Sunday, November 14, 2010