Sunday, August 5, 2012
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THE BELIZE TIMES
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SUNDAY August 5, 2012
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Issue No. 4807
Noh watch me, watch GAPI!
Hon. Florencio Marin Jr. challenges PM Barrow to investigate UDP Deputy Leader & family
More UDP Land Hogs!! Minister Rene Montero and family hold huge land tracts in Cayo, Belize, San Pedro & Bannister Bogue Caye
Belize City, August 1, 2012 It is every Belizean’s dream to own a piece of the jewel, but most times that dream turns into a nightmare, as Govern-
Minister Rene Montero
Armed Guats confront Belize’s border patrol Toledo District, August 1, 2012 Only a few days after our BDF border patrol came under attack by illegal Guatemalan loggers inside Belize’s territory, which led to a major diplomatic gaffe by the Organisation of American States, there is another report of a con-
See page 6
ment bureaucracy and red tape proves it to be costly and time consuming. But for one particular UDP Minister and his family, acquiring land seems so easy they have enough to share with hundreds of
needy Belizeans. Failed Minister of Agriculture Rene Montero has acquired hundreds of acres of land for himself. Land in the Cayo District; land in Belize City and even in Bannister Bogue Caye. Continued on page 18
“Not under my watch!” PUP Leader vows to restore integrity at Ministry of Lands Belize City, August 1, 2012 At the press conference held by the People’s United Party today, officials revealed a long list of land grabbing at the hands of known UDP individuals and their families. But the cases involving the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega’s family hit a nerve, and PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca believes what has been exposed so far is only the “tip of the ice-berg”. “You have family members of the Minister of Natu-
See page 4
land in San Jose Palmar,” he indicated. And to prove it, Hon. Florencio Jr. was flanked by the Village Chairman of San Jose Nuevo, Orlando Balam. Balam, who is a first-time Chairman Continued on page 4
See page 9
Hon. Florencio Marin Jr. & San Jose Nuevo Chairman set the record straight
Hon. Marin Jr. has challenged the allegations, and at a Press Conference called by the Opposition PUP this morning, he said the Prime Minister was “deceitful”. “All properties I own have been declared to the Integrity Commission since I won my first election in February 2008. I do not own
TOP MODEL
Belize City, August 1, 2012 Deputy Leader of the People’s United Party, Hon. Florencio Marin Jr., has called out Prime Minister Barrow for spreading vicious allegations about him at last Friday’s House meeting. Barrow, in an attempt to distract Belizeans from the UDP’s disturbing land grabbing, began reading out from a document, purporting it to be evidence that Hon. Florencio Jr. held dozens of land all over Belize. One allegation, repeated by Barrow, was that Hon. Florencio Jr. owned 128 parcels of land in San Jose Nuevo, otherwise known as Palmar of the Orange Walk District.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
03 Superbond Re-negotiation fumbles 07 Fuel prices soar beyond $12 again
Tevin Ferguson, killed in latest city shooting
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Neglect to San Estevan Road Continues Dear Editor, Today I write on behalf of all the villagers of San Estevan, Progresso, Chunox, Little Belize, Copper Bank, and Sarteneja to urge the Government of Belize through our taxpayers’ money to urgently rehabilitate our main road. It is of my understanding that the road from the Orange Walk Banquitas Bridge to Progresso would be paved and work started a couple weeks before general elections. This is being financed by the European Union to help cane farmers with bet-
ter road conditions. This initiative was welcomed by everyone who uses this road. Unfortunately even though this is financed by the EU, the work has been paused for over a month now. It is devastating for us to know that probably everything was just an election campaign, and I urge the Government to take the necessary steps to assure that the contractors are there and that the work continues on the preparation of the road for paving. Over 8,000 citizens use this road
as a connection to Orange Walk town for jobs and business. Cane farmers use this road to deliver their harvest to the factory. It is also important to note that much of our agricultural products also come from Little Belize and a good road is essential for products being delivered on time. These and many other reasons make it necessary for this road to be paved; not only paved but paved to international standards. Our taxpayers’ money has to be used efficiently. We the residents of all the villages mentioned above would be more than happy to know that this Government listens to our needs and moves all of its resources to make our need a reality. Our support for any government will lie solely on their intentions to help not a few but a whole. So please Mr. Barrow, come to our roads and see the terrible conditions at first hand. Our ROAD NEEDS TO BE FIXED URGENTLY. Signed, On behalf of over 8,000 taxpayers
PUP calls for fairness and transparency at House Meetings 26 July, 2012 The Parliamentary Caucus of the People’s United Party met today at Independence Hall, Belize City to discuss the upcoming House Meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, 27th July, 2012. The People’s United Party strongly condemns the habitual practice of this government in failing to give adequate notice of House Meetings in accordance with the Standing Orders. Members of the Opposition received notice of the next meeting
on Tuesday afternoon, July 24th (less than three days notice), and were provided with a bare agenda on Wednesday, July 25th which is less than two days before the scheduled meeting. The PUP further condemns the UDP government’s practice of labeling these meetings as Special Meetings in order to prevent the asking of Questions to Ministers. This government continues to fail in its obligation to provide proposed Bills to Opposition Parliamentarians until the start of the House Meetings thereby
Jasmine Alert Program Launched!
Inspector Augustine explains Police’s role in Jasmine Alert
Belize City, July 29, 2012 It is hard to accept at times that any good can come out of tragic moments, but in the case of 13 year old Jasmine Lowe, who was kidnapped and murdered in Santa Elena Town in June of this year, her life will serve to save many others. That’s because since Jasmine’s disappearance, the Belizean community has come together to find ways of better protecting our children and youth from predators in our communi-
ty. One of the initiatives was launched at the Biltmore Plaza Hotel on Tuesday afternoon, and it is called the Jasmine Alert Program. The program is designed to utilise technology to build a quick response system to effectively prevent child abductions and murders. The two telecoms companies, SMART and Belize Telemedia Limited, have signed on already and they will lend support to the Police Department. The system will work like this:
depriving them of a real opportunity to read, study and meaningfully participate in the debate. The practice of successive Dean Barrow administrations to introduce new bills on the very day of the House Meeting and to ram through these bills without giving Opposition members any real opportunity to review is undemocratic and autocratic. The Parliamentary Caucus of the People’s United Party also expresses its strong support for the constitutional right of Belizean police offi-
when a case of child abduction or disappearance comes up, the information will be handled by a special unit of the Police Department. That unit will screen the information rapidly and once it fits a certain criteria, they will issue a Jasmine Alert. This means that through BTL and SMART phones, the Police will share information about the case with the public via text messages to all cellular phone customers, with hopes that someone would have witnessed and could report information that could lead to an arrest and rescue. “The first three hours of a child abduction are crucial,” said Patrick Menzies, “we want to rescue our children, not recover them”. The Police have named Inspector Dehanne Augustine as the National Coordinator of the Jasmine Alert Program. Inspector Augustine will be responsible for informing all relevant law enforcement agencies such as Immigration, Customs and Coast Guard about their role in the event of an alert. Two Police officers will be identified in every district to act as district coordiContinued on page 22
Sunday, August 5, 2012
PUP must fight UDP corruption Dear Editor, The 14 members of the PUP opposition in the House of Representative must not partner with the Corrupt Barrow led UDP government lest it be perceived as condoning CORRUPTION. Barrow’s reign of terror as he leads a corrupt UDP government must not be allowed to continue. Every member of UDP in HOUSE of Representative is corrupt. From these corrupt, the Belizean people will continue to receive corrupt justice, corrupt high taxes, corrupt laws like the corrupt laws of past British colonialism, slavery, and imperialism. Barrow is so corrupt that he tried to close Channel 5; he closed the National Perspective newspaper, and now he is trying to close the PUP Belize Times. Barrow is corrupt in all respects and his government is corrupt. Signed, Ricky M.
cers to freely associate and to have freedom of speech. The PUP calls for the immediate reinstatement of those police officers from the Police Association who have been placed on interdiction and made subject to disciplinary charges. We demand that the government must return to the long established practice of giving adequate notice to all Public Officers prior to their transfer so that they may have the necessary time to move their families, find housing and enroll their children in school. The PUP stands in solidarity with those Public Officers who serve our country particularly in these trying and difficult times. (Press Release)
THE BELIZE TIMES EDITOR
Alberto Vellos OFFICE MANAGER
Fay Castillo McKay PRINTING/PERSONNEL SUPERVISOR
Doreth Bevans LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST
Chris Williams STAFF REPORTER
Alton Humes TYPIST
Rachel Arana OFFICE ASSISTANT
Roberto Peyrefitte Printed & Published By The Belize Times Ltd. #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize Tel: 671-8385 Email: belizetimesad@yahoo.com editortimes@yahoo.com
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Bullet proof vest could have saved slain cop’s life Hattieville Police Station has no vehicle!!
Jasmine Betancourt (Photo courtesy Channel 5)
Belize City, Tuesday, July 31, 2012 The Benque Viejo community turned out in vast numbers on Sunday to lay to rest a son of their soil, Police Corporal Victor Lima, 34, who was killed in the line of duty last week Tuesday night in Hattieville. The noble hero, as he has been described, was responding along with two other policemen to a call for police assistance at a secluded residence off a dirt road in the village when tragedy struck. An alleged gunman, who had invaded a house and was holding two females to ransom, fired off two fatal bullets that found their marks in Lima’s chest. The officer died three days later while receiving treatment at the KHMH’s Intensive Care Unit. The death of this officer comes just two months after the Belize Police Department, his employer, received a donation of police vehicles and equipment, including bullet-proof vests. But it appears, the vests are not being put to use or were not made available to Lima. In fact, not only did Lima and
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his colleagues have on no bullet-proof vests to protect their lives in the line of fire, they also did not have a vehicle with which to respond to the scene. That has been the case for the past several weeks. Whenever anyone calls for police intervention at the Hattieville Police Station, the policemen have to respond on foot because the only vehicle they had experienced mechanical problems a while back and since it was sent for repaired, they have been working without one. In a television interview that Gilroy Domingo, the Village Chairman of Hattieville gave reporters last week, he said “...we would expect that an officer would be prepared in the situation that he actually assisted in, prepared as to be well secured with a vest and different things that they do, backup and different things like that. So it is surprising that it happened to him...we would also want it to be a wake-up call or the rest of the officers, the good officers who serve us and come from far and dedicate their self to us”. The people of Hattieville want to know, Minister and Police Commissioner, how the vehicles and bullet-proof vests were disseminated, because their growing village is just as in need as the other communities. If Cpl Lima was wearing a bullet-proof vest that fateful night, his chances of being alive today would have been very high, since the two bullets that claimed his life struck him in the chest where the vest would have protected. His death could have been prevented and now, on top of all the other ills that were recently exposed within the department, the officers are clamouring for more protection and mobility to perform their job more efficiently.
In the middle of a national security
crisis minister john saldivar
goes shopping in chetumal
While Belize’s territorial sovereignty is under attack and the criminal elements run free, Minister of National Security John Saldivar found time to shop and spend leisure time in Chetumal on Wednesday, July 25. Talk about having priorities all wrong, abusing Government resources and wasting taxpayer funded fuel!
Fuel prices soar beyond $12 again Belize City, August 1, 2012 Fuel prices are once more, above the severe $12 mark, after the Barrow Administration approved new and increased rates on Monday night. The cost of fuel at the pumps has been increased as follows: Premium gas by 44 cents with its new price being $12.11, Regular gas by 35 cents with its new price being $11.15, and Diesel gas by 18 cents with its new price being $10.24. Kerosene is the only fuel that did not see an increase, with the price remaining at $8.70 per gallon.
The increased prices will only continue to add to the ever-increasing cost of living in Belize. On the one hand commuters pay more to travel, and the other, local manufacturing producers and businessmen are affected as the cost of operation increases and the expense is passed on the consumers. Fuel prices have been on the rise since the start of 2012, with only one instance of it being reduced, on March 4th. Most consumers were unaware of Sunday night’s price hike, as the Government chose not to report it.
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Noh watch me, watch GAPI!
Continued from page 1
but who has been a member of the Village Council for a number of years, had the entire list of actual landowners of San Jose Nuevo Village with him. “Mr. Florencio Marin Jr. does not even have an inch in our village,” stated Balam. So how could the PM have made such as serious blunder? Hon. Marin said he believed it was political mischief since the UDP’s backs are against the wall after the Opposition exposed a number of well-known UDPs benefiting from sweet land deals. Balam, on the other hand, believed the Prime Minister may simply not know how to read the special land documents regarding San Jose Nuevo. He explained that Palmar Village was created through a special arrangement that saw land being purchased and transferred to people who lived in the remote Yalbac Hills, but held in trust
“Not under my watch!” Continued from page 1
ral Resources, the Deputy Prime Minister of this country, who are in key positions at the Ministry of Natural Resources. What is taking place, in our view, at the Ministry of Natural Resources over the past four years is that there’s been almost a complete decimation of the public service at the Ministry of Natural Resources, replaced by these friends and families, family members of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Minister of Lands and the deputy prime minister and that must be of great concern to us,” responded Hon. Fonseca to a question from the BELIZE TIMES. The PUP Leader called on the Prime Minister to deal with the shenanigans at the Ministry of Natural Resources (Lands). And while it is expected that the Prime Minister will continue to fingerpoint and play the blame game, Hon. Fonseca wants no part of that. He said he has zero tolerance for corruption, and he will ensure that remains as long as he is the Leader of the PUP. “I want to make it absolutely clear that regardless of what people have to say about what took place in the past, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that this type of thing does not continue in Belize, not under this Government and certainly not under a PUP Government. This kind of thing will not happen under my watch, as long as I am leader of this Party there will be no question of the way and manner we will be running the Ministry of Lands,” declared Hon. Fonseca.
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by the Minister of Lands, who during former PUP administrations was Hon. Florencio Marin Sr., the father of current Corozal South East area representative Hon. Florencio Jr. Balam suggested that somehow the document may have shown Hon. Florencio Marin as holder of the land, but it was confused for the incumbent Hon. Florencio Jr. and the special trust-
ee arrangement was not understood. The BELIZE TIMES did some research on San Jose Nuevo, and discovered that the village originates to some 60 years ago, when the Belize Estate and Produce Company (BEC) relocated Spanish-speaking Yucatec Mayas who lived in a village called San Jose in the remote Yalbac hills of rural Orange Walk district. A trust was later established to ensure that the land was protected and that only descendants of the early residents could benefit as land owners. Balam told the BELIZE TIMES that the reason he decided to come out and set the record straight is because a number of villagers, especially the young residents, have come to him asking what it is going on. He said he was shocked when he heard the Prime Minister make the allegations, and he believed it could have been verified very easily. Hon. Marin also denied additional
allegations made by the Prime Minister that he owned land in Consejo Village, Corozal District, and in Sarteneja. PM Barrow said Hon. Marin Jr. owned these through companies, BelCor Limited and CoroBel, but Hon. Marin Jr. was adamant that those were untrue. “I am neither a Director nor shareholder of any of those companies. I do not own land in Consejo, unlike the Prime Minister who everyone knows owns land in that village,” declared Hon. Marin Jr. Hon. Marin Jr. indicated that the Prime Minister should instead focus on persons who are currently benefitting from all sorts of land taking. He pointed to documents that show the close family and relatives of the Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Gaspar Vega obtaining numerous lands. At times the beneficiaries are relatives of the Deputy Prime Minister who are employed at the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
THE BELIZE TIMES
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City Audit before CitCo Bonds There is no doubt that the Belize City Council’s work to cement a handful of the old capital’s long-neglected and pot-hole ridden streets is giving the Barrow Administration’s difficult second term the kind of lift they need politically. This is especially since Barrow has had nothing to offer Belizeans, especially the working class that includes public officers, teachers, Police and BDF etc., except for a wage freeze, increment freeze, cuts and union busting. It is evident is that Mayor Darrel Bradley is getting the run that the former Mayor didn’t get. He seems to be getting all the help from Central Government, even a new cash flow but from where, when and at what cost, the residents of the old capital don’t know. While the Mayor was given a mandate to re-negotiate the “big contracts”, help reduce taxes on businesses and ensure value for money for the old capital, the Mayor is doing his own thing. He has refused to deal with the contracts, continues to tax small and big businesses, and has continued to defend a lazy bunch of Councillors who have not been seen or heard from since the March elections. The Mayor has even indicated that he will turn up the heat on residents, as they plan to implement a residential garbage tax. Instead of keep the promise of transparency and accountability, the Mayor has shoved the wanton waste of the past six years under the rug hoping everyone forgets under depositing, under the table payment schemes, and corruption of not one but two UDP terms. But if there is one thing that the Mayor has done very early, it is to define his legacy as the TAX MAN. Since taking office he has spoken about a Garbage Tax, a poor man’s Bicycle Tax, considered the Taxi Tax, and is slowly implementing a Parking Tax throughout the city. The Mayor has even ordered the Traffic Department to boost its revenue from traffic ticket. City residents are under serious harassment for any infractions, without the chances of warnings and citations. With so very little of substance to offer the people of Belize City, the Mayor now wants to raise a twenty million bond on the backs of city residents. Well, here is where Mayor Bradley must be stopped in his tracks. He must not be allowed to indebt the Council any more unless he follows through with his promise of a full and comprehensive Independent audit of the Council’s finances. It is in the best interest of the residents to know the state of the Council, before they take on any financial burden. Residents should know about the Commercial Centre loan, how much is owed and paid to Belize Maintenance Limited and Belize Waste Control, how much do the Councillors and Mayor collect and whether they will take a pay cut considering the austerity times. We also want to know how much Mayor Bradley collected as legal advisor to the Council. $20 million is a lot of money when you are broke. It is not worth it unless the Council can say how exactly it will benefit the city. To use a handful of cemented streets that were procured without proper tender as examples is not enough. Just how many more streets will the $20 million pave? How much is it for the Southside streets which have been ignored? The Belizean economy is slow, too slow for a Government who is spending their second term in office. The City Council is in its third term, but now needs to get deeper in debt to get the work done. Mr. Mayor, before you talk about a $20m bond, let us hear first about the audit. No audit, no bond. It’s that simple.
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
BDF musician & gang member slain in separate shootings Tuesday, July 31, 2012 The Sunday morning execution of Belize Defense Force trumpet player, Wayne Madrill, 42, shocked not only his family, but his close friends and fellow band members in the BDF Band. It did because everyone did not know the musician to be associated with street crime and, from all accounts, he wasn’t. Word on the street has it that Madrill was targeted because of an incident involving a close relative of his, also a law enforcer, who had allegedly “roughed up” a known criminal in a raid recently. In essence, his murder was a message to the law enforcer. Madrill, who was not far away from home, was walking along with a friend on Cemetery Road just before three that morning when his killer pounced with precision. The first shot struck him in the throat and the gunman then stood over the mortally wounded band member and pumped three more bullets into his limp body. One of them was a direct aim to the head. Madrill was killed instantly. His friend, who was soon after ques-
Armed Guats confront Belize’s border patrol Continued from page 1 frontation. The Ya’axche Conservation Trust has reported that while conducting an assessment on illegal xate extraction in the Columbia River Forest Reserve and Bladen Nature Reserve, which started on July 23rd, they were confronted by Guatemalan bandits. The environmental group said they were being escorted by four BDF soldiers when around 15 kilometers inside Belize, they encountered a group of Guatemalans armed with a 16-gauge shotgun. “On the second day, the patrol heard shots fired on increasing frequent intervals as they got towards Bladen Nature Reserve. A short while later, Ya’axche Rangers came face to face with a Xatero carrying a sixteen gauge shotgun, who quickly escaped as he realized the presence of the BDF support,” explained Marchilio Ack, Head Ranger of Ya’axche Conservation Trust. As the group moved further, they encountered another armed Guatemalan. “Given the danger of physical harm and the lack of man power, the patrol decided to terminate the patrol and return to the base,” said Ack. Ack said they have been getting increasing reports of Guatemalan incursions, some from areas close to villages in Toledo District. Residents from these areas report that their possessions such as their farm animals and crops are stolen.
Wayne Madrill
Stephen Flowers
tioned by the police, was not injured. Police have said that Madrill was not the intended target, but this does not corroborate with the close range of the gunshots. The shooter knew and had a close view of his victim before he fired the last three bullets as the father of three lay wounded on the street.
The other City slaying actually occurred two nights before, at around 9:20 on Friday night. This time, Mahogany Street, also on the south side of the city, was the scene where known gang member, Stephen Flowers, 24, was murdered. That incident also happened near Flowers’ house on Administration Drive. He was
“hanging out” with Ryan “Rice” Mejia in front of Isaray Chinese Bakery on Mahogany Street when someone approached them from the poorly-lit right side of the building and opened fire. Flowers was hit four times in the ribcage and chest and died less than two hours later at the KHMH. His friend, Mejia, was also shot to both legs and is recovering. The police Press Officer, Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood, told reporters at their Monday morning press briefing that because of Flowers’ known gang affiliation, they believe that his killing will trigger some level of retaliation. Detectives have detained four suspects but have not yet filed any charges in connection with any of the two murders.
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Humor
in UDP Politics! The following matters were discussed in Cabinet: At the start of Cabinet meeting, everyone gave a big round of applause to the Minister of Police for his disciplining of the Belize Association. “You tied them up proper,” commented one of his colleagues. “You controlled them well,” commented another, “then you used our best trick.” What’s that asked the Minister. “Union Busting!” …………………… The Committee set up to examine the three horses border incident have filed their report to Cabinet. The horses are in good condition, said the report, they are well fed and taken care of. When Santi asked how they know that, the Minister of Defence looked at Sedi and uttered, “well, the horses dem com back, right?” …………………… Cabinet members agreed to rush to the Companies Registry to start new companies to facilitate the processing of Visas and all Immigration matters or new security projects. When asked for suggestions about what they should call the company, someone said “this one will have to be Fantasy 6”. In other related news Boots was asked to man up and to explain how he got burnt with hot water and is now been walking with a stick. Let me help, stated a colleague. “It was hot water that we believe but what happened? The hot water never hot enough? You couldn’t feel the water mi di get hot? So hot, that you had to burn up yourself?” Cabinet exploded into laughter. …………………… Sedi Elrington was objecting to some residents in Pickstock who is now calling him Judas every time she meets him. “But how am I Judas,” Sedi protested before Kenny Morgan, “ When I am not the one who sold out Albert and Lake I”. Morgan looked at him and then replied, “So you di tell me you no like Judas, so you prefer ARTIFICIAL?” …………………… The Mayor of Belize City is having a serious problem enforcing the no drinking in public law. Every time he brings it up, the question asked is “Mayor when will you tell dem one at Brad’s to stop drink eena public?” …………………… Easy Glen has proposed an excursion to the Chiquibul Forest. But first he wants to take Cabinet members. When asked how he will get Belizeans interested in going, he replied, “I noh seh nothing bout Belizeans…my excursion dah from Peten to Chiquibul. My motto da ‘free gas, free food, tek anything you find’.
Superbond Re-negotiation fumbles Belize City, August 1, 2012 The Barrow Administration and its Superbond Re-negotiation Team led by UDP Ambassador Mark Espat have chosen not to make public statements to update Belizeans on the re-negotiation process for Belize’s external debt. But one international report, published on Bloomberg News, is reporting that things are not going as expected for the Government of Belize and neither for creditors. According to the report, titled “Default Concerns Make Belize Bonds Worst in Emerging Markets”, the $547m bond notes have been performing the worst, as its value has been falling. “Belize’s dollar bonds have fallen 2.5 percent this month, the most among 52 emergingmarket countries tracked by JPMorgan Chase & Co’s EMBIG index. Brazilian and Indonesian bonds have gained 4.2 percent over the same period,” stated the report. Affecting the bond notes are Belize’s weakening economy, the widening budget deficit and concerns that the government will default to force bondholders to take losses in a restructuring. The Government’s notice for re-negotiation has not come as welcome news for bondholders. A few have agreed to enter re-negotiation, while the majority have held back. Even a bloc was created, led by AJ Mediratta who is a partner at Greylock Capital Management, to represent the interests of the group of creditors. It is the view of the bloc that the Government is in a position to pay the Superbond coupons, for which the next payment of about $25 million is pending on August 20th. “All eyes are on Belize to make the coupon payment,”
said AJ Mediratta in the Bloomberg report, “The country has the money to make this coupon payment. We know it is there.” Aware that the Government may be attempting to force the nation into debt default, the bloc advised that it would be disastrous as it would result in losses to creditors. Creditors are also waiting to find out how the Government proposes that the re-negotiating would benefit them, but the information vacuum is making everyone uneasy. “We were expecting some announcement sooner from the government,” Boris Segura, a Latin America strategist at Nomura Securities International in New York said. “It will be very difficult to have this debt restructuring wrapped up by August 20. If you are trying to reach an amicable restructuring, you try to do that from a position of being current on your debt.” Other bondholders, such as Culverhouse at Exotix, said that the risk of investor losses in a restructuring outweighs the chance for a profitable settlement at this juncture. All that seems to be coming out of Belmopan is that the restructuring is an imperative. Prime Minister Dean Barrow has said many times that meeting the external debt, under the superbond terms, is unsustainable for his administration. But those remarks have been challenged by the Opposition Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca, who said that the unsustainability has been brought onto the country by the Barrow Administration who has been unable to grow the economy adequately. Hon. Fonseca said that at 6% GDP growth annually, the Superbond would not be a problem for any Government. But the Barrow Administration is struggling to maintain minimal growth. “The Belizean people have had enough of this excuse,” declared Hon. Fonseca at the July 11 Budget debate.
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
Leroy Gomez faces Life sentence for Rape & Robbery BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 1, 2012 By Roy Davis In the court of Justice Adolph Lucas yesterday, a jury of 6 women and 3 men took about 90 minutes to deliberate and find Leroy Gomez, 26, guilty of rape and robbery. The verdict was unanimous. After the verdict, Justice Lucas told Gomez to stand up and he asked Gomez if he had any character witness to call to speak on his behalf for mitigation. Gomez reply “No”, never-
theless Justice Lucas deferred sentencing until Friday, August 3, a date, he said, that will still give Gomez time to find witnesses. Justice Lucas then said to the police constables, “take him away”. As Gomez came out of the courtroom he told his mother and motherin-law that he was found guilty. The incident occurred between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. on August 23, 2011. The victim, a 27 year old mother
of two, testified that she was walking on Administration Drive on her way to her boyfriend’s house, a police constable, when Gomez rode up beside on a bicycle and put a brown and black object to her side that resembled a firearm. She said Gomez spoke to her then he touched her breast and reached into her pants. She said Gomez told her to get on the bar of the bicycle and she complied because she feared for her life.
Bus conductor remanded for alleged Carnal Knowledge BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 1, 2012 By Roy Davis Jiovanni Ramos, 19, a bus conductor residing in Vista Del Mar, Ladyville, was charged with carnal knowledge of a girl, 13, when he appeared today in the #2 Magistrate’s Court. Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser did not take a plea because the offence
is indictable. She explained to Ramos that the court cannot offer him bail because of the nature of the offence. She remanded him into custody until October 2. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. on July 3. The girl, a primary school student, reported to the police that she went to a house on Dean Street and
Jiovanni Ramos Ramos had sex with her there with her consent. The girl made the report around 10:45 p.m. on the same day.
Leroy Gomez She said she begged Gomez to leave her alone but instead he took her to a yard nearby and raped her on the verandah of the second house, located at the back of the yard. She testified that after he was done, he told her not to tell anyone, otherwise he will kill her. She said she looked back twice when Gomez was leaving and when he was out of sight, she ran to her boyfriend’s house and told him what had happened. Gomez testified and said that at the time of the incident he was at the house of his motherin-law waiting for his girlfriend. He called his mother-in-law, Rita Smith, as a witness and she testified and corroborated his alibi testimony. Gomez was not represented by an attorney. Crown Counsel Trienia Young represented the prosecution.
Dwayne Sutherland survives near-fatal shooting BELIZE CITY, Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 By Alton Humes Dwayne Sutherland, a resident of Belize City is, in the best sense of the phrase, lucky to be alive after surviving the dangerous crosshairs of being shot while he was at a party at a house on LaCroix Boulevard on the evening of Sunday, July 29th, 2012. Sutherland’s account (which also happens to match the account given by the Police Department Press Office) goes like this: He was at the party and left to go and get a drink, and after that, he returned back to the house. But as he was just outside the linkedchain gate, he noticed two young men, whom he claims he knows from the Peace In the Valley “PIV” turf, both on bicycles, riding nearby and watching him almost too intently. And whatever may have been in Sutherland’s head about the pair turned out to be right, as
they started to fire a barrage of bullets at him, hitting him multiple times in both the left and right legs, particularly in the calf muscles of the right leg. He was later rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), where he remains hospitalized at this time. As it stands now, theories, both on the Police and the street sides, are likely abounding on why Sutherland was targeted, and whether or not Sutherland was affiliated with a gang that made him a target. But for Sutherland himself, still in the hospital and worrying about his next moves forward, he only has one thing to say to the gunmen: “I just want si ah and ask ah dah why ih do me dat…..” He was also insistent about avoiding potential further trouble, saying, “I noh really want got no problem….” Police continue to investigate at this time.
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BELIZETIMES SUNDAY AUGUST 5, 2012 THE BELIZE TIMES see full color at www.belizetimes.bz or Facebook/ Belize Times
This Week’s Sunday, August 5, 2012
TOP MODEL Make-Up
tips
Makeup & Wardrobe: Do they really need to match? By Tania Tanesha (E-mail: mua.tania@ gmail.com, Cell: (501) 604-0736) Ok here’s a fun topic: Making your makeup “match” your outfit. Don’t we see this all the time? Yellow outfit means yellow eyeshadow or blue dress equals to blue eyeshadow. When it comes to choosing makeup looks that should compliment your new outfit, it might seem pretty easy, but pay attention because what you’re about to read goes against what many have done in the past. Breaking tradition NO, it is not necessary to apply your makeup or choose makeup colors to match your outfit. It can be done, but only if applied professionally by a makeup artist, such as myself, who can provide consultation on your natural beauty and the cosmetics that compliments you and your outfit choices. My advice is: you can never go wrong with nudes. Yes, simple eyeshadow and eyeliner techniques such as smudging and smoking, with simple nude colors can be a universal look for any outfit. Try going with a pastel color such as a khaki, golden brown, peach or even pink and create the winged effect by applying the brown or black on the outer ‘V’ of your eye. This simple look is universal and can be done with practically any outfit. If you’re going nude on the eyes it’s safe to go bold on the lips, just to draw more attention to the face. Wear the color first - When it comes to dressing up, I would advice ladies to make sure they’re dressed first before applying their makeup. This is so everyone- you and/ or your makeup artist - can now see the colors being worn and what makeup look will best compliment that outfit. Normally, I would envision the colors, and try to contrast the colors based on my color wheel. If someone’s outfit is red, I would try using greens, golds, browns, bronzes, even smokey black and greys. Normally I go by the “Nature” rule. Colors in nature works with fashion and makeup. I try to contrast and use opposite colors as well. Study the colors - Look at your outfit and study the colors. If you’re wearing something that has a lot of different colors, try using the hint of the color on the outfit as your eyeshadow color. So if we’re wearing a royal blue dress with a hint of pink, its fine to apply pink eyeshadow instead of the blue just so it doesn’t overpower your look. If you really want to match your makeup to your outfit, try using a different shade of the color. So a neon green outfit can be matched with a forest green makeup look. If applied correctly and professionally, you can totally work it! I always stress on how much makeup application shouldn’t feel like a chore. Remember the basic rules that whatever works in nature, works! Also, you can NEVER go wrong with nude colors, because they’re so universal, no matter what the color outfit. Have fun with your makeup, play with different colors. You can even try two separate colors on each eye to see which would look better. It’s all about researching what works and what doesn’t so you can always put your best face forward.
Shanice • • • • • •
Career Plan: Accountant Sign: Cancer Favourite Food: Pizza Likes: dancing & modelling Lives in Belize City Fav. Quote: “Never give up”
CATWALK FASHIONS What’s Hip...What’s Hot...What’s Now! Phone: 203-2936 / 620-7481 #148 Cor. Queen & North Front Streets Belize City, Belize
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 5, 2012
2012 Smart Harrison Parks Cricket Championship
BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE
Western Eagles sweeps Excellence in Cricket Championship Game 2
Norman Pook bats
Double Head Cabbage, July 28, 2012 The Western Eagles of Rancho Dolores are on the verge of winning the 2012 Smart Harrison Parks cricket championship after they swatted Double Head Cabbage Excellence 150-108 in Game 2 of finals in Double Head Cabbage
Belize City interoffice basketball championship
Tuff E’Nuff defeats Alamilla’s/MoE in Game 3
Yasser Pook took 6 wickets Brandon Rogers scored 14 points
Belize City, July 27, 2012 Tuff E’Nuff is a win away from claiming the 2012 Belize City interoffice basketball championship, gold rings and bragging rights, after winning Game 3 in very convincing fashion, 5749 over Alamilla’s Furniture/ Ministry of Education at Bird’s Isle last Friday night. At the end of the 1st quarter, Tuff e’Nuff led 17-14 and 27-25 at the half. By the end of the 3rd quarter, Tuff e’Nuff had pushed the lead to 41-36, and even further, to 57-49 at the end of the buzzer. Top scorers: Farron Louriano 15 pts, 6 rebounds and 2 assists; Raul Roches 11 pts, 6 rebounds; Keith Acosta’s 10 pts, 3 rebounds and 4 assists; Greg “Chippy” Rudon; Greg Rudon 20 pts, 3 rebounds and 2 assists; Brandon Rogers 17 pts, 7 boards; while Kurt “Chengo” Burgess 9 pts, 8 rebounds.
Mr. Fiestarama 2012
Rigo Vellos reigns as Mr. Fiestarama Orange Walk Town, July 29, 2012 For a third consecutive year, up and coming bodybuilder Rigo Vellos has reigned as Mr. Fiestarama at the annual fitness competition held in Orange Walk Town on Saturday July 28 2012. This year Vellos warded off competition that came from Alexander Alvarenga of Corozal Town and Victor Valencia of Belize City. The winner was selected by a crowd of supporters who had gathered at the 2012 Fiestarama Show. The body building competition was just one of the highlights of the three-day event. 2nd place went to Alvarenga
Victor, Alexander and Rigo pose at Mr. Fiestarama 2012
and 3rd went to Valencia who is the 2012 Strong Man Competition winner. The bodybuilders are now gearing up for the Belize Body Building and Fitness Federation’s (BBBFF) Belize Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship (formerly known as Mr. Belize) which will take place on Friday October 5, 2012. The event will feature Men’s bodybuilding, Men’s Physique, Women’s bodybuilding, Women’s figure, and Bikini fitness.
last Saturday. Western Eagles’ Linden “Bump” Pook opened by hitting 6 fours to lead his squad with 52 runs, until Excellence’s bowler Orson “Big Dawg” Flowers bowled him out. Jermaine Pook Jr. also hit 3 fours to score 16 runs before he was caught. Rancho Dolores’ captain Dirk Sutherland hit a six as he scored 11 runs until Ian Broaster got him to pop up for an easy catch out. Yasir Pook hit a four, scoring 5 runs before the umpire gave him LBW. The score continued with Jonathan Benjamin batting a six and 2 fours, Jude Joseph batting a six and a four to score 13 runs, Dean Perez Sr. batting 2 fours for 12 runs, Norman Pook hitting a single four, and Martin Joseph remaining not out after scoring 3 runs. The Excellence bowlers had also bowled 2 byes and 15 wides, giving the Rancho Dolores squad 17 extras for a 150 run score. The Excellence batsmen were still confident of a win on their home turf, until the Western Eagles’ bowlers took a hand in the game. Young Yasir Pook led the Rancho defense by taking 6 wickets for 12 runs. Orson “Big Dawg” Flowers opened with 2 fours to score 13 runs, while Ian Broaster hit 5 sixes and 4 fours to lead the home squad. Kenny Broaster managed only 2 runs before the umpire gave him LBW; and Yasir Pook dismissed the next 3 batsmen for 5 runs! Dirk Sutherland took the next wicket for zero runs, and bowled out the last man standing, Sydney “Brooksie” Martinez, after he had batted a six and a four to score 17 runs, after Yasir Pook took the next 2 wickets for 4 runs. Lloyd Flowers remained not out. Even with the gift of 2 byes, 2 leg byes, and 12 wides from the Rancho bowlers, Excellence had scored only 108 runs. Excellence had won the first game 136-119, so Game 3 will decide the winner of the series. The game will be played on neutral ground at Bermudian Landing this Saturday August 4.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
11
THE BELIZE TIMES
19th Caribbean Cup darts tournament
BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE
Belize wins 2nd in Caribbean Cup Darts Doubles
BZE Mario Graniel & Omar Guerrero
USA’s Marilyn Popp is womens champ
Fiesta Rama Dualthlon Results Orange Walk Town, July 28th, 2012 Open Male . 1st – Eric Donis 2nd – Kenroy Gladden 3rd – Anthony Leslie Open Female 1st – Kaya Cattouse 2nd – Kerah Eiley Beach Cruiser Male 1st – Kent Gabrouel 2nd – Nissan Arana 3rd – Alexander Alvarado Beach Cruiser Female 1st – Nathlie Marcia 2nd – Nelita Novelo Overall Standings 1st - Eric Donis (Total time 0:48:25) Run 2.5 miles – 0:16:00, Ride 5 miles – 0:14:35, Run 2.5 miles – 0:18:10 2nd - Kent Gabourel (Total time - 0:50:13) Run 2.5 miles – 0:16:00, Ride 5 miles – 0:13:30, Run 2.5 miles – 0:20:17 3rd - Kenroy Gladden – (Total time - 0:50:14) Run 2.5 miles – 0:16:00, Ride 5 miles – 0:13:30, Run 2.5 miles – 0:20:17 4th - Nissan Arana (Total time 0:54:35) Run 2.5 miles – 0:19:28, Ride 5 miles – 0:12:18, Run 2.5 miles – 0:22:25
Belize City, July 29, 2012 Omar Guerrero and Mario Graniel of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, won 2nd place in the Men’s Doubles finals of the 19th Caribbean Cup darts tournament hosted by the Belize Darts Federation at the Belize Best Western Biltmore Plaza Hotel on July 25 - 29. Florida’s Mark Meares and Sheldon Lionel took
BZE’s Joe Novelo
2012 Olympics Medal Count: China Leads In Gold, Overall Medals August 1 2012 The People’s Republic of China is currently enjoying quite a bit of success at the 2012 Olympics. Through Wednesday’s games, China has the overall Chinese swimming sensation Yen Shiwen lead in medal count, and the The Japanese are in third Chinese have also taken home the most gold medals to date as place, with 17 medals overall, well. but only two of them are gold. China leads the way with 30 Japan has captured four silver overall medals, and they’ve taken and eleven bronze. France and Germany are tied home 17 gold. Chinese athletes have also taken home nine silver with 13 medals each. France medals and four bronze medals has taken home five gold, three silver and five bronze, while through August 1. The United States of America the Germans have captured isn’t far behind China. American three gold, eight silver and two athletes are second in the overall bronze. medal count, with 29 -- just one behind China. The United States, however, only has captured 12 gold medals, which is five behind China. Americans have captured eight silver and nine bronze medals as well.
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1st place. They had qualified to the finals undefeated after a win over the Bahamas’ Lloyd Devereaux and Peter Duncombe in round 1, a 2nd win over Trinidad and Tobago’s Rahaman Hassanali and Kevin Jacob in round 2; a 3rd win over Barbados’ Dale Glasgow and Patrick Scott round 3, and over the Bahamas’ Harry Brown and Sky Bain in round 4. Belize’s Guerrero and Graniel had qualified to the finals undefeated after a win over Trinidad and Tobago’s Lester Legall and James Walklin in round 1, a 2nd win over the Bahamas’ Mike Russell and Christian Knowles in round 2; a win over the Cayman Islands’ Cliff Weeks and Neville Parker in round 3 and a 4th win over the Bahamas’ Gregory Catlyn and Clyde Murrell in round 4. The Bahamas’ Trudy Johnson and Angela Russell won the women’s doubles championship finals over Florida’s Tyler Meares and Mechall Goss. Florida’s Paula Murphy and Joe Gabrynski won mixed doubles championship over Florida’s Mark Meares and Lorraine Symons. Florida’s Kelly Meares, Sheldon Lionel and Richie Dantine won the mixed triples championship finals over the Bahamas’ Trudy Johnson, Robin Albury and Wayne Copeland. Brazil’s Monica Ribiero won the women’s singles finals against Florida’s Paula Murphy, while the Bahamas’ Robin Albury won the women’s singles finals Brazil’s Diego Portela. Belize’s Jim Novelo and Mario Graniel had also competed in the men’s singles competition, advancing up to the round 3 before they were eliminated. In regional news, Belize Darts Federation President Jose Mora was elected president of the Caribbean Darts Organization, to serve for a period of 2 years. Florida will host the next Caribbean Cup tournament in Key West in 2014. 6th Americas Cup darts tournament results USA – 1st place Canada – 2nd place Bahamas – 3rd place Trinidad and Tobago – 4th place Men’s singles championship Canada’s Troy Hanlon – 1st place Canada’s Chris Steiger – 2nd place Bahamas’ Robin Albury – 3rd place USA’s Joe Hoffman – 4th place Women’s Singles Competition USA’s Marilyn Popp – 1st place USA’s Brenda Roush – 2nd place Canada’s Robin Curry – 3rd place Cindy Pardy – 4th place Men’s High check-off Canada’s Troy Hanlon with 156 pts Women’s high check-off Robin Curry at 120 pts Most 180’s USA’s Joe Hoffman – scored 7 USA’s Marilyn Popp – scored 2 Lowest darts game Troy Hanlon – 11 darts Marilyn Popp – 14 darts Youth champion Canada’s Dawson Murshell - 1st place Robin Barnes - 2nd place
12
THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
THE BELIZE TIMES
BSI mum over deal with American Sugar Refinery Half a dozen calls to CEO and CFO go unanswered BELIZE CITY, Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 Remaining mum in the throes of business deals, especially when a particular deal is about to come to fruition, is usually good, especially if it brings in much-needed capital, and eventually, profits unimaginable and untold. But if you’re in Belize, and you’re the Belize Sugar Industries (BSI), about to or nearing close of a USC$60 million+ (BZC$120 million+) deal to sell to the American Sugar Refinery (ASR), and you still haven’t been as forthcoming about the ‘details to the Belizean people as you ought to, then you’ve all but committed a major sin before the nation. And what a sin it ought to be…especially since the first deadline of June 29th that would have completed this deal has long passed, and without a word to the media, and to the Belizean public at large. We at the BELIZE TIMES, maintaining our ‘need-to-know’ policy on issue of national important, especially one of this magnitude and scope, have
somewhat exhausted initial attempts to reach either BSI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jose Montalvo, or their Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Belizario Carballo for public comment. All we got was the receptionists ‘taking’ or ‘passing on’ messages and even rerouting of our calls through their automated machine service. And while such treatment will certainly tend to anger and frustrate the most decorated of journalists, the BELIZE TIMES isn’t about to throw in the towel on this one, especially when a simple comment would have sufficed.
The lackadaisical NEMO Toledo Santa Teresa Village, Toledo District, July 24, 2012 It’s been over a month since the Toledo District experienced flash floods. This horrendous experience was in June yet residents who were affected have not gotten proper attention. Residents of Santa Teresa and Aguacate villages were affected as their corn, rice, beans crops were destroyed and their farm animals such as chicken, turkey, and pigs were carried away by the flash floods. NEMO Toledo has no heart for the flash floods victims. After visiting both villages, the Toledo East and West Area Representatives Hon. Mike Espat and Oscar Requeña raised concerns over NEMO Toledo neglect of the victims’ needs. The village leaders were pleading for help and assistance for the farmers who lost their crops. NEMO officers went to see the extent of the damage but because they didn’t have rubber boots, they couldn’t get to the farms. They complained that the place was too muddy. Do they expect to operate the responsibility of NEMO in ivory towers? After promising the victims to be back in two or three day’s time, they never went back. There were no assessments done on the damages caused by Mother Nature. The officer in charge at NEMO Toledo is playing political games with his responsibility. Hon. Oscar Requena raised the issue in the House of Representative
at the introduction of the budget. In response, the Prime Minister gave assurances that the NEMO Minister would respond. However, as it is today, both NEMO Toledo and the Minister failed. Their failures must be dealt with accordingly. The people in office including the Minister were appointed because there was a level of confidence levied on their shoulders. If you can’t serve the people, the most honorable thing for you to do is RESIGN. Like Santa Teresa and Aguacate, Golden Stream Village on the Southern Highway experienced a similar disaster last year. NEMO Toledo went to see the affected area to conduct a haphazard assessment. Up to this day, nothing came out of it. There was no help or compensation forthcoming. Nothing was done to help the victims. The former Area Representative was mute and did not lift a hand to give aid. The people down south are just like any other Belizeans in this country with rights and access to fair treatment. NEMO Toledo can do better. Natural Distasters don’t see political colours.
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Just this afternoon, after over a half a dozen calls, however, the BELIZE TIMES finally elicited comment from the offices of the Financial Director Carballo, who via his receptionist-secretary said, “We don’t have anything to report...” So for now, at press time (unless something seriously changes before then), we’re sticking to this all-too-apparent fact – BSI and their staff is remaining mum on this deal, and that’s all there is to it. The last we had heard, on June 29th, was that the companies – BSI and ASR – were yet to complete
13 their negotiations. At a meeting held on May 29th, 2012 the BSI Employees Holdings Trust had given near-unanimous vote of 99% to a proposal to set up a new share capital that would see ASR gain control of up to 80% to 85% of the company. The 44 million workers’ shares held by the BSI Employees Holdings Trust would be diluted to make way for ASR’s majority ownership. ASR sweetened the deal with its offering of US$60 to $62 million or between BZC$120 to BZC$124 million dollars in equity, for servicing the debt owed to the ING Bank and First Caribbean International Bank, amongst others, as well as infusing $30m for additional factory improvements. In addition to all of that, ASR has promised to pay long-owed dividends dating as far back as 2006, and valued at $5.2 million, to the workers over a stretch of 18 months. But along with the woes, with this deal secured, will go the long and hard fight and struggle to keep this company out of the hands of foreign interests. This is one of the reasons the People’s United Party doesn’t support the plan. Most recently, at a PUP Press Conference, Corozal Southeast Area Representative Hon. Florencio Marin, Jr. noted that the PUP continues to believe that the workers and/or farmers should be the owners of the factory. Hon. Marin also protested that cane farmers were shut out of the negotiations even though the industry must survive on their backs.
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Dara’s “Ride For Hunger” seeks to feed children BELIZE CITY, Monday, July 30th, 2012 By Alton Humes Joel ‘Dara’ Robinson, the notable and well-known philanthropist and concert promoter, is once again raising the plight of Belizean children and their susceptibility to chronic hunger. Instead of just another usual annual tribute to South African reggae legend Lucky Dube (this year’s event is entitled “BORN TO SUFFER”, and will still be scheduled for Sunday, August 5th, 2012), he’s going one step further by
organizing the first ever “Ride for Hunger” cycling ride to be held on Saturday, August 4th. The event will kick start around 8:00a.m. in front of Leslie’s Imports at Mile 2 on the Western Highway, heading towards the Hattieville-Burrell Boom Road leading to the Northern Highway (with a brief rest stop at the Ladyville Shell Gas Station) before ending with a massive food drive at the MCC Tennis Courts on Newtown Barracks.
It’s expected to attract well-known cyclists and those from all walks of life. Registration for the ride is $5, and will occur on the day of the ride, starting at 6:00 a.m. In lieu of participating in the ride (especially if you’re not inclined to it), you can also bring in donations of foodstuff and canned goods before the ride, during the ride if you live along either the Northern or Western Highway, after the ride at the MCC Courts, as well as before and during the “BORN TO SUFFER” event on Sunday.
Christian youth leader needs help to sow change BELIZE CITY, Monday, July 30th, 2012 By Alton Humes Alexander Perez is on a mission like no other in Belizean history, threatening to outclass the likes of Jerome Flores and his tri-biking Reef Ride and Rowan Garel and his recent Walk Across Belize. But it seems these unlikely missions have a common backing – they all came from the mouth, the will, of Almighty Jehovah God. And while that will surely rile up the cynics and atheists out there, Perez is one persistent man, dedicated to one goal only – helping Southside Belize City children and pre-teens to sow and reap to the glory of the Heavenly Father. Perez, who is the founder and Director of the Belize Camping Experience (BCE), founded in 2006 as a ‘registered Christian, nonprofit, Belizean organization’ dedicated to targeting and empowering Belize City, primary school kids aged 6 to 12 from the Southside
Alexander Perez (far left) and Harvest For Kids group
via annual faith-inspired summer camps and in-school follow-ups in the hope of ‘seeing results’ (as he put it), is attempting to fundraise to support their biggest initiative yet – Harvest for Kids Belize, a camp dedicated to not only teaching the youngsters about farming,
but also teaching how to, as it were, ‘sow seed’ for themselves, their families, and the future. He visited the BELIZE TIMES office today to speak on the program, and the next steps ahead. The getting-there of this particular project, he admitted, wasn’t
Joel ‘Dara’ Robinson All proceeds raised in this activity will go directly to Dara’s Feeding Program, the vehicle created to feed primary school children throughout the annual school year. If you would like more information on these events as well as general information, you can contact Joel ‘Dara’ Robinson at 623-3362. The children, in advance, thank you.
easy, but with persistence and a little faith, Perez and BCE managed to acquire two separate land plots of 20 acres each – one in San Carlos, Orange Walk and the other in Banana Bank, Cayo some months ago. The land is used to sow corn seed, and allows the students to witness for themselves how to grow their own food, how to work with little resources and most importantly, how to ‘cultivate’ faith and hope for themselves and their families. But keeping this massive undertaking going will require some donations of seeds and fertilizer to the tune of about BZC$25,000. Anyone interested in helping can contact Perez at 621-5541 or his partner, Sasha Garnett at 6229239, or visit (preferably with cash, check or in-kind donations) their offices on Central American Boulevard. One seed sown is all that’s needed to help the next generation to become better citizens.
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Sunday, August 5, 2012
15
THE BELIZE TIMES
Police Association leaders cave in, but expose colonial ways of UDP
Corporal Eldon Arzu
Sergeant Edlin Lorenzo
ComPol David Henderson
John Saldivar
Belize City, August 1, 2012 It seems in Belize, at least under this UDP regime, that as soon as an individual or a body rises to speak of the ills they are faced with in their system, the hammer is brought down on them to either shut them up or teach them a tough lesson. Three weeks ago, the Belize Police Association, through its President and Vice President, Corporal Eldon Arzu and Sergeant Edlin Lorenzo, revealed the many inequities and shortcomings that their colleagues faced within the Department. These included the tiring 12-hour shifts that officers were placed on, a hasty transfer plan that will inconvenience and displace many officers, and word that their housing and other allowances will be cut this September. Arzu and Lorenzo agreed to appear on Love FM’s Morning Show and conduct news interviews. But while it resulted in the officers informing the public of their plight, it also attracted the ire of the Police Department high command. The Ministry of National Security turned against the officers, the ComPol used “his right” to disband the Police Association and Arzu and Lorenzo were summoned to the Police Training Academy campus in Belmopan to face a tribunal for “breaching” the Rules of the Association. Arzu was charged with being disrespectful in word to a senior officer, and Lorenzo for disobeying a lawful command, charges to which both pleaded not guilty. While their cases were adjourned until August 7th, the two policemen won’t have to because just days later, the Ministry of National Security, which includes the Police Department, issued a press release informing that the
officers and the Department had mended fences. In short, what happened was that the pair had offered an apology to the Commissioner of Police, who in turn, lifted the disciplinary measures against them. The penalty against the officers, however, at least resulted in proof that they did not stand alone in their quest for a fair work environment. The National Trade Union Congress of Belize joined in support and voiced its intention to stage a demonstration in support of the two officers. The Opposition People’s United Party also supported the Police Officers and defended the “constitutional right of Belizean police officers to freely associate and to have freedom of speech”. But the UDP see things differently. They believe in the colonial system where they are the sole decision makers and anything they say goes. Arzu and Lorenzo have since apologised and are back at work, but the cloud of de-
spair and dissatisfaction still lingers in the air. Their recent woes only helped to remind Belizeans who the real despots in our country are. Of interest, in an interview conducted by 7News with Constable Franz Morrison, the Former Chairman of the Jamaica Police
Federation, it was revealed that the Jamaican Police representatives acted like Unions in that they lobbied for their members’ rights through media appearances and other actions, even if it meant challenging the Government on decisions that would affect them.
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16
THE BELIZE TIMES
What is priority?
Embassies or Young People?
By Alberto Vellos Any country that faces the kind of social and economic degradation like Belize is today, yet chooses to increase its funding for embassies in the guise that it does so to attract foreign investment which could lead to economic development, either has leaders who are disingenuous or lack the ability to properly develop a country. Belize is budgeting to spend $10,706,374 on ELEVEN (11) Embassies and Overseas Representation this fiscal year. 7 of those Embassies will see a budget increase of $801,911. Almost half of the $10m budgeted, $5,325,826 to be precise, will go ONLY to salaries. This is an
increase of $992,371 compared to the last budget. Moreover, a total of $2,356,766 will be spent on rent and leasing of office and dwelling space. This is an increase of $487,923, compared to last year. So, $7,682,592 will go ONLY to salaries and rents/leases, leaving $3m which will be spent on Travel/subsistence, Material/Supplies, Operating cost, Utilities, and Maintenance. I noticed that ONLY 1 embassy (Brussels) had budgeted $10, 970 for “Contracts and Consultancy”. This $10m is money that Belize will be losing. The high salaries paid will spent on the most luxurious things by these diplomats at expensive US malls. The money spent on rent and leases, the travelling, materials purchased, utilities and so on will be all be money spent elsewhere…NOT HERE AT HOME. For a country which is going through economic pains, is this the best way to squander away limited money? Most countries look at closing down embassies as a first strategy to reduce expenditure, and focusing at what’s important at home. Now, the argument is, that these diplomats will “increase awareness of the country abroad”, to attract “investors and multinationals to expand/set up busi-
nesses” here in Belize. We are already spending millions on BTB and BELTRAIDE which are responsible for the exact same thing! These same embassies have failed to attract the kind of bi-lateral agreements that benefit our people, yet we now want them to focus on marketing. But let us say they do that…increase the awareness of Belize…are we aware of the things they will say: high crime rate, increased poverty, low tertiary-school access for young people which means getting skilled labor is a challenge, etc. etc. Yes, they could choose to talk about the pristine beaches, arable land, easy tax structure, and that may attract investors, but if they end up coming to Belize those same investors will see the truth. What’s the truth? As a country, our development plan is short-sighted and inadequate to meet our people’s needs. We build million-dollar structures, pave highways, and canals, and we call it “Development”,while our people still live in the fringes of extreme poverty. We feel that expanding poverty and increasing people’s dependency for a little amount of money every week is progress. We feel that chasing off our children into classrooms which teach algebra, calculus, science, business management yet we don’t have a national
Manley’s message from the grave Part II. By Ian Boyne, Contributor, Jamaica Gleaner Published: Sunday | July 22, 2012 EQUAL TO THE TASK Manley had to sharply contend with that view, but he was intellectually equal to the task. Indeed, there was no one to outgun him in any philosophical battle debate on equality and justice. He had securely grounded his ideas of justice and equality in a progressive ideology with strong theological overtones, which theologian Dr Perkins artfully explores in her work ‘Justice as Equality’. “The ethical dimensions of Manley’s thoughts are rarely explored. Manley’s ideas are worth exploring since they call for, and contribute to, arguments for making equality a central value in the political, as well as ideological, canons of the Jamaican people. His ideas are of enduring relevance for their impact on the development of political philosophy and ethics in the Caribbean region. Discussions of political ethics for the Caribbean, therefore, cannot ignore his vision but ought to begin with him as a major interlocutor,” she says in her 2010 work. Not only has someone of the stature of Joe Stiglitz come out with his work on inequality but another significant economic thinker, James K. Galbraith, son of the renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith, has also just published his highly hailed work Inequality and Instability: A Study of the World Economy Just Before the Great Crisis. The issue of equity is one of the biggest issues in economics and development studies today. Manley had centre-staged this from the 1960s and came to power in 1972 with the commitment that better must come for the downtrodden masses.
Others have talked economic growth and privileged that, but Manley talked equity and saw economic growth as only a means to that end. He did not fetishise economic growth. Economic growth was not an end in itself. Indeed, in that 1969 speech, Michael Manley pointed to the growth that was taking place in the economy - along with growth in unemployment, inequality and social exclusion. It was not by accident that Michael Manley, in the 1970s, developed the most comprehensive set of social legislation this country has ever seen and brought about the highest level of social consciousness ever. The 1970s was our most revolutionary period in terms of social advancement of the masses. Yes, there was impressive economic growth in the 1960s. We needed that as a base for social development. Manley insisted that the fruits of that economic growth be equitably distributed. There can be no complete analysis of the progress of Jamaica over our 50 years without taking cognisance of this. No less a person than Manley’s arch-rival and strident political opponent of the 1970s, Edward Phillip George Seaga, would later write in his memoirs that Manley’s “social reforms, notwithstanding limited results in tangible performance, were of lasting value in the raising of social consciousness of the people. It was the rhetoric of Michael Manley that raised the bar of self-esteem and racial pride among people of African origin in continuation of Garvey’s mission.” Now that is no small tribute from someone like Edward Seaga. He goes on in his book, Edward Seaga: My Life and Leadership: Clash of Ideologies,
1930-1980: “Manley’s repeated references to the injustices of being poor and black ... created a significant shift in social awareness.” This shift has to be acknowledged as we celebrate Jamaica 50. We can’t let political bad-mindedness and mean-spiritedness make us do injustice to our history. Manley’s free-education policy alone would have been a lasting monument to his social engineering. There are so many people today who would not be able to make any contribution to this society; not able to contribute to our productivity or GDP were it not for his prying open that door. We don’t have time to enumerate Manley’s impressive social achievements, though at the end of the 1970s, faced with the harsh reality of imperialism and local reactionary politics - plus the People’s National Party’s (PNP) own intemperance and incompetence - they were whittled down. Manley made a number of blunders and did not evince sufficient emotional intelligence. Some said he did not have a scientific appreciation of socialism and was a feeble Fabian (democratic) socialist. Manley did not make some critical alliances and did not manage the fears of the Jamaican people well enough. One would need a whole column to delineate his errors and blunders. But there should be no questioning his vision of equality and justice, his quest for participatory democracy, his deep passion for transferring real power to the people, his unflinching commitment to democratisation at all levels. SIGNAL IDEAS In my view, there are two signal ideas which cemented Manley’s towering stature among our political leaders. His deep and unsurpassed under-
Sunday, August 5, 2012 strategy that makes good and proper use of the knowledge and skills is progress. We feel that opening classrooms that teach theory, while many of children are better skilled in art and vocation, which forces them to drop out and settle for meagre job to survive, is progress. Yes, we believe that spending millions of dollars on embassies abroad can somehow benefit to uplift the southside of Belize City or those in the rural areas to prosperity. So while the embassy of Washington gets $1.4 million of which $624,243 goes to salaries, the Youth Apprenticeship Program here at home struggles to ensure that $500,000 is enough to give our youth a second chance to employment. Youth For the Future – the leading YOUTH institution – has to deal with the brunt of issues with a budget of $695,475. Something is terribly wrong, and we must start to get it right. Belize will face developmental challenges until it focuses on what is priority – and that is #1 OUR PEOPLE. That the majority of our population is YOUNG PEOPLE, then makes YOUNG PEOPLE a SURE PRIORITY. That we have to depend on our embassies to look outside to find the ingenuity to develop our country is a shame…we should be educating and preparing our OWN people with first class knowledge to be able to do that. It is not impossible. We are Nation Builders…and we believe it is time our leaders give our youth the proper opportunities we deserve to be able to build this Nation. We are asking, for now, but soon the asking will cease.
standing of how our local prospects for growth were inextricably tied up with global economic and political reforms and his emphasis on equality. Manley was a globalist. He knew Jamaica had no chance of making political Independence real without a just international political and economic order. That’s why during his Second Coming in 1989, he was so feckless, so beaten, so lacking in that passion which drove him in previous decades. He had come to realise that any chance of a New International Economic Order was gone. The Reagan-Thatcher revolution had come. The Berlin Wall had fallen, and before he left office, the Soviet Union itself had crumbled. There was only one superpower standing. He realised he could not beat international city hall. Today, his party in Government celebrates 50 years of independence while awaiting the International Monetary Fund to tell it how to proceed. Don’t scoff at the PNP’s predicament. It is Jamaica’s predicament. It’s the reality any party would face. Manley’s advocacy for a New International Economic Order, his work in the Non-Aligned Movement, his ceaseless work as an international statesman - the country’s most brilliant and decorated - was tied to his overarching mission of justice and equality. There would be no “socialism in one country”. No other political leader has articulated the inexorable connection between the local and the global; none has understood how this centre-periphery nexus constrains our development. From a consequentialist point of view, Manley was a failure. But from a Kantian perspective, he was a success. He articulated a moral vision and obeyed what Kant would call the Categorical Imperative. I salute this giant on our 50th anniversary. We must listen to his message from the grave. Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and ianboyne1@yahoo.com
Sunday, August 5, 2012
THE BELIZE TIMES
The Big Letdown of Sports in Belize By Gilroy Usher, Sr. (PUP Standard Bearer for Port Loyola)
Sports is one the most beneficial disciplines. It gives people, especially the youth, the opportunity to channel their energies into meaningful activities. Sports provides a healthy entertainment for people from all ages. Through it many athletes have part-time or permanent employment. Sports also gives those who excel in it a sense of worth and pride in the community. The training and discipline necessary to advance in sports also provides athletes with skills that greatly enhance their chances of being productive citizens for life. And since both athletes and fans have to address many needs for sporting events, the discipline always results in increased sales for all sorts of businesses. Properly managed, sports can bring untold wealth for a country. That is why many countries do everything possible to win the opportunity to host the Olympics, the world’s largest and most profitable sporting event that’s held once every four years. Given the many benefits of sports to any country, it’s shocking how the UDP has almost totally neglected sports from 2008 to the present time. Despite two manifesto pledges to listen to the concerns of the people and five budgets, year after year the Barrow administration has turned a deaf ear to the cry of the people for serious steps to promote sports in the country. Belizeans have to be content with watching the NBA on the tube because in 2012 there is no suitable place in the city to host a basketball competition. That is the reality after the government began the 2011 third quarter dismantling of the rotting and unsafe Belize Civic Center, the home of basketball on Central American Blvd, without taking any steps to provide a temporary place for hosting the game. At the time we were told that the rotting Belize Civic Center would be replaced with a state of the art basketball stadium by the first quarter of 2012 with finance secured from Mexico. For good measure we were also told that a state of the art basketball stadium would also be built in the early part of 2012 on Chetumal St. That’s in the area where the administration sent a wrecking crew to demolish the homes of squatters in the night despite the fact that many families with children were still inside their dwellings. We now know that both of those promises were only election gimmicks because funding was never secured for them.
Softball, football and other popular sports have fared no better with the UDP in Belmopan. Many people participate in those games mainly for the love of the sport because their teams lack many necessary things to compete effectively. And they have found that turning to the Ministry of Sports or the National Sports Council is a waste of time. 99% of the time they have some lame excuse why they can’t offer the basic assistance to teams that approach them for help. Those two government bodies charged with promoting sports in the country can’t assist teams with even a First Aid kit to care for injured players much less gears or financial assistance to attend regional tournament as ambassadors for the
country. Like the Ministry of Sports, the National Sports Council is best known for its waste of tax payers’ money as it’s packed with many UDP cronies who know nothing about the development of sports and are only hired as political reward for voting red. Instead of spearheading new initiatives to promote sports in the country those two bodies spend most of their time preparing payroll and carrying out little programs that any good Std. VI student can execute. After almost five years and millions of dollars in cost the Marion Jones Sporting Complex which should be the country’s flagship sporting facility, exists in name only. After all that time and money, all we have at the Marion Jones compound is a million-dollar incomplete fence which enabled UDP cronies to benefit with bloated contracts. Absolutely nothing is in place at the location to host even the smallest sporting event. From primary school upwards nothing serious is being done to promote sports in the country. Today due
17 to government’s neglect many sporting facilities at the community level are in the most deplorable state and unusable. Many sporting fields are covered with water or high grass; basketball courts are broken up and uneven and have no rims. The lack of field lights deprives many people of the opportunity to engage in sports at night. Based on the budget, we see only tougher times ahead for sports in the country. That’s because the allocation for its development was put under the austerity knife and reduced by thousands of dollars to make more funds available for things the administration considers more important like the purchase of unnecessary, expensive, luxurious vehicles for Ministers. The Barrow administration does not have the mental capacity or the intellect to recognize the huge benefits that sports can bring to Belize if its development is given the priority it deserves. Consequently, the big let down of sports will continue in the nation as long as the red are in Belmopan.
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THE BELIZE TIMES
More UDP Land Hogs!! Continued from page 1
The BELIZE TIMES has over a dozen land documents that show Montero obtaining land. Some are leases, some are titled. Some through Government, others acquired privately. But what does one man, who has sworn to serve the public, want with so much land all for himself? There is the 56.492 acres in Duck Run Area in the Cayo District, and then parcel number 00502 in the Vista del Mar Area of the Belize District, which Montejo bought for $9,000. He also has possession of parcel number 839 in the Caribbean Shores area of Belize City. In San Ignacio, documents show that Montero holds parcel number 549, lot number 36, 56, 2322, 1203F, 1855, 1854, and 1203E. All in San Ignacio Town! On top of that, Minister Montero holds a grant fiat title for 3 acres on the west coast of Bannister Bogue Caye. And the icing on his cake are two separate plots of land measuring 75 acres and 50 acres in the Duck Run Estate. But Minister Montero is not the only land hog in his family. It seems to be a genetic distortion among UDPs. Check the Vegas. Check Senator boar. His bothers Robert Montero and Rolando Montero have enough land to fit entire villages. 3 parcels of land in Santa Elena Town, parcels number 02246, 02247 and 02248 were sold to Robert Montero for a measly $700 apiece. Those were sweat deals. He also holds land “rent” for parcels number 02849, 02851, and 02850 in Santa Elena Town in the Cayo District. His icing on the cake is a 311 acre of land in the Yalbac Area, for which he owed taxes to the Government at the start of 2012. Rolando Montero is even more fortunate. He was being sold 130.05 acres in the Iguana Creek area in the Cayo District for $195 an acre, but suspiciously, the price was dropped to $130 per acre. Then it gets sweeter. Two plots, one 71.98 acres and the other 73.82 acres, in the same Iguana Creek were sold to him for $130 an acre also. And then it get overbearingly sweet as 77.51 acres in the very same Iguana Creek area was sold to him for a cheap $98 per acre!! Rolando Monter then bought 18.85 acres in the Iguana Creek area for $195 an acre, as
Sunday, August 5, 2012 well as 5.02 acres in Hicks Caye and 5 acres in the Mountain Pine Ridge area. But sadly and disgracefully it doesn’t end there. Today PUP Cayo Central standard bearer and Senator Collet Montejo named other Monteros who are involved in the land grabbing: Alejandro Montero, Miguel Montero, Samuel Montero, and Jaime Montero – all having obtained some huge parcels of land, mostly in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. Senator Montejo also revealed that some of the lands grabbed by members of the Montero family were once reserve lands held by the Mayan people in the Cayo District and also lands that were cancelled from farmers and small land owners. One example of this is the desecration to the Elijio Panti National Park which was de-reserved and dismantled. “The Mayans will never forget nor forgive the UDP,” stated Hon. Montejo.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
THE BELIZE TIMES
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Colour Me!
International Day World’s
Colour Get out your crayons and haveMe! fun colouring the Mayan pri Get out your crayons and have fun colouring the Mayan princess!
Indigenous Peoples August 9th is celebrated as the day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The word indigenous means original, so the Indigenous People of Belize were the Mayans who the Spaniards (Spanish) found living in Belize. Indigenous also describes a culture of people that has not been changed by the many powerful settlers of the Western World. Living in Belize we have two groups of people who are thought of as indigenous they are our Garifuna and Mopan Maya. What are some of the things you admire about our Garifuna and Mopan Maya? I like the food and music of our Garifuna and the artwork of our Mopan Maya.
DRUMS OUR ANCESTORS… DRUMS OFOFOUR ANCESTORS… you helpthe the dancer find her her way through the mazethe to find the to drummers? CanCan you help dancer find way through maze find the drummers?
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Do we lack proper leadership? Pt. III I can recall that as a young boy, I was outside on my verandah chopping a coconut with a machete with a mindset that “I knew it all and didn’t want anyone telling me anything.” As the machete was coming down, my mom, who was inside the house, called for me and, in an upstart manner, I screamed “what?!” The machete came straight down and almost cut off my thumb. It was cut really bad and it bled profusely. I am grateful to my mom. Because of her wisdom I can move my finger. See my mother dressed my hand with kerosene and because it stopped bleeding I didn’t want to go to the hospital. In her wisdom she forced me to go to the hospital where I received a number of stitches. The most important stitch was one that rejoined a ligament together that was in my finger without which I would not be able now to bend my finger. Romans 13:1 states that all authority that exists is established by God and this is a very hard or even controversial statement as He did not specify that all godly or all good authority He established but it says all authority is established by Him. One of the worst examples I can think of is Hitler, who was an authority but was completely out of control. He slaughtered thousands of people and didn’t even skip a beat, but I dare say to you that God established him because the manual says no leader exists except if God put them there. This, folks, put us in some serious problems as even if the leaders are incompetent, empty headed, opportunistic, and animalistic, God is saying He established them. You may argue with this point vehemently believing that God would never put a killer in place as a leader, but the Manual shows us otherwise. About three weeks ago I was listening to a powerful message on the life of David, and the Pastor tasked us to read 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 where God himself sent a death angel who was killing thousands of people. It just so happened that instead of using a human like Hitler He used an angel. A few human leaders that everyone knows about are Pharaoh and Herod who killed all the babies that were male just to stop the deliverer (Moses) and the messiah (Jesus) from being born, yet God sent His people to one of these types of guys for punishment? In Nehemiah 9:26 -28 we see God handing His people over into the torment of their enemies as a means of punishment and this happens over and over in the Old Testament. It shows us that based on what God discerns is the lesson we need, He will place us under the right leader or teacher. As a child, my wisdom was foolishness so God gave me a mother who did not baby me and I can now bend my finger. If you need to learn to work under pressure He will move you from your family, and let you work for a Potiphar just to prepare you for the purpose He has for your life. It may be a teacher, a parent, prefect, a group leader in your class, an elder, a pastor, a CEO in your ministry, it doesn’t matter once they are given the mantle of ‘leader’, God ‘ordains’ them and our job according to Romans and Hebrews 13 is to obey them unless it contradicts with God’s laws! More and more observations can be made of a lack of trust of leaders by men who believe that they know what is right in their own eyes. As a child, I believed that because the bleeding had stopped on my thumb that I did not need to go to the hospital. This would have cost me today. No matter how we disagree with our leaders’ decisions or how difficult what they have instructed us to do, we have to trust that God has placed them there and anointed them with the wisdom to see beyond what we can see. At the end of the day, the decision to trust and obey our physical leaders is really a spiritual decision whether we will trust and obey God who has ordained these leaders in our lives. I am more and more disappointed by hearing new definitions given to our borders from ‘adjacency zone’ to ‘artificial borders’. While I will contain the words and thoughts that bounce around my head in regard to this toying around with our boundaries I will say that as we have read earlier from the scriptures in this article that when a people turn on God and go into their own way He personally hands them over to their enemies, and when God does this, no man made weapon can stop or reverse it. I encourage you to search these scriptures from the manual for yourself and prove whether or not God is saying that no leader exist except He ordain them. Until next week God bless
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Norman Orosco,
Athlete Extraordinaire BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 1, 2012 By Roy Davis Norman Orosco, 60, a.k.a. “Poppy Poate”,“The Lion”, had an illustrious career as a football player and a boxer. Orosco began playing football at the age of 5 at Ebenezer Primary School. “I was always one of the best players. I played all positions on the field and I could kick with both feet”, said Orosco. After Hurricane Hattie Orosco went to live in Hattieville and that was where he got the name “The Ballistic Missile” from the team BEC. At the age of 16, Orosco was the youngest junior player for HRCU rebels, a team that was sponsored by Holy Redeemer Credit Union. Orosco also played for Independence Fireball Blues, a team which consisted of players such as “Plum Jaw”, Burly Young, “Kello” and “Peel Off”. “We won the junior championship”, recalled Orosco. Orosco also played for another junior team with the name “Independence” that was sponsored by former PUP Minister Carlos Diaz. “It was while I was playing for that team I got the name “The Black Shadow”, because they did not see where I came from to stop the ball from going into the goal”, said Orosco. Orosco played for another junior team, Hattieville Jets, with “Toad”, “Coloured” and Major. Orosco then joined the senior division and played for Independence along with “Lee Mole” and “Hungarian”. “I was recruited by “La Luche” and I was the youngest player on the team”, he said. That season Independence beat Landivar and caused the team to break up temporarily. Orosco then went on to play for Fort George United, a team that was sponsored by former Prime Minister Said Musa. “We travelled north, south, east and west and we beat every team we played”, said Orosco who was the captain of the team. Orosco vividly recalled a game against a Cayo team in which Fort George won in dramatic fashion. The Cayo team scored a goal in the first three minutes of the game and Fort George scored 3 goals in the next 3 minutes. Fort George went on to win by a score of 6-1. “That was the game in which a Cayo fan came on the field with a machete and told me that if I stopped another goal he will chop me”, said Orosco. The Cayo fans were so angry at being beaten on their home field that Fort George had to go to Benque Viejo del Carmen to celebrate. Orosco started his boxing career at the age of 12. He began in the lightweight division and he moved up to welterweight and middleweight. Spam Coleman was his first trainer and when Spam died, Gus Marin took him over and while he was still an amateur he fought a professional fighter in Chetumal and lost. “I knocked out his mouth piece and his teeth cut my hand when I punched him in his mouth again and they stopped the fight”, said Orosco. As an amateur, Orosco won the tournament three times in a row. His biggest fight as an amateur was with ‘Padgett’ from Cayo for the Silver
Crown. The fight was at the Palace Theatre and Orosco won by unanimous decision. “After the fight Southman carried me with the Silver Crown from the ring to Majestic Alley”, recalled Orosco. Orosco’s last fight as an amateur was with kid Bimbilo Castillo from Dangriga. It was a fight he lost but he avenged that loss when he faced Bimbilo in his first fight as a professional boxer. Orosco won by technical knockout. After he knocked down Bimbilo and Bimbilo signaled to the referee that he did not wish to con-
tinue Bimbilo was never the same person. Orosco said he wanted to fight David Dakers for the middleweight title but Dakers refused to fight him because he had sparred with Dakers and Dakers believed that Orosco could beat him. Orosco’s last meaningful fight was with Edward Lynch, an amateur heavyweight boxer who wanted to turn professional. The Boxing Board agreed that if Lynch fought Orosco it would give Lynch the license to fight professionally. “It was a walk in the park, I knocked Lynch out in 2 minutes and 13 seconds of the second round”, recalled Orosco. After that Orosco fought some exhibition fights to help keep boxing alive then he quit. Recently, Orosco has been battling another fight – a fight with cancer which has been taking a toll on him. Before he became ill, Orosco worked for Said, and he was a popular feature at any PUP event. “As a member of the PUP, Said is my representative in Fort George and I as a loyal PUP stood firm and I was his body guard”, explained Orosco. Orosco is the father of 14 children, 3 of them deceased. He has 6 girls and 5 boys.
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Cops charged for beating man to death Punta Gorda Town, Wednesday, August 1, 2012 The Belize Police Department, just coming off the heels of controversy over the abuse of its Police Association, must now face another black eye with the bold and senseless beating death of Punta Gorda resident, Michael Valerio, 47, at the hands of two off-duty cops. The shameful act happened at around ten on Sunday night in front
Expressive Arts Summer Camp Closes BELIZE CITY, Monday, July 30th, 2012 By Alton Humes The 2012 Expressive Arts Summer Camp, an annual 3-week explosion of artistic expression (held this year from the 4th of July at the Stella Maris School) wrapped up this past Friday, July 27th, 2012 at the downstairs Main Hall of the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts in Belize City. The BELIZE TIMES was there for the event, which was hosted and curated by the National Coordinator for the Expressive Arts in the Ministry of Education (MOE), Leroy Green and co-sponsored by the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), MOE and CrimeStoppers Belize. It showcased the disciplines of 50 selected students aged 7 to 14 years in a resultant tapestry and kaleidoscopic burst of hilarity and talent. Whether it was the Drama squad (mentored by their teacher, Karima Kelly Lou), or the myriad of Dance performances (mentored by Dawn Adderly), or even the beautiful art pieces inspired by CrimeStoppers Belize, there was nothing presented during the event that did not hold proof of what nurturing the arts in young people can do in Belize. There were two more dances, and a hilarious drama piece, “Nosy Betsy Saves the Day”, adapted from a published CrimeStoppers book on how to properly report crime. The event was capped off with the presentation of certificates to the participants, along with refreshments and viewing of the art pieces. But the one thing that you could have left with, if nothing else, was that the expressive arts in Belize will now have a whole new generation to sing its songs, dance with spirit and raise hosannas of dignity and hope.
Jasmine Alert Program Launched!
Continued from page 2 nators. Additionally, the Police intend to partner with law enforcement agencies in Mexico who launched their own Amber Alert program in April 2011. Present at the launching of this program were Jasmine’s parents who have been supportive of all community initiatives. Fultec Systems was on hand to donate a computer. The program coordinator has also received the support of the Belize Bus Association. Anyone interested in more information can visit the official website www.jasminealert.com.
of Central Club on Front Street, just a short distance away from the Punta Gorda Police Station. The accused are Police Constables 1084, Frederico Tush, 24, and 636, Modesto Cucul, 28, both reportedly drunk and dressed in Battle Dress trousers, which is part of their uniform. They are also accused of assaulting and injuring Louis Braddick, who is a Commissioner of the Supreme Court, and Noel Lopez. The two accused were formally charged at the PG Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday afternoon. They each face one count of Murder for viciously beating Valerio with a baton. He died about two hours later at the stairs of Braddick’s house where the commotion ended. Braddick said that at around ten that night, he was awakened by noise outside. When he went outside, he saw two men beating up someone. When he tried to stop the fight, the cops turned at him, but were too drunk
Frederico Tush
Modesto Cucul with their assaulting aims. Braddick escaped their attacks and headed to the Police Station to report the incident.
Sunday, August 5, 2012 Braddick said he recognised the drunk men as Police Officers who would go to him for legal work as a Commissioner of the Supreme Court. Braddick didn’t recognize the victim, but upon his return, he saw a trail of blood and saw a familiar face lying motionless on the ground. The incident has sparked outrage among a community normally quiet by nature. On Tuesday afternoon they turned out in numbers at the Magistrate’s Court when the two accused were being arraigned. Their anger hovered over the fact that the two policemen were not charged as swiftly as they had expected and that when they were escorted to the courthouse, they were not handcuffed. PG Mayor, Anthony Fuentes, lashed out at the Police Department on those two points, saying that: “... because it is one of them it appears to me that they are protecting these individuals...” While the prosecution now puts its case together, the Commissioner of Police, David Henderson, has assigned Superintendent Robert Mariano of the Dangriga Police Formation to head the investigation.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Faada & 28 taxi drivers will sue CitCo
Jilted taxi drivers say City Council favors non-Belizeans
BELIZE CITY, Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 By Alton Humes Ex-Belize City Council employee Mr. Phillip “Faada” Henry and his fellow taxi drivers plan to up the ante against the current Darrel Bradley-led City Council, in protest over the stripping of their taxi plates based on claims of being illegally gained. Faada and the 28 taxi drivers say they will take the appropriate City Council officials to Court for final resolution. The suit was first reported by the Amandala newspaper via their midweek issue, and the BELIZE TIMES confirmed the lawsuit with Henry via
phone today. The taxi drivers have consulted 3 prominent attorneys namely Anthony Sylvester, Arthur Saldivar and Lisa Shoman. When asked what the chances were of them obtaining a positive result, Faada said “We know we wah win….” In addition to that planned suit, Henry also will sue the Council over withheld salaries –from the days of serving under former Mayor Zenaida Moya - due him after his dismissal from the Council. When asked about Mayor Bradley being quoted in the Amandala article as being ‘unconcerned’ over either or
both suits, Henry fired back some major volleys at the Council, essentially saying the Mayor is “lying” about issuing taxi licenses to foreignborn drivers who not only have licenses in the City, but are reportedly also applying for – and getting – licenses in the districts, all while Henry and his other City-based drivers must risk driving in the City ad taxis without their taxi plates, an offense such as it is. But like many quarrels and fights that have plagued this City Council and those unfortunate to be connected to
Equipment malfunction blamed for fatal accident at Port of Belize BELIZE CITY, Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 By Alton Humes The Port of Belize Ltd. (POBL) currently remains at the center of major controversies over a delayed and deferred negotiation over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between them and the stevedore workers of the Christian Workers’ Union (CWU). But an accident involving two stevedores on a barge that was to be off-loaded and leading to the death of one is now adding significantly stress to an already complex, heady situation. 40-year-old Ian Madrill and fellow stevedore Deon Pitter, a/k/a ‘Ras’ were two of the many stevedores working the cargo ship MV Kappeln on the morning of July 31st, 2012. They were on top of a spreader, a specialized piece of equipment used in lifting and moving container cargo from point-to-point. According to POBL’s CEO, Arturo ‘Tux’ Vasquez (giving the Port’s version of events to the media yesterday), the pair may have been relaxing and sitting on top of the spreader until it was time to hook up the 4 corners of the ‘flat rack’ to the spreader in order to start the transfer of the cargo from the ship to the pier of the Port. That’s when things went terribly wrong for the two, as the flat rack they were supposedly safe on hit the side of the ship, causing the spreader to shake and give way, leading the men to their sad, grim fate – Madrill falling about 30 feet to his unforeseen death, and Pitter breaking his leg and injuring his arm, leading to intense pain and discomfort, something he is still battling at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH). The BELIZE TIMES spoke to Pitter briefly via phone today. While his overall condition is stable, he did tell us that he was getting X-rays later in the
Ian Madrill day, and those would likely determine how his future recovery goes.
Tevin Ferguson, 19, killed in latest city shooting Belize City, August 1, 2012 The BELIZE TIMES has received reports of a Wednesday late-evening shooting in the Lake Independence area that has claimed that life of 19 year old Tevin Ferguson, of a Flamboyant Street address. Ferguson was reportedly hanging out with friends on Linda Vista Street when a dark-complexioned male person dressed in a grey T-shirt, grey long pants and a camouflage cap rushed into the yard and fired several gunshots. Ferguson was hit to the neck, chest, back and right side of the body and killed immediately. Another person, 28 year old Mark Godoy, was shot to the chest, hip and upper back, and was rushed for treatment at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Police are seeking one suspect at the time.
While speaking in an interview with 7News, Pitter blamed faulty equipment, “Accidents are bound to happen; we can’t prevent that. But the present situation is that the equipment is not really in the best condition that we are working with, and it’s a risk whenever we go to the pier head to work, especially container work, and that’s where we make money. So, we want to work container, but if the machine and equipment in the yard are not functioning, we lose many times. I think that the next gang that is supposed to go work tonight or tomor-
it, Faada made it clear to the BELIZE TIMES that only one thing is propelling this fight: “Politics!!!” Faada believes he is being politically victimized for firstly standing up and speaking out against corruption in City Hall and also for contesting the last municipal elections as an independent candidate.
row, a sense of fear will be there because it’s the same equipment that we are going to meet there. So, a sense of fear will be there, and if the gang decides not to work, I support that because these problems are there for a while with the machinery at Port. That is the company’s problem that it is making a lot of money and refuses to maintain their equipment.” As for the families of both Pitter and the deceased Ian Madrill (who is incidentally cousin to recently murdered BDF Corporal Wayne Madrill), Vasquez told the media that the Port will not only to talk to the families, but also “we will assist them in the best way possible now that the need is necessary”. The case is now officially in the hands of the Police Department, and their investigation remains open at this time.
Olympic Village Sex Fest: Athletes Tell All In ESPN Report That Reveals 70,000 Condoms Just Isn’t Enough The Huffington Post, Updated: 07/16/2012 1:34 pm Seventy thousand condoms would be enough for the entire city of Boynton Beach, Fla., but at the Olympic Village, that amount won’t suffice. Why, might you ask? Because the Olympic Village is one big sex fest. Athletes told ESPN’s Sam Alipour all the sexy details about life at the Olympic Village -- a city within the hosting city consisting of houses, cafes, and even clubs -- for the magazine’s 2012 “Body Issue.” In the report, the ESPN writer revealed some rather scandalous facts, including that 100,000 condoms are ordered for the games. Apparently officials at the 2000 Sydney Games had to put in an order for 20,000 extra condoms after the initial 70,000 ran out. Since then, an order of 100,000 has become the norm. Even Hope Solo, a soccer star and Olympic gold-medalist, copped to the raucous nights, when sex comes as either a celebratory act or a “consolation prize.”
“I’ve seen people having sex right out in the open. On the grass, between buildings, people are getting down and dirty,” Solo told ESPN The Magazine. • Read the full story as ESPN. Nevertheless, this is not the first time athletes have openly discussed the “sex fest” that is the Olympics. In 2008, former Olympian Matthew Syed wrote a piece for the Times of London about how the Olympics and intercourse go hand-in-hand. “Olympic athletes have to display an unnatural ... level of self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism?” Syed wrote, according to the New York Post, which cited the Times of London report. John Godina, an Olympic shot putter, recently told ABC News that athletes are at the games to work hard, but that they’re willing to play a little, too. “Athletes go there focused and once their job is done, they have fun,” Godina told ABC. “They don’t necessarily go there looking for it, but things happen ... you learn not to ask a lot of questions.”
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THE BELIZE TIMES
Sunday, August 5, 2012