Sunday, December 6, 2009
The
The Belize TimeS
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Belize Times The Truth Shall Make You Free
SUNDAY DECEMBER 6, 2009
Issue No. 4671
$1.00 www.belizetimes.bz
Is Montero Selling SSB Land? As we go to press tonight, the Ministry of Natural Resources is in lockdown mode after reports surfaced that UDP Minister Rene Montero is in the process of selling a piece of land which does not belong to him, but is actually owned by the Social Security Board. While very reliable sources have told us that the conveyance is being processed, none of the higher ups at the Ministry would confirm this information for the Belize Times and Minister Gaspar Vega refused to take our calls. The land in question is an island measuring 3.69 acres located 3.5 miles north of Ambergris
Caye. In 2005, the island, known as Cayo Frances, was granted to the Social Security Board by the Government of Belize. Two years later in 2007, despite SSB holding the title for that land, Rene Montero was also given that island as a grant by then Minister Florencio Marin Sr. According to a source from the Ministry of Lands, Montero is in the process of selling the island, and that is when the documents proving that the land is already owned by the Social Security Board surfaced. That source claims that Montero is fully aware that the land is not legally his, and is trying to get the deed of conveyance expedited (Continued on page 31)
More Litigation…
More Losses Ahead for BTL
The New UDP Board of Barrow Telemedia Limited (BTL) held a press conference this week to, in the words of Chairman Net Vasquez, ‘meet with the media and update the Belizean public on the status of the company. The cast included the mother and son team of
Lois Young and Anwar Barrow, the Prime Minister’s financial gurus Manuel Esquivel, Alan Slusher and Carla Barnett and Audrey Wallace, CEO in the Office of the Prime Minister. By the mid-point of the brief conference, it was clear that the session (Continued on page 31)
Did MoH CEO Dr. Peter Allen Lie to the Commission? once again my Lord, i believe that it should be noted for the record that changes to the preliminar y recommendations of the Tender Committee were discussed, agreed, and signed off on by the members on the 5th of May 2008. – dr. Peter allen before Commission of inquiry
Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Health Peter Allen is tonight the subject of some scrutiny, after testimony before the Commission by a career public officer on Wednesday indicated that he lied blatantly when he appeared before the Commission on Monday. (Continued on page 31)
pic of the week!
PUP Leader john Briceño talking to villagers during his tour of the south this past weekend.
. . . r e h et g o T e m Co
It's Time For The PUP!
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The Belize TimeS
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HONDURAS The controversial Presidential elections that occurred last Sunday in Honduras, resulted in conservative candidate Porfirio Lobo gaining 55 percent of the votes, however most countries in the region refuse to accept the results of the election and will not recognize Lobo as the duly elected president. Last June 28, a coup occurred in Honduras. As a result, democratically elected president Manuel Zelaya was put on a plane and sent out of the country. Zelaya later returned to Honduras and had to seek asylum in the Brazilian Embassy where he remains today. Countries in the region, recognizing the effects of this kind of anachronistic behaviour, quickly condemned the coup and its organizers as illegal and the Organization of American States (OAS) suspended Honduras, calling the Coup a violation of democratic principles. In addition regional leaders quickly severed relations with Honduras, recalled their Ambassadors and insisted that unless President Zelaya is returned as president Honduras would remain isolated. After initial condemnation by President Obama, the US State Department, slow to react seriously to the crisis in Honduras, failed to provide the kind of determined leadership needed to bring about the restoration of order and while the US President condemned the Coup, the US refused to withdraw its Ambassador from Honduras. Costa Rican president Oscar Arias, the Nobel peace prize winner intervened and was unsuccessful in his attempt to broker an agreement between President Zelaya and the de facto Honduran government of Roberto Micheletti. In his proposal Arias called for President Zelaya to serve out his term and allow for Honduras to hold its scheduled Presidential elections. While Zelaya did not return to the Office of the President, this did not stop authorities in Honduras from proceeding with last Sunday’s scheduled elections; also on Wednesday the Honduran Congress voted against having the president serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2010. Did this election change the fact that there is an illegitimate government in Honduras? If the answer to this question is no, does it mean that the election of Porfirio Lobo is legitimate? As far as most countries in Latin America are concerned a coup is in charge in Honduras and the election therefore was illegitimate. Except for Costa Rica and Colombia, no other Latin Country has accepted the results of the election. In fact countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba and even countries in the Caribbean like Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica have openly rejected the results of the election and are refusing to accept Mr. Lobo as President of Honduras. The destabilization of Honduras and the long term effects of the Coup cannot be understated. Clearly there is a small élite class in Honduras still controlling that country’s economy and is flexing its influence over the political process, using illegal measures if necessary. This kind of action cannot be condoned for it could spill out into the region and offset the ongoing process of democratization in the region. Caught in the middle of all this social and political instability are the Honduran people who continue to suffer. Human rights groups like Amnesty International reported that Zelaya supporters are victims of a number of human rights violations, including beatings, arrests, and harassment. This is especially occurring in the rural areas. Human Rights Watch also reported that Zelaya supporters were the target of “widespread arbitrary detentions, killings and censorship.” As for the economic situation in Honduras, one of the poorest nations in the region - well the country is experiencing hardship with aid from Europe and other countries being cut off and the fact that remittances, which makes up about a quarter of the country’s GDP, reduced by 12 percent. Of course the drop in remittances is due largely to the global financial crisis. With thousands of Hondurans living in Belize, what happens in Honduras has a direct effect on Belize. This and the fact that Honduras is our regional partner in the Central American Integration System (SICA) makes it imperative that the Barrow administration pay close attention to what is occurring in Honduras. Still, Belmopan is yet to issue any official statement on the matter and to inform Honduran/Belizeans where we stand with respect to last Sunday’s elections in Honduras. Considering the close ties between the two nations, the effect of a prolonged crisis on immigration in the region and the willingness of the Honduran people to partner with us in finding a lasting and definitive solution to our dispute with Guatemala, one would have expected a more active engagement by our Government in helping to find a solution to the problems in Honduras instead of the silence that is now coming out of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belmopan.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Out Spoken
REiNvENTiNG WoRN oUT GovERNMENT MaCHiNERY Dear Editor, Kindly allow me a space in your newspaper to address my concern in regards to the present condition of our streets and highways. The great philosopher Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”. Let me explain what I mean by this. For many years motorists have had to drive on streets and highways with extremely large and deep potholes which cause damage to their vehicles. Due to the geographical location of Belize, especially the city, whenever it rains and the tide is high, the streets in the city are flooded. The pounding rain and the constant vehicular traffic in these conditions, causes these holes to become larger and deeper and in some areas, new holes are formed due to the poor mixture of the pavement. As soon as the water subsides and the streets and highways get dry, the Ministry of Works truck would pass by and dump a bit of tar and gravel in the holes. In some areas they would throw white mall (limestone) or even clay to fill up the holes. As soon as the rain starts falling again, the material washes out and the holes are visible again creating havoc to motorists and pedestrians. I have noticed this happening over and over again. Nothing has change in the way they work, the same thing occurs every time it rains, and yet the MOW continues to do the same thing. Now, that’s INSANITY!!! The cost of maintaining these streets and highways using the traditional method that the MOW has been using over the past 40 years is very high. If something is not working then it needs to be fixed, if the government mechanism or machinery (MOW) is not functional, then it need to be changed or removed. One of my professors once said, “A workman using yesterday’s tools will be out of business tomorrow”. As I reflect on this simple but profound statement, I must agree with him. It is high time that an end is put to this madness! The government MUST restructure, rethink and reinvent new ways in which the MOW would be able to maintain these streets and highways and STOP using these worn out methods just in the name of keeping and providing jobs. As technology advances we must advance also or we will be left behind. It is very clear to every Belizean that this is the case in Belize. I cannot conclude by not offering my contribution by way of some suggestions to the Government of Belize on how I believe they can start this whole reengineering process. (1) Instead of trying to fix or improve the old methods, stop the way they have been doing things and start all over again using more technological advanced equipment, machinery and tools and make a one time investment and get the job done right. It will be more cost effective in the longer run. The objective is to provide better quality and service to the people and at the lowest cost possible. (2) Replace the traditional practices of the MOW with more advanced and technological ones - even if it means an entire labor turnover for the entire department. (3) Set up an agreement for engineers to be trained and upgraded regularly with neighboring countries. (4) No more party politics! Serve the Belizean people on a whole and not contracting these projects to friend and families as a way of providing jobs. The upgrading of the Albert Street /Downtown area and the Airport Road were excellent project. The quality is visible compared to the rest of the city and highways. Why not extend the project to the rest of the city and our highways so that Belize can look more attractive? As a customer-driven government, it is important to meet the needs of the people it serves and not its bureaucrats. Signed Rhonda Acosta Public Administration Student University of Belize
THE BELIZE TIMES EDITOR
Mike Rudon
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TYPIST
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Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
If Da Noh Soh…
Clear the Land Checkpoint…
Word is that Clear the Land Castro has set up his own version of the Salvation Army Kettle Drive. You may
tonight? Seems like the bald-headed one got carried away by the weight of his ego and decided to issue ultimatums to the man who will most likely be the next Prime Minister of the superpower United Kingdom! Guess Dean has been
taxi to the island. But, hey, we all know that the UDP operate under different rules from the rest of the population. Besides that, Paz already owns three different golf carts. And didn’t somebody mention something about an economy in recession? For damn sure that memo didn’t get to Elsa Paz and the UDP…If Da Noh Soh!
Cream filled topping… Poor Jeremy is still going around crying that he is the only one from out of the Association Concerned about Barrow) who got absolutely nothing from the UDP for his troubles. In fact, while the rest of the bunch enjoyed the plums, Jeremy was even refused land when he went calling at the Ministry of Natural Resources. Maybe he should talk to his old buddy Creamy, who was recently seen driving a spanking new green Dodge Ram pickup truck. The UDP has been very good to Creamy. And if its land Jeremy wants, then he’d be at the right place, or at least that’s what Creamy says. According to the carrot-topped supporter of the red and his brother Rommel, Gapi is their ‘special’ friend, their ‘bally,’ and anybody who needs anything done at the Ministry of Lands need only talk to them, for a special consideration, of course…If Da Noh Soh!
getting pep talks from his first wife second lady who thrives on controversy and litigation cause it means more dollars in the already bulging bank account. Anyway, so after Dean made a fool of himself on the world stage and the British Press had their fun with him for most of the week, he was forced to backtrack in a hurry. A source inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told us that the PM received a not so nice memo from the UK reminding him of the role Britain plays in Belize’s sovereignty and instructing him to mind his manners. As we understand it, shortly after receiving the memo Barrow instructed his CEO in the Office of the Prime Minister to set up an interview with Channel 7 so he could backtrack in public. We understand that Barrow was also ordered to send a letter of apology to David Cameron… If Da Noh Soh! venezuelan Fowl Coops… Remember you heard about UDP Senator Roosevelt Blades from Corozal
Minister of Health Pablo Marin has still not taken the government plates off the Land Cruiser he bought from the Ministry of Finance for his own private use after he was given a brand new 2010 Land Cruiser. See, Pablo thinks the
people of Corozal are as foolish as he is and don’t realize that he now owns the 2004 Land Cruiser. Either that of Pablo is doing something out of the way and wants to continue to enjoy the privilege of government plates on his private vehicle (this is illegal, of course, but it’s not like the UDPs care about pesky things like legalities)…If Da Noh Soh
law wife is the general manager of the Border Management Agency. How’s that for keeping it all in the family? And this just in – Barrow has been holding talks with Campos to see how he can assist in setting up a coup against the really incompetent, really stupid Minister of Health Pablo Marin. Remember you saw it here first…If Da Noh Soh!
Hypocrite of the Week
Say it ain’t so… Reliable word coming out of the Ministry of Finance is that the Prime Minister of Belize has approved the purchase of a brand new fleet of 2010 SUVs for his Cabinet colleagues. We
setting up a company to construct houses from the Venezuela money? We had the scoop first. Well get this one - the finny one was in Corozal this week inspecting the houses, and we understand he made quite a spectacle insulting Blades and calling the houses nothing but ‘fowl coops.’ Well, Finny, that’s what you get for dealing with the UDP…If Da Noh Soh! SP Mayor under fire…
know that the Prime Minister drives a $250,000 luxury edition Land Cruiser, and that the Minister of Health recently got a Land Cruiser valued at $160,000. Now it looks like the rest of the Cabinet has demanded their share of the bounty as well. Say it ain’t so, PM, especially at this time when people are starving. Remember those BML workers who have been sent home… If Da Noh Soh! PM Get the Sense… Did you all see the Prime Minister on television eating his own vomit
This columnist understands that the Mayor of San Pedro, Elsa Paz, is taking some serious heat tonight after she imported a luxury Jeep 2010 SUV to the island. See, there’s been a moratorium on vehicles on the island because of several traffic mishaps and overpopulation of vehicles. In fact, just a week or so ago, one man was refused a permit to bring a
Pablo’s days Numbered…
There’ve been a lot of changes in the Corozal Town Council these days, including this latest. Word reaching this intrepid columnist is that the Deputy Mayor has just been replaced. As we understand it, Town Administrator Carlos Sawyers (the meat pie guy) threatened to resign because of some voucher funny business being conducted by the Deputy Mayor Aaron Babb. So the Mayor used the opportunity to move his sister-in-law, who is a councilor, into place as the Deputy Mayor. So now this is how it stands in Corozal – Hilberto Campos is the Mayor, his sister-in-law is the Deputy Mayor and his common-
Take off those plates… have noticed the Customs checkpoint set up near Sandhill. Well, a source close to the dreadlocked Minister of State tell us that the ‘proceeds’ of that checkpoint are taken to a house not so far away which belongs to that very same fellow. Hmmm! Last year quite a few of the females in Castro’s division and in Castro’s ministry benefitted from his largesse with liquor from across the border! From the look of things at the checkpoint, this will be another good year for Castro, his family and friends….If Da Noh Soh!
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This week we decided to take a break from featuring Prime Minister Dean Barrow, our consummate hypocrite and the man who will go down in history for the damage he has done to our nation. Today, in light of the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the corruption at the KHMH, our attention has been drawn to no other than CEO in the Ministry of Health Dr. Peter Allen. Allen’s British accent seemed to hold the commissioners enthralled as he skillfully spun a tale of an absolutely sterling Ministry of Health and a tendering process beyond reproach. Listening to Allen today pat himself on the back and talk about savings and accountability and transparency and all that, for a moment this columnist
had to wonder – so why is there a Commission of Inquiry in the first place if everything in the Ministry of health and at the KHMH is so lily white, spotless and pure. Then this columnist had a flashback to a press conference not so long ago at the KHMH, back when the allegations of corruption had first surfaced. Dr. Peter Allen was in effect, and damned if the man didn’t shed a little tear when speaking about his dedication to the medical profession. It was a command performance. So fast-forward to the Commission of Inquiry and Dr. Peter Allen is just doing more of the same – it’s all an act, see. The fact is that the tendering process in the Ministry of Health and the KHMH was rotten to the core. Dr. Allen has perfected the gentleman doctor with fancy accent act, but it’s all just so much baloney. Dr. Allen is the most dangerous type of hypocrite (similar actually to Prime Minister Dean Barrow) who has been gifted with glib speech. He is the kind of man who can look you in the eyes and tell you the sweetest nothings while lifting the wallet out your back pocket. But in the end, the truth will come to light. And as the Commission continues its work, CEO in the Ministry of Health Dr. Peter Allen will be revealed in all his hypocritical glory.
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The Belize TimeS
From the Desk of the Party Leader
We are the People’s United Party
This Sunday the National Party Council (NPC) of the People’s United Party will meet to discuss several important issues pertaining to the party and the country. The NPC is the second highest governing body of the PUP with representation from all thirty-one constituencies. The NPC meets every three months. As a body they are responsible for directing policy, organizing, administration and providing discipline for the party. The NPC has the power to do all that’s necessary for the enforcement of the Party’s Constitution, including the achievement of the aims and objects of the party. The National Party Council is subject only to the supreme authority, which is the National Convention. Last year the party held a series of consultations which revealed that some of the biggest concerns of our party faithful was the feeling that the Party had strayed away from its philosophical moorings of service to the people, fighting for the marginalized and more so for the poor. One of the greatest challenges for the new leadership therefore is to bring the Party back to its original principles so that supporters can see us as the party for the people. All of us in the PUP recognize that our movement began as a labor movement and that more importance needs to be given to our Belizean workers. That is why we will affirm that while we will protect the right “to the ownership of private property,” our party will also “prohibit the exploitation of man by man or by the state.” Likewise we believe that we must “protect the rights of workers to organize, unionize and strike.” We also believe “that there should be adequate means of livelihood for all, that labor should not be exploited or forced by economic necessity to operate in inhumane conditions but that there should be opportunity for advancement on the basis of recognition of merit, ability and integrity; that equal protection should be given to all children regardless of their social status and that a just system should be ensured to provide for the education and health on the basis of equality”. In our Aims and Objects, our party will also be making some fundamental changes. We believe that we are blessed with natural resources and should not have the high levels of poverty that we are currently suffering and that our people are our most significant resource. A recent report about the state of poverty shows that poverty has increased since 2003 from 33 percent to 42 percent in 2009. This is unacceptable and our party will be proposing on Sunday that our ultimate goal as PUP will be the elimination of poverty and the creation of a more just and equal Belize. In the Aims and Objects of the PUP, we propose to “achieve full economic independence by perusing a national Policy that stimulates higher economic productivity and development and foster Self Reliance and Full Employment.” As a Party we will “ensure that every Belizean has equal access to Quality, Relevant, and Practical Education from pre-school to university with a special emphasis on Universal Secondary School enrolment and completion” and we will also aspire “that all Belizeans have equal access to Quality and Universal Health Care.” While I realize that some may think that these goals are impossible to achieve, I am optimistic, because the People’s United Party is a party of visionaries. In the 1950’s when George Price talked about an Independent Belize, many thought his was an impossible dream, yet Mr. Price never gave up and after 31 years of hard work Belize gained its independence. Today Belize is calling on the People’s United Party once again, to dream big and realize these dreams. We can do it again and if will be done if we are a UNITED party. Let’s join hands and heart and continue this progressive revolution.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
UDP Politics as usual Life in a time of recession…
For the longest time this columnist has been trying to figure out just how GOB plans to get us through this time of recession. For the first months of the economic crisis, I figure that Barrow’s strategy was to just play deaf, dumb and blind. I mean, how else could Barrow have stood in front of the nation and said that little Belize would be quite fine when other world superpowers were battening down the hatches? Of course, playing deaf, dumb and blind means that while other countries were making preparations Barrow was making preparations to build an expansion to his mansion in front of the sea. Serious! Absolutely nothing was done in Belize to ready us for the economic storm bearing down on the nation. And the thing is, with the winds of that storm now battering us all we’re hearing from GOB is that the US is coming out of recession so Belize should eventually follow. Hell, if there’s anybody who can tell me one concrete thing which this Barrow administration has done to ease the burden on Belizeans in this time of crisis, you’ll win an all expenses paid overnight stay at the Barrow Seashore Drive Mansion, courtesy of the Belize Times. Up to hmmm 5:00pm on Thursday night as this is being written, let the record show that the Barrow administration has still not told us their brilliant plan to get us through this. Things are very bad. They are going to get worse.
Tourism News
Not that it’s any surprise, but things aren’t looking so good in the tourism industry. After a short spurt at the start of the season, arrivals and hotel stays have fallen way off. In San Pedro, resorts are talking about cutting back on staff in an attempt to last through the season. Restaurants and small hotels are talking about closing their doors. While tourism stakeholders were hoping against hope for the best, they have now had to accept that in already bad times, this tourism season will be one of the worst. Barrow and his UDP will of course try to push the blame somewhere else, cause that’s the UDP modus operandi. But the truth is that the responsibility for the destruction of the tourism industry rests squarely on the shoulders of the UDP. Just take a look around Belize City. If you were a tourist would you come to Belize City to walk in the garbage and filth? Hell no, you’d probably head a little further north to more attractive destinations like Cozumel or Cancun. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the jewel, far from it, but the fact is that under the UDP Belize has become a place with nothing spectacular to offer. And again thanks to the UDP, Belize has earned a name as the murder capital of the world, and foreign governments have started to caution their residents against visiting Belize because of the rampant crime. We are messed up under the UDP.
Crime…what crime?
Dean Barrow is not the only UDP playing deaf, dumb and blind. Our Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo is playing a sick, sick game of poke your head down a hole and imitate ostrich! According to Perdomo and his Police Press Officer, they are right and the rest of the world is wrong. They still continue to insist that crime is way down and all those pesky little murders and robberies and assaults and home invasions are just figments of our imagination. Carlos Perdomo is now starring in his own GOB produced ad in which he attempts to paint this glorious picture of what has been done in the Police Department and in the fight against crime. You know what Perdomo is boasting about? He boasts that he changed the Police Commissioner and he organized one neighbourhood watch. THAT’S IT. After almost two years in office, that’s it. Right about now, Police morale is at an all time low. Police have no vehicles with which to respond to emergencies. They are being overworked with no overtime and only vague promises of time in lieu which never materialize. Our men and women in uniform are angry and frustrated and our Minister of National Security is absolutely clueless. Yesterday a prominent business was jacked at gunpoint on Baymen Avenue just down the street from Perdomo’s house. But Perdomo says crime is going down.
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GoB’s response to recession
As best we can figure it, GOB plans to spin their way out of recession this Christmas. So far we’ve seen ads from Carlos Perdomo on all media houses. We’ve also seen ads from Gapi Vega on all media houses. These ads attempt to portray a wrong impression of what is really happening in Belize. A newcomer to our shores with absolutely no prior knowledge of the country would watch these ads and think that everything’s honky-dory in our young nation. But we all know better. And then there’s the other thing. The economy is in recession, right? There are people losing their homes left right and center. Isn’t that so? There are people who have no idea how they will put food on their tables tonight and tomorrow, much less in the weeks ahead. There are people losing their jobs every single day. Ad campaigns are expensive. We figure that Perdomo’s ads on all stations will probably run in the region of $50,000 between now and Christmas. Gapi’s ads will be about the same. Then of course we’ll see ads from Boots and from Finnegan and from Castro and of course from Barrow. All told we’re probably looking at $250,000 in ads which we will pay for over the next few weeks. This is the wrong message for Barrow to send. This is a time when we should be dispensing with all these frivolous things and dealing with how to help our people.
The BTL mess…
Yesterday BTL has a press conference for the media. They had absolutely nothing good to report. Chairman Net Vasquez could only state that there will be practically endless litigation ahead between BTL and the Bank and Lord Ashcroft. Remember that PM Barrow had said that his taking over BTL would bring an end to the litigation? And Net Vasquez also reported that BTL has recorded a loss this past fiscal year and will show another loss in the next fiscal year. That’s not exactly good news, especially if GOB intends to find an investor to take over BTL. Nat Vasquez also gave some reports about projects set to go online. The funny thing is, he and the UDP are taking credit for these projects like the new GSM network though all that was in the works long before Barrow decided to hijack BTL. The entire scene at the press conference was somewhat surreal. And something else – it’s obvious that the mother and son team of Lois and Anwar are really in charge of BTL. When Net was stuttering and fumbling his questions it was Lois who scribbled notes on a paper and passed it to Vasquez to remind him of his script. And when Vasquez spoke a little out of turn it was Lois who scolded him. What a joke this whole BTL saga must seem to the region and the world. But it’s not funny at all. The reality is that any loan which Barrow takes on, we taxpayers are liable for. So it’s not funny at all.
Questions to Ministers 1
Would the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance please say if it is now established practice by his government to be ‘haad pay’ when it comes to loans? Would the Minister of Finance not agree that GOB burdening taxpayers with a public debt to bail out a private company through a secret agreement is the very same thing for which he blasted the previous administration?
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Would the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance please confirm or deny rumours that he recently authorized the purchase of a new fleet of 2010 vehicles for Government? Would the Minister of National Security and his colleague the Minister of Natural Resources be able to say how much of our money they are using to pay for the ad campaign that kicked off at the start of December? Would the Minister of Health please say if the decision by his CEO to disregard the recommended suppliers of important drugs and award tenders to un-established drug companies put Belizeans at risk? Can the Minister of Economic Development, Commerce, Industry and Consumer Protection please inform the House of the number of licenses and the quantity issued for the importation of processed as well as green hams for the Christmas Season and can the minister provide this House with the names of those to whom licenses were issues and the quantity each received?
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PARTY PAGE
The Belize TimeS
BYM Elects new Executive Committee
Sunday, December 6, 2009
THE BLUE MACHINE
BYM President Kevin Bernard
Belmopan elects new Executive Committee
Exec. Chair. Maureen Leslie
Unity = Strength
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
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BELIZE’S GREEN GOLD
Belize has always maintained her commitment to the protection of the environment and successive governments have continued adherence to this commitment. In 2003 Belize became a signatory party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the annexed Kyoto Protocol. With only 8,867 square miles in area, marine parks and natural reserve protected areas consist of 40% of the country; which are all under various management structures. Yet, over the most recent years the policy cohesion between government and nonstate actors on issues of the environment has been fraught with confrontations. It is imperative for governments to realize that economic growth and development
must not be realized at the expense of the environment. Therefore, policy coherence is a must. In this regard, it is useful to understand the underlying issues as it relates to environmental goods and services and how Belize can seek to capitalize on such resources to the benefit of all her people. The World Trade Organization (WTO) in its General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) defines environmental services as covering the following areas: sewage services refuse disposal services, sanitation and similar services and other services. The international trade of environmental services can occur mainly through commercial presence (mode 3) via foreign direct investments and through the accompaniment of natural
persons (mode 4). Environmental goods on other hand are not so easily defined, as any such goods would be addressed as non-agricultural products, such as forestry, mining and fisheries. However, at the launch of the Doha negotiating agenda in 2001, WTO members were tasked with addressing the key area of trade and environment, but no clear guidance on definition was provided. Therefore WTO members have been grappling with a suitable definition and how tariff reductions would be negotiated. UNCTAD has identified a category of goods as “environmentally preferable products” which is defined as products that cause significantly less environmental harm. Thus any final definition is expected to encompass all
the noted areas mentioned. Definition aside, how can Belize seek to benefit from its environmental resources? This is an important question as the tourism industry has programmed its marketing strategy on identifying Belize as a premier eco-tourism destination – Be one with Belize. Therefore the environment must be viewed as the main input in that tourism product. In order for substantial benefits to be derived, a few key issues must be addressed concurrently. Firstly, policies addressing waste management services within the country must consistently span from the municipal levels to central government. Traditionally in most countries waste management services has been provided by the public sector. This has evidenced much operational inefficiency, limited area coverage and generally poor financial performance. In Belize this is most evident with the waste management services provided for Belize City. Because the public sector and municipalities in particular, are plagued with limited financial resources and lacks administrative capacity, poor service quality has been their hallmark. With policy cohesion and the establishment of simple user fees, waste management services can be either privatized or contracted-out for service delivery. Secondly, marine parks and natural reserves not just require legislation but meaningful enforcement through strong public-private sector partnerships. Such partnerships must be guided by the recognition of the economic value of the services nature provides. Ecosystems such as the Crooked Tree wetlands, the barrier reef and atolls and the Mountain Pine Ridge reserve, are all vast areas that have immense value to Belize. And it is for this paramount reason that any development initiative must not detract from the maintenance and preservation of these ecosystems. Lastly, as government continuously engage in the international arena and in discussions on the environment and mitigating the effects of climate change; participation must be worthwhile at all times. In a few days leaders from all over the world will converge in Copenhagen, Denmark for the 15th conference of the parties to the UNFCCC with a view to determine a framework for emission reduction targets after 2012. Accompanying such a framework will be the appropriate financing mechanism, technological support systems and technology transfers required by developing countries to mitigate the deleterious effects of climate change. For Belize, homework has not been completed, in that the required national assessments as to the needs has been lacking. Thus, all efforts must be made to capitalize on the institutional capacity resident within the private sector to ensure that the required assessments are conducted and financial needs identified. The issue of compensation must be duly addressed. Although the country is in a period of recession, it nonetheless can be an opportune time for real and substantive progress to be made in how business is conducted in Belize and how we can seek to guide Belize’s future development on a sustainable trajectory for the benefit of all Belizeans generations to come. Comments to GwynethNah@gmail.com
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The Belize TimeS
Sunday, December 6, 2009
hard hitting
ASK ANYBODY! A Reversal of UDP Fortunes… By: Mike Rudon jr. Ask anybody on the streets or in your neck of the woods. Hell, ask any bus driver, commuter, taxi-driver or casual passerby. Ask your friends and neighbours and family members. Ask your Church brothers and sisters. If you’re shy and don’t want to ask anybody, take a look at your own circumstances and it will be as plain as day. These are some serious times, bad times, and with 23 days to go till Christmas Day, your regular everyday Belizeans like you and me are looking at the absolute worst Christmas in recent memory – no lie. There sure aren’t going to be any extras this festive season, and very few of the basics, for that matter. This Christmas is going to be dread,
make no mistake about that. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, but boy, the sad thing is that the nature of the political game means that we have been dragged down right along with them. See, the thing is that our leaders in government do asinine things and play power games and make monstrous mistakes, but we pay the price. Seems like the leaders doing those
bad, bad things only seem to get richer while our pockets get empty and our country goes down the drain. But bulging pockets and fat bank accounts aside, there is no denying that the fortunes of the red army have taken a definite turn south. Seems like I remember not so long ago when the UDP was riding a very high horse, a very high horse indeed. Leading up to elections, Dean Barrow and the UDP could do no wrong. Truth be told, the story
of the February 2008 elections was writ in stone from months before. People wanted a change, and when it comes to that point there’s no stopping people power. Cars and buildings and posts were festooned with UDP stickers declaring that the era of enlightenment was at hand, the promised land was in sight…etc. etc. The air was ripe with promises of better times. Who can forget ‘we will reduce the cost of living NO MATTA WHAT? Methinks that Prime Minister Barrow has nightmares about that promise these days. It was all supposed to get better – infrastructure, health, education, the economy, lower taxes, cheaper medicine, cheaper basic goods…you name it and the UDP promised it. But that hasn’t happened, has it? In fact quite the opposite has happened. After the UDP took office things got really, really bad very, very fast. The very same people who had been chanting ‘Life Haad Out Ya’ and ‘Time for a Change’ realized that times might have been difficult, but under the UDP it was all a lot worse. And yes, the people got the change they wanted, but it sure as hell wasn’t the change they expected. Today things are sure different in Belize than they were just about a year and a half ago. The most telling signs of the changing tides for the UDP are the voices of the common man and woman on the street. Absolutely nobody is spouting the UDP line anymore. Taxi-men who proudly displayed their ‘Zenaida’ stickers like badges of honour not so many months ago are angry and frustrated at the reality of the UDP. Everybody, and I mean everybody is waiting for the promised better times, the lower rates on EVERYTHING. On the buses, commuters are angry with the UDP for the desperate times facing us, for what they feel is a betrayal of the confidence they placed in the UDP by electing them into office. All across the country Belizeans are realizing that they made a mistake when they went to the polls and elected the UDP into office in February 2008. All across the country Belizeans are realizing that the UDP has not changed one bit since they were last kicked out of office. Less than 20 days to go to what should be a joyous time for Belizeans. But thanks to the UDP, all we can look forward to is a ‘bruk pocket Christmas’ like never before. Thanks to the UDP, there are some people who will not be able to enjoy ham and turkey with all the trimmings this Christmas. Hell, there are some people who will not be able to put any food at all on the table this Christmas. There are some people who won’t have a shelter over their heads this Christmas. That’s the reality of life under the UDP.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
9
Remembering A Cultural Icon
Belize City, December 2, 2009 It’s been over a year since Garinagu cultural icon and international music star Andy Palacio died of a cerebral haemorrhage last January, but he lives on in the hearts of minds of the people he worked with and everyone whose lives he touched. On Wednesday morning, on what would have been his 50th birthday, his close friend and art entrepreneur Yasser Musa of the Image Factory gave homage to the life and work of Andy Palacio in a commemorative lecture at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. Yasser called on Belizeans in general, and especially the artists among us, to answer the call raised by Andy’s Watina CD, to seek the inner artist within ourselves and re-define and recreate our lives, to follow Andy’s example in the same way that he was able to shrug off his initial punta-rock success to search his inner soul for the message that was expressed in Watina. Just as Watina was a landmark achievement on the world music scene, Yasser encouraged Belizean artists never to limit themselves, but to become cultural warriors and set new boundaries. He called on them to also mentor new, young artists, just as Andy mentored the musicians of the Garifuna music collective who will continue his work, not in his tradition, but to create new forms of musical expression. In this brave new world, we will need new reference points, Yasser admitted, and not allow the smallness of our community to limit the scope of our imagination and creativity. Even the vast volume of cyberspace and the Internet should not limit our imagination, he insisted, stating that we must find creative ways to use the internet to get out our message, as only ready and easy access can satisfy the curiosity of our youth, their thirst for knowledge. To this end, Yasser recommended a greater emphasis on the arts in our system of education, to encourage our young people to develop their soul through prose, poetry, song, dance, drama, drawing, painting and all the visual arts to give us a greater cultural awareness and confidence in our cultural identity. Even as we embrace and exploit new technologies such as video and cellphones to expand our creativity, Yasser also warned of the
dangers and demons lurking on the internet and pointed to our need for Digital Defense. In closing Yasser outlined the yardstick by which we could measure
our progress, to examine our achievements in Music, in art education, cultural policy, a museum of the future, online cultural activity, reading and creative writing, video, photography and other visual arts.
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The Belize TimeS
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Who seh Corozal no gat no kulcha!
Corozal’s Institute of Creative Arts (I.C.A.) has dispelled any notion that Corozalenos might be cultural Philistines and regaled those Belize City music aficionados with an evening of magic and wonder, presenting a veritable smorgasbord of MestizoLatino culture and dance at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday night. The Corozal Community College Dance Company opened the show with “Amanecer en Corozal”, a music and dance recreation of the dawn of a new day in Corozal Bay. Then Belizean soca composer Salus Magana, who won 2nd prize in this year’s September Celebrations song contest, pumped up the volume and the heat with an original soca composition that had the audience dancing in their seats. The C.C.C. dance group’s director Mrs Vilma Ugarte had choreographed several dances for different music genres from the region which have infected and become part of the Corozal music scene. She also designed the dancers’ colorful costumes, and the stage became a rainbow of color as the C.C.C. dancers gyrated to La Conga, a medley of Cuban dances, the tango, the meringue from the island of Hispaniola, some Salsa Calena, the Brazilian lambada, and the Spanish flamenco, performed to the music of David Beisbal’s “Buleria.” Salus Magana would return to the stage with more of his original soca and punta numbers and the C.C.C. dancers’ performance drew the audience into the Latin passion for romance. The Sacan women’s dance group from San Pedro Village, richly costumed in colorfully embroidered white cotton huipils, reminded those present of Corozal and Orange Walk’s cultural and family ties to Mexico, which date back to 1858 when Marcos Canul led hundreds of Mestizo refugees across the border into Belize’s northern district to escape the Caste War in Yucatan. The San Pedro women danced many traditional
Mestizo dances to the musical accompaniment of Don Anastacio Villamil and his “Mayapax” family band. Don Pedro Gongora also performed the Jarana Yucateca and the Zapateado with his wife,
Maria Gongora. Salus Magana sang his “Independence Day” soca, to which the C.C.C. and Corozal Junior College dancers moved in frenetic rhythm that never flagged
as the show culminated in a grand finale: “Pegate” at which MC Joanna Magana gave thanks to the show’s many sponsors, including the Corozal Free Zone, Leo Batty, and Travellers Liquors.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize Times
11
12
The Belize TimeS
Sunday, December 6, 2009
COURT NEWS 18 Year Old Remanded To Prison on Charge of Carnal Knowledge BELiZE CiTY, Wed. dec. 2, 2009 Robert Sinclair Jr., 18, an auto mechanic of #8758 Jane Usher Boulevard who allegedly had sex with a 12 year old high school student, was charged with carnal knowledge when he appeared in the #6 Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 30. No plea was taken from him because the offence is indictable. Neither could the Court offer him bail because of the nature of the offence. Magistrate Sharon Fraser remanded him into custody until January 12, 2010. The incident occurred between October 1 and November 15. On November 27, the girl and
Street Police Station and reported the incident. The mother told Police that on November 11 she found her daughter’s diary in which her daughter wrote that she had sex with her boyfriend Sinclair three times. The mother said when she confronted her daughter about it her daughter admitted that what she wrote in the diary about her affair with Sinclair was true. A statement was recorded from the mother and daughter. On November 28, the daughter was taken to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where she was examined by a doctor who confirmed that she was Robert Sinclair Jr. carnally known. As a result, Sinclair her mother went to the Queen was detained and charged.
Aligraphic Printer Remanded for Attempted Murder
Eusebio Cal
BELiZE CiTY, Wed. dec. 2, 2009 Eusebio Cal, 23, a printer at Aligraphics residing at 27b Nargusta Street, who the Police alleged stabbed one of their own, was charged with attempted murder when he appeared in the #6 Magistrate’s Court on Monday, November 30. Cal was also charged with dangerous harm, use of deadly means of harm and damage to property. Magistrate Sharon Fraser did not take a plea from Cal because the offences are indictable. Neither could she offer him bail because of the nature of the offences. She remanded him into custody until January 6, 2010. The incident occurred at around 11:45 p.m. on November 26 at Cabana Bar, located on West Collet Canal Street. Police Constable Eric Patt reported that he was dressed in civilian clothes and was at Cabana Bar socializing when he got into an altercation with Cal. According to Patt, during the altercation Cal broke a bottle and stabbed him in the right side of his abdomen near to his rib cage with a piece of the bottle. In addition Cal, the Policeman alleged, broke the rear windshield of their vehicle. The damage was valued at $750. Patt was admitted to ward at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where he is reported to be in stable condition.
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Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
13
COURT NEWS Nigerian National and Cameroon National Charged With 6 Counts of Unlawful Possession He pled guilty to the BELiZE CiTY, Wed. dec. charge and Magistrate Hoare fined 2, 2009 him $1,000. He ordered Njingoy to Two men, Prince Kennie pay the fine forthwith and told him Azutory, 30 and Francis Nyiregah that if he defaults on payment he will Njingoy, 30 were charged with 6 serve 6 months. Magistrate Hoare counts of unlawful possession also told Njingoy that he would be of Cameroon passports when deported to Cameroon after he has they appeared yesterday in the #5 paid the fine or served the time. Magistrate’s Court. Njingoy, a football Azutory pled not player and Cameroon national, guilty to the 6 counts of unlawful pled guilty to the charges with an possession of passports. Because explanation. But Magistrate Albert Azutory, a Nigerian national and taxi Hoare entered an equivocal plea of driver has legal immigration status not guilty after Njingoy explained in Belize, he was remanded into that the passports were for students custody until Monday, December from Cameroon who wanted student Prince Kennie Azutory 7 at which time he will be offered visas to go to the University College Francis Nyiregah of Belize. Njingoy alone was charged Belize on November 8, 2008, via the bail. The incident occurred on November with being in Belize without a visitor’s Phillip Goldson International Airport and he was given a visitor’s permit that 27. The police searched a house occupied permit. I m m i g r a t i o n D e p a r t m e n t expired on March 7, 2009. Njingoy did by Azutory and Njingoy and reported that they found 6 Cameroon passports. records disclosed that Njingoy entered not get an extension on his permit.
McLaren Acquitted Of Robbery Of $20,000 From Novelo’s Transport Limited
Justin McLaren
2009
BELiZE CiTY, Wed. dec. 2,
Justin McLaren, 22, charged with the robbery of $20,000 from Novelo’s National Transport Limited, was acquitted of the charge yesterday in the #1 Magistrate’s Court. After calling four witnesses who testified, the prosecution threw in the towel due to insufficient evidence. From their evidence none of the witnesses were able to identify the two robbers who wore masks. As a result, McLaren’s attorney Dickie Bradley, submitted that his client does not have a case to answer. Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie upheld the submission and dismissed the charge. The incident occurred on Monday morning, January 19 at Novelo’s National Transport Limited, located at Mile 3 ½ on the Western Highway. Two men wearing masks and one of them armed with a firearm entered the compound of National Transport Limited while employees of Novelo’s were taking $20,000 in a bag from one building to another. One of the witnesses, a security guard, testified that when he picked up the bag of money that was dropped by one of the employees after she was confronted by the gunman he only saw the eyes of the gunman when the gunman put the firearm in his face. The security guard said he let go of the bag and the gunman picked it up. Both culprits made their getaway in a Maxima car that was parked near the compound. McLaren, the only defendant in the case is the owner of a car that resembles the getaway car. The robbery was captured on surveillance camera. But despite that no identification of the culprits was possible because their faces and other parts of their bodies were well concealed.
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The Belize TimeS
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Belize Times l o ñ a p En Es
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The
DOMINGO DICIEMBRE 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
Issue No. 4663
$1.00
www.belizetimes.bz
15
The Truth Shall Make You Free
Preguntele a cualquiera! Un cambio de suerte del UDP...
Por: Mike Rudon jr. Pregúntele a cualquiera en la calle o en cualquier rincón. Demonios, pregúntele a cualquier conductor de autobús, a un taxista o a un transeúnte cualquiera. Pregúnteles a sus amigos, vecinos y miembros de la familia. Pregúnteles a sus hermanos y hermanas de la iglesia. Si eres tímido y no quieres preguntar a nadie, echa un vistazo a tu alrededor y lo veras tan claro como el día. Estos son tiempos difíciles, tiempos malos, y con 23 días para el día de Navidad, los beliceños regulares y normales como tú y yo estamos mirando a la Navidad como la peor que podemos recordar - no es mentira. Seguro que no va a ver ningún extra esta temporada festiva, y muy poco de lo básico, para el caso. Esta Navidad va a ser terrible, no se equivoque al respecto. ¡Oh, cómo los poderosos han caído!, pero chico, lo triste es que la naturaleza del juego político significa que hemos sido arrastrados junto con ellos. Mira, la cosa es que nuestros dirigentes en el gobierno hacen cosas estúpidas y juegan juegos de poder y cometer errores monstruosos, pero nosotros pagamos el precio. Parece que los dirigentes hacen cosas malas, sólo cosas malas que los enriquecen, mientras que nuestros bolsillos se vacían y nuestro país se va por el desagüe. Pero poniendo los bolsillos llenos y las cuentas bancarias gordas de un lado, no se puede negar que la suerte del Ejército Rojo ha dado un giro definitivo hacia el sur. Andaban montados en un caballo blanco muy alto, un caballo muy alto. Previo a las elecciones, Dean Barrow, y el UDP no podía equivocarse. A decir verdad, la historia de las elecciones de febrero de 2008 estaba escrita en piedra desde meses antes. La gente quería un cambio, y cuando llega a ese punto, no hay poder que detenga a las personas. Carros, edificios y tiendas
eran adornados con propaganda del UDP que se declaraba que la era de la iluminación estaba a la mano, la tierra prometida estaba a la vista... etc etc. El aire estaba lleno con promesas de mejores tiempos. ¿Quién puede olvidar "que reducirá el costo de la vida NO MATTA WHAT”? Me parece que el Primer Ministro Barrow ahora tiene pesadillas acerca de las promesas que hizo en esos días. Se suponía que todos obtendríamos mejoras en - la infraestructura, la salud, la educación, la economía, bajarían los impuestos, la medicina estaría más barata, los productos básicos más baratos... lo que sea y el UDP lo prometido. Pero eso no ha sucedido, ¿verdad? De hecho, todo lo contrario ha ocurrido. Después de que el UDP asumió el poder las cosas se pusieron muy, muy pero muy malas, muy rápido. Las mismas personas que habían estado cantando "La vida Haad Out Ya" y "Tiempo para un cambio" se dieron cuenta de que los tiempos podrían haber sido difíciles, pero con el UDP todo es mucho peor. Y sí, la gente obtuvo el cambio que quería, pero luego no fue el cambio que esperaban. Hoy las cosas son diferentes en Belice, seguro muy diferentes de lo que eran sólo un año y medio atrás. Los signos más reveladores de las mareas cambiantes del UDP son las voces del hombre común y de la mujer en la calle. Absolutamente nadie está mordiendo la carnada del UDP más. Los taxistas que mostraban con orgullo sus calcomanías de “Zenaida "como insignias de honor, no hace muchos meses atrás están enojados y frustrados por la realidad del UDP. Todo el mundo, y me refiero a todo el mundo está esperando la promesa de tiempos mejores, las tasas más bajas en todo. En los autobuses, los viajeros están enojados con el UDP, por los momentos de desesperación a los que nos enfrentamos, por lo
que ellos consideran una traición de la confianza que han depositado en el UDP con la elección de ellos al poder. En todo el país de Belice están dándose cuenta de que cometieron un error cuando fueron a las urnas y eligieron al UDP para el cargo en febrero del 2008. En todo el país de Belice se están dando cuenta de que el UDP no ha cambiado ni un poco desde la última vez que fueron expulsados del poder. Estamos a menos de 20 días para llegar a lo que debería ser un
momento feliz para los beliceños. Pero gracias a el UDP, todo lo que pueden esperar es un " bolsillo vació para Navidad” como nunca antes. Gracias a el UDP, hay algunas personas que no podrán disfrutar de jamón y pavo esta Navidad. Demonios, hay algunas personas que no serán capaces de poner ningún tipo de alimento sobre la mesa esta Navidad. Hay algunas personas que no tendrán un techo sobre sus cabezas en esta Navidad. Esa es la realidad de la vida en la UDP.
PREGUNTAS PARA LOS MINISTROS: 1
¿Pudiera el Primer Ministro y Ministro de Finanzas responder si ahora es costumbre que su gobierno sea “mal pago” en cuanto a su responsabilidad a pagar prestamos? ¿Sera que el Primer Ministro admitiría que imponiendo impuestos al pueblo por adquirir deuda del sector privado en forma secreta es lo mismo que tanto reprocho cuando estaba en oposición?
2
¿Pudiera el Primer Ministro decirnos si el rumor, que recientemente autorizo la compra de un flota de vehículos nuevos 2010 para darle a todos sus Ministros, es verdad?
3
¿Podrían el Ministro de Seguridad Nacional y su colega el Ministro de Recursos Naturales decirnos cuanto le cuesta al pueblo la campaña política en la televisión nacional que se empezó a principios de diciembre?
4
¿Sera que el Ministro de Salud nos puede explicar qué tan grande fue el riesgo, a la salud de los beliceños, en que nos puso la decisión del Oficial Mayor del Ministerio en cambiar la recomendación de comprarle medicamentos a compañías de nombre?
5
¿Podría el Ministro de Desarrollo Económico, Comercio e Industria informarnos sobre cuántos permisos se han dado para importar jamones genéricos para la Navidad y quiénes son los beneficiados?
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The Belize Times
Belize Times ol
ñ a p s E n E
Tenemos una responsabilidad con Honduras Las controvertidas elecciones presidenciales que tuvieron lugar el pasado domingo en Honduras, se tradujeron en que el candidato conservador Porfirio Lobo gano con el 55 por ciento de los votos, sin embargo la mayoría de los países de la región se niegan a aceptar los resultados de las elecciones y no reconocerán a Lobo como un presidente debidamente electo. El pasado 28 de junio, un golpe de Estado ocurrido en Honduras. Como resultado, el presidente democráticamente elegido Manuel Zelaya fue puesto en un avión y enviado fuera del país. Zelaya, más tarde regresó a Honduras y tuvo que buscar asilo en la Embajada de Brasil, donde permanece hoy en día. Los países de la región, reconociendo los efectos de este tipo de comportamiento anacrónico, condenaron rápidamente el golpe y sus organizadores como ilegal y la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA) suspendió a Honduras, llamando al golpe de estado, una violación de los principios democráticos. Además los líderes regionales rápidamente cortaron las relaciones con Honduras, retiraron a sus embajadores e insistieron en que a menos que al Presidente Zelaya se le reinstalara como presidente Honduras, permanecerá aislado. Después de la condena inicial por el presidente Obama, el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU., reacciono demasiado lento ante la grave crisis en Honduras, no pudo proporcionar el tipo de liderazgo determinado y necesario para lograr el restablecimiento del orden y mientras el Presidente de los EE.UU. condenó el golpe, los EE.UU. se negaron a retirar a su embajador en Honduras. El presidente de Costa Rica Oscar Arias, ganador del premio Nobel de la Paz intervino y tuvo éxito en su intento de lograr un acuerdo entre el Presidente Zelaya y el gobierno de facto de Honduras, Roberto Micheletti. En su propuesta de Arias pidió que el presidente Zelaya cumpliera su mandato y que permitieran que Honduras celebrara sus elecciones presidenciales programadas. Aunque Zelaya no regresó a la Oficina del Presidente, esto no impidió que las autoridades de Honduras procedieran con las elecciones previstas el domingo pasado, también el miércoles el Congreso Nacional votó en contra de que el presidente retornara a su cargo durante el resto de su mandato, que finaliza en enero 2010. Cambio esta elección el hecho de que hay un gobierno ilegítimo en Honduras? Si la respuesta a esta pregunta es no, ¿significa esto que la elección de Porfirio Lobo es legítima? En cuanto a la mayoría de los países de América Latina se refiere un golpe de Estado está a cargo en Honduras y por lo tanto la elección fue ilegítima. A excepción de Costa Rica y Colombia, ningún otro país de América ha aceptado los resultados de la elección. De hecho países como Brasil, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba e incluso los países del Caribe como Antigua y Barbuda, San Vicente y las Granadinas y Dominica han rechazado abiertamente los resultados de las elecciones y se niegan a aceptar al Sr. Lobo como Presidente de Honduras. La desestabilización de Honduras y los efectos a largo plazo del golpe de Estado no pueden ser subestimados. Es evidente que hay una clase élite pequeña en Honduras que sigue estando en control de la economía del país y está mostrando su influencia sobre el proceso político, mediante medidas ilegales si es necesario. Este tipo de acción no se puede tolerar ya que podría esparcirse en la región y contrarrestar el proceso de democratización en curso en la región. Atrapados en medio de todo esto esta la inestabilidad social y política del pueblo hondureño, que siguen sufriendo. Grupos de derechos humanos como Amnistía Internacional informó de que los partidarios de Zelaya son víctimas de una serie de violaciones de derechos humanos, incluyendo golpizas, arrestos y hostigamiento. Esto ocurre especialmente en las zonas rurales. Human Rights Watch también informó de que los partidarios de Zelaya fueron el objetivo de "detenciones generalizadas arbitrarias, asesinatos y de censura." En cuanto a la situación económica en Honduras, es una de las naciones más pobres en la región - y el país está experimentando dificultades con la ayuda de Europa y otros países ha sido cortada y el hecho de que las remesas, que representan aproximadamente una cuarta parte del PIB del país, se redujo en un 12 por ciento. Por supuesto, la caída de las remesas se debe principalmente a la crisis financiera mundial. Con miles de hondureños que viven en Belice, lo que ocurre en Honduras tiene un efecto directo en Belice. Esto y el hecho de que Honduras es nuestro socio regional en el Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA), es imperativo que el gobierno de Barrow preste mucha atención a lo que está ocurriendo en Honduras. Sin embargo, Belmopan aún tiene que emitir alguna declaración oficial sobre el asunto e informar a Honduras / Belice, donde nos encontramos con respecto a las elecciones del pasado domingo en Honduras. Teniendo en cuenta los estrechos vínculos entre las dos naciones, el efecto de una prolongada crisis de la inmigración en la región y la voluntad del pueblo hondureño a asociarse con nosotros en la búsqueda de una solución duradera y definitiva a la disputa con Guatemala, uno habría esperado una mayor participación activa de nuestro Gobierno para ayudar a encontrar una solución a los problemas de Honduras en lugar del silencio que ahora está saliendo del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores en Belmopan.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
El Bejuco Roja Navidad
Ya ni pa’ que quejarse, ni lamentarse, ya que no puede uno desahogarse, la cosa sigue infernal, no hay esperanza, no hay confianza, la economía se sigue quebrantando, el gobierno sigue chingando y el pueblo se sigue quejando, Todos los ministros siguen trincando, algunos tragando, embuchando y chupando y nosotros los demás la chinga aguantando… En un tiempo la Navidad era Felicidad, ahora es roja y triste y como ya viste, ni pavo ni jamón habrá, esto no es chiste… Los chamacos piden sus juguetes, ¿cómo explicarles que los ministros mequetrefes, todo se han embolsado y que al pueblo todo le han robado y que ni chamba nos han dejado? Santa Claus llego para algunos, el ministrito de los 30 cochinitos el seguro social su isleta le ha regalado y sus milloncitos se ha embolsado… Algunos lambiscones su regalito han logrado, a Crimson su carrito verde ACB, Santa Claus le ha regalado… y si no fue así pues de algún lugar lo habrá tranzado… A roba terrenos Castro, su garita aduanal se le ha concedido, y aunque no es debido todo el contrabandito del pobre él se ha conseguido, por supuesto de los contenedores de Margarito, de esos no ha olido ni el pito.. Aun así levanta más fondos que la caldera del ejército de salvación…. ‘ay castro tu eres la maldición…. El ministrito de salud su Prado nuevo Santa Claus le ha mandado, el Prado viejo por supuesto se ha tranzado y pa’l pueblo ni la deslechada nos ha organizado… En San Pedro los hoteles a medias funcionando, los viejos tiempos añorando, del gobierno rojo lamentando.. En la zona libre, solamente Akierman engordando, ¿será porque está rezando? O estará recolectando, Porque a los mercaderes se les oye rebuznando… De norte a sur de este a oeste, esto anda peor que la peste.. Quisiera decirles feliz navidad pero me da pena ser imprudente.. Mejor les digo sigamos aguantando, sigamos penando animo que a estos rojos el tiempo se les está acabando..
EL PELADERO
El inglesito sermoneo a la comisión investigadora de las viles acciones cometidas en el hospital Karl Heusner.. No les dio oportunidad de preguntarle porque cometió tantas faltas, y por que los doctores tienen que trabajar con materiales de tan mala calidad. Pusilánime comisión…o quizá ya se les ha dictado lo que han de concluir… El puente Kendal (aquel que vino muy corto, porque Boots y Cadet no midieron bien…) se está ahora instalando en un pequeño arroyo en Biscayne…. Como está muy largo decidieron construir un rio… han ensanchado los bordes del arroyo y han excavado este gran rio, que será inaugurado como el rio Biscayne. Cuando les sobre otro puente en Ladyville quedaría lindo un rio con puente a la salida el aeropuerto internacional… sugerencias para Mister Boots …. El ingenuo PM sermoneo a los ingleses sobre los problemas que tiene con el Lord. Suficientes enemigos tienes con el Lord, no te eches encima a toda la liga mayor….. Bellaco… El ministro de los cochinitos le tranzo al seguro social una isla propiedad de los trabajadores. ¡Que lo devuelva!… escuchemos la voz de la uniones…
Sunday, December 6, 2009
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The Belize TimeS
Belize Times ol
ñ a p s E n E
Desde el Ecritorio del Lider del Partido
Somos el Partido Unido del Pueblo
Este Domingo el Consejo Nacional del Partido (NPC) de el Partido Unido del Pueblo se reunirán para discutir varias cuestiones importantes relacionadas con el partido y el país. El NPC es el segundo cuerpo supremo de gobierno del PUP, con representación de todos los treinta y un grupos. El NPC se reúne cada tres meses. Como un cuerpo que es responsable de la dirección de las políticas, organización, administración y prestación de la disciplina del partido. El NPC tiene el poder de hacer todo lo necesario para el cumplimiento de la Constitución del partido, incluyendo el logro de los objetivos y propósitos del partido. El Consejo Nacional del Partido está sujeto únicamente a la autoridad suprema, que es la Convención Nacional. El año pasado el partido celebró una serie de consultas que han revelado que algunas de las mayores preocupaciones de los fieles del partido fue la sensación de que el Partido se había separado de sus amarras filosóficas de servicio al pueblo, luchando por los marginados y más para los pobres. Uno de los mayores retos para el nuevo liderazgo tanto, es que el partido retornara a sus principios originales para que los seguidores nos puedan ver como el partido por el pueblo. Todos nosotros en el PUP reconocemos que nuestro movimiento comenzó como un movimiento obrero y que más importancia debe darsele a nuestros trabajadores de Belice. Por eso vamos a afirmar que, si bien vamos a proteger el derecho "a la titularidad de la propiedad privada," nuestro partido también "prohibe la explotación del hombre por el hombre o por el Estado". Asimismo, creemos que debemos "proteger los derechos de los trabajadores a organizarse, sindicalizarse y a poder hacer huelga”. También creemos "que debe disponerse de medios adecuados de subsistencia para todos, que el trabajador no deben ser explotado u obligado por la necesidad económica para operar en condiciones inhumanas, sino que debe haber oportunidad de progresar sobre la base del reconocimiento del mérito, capacidad e integridad , que la igualdad de protección se debe dar a todos los niños independientemente de su condición social y que un sistema justo debe garantizar y proveer la educación y la salud sobre la base de la igualdad ". En nuestros fines y los objetivos, nuestro grupo también hará algunos cambios fundamentales. Creemos que hemos sido bendecidos con recursos naturales y no deben tener los altos niveles de pobreza que estamos sufriendo actualmente y que nuestra gente es nuestro recurso más importante. Un informe reciente sobre el estado de la pobreza muestra que la pobreza ha aumentado desde 2003 de 33 por ciento a 42 por ciento en 2009. Esto es inaceptable y nuestro partido va a proponer el domingo que nuestro objetivo final como el PUP será la eliminación de la pobreza y la creación de un mundo más justo y la igualdad de Belice. En los objetivos y propósitos del PUP, se propone "lograr la plena independencia económica por medio de una política nacional que estimule el aumento de la productividad y el desarrollo económico y fomentar la confianza y el pleno empleo". Como un partido "garantizará que todos los beliceños tengan igual acceso a una educación de calidad, pertinente y útil, desde el nivel preescolar hasta el nivel universitario, con un énfasis especial en la matriculación y completacion del nivel secundario" y también aspiramos a que "todos los beliceños tengan acceso a un sistema de calidad universal de salud” Aunque me doy cuenta de que algunos pueden pensar que estos objetivos son imposibles de alcanzar, soy optimista, porque el Partido Unido del Pueblo es un grupo de visionarios. En 1950, cuando George Price habló de un Belice independiente, muchos pensaron que era un sueño imposible, pero el señor Price nunca se dio por vencido y después de 31 años de duro trabajo Belice obtuvo su independencia. Hoy Belice está pidiendo al Partido Unido del Pueblo, una vez más, a soñar en grande y hacer realidad estos sueños. Podemos hacerlo de nuevo y si se llevará a cabo, si queremos un partido UNIDO. Unamos nuestras manos y el corazón y continuemos con esta revolución progresista.
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NATION BUILDERS
FLO JOHNSON
Elizabeth Pridgeon Philanthropy, coined in Ancient Greece, is a ter m derived from two Greek words: ‘philos’ meaning to love, benefit or nourish, and ‘anthropos’ meaning human kind, thus a philanthropist is a person who is devoted in their love for fellow humans. Ms Flo Johnson is doubtless the epitome of a philanthropist, and it is the social love of her fellow Punta Gorda citizens that qualifies Ms Flo as a quintessential nation builder of Belize. Miss Flo was born into the Pennell family in Punta Gorda, although after the premature death of her mother she was raised by her maternal grandmother. She attended St Peter Claver Primary School in the town, and later Claver College. In 1967, her educational ambition saw her strive to attend St John’s Sixth Form College, sponsored by her maternal aunts, and her grandmother and younger brother moved with her to Belize City. Upon graduation in 1969, Ms Flo was invited to return to her home town of PG to accept a teaching post at Claver College, which she remained in for eight years. Despite her passion for teaching, once she began to create a family of her own and she acquired the added responsibilities of wife and mother, Ms Flo resigned from her teaching post and established a shop in order to be able to care for her daughters whilst working. The idea of her children being raised by a domestic help was unthinkable for Ms Flo, and this shop-keeping solution enabled her to continue financially supporting her family whilst also providing the domestic stability and nourishment needed by her husband and daughters. Johnson’s Store established itself selling clothes, shoes and cosmetics, and later branched out to stock various stationery requirements (principally ser ving the town’s students and teachers). However, Ms Flo’s teaching career was far from over. In the late 1990s, a Claver College reunion inspired a group of alumni to realise that their successes in life were down to a solid educational foundation, received at the College during their teenage years. With the guidance of Father Webber, the group strove to establish an extension college, as exemplified by the St John’s Extension in Belize City. The dream of providing the same opportunities in Punta Gorda seemed too ambitious in the early stages of planning, but through the hard work and determined perseverance of this small group of volunteers, in August 1999 the Claver Extension opened its doors to students wishing to partake in evening classes in order to acquire their High School Diplomas. Ms Flo, instr umental in the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e C o l l e g e, continued her contributions through filling the post of English teacher (and occasionally assistant Spanish
teacher too). The first year of the Claver Extension, nineteen students (from teenagers to forty-somethings) enrolled to develop their educational foundations, and hopefully realise greater employment opportunities for themselves in the long-term. So, despite running her own business and supporting her three daughters in their early lives and education, Ms Flo still found the time and inspiration to teach evening classes – entirely voluntarily. The Extension progressed by charging its students $600/year, but this fee covered only essential utilities and equipment, and only after several semesters were the teachers awarded a stipend (which, Ms Flo admits, was channelled directly back into the Extension through purchasing stationery and necessities for the classes). The Claver Extension College has graduated over 100 students, many of whom have gone on to be very successful members of the Belizean business community. Yet Ms Flo is disappointed that even a decade later, the College is still not recognised in the national education budget, despite promises from the UDP administration during the pre-election campaign that if they were voted into government, they would provide an annual stipend to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. Two years ago, Ms Flo resigned from her teaching post because she felt she had neglected her personal business for the sake of the College, which by then was sufficiently established to continue without her professional contribution; she does, however, maintain an avid interest in the College’s affairs, and willingly offers advice and guidance to the current acting personnel. This academic year, almost 100 students are attending classes towards their High School Diploma, and the catchment area of enrolment now extends throughout the villages of Toledo, as far north as Mango Creek. Two years ago, Ms Flo downscaled her stationery store in order to create more time to reorganise her fatherin-law’s hardware enterprise, and she has since employed a University of
Belize student to assist with Johnson’s Store (simultaneously assisting him with meeting the financial costs of his degree). Thus she remains as busy as always, despite her daughters now being scattered across the Americas, and her maternal duties having been relieved of some of their former responsibilities. For the immediate future, she will continue participating in every aspect of the Punta Gorda business and social scene (and, from the number of people wishing to pass the time of day with her, it seems she
is one of the town’s most revered social butterflies!). In fact, only a couple of months ago, Ms Flo established a youth program in association with the Methodist Church (where she also acts as a Lay Minister) to encourage parental support and community mentoring for troubled youths, recognising the increasing breakdown of society and the lacking essential values within many families. Ms Flo is a firm believer that social disintegration is a direct result of inadequate discipline being enforced whilst children are growing up, and her successful daughters are proof that loving (yet not overly lenient) parental leadership is essential in instilling a sense of personal responsibility amid younger generations. Ms Flo continues to contribute to various aspects of society, and undoubtedly she will continue to do so (except when she eventually fulfils her lifelong ambition and tours Europe!). Ms Flo has served the business community of Punta Gorda, she has served the educational sector of the entire Toledo district, yet above all, her worthiness is in her essential philanthropic nature: building a brighter and better Belize has always been the top of priorities for Ms Flo, and for this reason she is recognised as a Belize Times’ Nation Builder.
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VOICES Village
from the
LAGUNA
Elizabeth Pridgeon In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of Ketchi Maya who had fled forced labour and discrimination in Via Alta Paz in Guatemala the previous century, again were forced to flee suffering and strife in their ‘home’ village and migrate. This village was San Miguel (Toledo), and the new village that they created became the flourishing community of Laguna. Laguna is situated approximately ten miles northwest of Punta Gorda town, and its village access road leads directly to the recently-paved Southern Highway. With a population of around 350 residents, Laguna is not a sizeable village, even for Toledo standards, but the services and facilities that it boasts are all an impressive consequence of hard work and determination of its Ketchi residents. Laguna was one of the first villages to enrol in the Toledo Ecotourism Association (TEA) Guesthouse Program, which is still running today. This enables socially-responsible tourists to support local ecotourism initiatives, whilst experiencing holistic Ketchi life (village affairs, milpa agriculture and culinary traditions are all on display for the visitors to experience). However, concerns are being raised by numerous villagers that Laguna Guesthouse has not received any custom for over a year. Members of the Women’s Group in the village explained that several groups had booked a trip in advance, but were later advised against it due to the state of continued ill-repair of the Kendall Bridge which could leave the tourists ‘stranded’ if heavy rains came. Villagers of Laguna have therefore been left even more dependent on their traditional milpa systems as a source of income. Rice, cacao, livestock and timber are all raised on family smallholdings, currently sized around 25 acres per household, which are subdivisions made on communal land leases. There is much uncertainty throughout the village about the contentious communal versus private land issue that is currently being debated between various indigenous factions including the Maya Leaders’ Alliance and The Citizens group. Whichever way the village decide on the issue, the access road to the villagers’ farm land is one of the principal concerns raised among farmers, in order for them to better improve their agricultural efficiency. The Toledo Cacao Growers Association (TCGA) also supports the village economy, and residents seem satisfied with the $2.20 per pound price currently offered by the association for well-fermented and well-dried cacao. Before this alternative, village cacao production was kept at a
subsistence level, and only small quantities were sold at the Punta Gorda market, or to neighbouring villages that occasionally sought to supplement their supply. The one relatively recent problem to arise concerns the fundamental management of the village. The Alcalde fulfils his role involving law and order in
the community, and even the incidence of domestic violence (often excluded from an Alcalde’s priorities) is beginning to decrease. However, the village Chairman is widely criticized as neglecting his role. Last month, the Chairman, Mr Eduardo Coy, was asked by fellow councillors to call a village meeting to discuss issues and to arrange the well overdue fajina to distribute communal duties among villagers. If he continues to delay this, the Vice Chairman, Mr Vicente Sackul, claims that he will have to follow the guidelines of the Village Council Act and independently call a meeting which may potentially overthrow the Chairman from his role. Another issue related to this is the apparent absence of any financial reports from the council having been submitted either for the perusal of the villagers, or for the files in the Rural Development Office in Punta Gorda. Villagers suspect that money may be unaccounted for in the budget, which explains the Chairman’s reluctance to submit his monthly report. Due to this neglect on the part of the Chairman, villagers have independently organised themselves into labour groups, ensuring that even without the usual level of supervision, streets continue to be cleaned and communal help continues to be given to villagers (such as rallying groups to help with drying and storing rice). On first impressions, the village seems far removed from the urban areas of Belize, but it is amazing the facilities that the villagers maintain for communal purposes. The residents are proud of their natural heritage, encouraging people to visit the unique ceremonial cave with pictographs, or to take a tour around the Aguacaliente Lagoon Reserve, which provides employment for a couple of local guides from the village. Laguna also boasted one of the first water pumping systems for villagers as early as the 1980s, and in the 1990s a community corn mill
was established to assist the women with producing ground corn for making tortillas. The village is also home to a computer centre, although the satellitepowered internet facilities are currently discontinued due to insufficient funds to meet the $175 monthly fee. Similarly, the community library is currently closed due to administrative problems. The health clinic is in desperate need of
repair, causing visiting medics to create makeshift clinics in the community centre rather than use the poor clinic designed for this purpose; similarly, the school
with
needs a little renovating, and one classroom in particular is persistently victim to flooding and poor drainage, which makes classes during heavy rains impossible without sharing classrooms. Laguna has a remarkable history of providing for itself – sustainable agriculture, ecotourism and a focus on education has helped the village continue to develop. However, current problems are increasingly hindering the village from continuing to move forward, and without external help from the Toledo district or the Belizean government, the village will struggle to continue i t s i m p r e s s i ve developments over the coming years. Laguna residents are aware of the predicament in which they find themselves, and welcome any truly beneficial support that will enable Laguna to continue progressing into the twenty-first century.
jazz vibes
Dolores
every Wednesday night 8pm to 10pm
Vibes Radio 90.5 FM & 102.9 FM
Sunday, December 6, 2009
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BELIZE TEE SHIRTS (COROZAL)
Elizabeth Pridgeon Elwyn Pitts has always been an adventurous entrepreneur, and in his youth he trained as a Belizean cabinet maker, a skill he later took to the US with him, where he also experimented as a restaurant owner. Mr Pitts’ most successful enterprise, however, was as a tee-shirt printer, a trade that he has perfected over more than twenty years of experience, enabling him to become the proud owner of Belize Tee Shirts (Corozal). The company was first situated in Belize City for a period of three years before moving to its current location on 2nd Street North in Corozal four years ago. Since then, the company has continued to grow. The principal focus of the com-
TRENDY CORNER BOUTIQUE
Elizabeth Pridgeon With Christmas almost upon us, it is time for present buying once again, and Orangewalkeños can rest assured that “Trendy Corner Boutique” has a variety of presents in stock. Trendy Corner Boutique is a fashion shop targeting ladies’ clothing and cosmetic needs, particularly those of teenagers and young adults. The centrally located store, on the corner of Queen Victoria Street and George Street, is stocked with fashionable clothes, shoes, make-up, cosmetics and toiletries in anticipation of the festive season. Products include covergirl make-up, Victoria Secrets cosmetics, and some divinely-scented bath foams and lotion sets, imported from all around the world (such as a Créme Brulée body lotion from Europe). Aside from these and clothes, there are other sidelines too available for customers to choose from, including sunglasses, underwear, body jewels and stickers, children’s jewellery and professional pedicure sets. The store also occasionally acquires some exquisite men’s cologne and a few clothes lines for men too. So for all your Christmas needs, be it a present for a loved one, or a treat for yourself, pop into Trendy Corner Boutique for some great gift ideas!
pany is the sale of uniquely printed t-shirts, although Belize Tee Shirts also offers custom designed screen-printing services to customers, predominantly
on cloth materials (principally tee shirts) but also on other commodities such as coffee mugs and identity buttons. Alongside these main sales, the shop
Sunday, December 6, 2009
also has sidelines including caps, jewellery, keyrings, badges and authenticstyled carvings. All company made attire is produced on the premises with the assistance of a local printer and a local artist. Belize Tee Shirts has also secured a couple of national contracts including the printing of t-shirts for the Belize Audubon Society and the more recent contract to provide Belize sports jerseys to various teams, including football, basketball, volleyball and baseball. The company’s Corozal premises are open from 9am until 5pm Monday to Friday, and on a Saturday from 8am till 12 noon. The company welcomes any specific requests for the printing of photos or designs on various surfaces, from tee shirts to tea cups, and even if you don’t have a particular design in mind, their ready-made versions are guaranteed to inspire your imagination and encourage you to buy!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
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Belize #1 Sports Page
FC Belize stops BDF 2-1 in BPFL Championship finals San ignacio, November 29, 2009 FC Belize got on the good foot to secure a 3rd national championship after they outlasted the Belize Defence Force 2-1 in game 1 of the Belize Premier Football League championship finals at the Norman Broaster Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Harrison Tasher and Jerome Archer led the FC Belize offensive supported by Mark “Kelo” Leslie and Chris Gilharry at midfield. Tasher drilled home the first goal in the 30th minute of play to give the visitors a 1-0 lead going into the half time break. The BDF tried to get back into the ball game in the 2nd half, but it was FC Belize who extended their lead when Jerome Archer blasted in a 2nd goal in the 66th minute of play. Erwin “bird’ Flores narrowed the deficit when he scored for the BDF in the 77th minute of play. The BDF now pulled out all the stops as they strove for the equalizer but they could not get by the FC Belize defenders Shannon Flowers and Ian Gaynair who held off the BDF attacks until the final whistle. Game2 of the series comes up at the MCC garden on Sunday, and the BDF need a 2-goal margin of victory to secure the championship, while even a draw gives FC Belize their 3rd crown.
Triple B’s take on Gentle Touch in FFB women’s football finals The Triple B’s of Belmopan will take on the Gentle Touch girls of Esperanza Village, Cayo district in Game 1 of the national women’s football championship finals held by the Football Federation of Belize at the Norman Broaster Stadium on Saturday, December 5. Both clubs posted big wins in week 2 of the playoffs with the Triple B’s eliminating Belize City United 3-1 at the FFB Institute in Belmopan and Gentle Touch taking out Big Falls FC 5-0 at the Toledo Union field in Punta Gorda last Saturday. Belize City United needed a 2-goal margin of victory to advance to the finals as they had lost 2-1 the week before, and indeed they got on the scoreboard first on a strike by Sheriann “Baby” Tracy in the 18th minute of play. The city defenders Melony Tasher, Adelma Broaster and Helen Flowers held the capital city girls at bay, almost up to intermission as they strove for that 2nd goal to take them to the finals. Alas for the Belize City girls, it was not to be. Miriam Villamil and Kaina Martinez led the Triple B’s counterattack
with the support of Tara Hernandez, Kaya Cattouse and Lynette “Panchy” Gabourel at midfield and Villamil blasted in the equalizer past the Belize City goalie Ermine Ferguson in the 43rd minute of play. It was now a whole new ball game as both teams retired for the half time break. The Triple B’s came out strong in the 2nd half, while the Belize City girls Kayla Myvett, Salambu Munnings and Amira Acosta fought desperately to regain the advantage, while the defenders held off the Triple B’s attacks and Villamil’s perseverance finally paid off when she scored the game winner in the 85th minute of play. Kaina Martinez delivered a 3rd goal for insurance in the 88th minute for a 3-1 win at the long whistle. The Gentle Touch girls had it all their own way when they visited Big Falls FC at the Toledo field in Punta Gorda. Kimberly Perez scored a hat trick in the 1st half and Cynthia Salazar added a 4th goal to give Gentle Touch a 4-0 lead at the half time break. A 5th strike by Cindy Fuentes sealed the 5-0 win for Gentle Touch.
Belize Karate Federation to host 2010 Central American championships The Belize Karate Federation and the Red Dragon Martial Arts Academy hosted the 14th Open Karate Championships at the Belize City Center on Sunday as the Belize Karate Federation prepares to host the 2010 Central American karate championships for the first time at the Belize City Center from February 14-22, 2010. In the under-35 kilo class kumite for 10-12 year-olds, Denton Jones won 4-1 against Earon Grinage in the final and 4-0 over Basil Brown in the 1st round. Earon Grinage took 2nd place by a 4-1 win over Mark Swift, who won 3rd place by a 3-0 win over Basil Brown. In the under-35 kilo class kumite for 6-9 year-olds, Gabriel Lisbey won 8-2 against Nazeem Ahmad in the final. Ahmad took 2nd place by a 7-3 win over Corey Garcia in the 1st round. Joseph Emmanuel won 3rd place by a 7-3 win over Corey Garcia. In the under-35 kilo class kumite for 6-9 year-old girls, Sarah De Ganes of the Cayo Shotokan Karate Club from San Ignacio won 1st place by a 5-4 win over T’jarri Yearwood of the Belize City Center dojo. Cayo’s Hienna Garcia took 3rd place. In the under-40 kilo class kumite, Grayson Ewing of the Red Dragon Martial Arts Academy of Belize City won 7-0 over Joseph Goff of the Belize City Center dojo. Grayson also won 4-1 against Romain Romero in the 1st round, while Goff won 6-1 over Elijah Juan of Cayo Shotokan,
who took 3rd place. In the under-45 kilo class kumite for 8-12 year-olds, Cody Eck of the Martial Arts Academy won 1st place by a 3-0 win over Jurel Valdez of Cayo Shotokan in the final. Cody also won 7-0 over Andrew Castillo in the 1st round; Cayo’s Aaron Palacio took 3rd place. In the under-60 kilo class kumite for 11-15 year-old girls, 12-year-old Cara Pastor of Cayo Shotokan won 7-1 against her big sister Nerici Pastor, 14, in the final. Cara also won 5-0 against Halle Spence, who won 4-1 over Stephanie Robateau to take 3rd place. Nerici won 5-3 against Stephanie. In the under-60 kilo class kumite for 11-15 year-olds, Arian Canul of the Red Dragon Martial Arts Academy won 2-0 win over Joshua Goff of the Belize City Center dojo in the final. Arian won 6-0 over Raheem Emmanuel in the 1st round, while Joshua won 4-0 over Yanik Young to take 2nd place. Yanick won 3rd place over Raheem Emmanuel. In weapons kata with boo (staff), judos (2 clubs) and non-chakus, Arian Canul won 1st place, Tyrin Tasher won 2nd place and Halle Spence took 3rd place. In the under-60 kilos Primary Schools kumite, Meshak Jones won the 3-2 over Christian Robateau. In the 60-70 kilo junior kumite, Devereaux Carillo of Cayo Shotokan won 1st place by a 6-2 win over Tyrin Tasher of the Red Dragon Martial Arts Academy. Carillo also won 7-6 over Micah Vernon of the Martial Arts Academy. Tasher won
2nd place by a 2-1 win over Calvert Quilter. Micah won 3rd place by a 7-6 win over Calvert Quilter. In the 60-70 kilo adult female kumite, 16-year-old Asha Pastor of Cayo Shotokan won 3-2 over Myra Pinelo in the final. Asha also won 7-3 over Kimberly Bowman in the first round, while Myra Pinelo won 10-4 over Anne Link. Kimberley won 3rd place by a 9-7 win over Anne Link. In the adult male kumite, 17-year-old Deon Vernon of Red Dragon Martial Arts academy won 1st place 8-5 over Anthony Lord. Vernon had also won 10-3 over Leon Muslar, while Lord had won 3-0 over Melvin Armstrong to take 2nd place. Armstrong won 3rd place 9-0 over Angel.
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Belize #1 Sports Page
San Felipe Barcelona is No.1 in Belize Bank Superleague semifinals S a n Fe l i p e B a r c e l o n a i s almost through to the Belize Bank Superleague football championship finals after a 3-1 upset of the defending champs Valley Renaissance in Game 1 of the semifinals at the Carl Ramos Stadium on Saturday night. Kraal Road FC struggled to a 2-2 draw with the 2007 champs Tex Mar United, after being down 0-2 at the MCC garden on Sunday. There was no joy in Dangriga when San Felipe Barcelona took a 1-0 lead on a strike by Oscar Acevedo in the 39th minute to take a 1-0 lead into the half time break. Acevedo blasted in a 2nd goal for the visitors in the 58th minute, and 2nd half substitute Hipolito Andrade iced the victory with a 3rd goal in the 82nd minute. The game was almost over when Valley defender Jason Kelly finally scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute. San Felipe Barcelona will host Valley Renaissance in San Felipe on Sunday, December 6. Kraal Road FC has won 1-0 over Tex Mar United at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium, and the independence squad will desperately need a home win when they host Kraal Road FC on
Saturday night. Tex Mar drew first blood over Kraal Road at the MCC on Sunday on a free kick executed by Hilberto Muschamp in the 9th minute of play. Tex Mar’s defenders Bernard Linares, Wilhelm Coe, Brent Whyte and Kishane Pech held the Kraal Road forwards Leon Jones and Raymond “Killa” Gentle, Jason Young and Whitfield Patnett scoreless to take a 1-zip lead into the half time break. Kraal Road’s Mark Grant and David Macaulay Jr. were breaking up the Tex Mar plays at midfield in an effort to create a play for their strikers, but it was Deon Burgess who drilled in a 2nd goal for the visitors in the 65th minute of play. It was not until Tyrone “T-bone” Muschamp and Delroy “Thinman” Andrews entered the ball game for Kraal Road that the tide changed and they won a free kick, which Andrews bent around the wall of defenders to embarrass Tex Mar goalie Charlie Slusher in the 80th minute of play. Jack Dawson entered the ball game for Kraal Road and connected with the ball when the ball was centered on a corner kick to drive in a 2nd goal in the 88th minute.
Gwen Liz & Pallotti girls win thru to CSSSA basketball finals The undefeated Gwendolyn Lizarraga High School girls will take on the No.3 seed Pallotti High School girls in the Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) basketball finals on Thursday night, after they posted their 6th win 48-3 over the St. Catherine Academy girls in the semifinals at the Belize City Center on Monday. The Pallotti girls are also through to the finals by a win over the No. 2 seed Wesley College girls on Tuesday night. Glenda Torres led with 20pts as the Gwen Liz girls romped to a 48-3 win over the SCA girls in Monday’s semifinals. Sheryn Nunez added 7pts, team Captain Candice Neal drained in a trey as she and Jaslyn Cadle added 5pts each and Kenya Brown and Audrianna Meighan scored a bucket each. Analisa Habet scored a bucket for SCA and Ashley Pelayo scored
a free throw. Vicky Zelaya led with 14 pts as the Pallotti girls upset the No.2 seeded Wesley College girls 21-16 in Tuesday’s semifinals. Janelle Pott hit a trey as she added 5 pts, and Khadijah Wilson had scored the first bucket. Devonnay Herrera led the Wesley girls with 7pts, while Kelsey Roches added 4pts and Anna Pinto chipped in 3pts. The Gwen Liz girls enjoyed their 5th win by blowing away the Wesley College girls 56-8 last Friday night. Again Glenda Torres led with 24 pts, Sheryn Nunez added 15 pts, and Deandra Coote had 8pts, while Candice Neal chipped in 6pts. Devonay Herrera scored 4 buckets for all of Wesley’s 8pts.
UB girls win 2009 ATLIB basketball champs The University of Belize girls won the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) national basketball championships held at the St. John’s College gymnasium last Saturday, November 28. In Game 1, UB’s Kimberly Spence scored 14 pts as she led the UB girls to a 50-17 win over the Wesley Junior College girls. Ashley Elrington and Kara Kislyn added 8pts while Stephanie James had 7pts and Shalika Ferguson – 5pts. Shelene Myers led the Wesley girls with 8pts, Ashley Gladden chipped in 5pts and Kenisha James – 4 pts. In Game 2, the Wesley girls won 2nd place by a 21-15 win over the
Stann Creek Ecumenical Junior College girls. Shelene Myers hit a trey as she led Wesley girls with 9 pts, Jolene Williams led the Ecumenical girls with 8 pts, and the game a 10-10 tie at the half. Ashley Gladden added 7pts for Wesley, Kenisha James hit a trey and Shakira Faber tossed in one bucket for the win. In Game 3, the UB girls ran over the Ecumenical girls 34-7, leading 19-1 at the half. Nelisa Ramirez led with 12 pts, Ashley Elrington chipped in 6pts and Kimberly Spence and Shalika Ferguson added 4 pts each while Stacy Pope added 5pts. Jolene Williams led Ecumenical with 5 pts.
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The Belize TimeS
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Belize #1 Sports Page
Sadie Vernon boys take on Gwen Liz in CSSSA basketball finals The No.2 seeded Gwen Lizarraga High School boys will take on the undefeated Sadie Vernon Technical High School boys in the Central Secondary Schools Sports Association (CSSSA) basketball finals on Thursday night, after posting their 9th win 73-66 over the No. 3 seed St. John’s College boys in the semifinals at the Belize City Center on Tuesday night. The Sadie Vernon boys won thru to the finals by a 78-71 win over the Ladyville Technical High School boys in Monday’s semifinals. Gwen Liz captain Sherwin Garcia led with 28 pts, while their big center Matthew Young added 23 pts. Akeem Trapp hit a long trey as he added 7 pts while Dale Tillett had 6pts and Raheem Flowers scored one bucket. Kendis Williams led the S.J.C. boys with 28 pts, while Raheem Staine added 11pts, Brandon Castillo had 9 pts and Devin Daly – 8pts. Khalil Enriquez and Kingsley Eusey played big D, battling Matthew Young for rebounds, each scored a bucket. Kachief Thomas had a blast leading the Sadie Vernon boys with 39 pts, 19 of which were from the charity stripe, while Lindon Reneau added 14pts. Peter Mckoy had 11pts while Raheem Gaynair added 5pts and Aaron Cooper and Brown chipped in 4pts each. The Ladyville Tech boys really gave Sadie Vernon a run for their money, tying the score at 41-41 and 49-49 in the 3rd quarter and they even took a 4-pt lead
in the 4th quarter. Russell Staine led the attack with 25 pts, while Oswin Nunez had 22pts. Fitzgerald Alvarez tossed in 14pts and Jael Ottley hit 3 buckets for 6 pts. The Sadie Vernon boys had barely squeaked past the Gwen Liz boys 80-78 last Thursday night. Kachief Thomas had hit a trey as he led Sadie Vernon with 28pts, while Aaron Cooper added 19 pts and Raheem Gaynair also hit a trey as he added 15 pts. Ryan Michael had 5pts and Landon Reneau – 4pts. Matthew Young rammed home a couple alley-oop dunks as he led Gwen Liz with 41 pts, Akeem Trapp tossed in 15pts and Raheem Flowers added 13pts. The Sadie Vernon boys had also won 63-57 over Tubal Institute last Wednesday. The SJC boys had posted their 6th win 71-61 over the winless Edward P. Yorke High School boys last Wednesday. Kendis Williams led SJC with 15pts, Devin Daly added 13pts, Brandon Castillo had 11 pts and Raheem Staine – 9pts. Hanson Crawford led the E.P. Yorke boys with 18 pts, Trevor Mcfoy had 17 pts and Terique Gabb - 16pts. The Ladyville Tech boys won thru to the playoffs as the no.4 seed by an 85-71 win over the Tubal Institute boys last Friday night. The Nazarene High boys ended their season on an upbeat note with a 55-38 win over the Anglican Cathedral College boys in Friday’s nightcap.
UB men win 2009 ATLIB basketball champs Farron Louriano rammed home several dunks to lead with 34 pts, while Jarrel Velasquez had 10pts and Williams and Lennon – 9 pts each. Galen’s Andy Bahadur led with 9pts; Earl Swasey added 7 pts and Shane Rosales – 6pts. The Sacred Heart men also won 59-48 over the Stann Creek Ecumenical men. Elroy Willis led with 25 and Regis Morris added 13pts, while Elvis Usher and Shelton Defour each hit a trey, Usher to add 9pts while Defour had 8pts. Franz Nunez hit 2 treys as he led Ecumenical with 26 pts. The Wesley Junior College men had 2 wins 58-048 over the Ecumenical
T h e University of Belize men won the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) national basketball championships held at the St John’s College g ymnasium last Saturday, November 28. In Game 1, the UB men won 54-32 over the Muffles Junior College men from Orange Walk. Stephen “Muerte” Williams led UB with 16pts, and Jorret Jones added 13pts while Farron Louriano chipped in 9pts and Travis Lennon had 8pts. Felix Martinez led the Muffles men with 14 pts, while Carlton Barrera and Ryan Martinez each hit a trey, Anthony Trapp and Alvin Tillett added 4pts each. In Game 2, the Sacred Heart Junior
College men of San Ignacio won 56-51 over the St. John’s Junior College men. Team captain Elroy Willis led with 16 pts and Regis Morris had 10 pts, while Joseph Trapp and Elvis Usher each added 5pts. Dudley Smith chipped in 3 pts and Humberto Requena tossed in one bucket. Edgar August hit 3 treys as he led SJCJC with 17pts and Marshall Nunez Jr. had another 12pts. In Game 4, the Muffles men won 73-44 over the Galen Gators, Carlton Barrera leading the attack with 22 pts, Felix Martinez added 17pts and Anthony Trapp had 11pts. Tillett and Ryan Martinez chipped in 6pts each. Galen’s Andy Bahadur also scored 22pts. In Game 5 the UB men stomped the Galen University Gators 79-22,
men and 34-32 over SJCJC. Kareem Elrington had 12 pts and Stafford Young 11pts against Ecumenical, while Young had 12 and Elrington – nine against SJCJC. In the championship final; the UB men blew away the Sacred Heart Junior College men 73-1. Farron Louriano led with 34 pts, Williams added 11pts, and Jarrel Velasquez had 10pts. Jorret Jones and Travis Lennon added 7pts each and Daniel Nolberto added 8pts in money time. Sacred Heart’s Elvis Usher hit 2 treys while Regis Morris and Edson Swift each tossed in one bucket.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
Sober
Reflections
A ride on the Barrow Express…danger ahead! it. What we heard today is what we’ve been saying all along. BTL head and Barrow’s telecommunications guru Net Vasquez confirmed that there will be practically endless litigation ahead. With the exception of Lois, nobody exactly smiled at that news. But from the very beginning of this mess, when Dean Barrow stood up and said that his move to hijack BTL would bring an end to all the legal battles versus Ashcroft, we humble politicos have maintained that Barrow was lying.
By: Mike Rudon Jr. There’s a definite downside to being a writer who is recognized as a political sycophant and whose works are found within the pages of a political newspaper. Sure, rabid supporters of the PUP generally think it’s good stuff, probably the same way they think anything negative about the UDP is good stuff. Rabid supporters of that other party now in Government will think it’s all a load of bull, the same way they think anything negative about the UDP is a load of bull. And the downside – well, the thing is that a lot of people in the middle give political writing like this little credibility because of who is writing it. Hell, this piece you’re reading now could be the Holy Grail of literary works, but because I wrote it, some people will dismiss the truth of the message because of the political persuasion of the messenger. See what I’m getting at? But with that said and out of the way, the truth is still the truth is still the truth. And the truth is that Belizeans are being taken for a ride. All Aboard…the Barrow Express to nowhere nice is on the tracks. I happened to sit in on a press conference given by the Board of Directors of BTL (that’s Barrow Telemedia Ltd. to you) today and I can tell you that it was a scary experience. And no, it wasn’t scary because of the hate looks directed at yours truly by my and GOB’s favourite attorney Lois or other select members of the UDP – though that was plenty unsettling. The press conference made me uneasy because it basically confirmed what I’ve been thinking (also saying and writing) at every opportunity. BTL (insert Belize here if you wish) is a rudderless ship with an ego-driven, ability-challenged megalomaniac power junkie at the helm. See, the press conference was a sterling example of all glitter and no substance. There was nothing positive to report, which was a little surprising considering Barrow’s tear-jerking, heart-pounding soliloquy in the House of Representatives when he hijacked the company. Hell, after that speech Belizeans would have been perfectly justified in believing that with the ‘white man/virus/Lucifer/source of all evil’ booted out and Sir Barrow at the helm astride his red stallion, gold dust would have rained out of the sky atop BTL and common Belizeans like me and you would be in the glory. But that hasn’t exactly happened, has
So today’s confirmation by Vasquez was no news to us. And then there’s this pesky little rumour that BTL has been losing money under GOB management. Barrow had said that was absolute nonsense, a dastardly lie by the opposition. Well then Barrow should have a conversation with Net Vasquez, who today confirmed that the company’s revenues are down, and he believes that the financial situation will be worse by the time figures for this fiscal year roll in. He said it, Dean. Well, actually we did too. And we weren’t lying. In my mind, what it all boils down to is this. A caller to the morning show on Vibes Radio made some comments today about being careful to not defend ‘the white man.’ We’ve all heard the Kremandala/Barrow spin on ‘the white man raping the country/get rid of the despot/ give BTL back to Belizeans.’ See, that’s all well and good. But it’s important to not be carried away by the passion of a cause and to call a spade a spade. So here goes – if BTL is now for Belizeans, how exactly are you and I and the little man on the street benefitting? I challenged the caller on the show this morning and I use this forum to send out the same challenge. Let’s leave the ‘white man/virus/Lucifer/source of all evil’ out of this for the time being. Today, more than three months after Barrow gave back BTL to Belizeans, what have we gotten out of it? As I looked at
26 the head table this morning, I could see what certain people have gotten out of it, that’s for damned sure. I could practically imagine Lois laughing hysterically atop a mountain of cash. She sure has benefitted from the BTL move. So has Anwar. So have Net Vasquez and a few other select UDP cronies. But how have we benefitted? Are we getting better service…well no! Are we getting increased features… well no! Have we gotten better rates… certainly not! So since BTL is now for us, where exactly can we line up to collect all the benefits? Hate the messenger if you will, and to that I say only – get in line. But use the sense God gave you and think about the message. Think about what has come out of the whole BTL thing. Think about what lies ahead. Think about the addition $45million in debt with which we have been burdened. Think about the money which must be paid to Lord Ashcroft as compensation because our Prime Minister decided to plop his balls on the table and play big. Think about the fact that the only Belizeans who have really benefitted from the BTL takeover are Barrows and FoBs (Friends of Barrow). I think if you do all this you may come to the same conclusion I have. We’ve all, through choice or kicking and screaming, been treated to a special ride on the Barrow Express.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize Times
Strictly Personal Limeys go home!
by glenntillett@yahoo.com “I suppose I could be persuaded otherwise, but it is hard for me to see, so to speak, how the continued public acrimony between the Government of Belize and two of our largest businesses, namely the Belize Bank and Belize Telemedia Limited, is helpful to anyone other than the fee collectors. Perhaps it seems so surreal, this massive expenditure of energy and money, because so many of us believe that the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile an already backlogged and clogged court system is further overburdened, and many, many, many cases already unreasonably delayed, are now in the purgatory-like nether land of “don’t know when.” “The constant personalization of this expensive quarrel is ruining investor confidence. I dare opine that this “commodity,” (“investor confidence” as quantified and tracked by economists in many countries), is at an all-time low here in Belize. I maintain that we’ve been able to weather the “sturm und drang” of the national and world economy primarily because of the historically high levels of direct foreign investment over the past decade. “All I’m saying, let’s give the peace of mediation a chance. The parties can always recourse to litigation at anytime, but it is the most high-risk, most expensive option for all concerned. As the elephants fight, the rest of us are hurting.” - Strictly Personal, August 2008 The Barrow Takeover Liability saga continued this week with our PM telling the British media that he had some advice for the next Prime Minister of Britain David Cameron, even if at home his hand-picked board of directors were reluctantly reporting that the company wasn’t all that after all. Apparently while attending last week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government summit in Trinidad Barrow couldn’t keep his ego in check and recklessly “warned” Conservative Party Leader David Cameron about a role for Lord Ashcroft, the Tories Deputy Chairman in his government. "It's not for me to presume to advise Mr. Cameron," Barrow said, and then did just that. Those of us familiar with his penchant for talking out of both sides of his mouth at once were not in the least surprised. But even those of us who are not unfamiliar with Barrow’s penchant for impetuosity, petulance and presumptuousness are surprised at his recklessness. Barrow’s train-wreck approach
to diplomacy is matched only by his obtuseness on economic matters. Belize is no longer experiencing the benefits of foreign direct investment but instead is hemorrhaging money from capital flight. Barrow reportedly has a Masters Degree in International Relations and I have to wonder if it was there he was taught to insult the Man Who Would Be Next To King? Barrow the military and economic expert warned that if his threats are not heeded well then the British will have to just take their soldiers and go home and in so doing he will also banish our only airbourne after dark emergency response – the Batsub helicopters. But no never matter mind, we know that he has already carefully thought it through and has already lined up replacements from Israel? There goes our intelligence capability and our oldest ally if things hold true to form and the Tories are victorious within the next four months, as is widely expected. There goes >$5 million annually
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… like I said, under Barrow’s economic policies foreign investment is a no no, capital flight is the in-thing. Meanwhile on Wednesday of this week Barrow’s handpicked board of directors told the nation what most of us already knew – BTL is hemorrhaging money and market share and nobody is interested in taking it off Barrow’s hands and our books. As we feared it is the opposite of the scenario Barrow painted in the House back in August of this year – more
litigation, more debt, less competition, less applications, no VOIP – all accompanied by a litany of lamentation. Ashcroft is still a problem so the news this week is that Barrow, not satisfied with declaring him an enemy of the state, wants to revoke his Belizean citizenship, seize his bank and declare him persona non grata. I need something a little more than a Thesaurus for that one because somehow reckless doesn’t quite seem to fit the bill.
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The Belize Times
S
PON DI GULLY The Criminal Justice System Mash Up?
By anthony sylvestre I suppose you cannot believe everything you see and hear on the nightly television newscast; or rather, there is usually more than that which is reported. If you saw Channel 7’s television newscast on Tuesday night, you would get the feeling that our criminal justice system is wrecked and mash up. The newscast reported that a young man who was charged with the armed robbery at the National Transport compound in January of this year got off, even though the crime was caught on camera. Pictures, they say, don’t lie. Yet, the young man beat the robbery rap. The story really sounded incredible, so much so that a few friends felt compelled to ask: “whe di goan wid unnu court system?” The story therefore piqued my interest. Naturally, I checked with the young man’s attorney to get the full hundred. In addition to the fact that the robbers in that January heist wore masks and their faces were therefore concealed, my colleague explained that no evidence was marshaled in court which connected the young man to the crime. I know you are probably asking: “So how come the young man was arrested in the first place.” The young man was another statistical arrest, I was told. But truth be told, a lot of criminal cases are falling apart in the courts of Belize these days. And many in the society increasingly are apathetic towards the criminal justice system. Many feel this is a consequence of legal technicalities, which they believe trump the desire to mete out justice. I was doing a trial the other day and I witnessed that hurricane of emotions which envelop victims when they see an accused walk free. The woman’s home was burglarized and various items of jewelry were stolen. During the course of the trial, the prosecutor threw in the towel and withdrew the case against my client when gross discrepancies were revealed in the witness’ evidence and the police exhibit. The woman could not understand the reason why this was so. No doubt she felt (and probably still does feel) that the case crumbled because of a mere technicality. This, as I said, is a pervasive view; that is, defendants get off because of technicalities. This perception of our criminal justice system as favouring criminals more than law abiding citizens is not unique to Belize. In developed countries like England or Ireland, their governments have been compelled to address this as it had the correlating effect of further deteriorating the confidence in the criminal justice system. To stop the hemorrhaging, something had to be done. The skewed nature of the criminal law
D E
in favour of an accused led to the commissioning of a report in Ireland which sought as its objective, “a balance in the criminal law”. The essence of the law is said to be commonsense and it does make a mockery of commonsense and our system law when a person who is clearly guilty is acquitted and walks free. For as has been said: “It would be totally abhorrent if a conviction which had been obtained by improper means, such as the corruption or coercion of a jury, should be allowed to stand. It would be equally abhorrent if an acquittal [not guilty verdict] obtained by the same methods should be allowed to stand. If attempts to sway the verdicts of jurors by intimidation or other corrupt means were allowed to go unchecked, they could eventually bring about the destruction of the [trial system].”
To this end, it is imperative that government not only look at some of the recommendations in other countries which were made to create a balance in the criminal law, but move to enact them. For my part, three such proposals which I believe can help to remedy this imbalance in the criminal justice system are; (i) allowing the prosecution to appeal in cases of wrongful acquittals (not guilty verdicts); (ii) the overturning of acquittals (not guilty verdicts) where there is evidence of new or newly discovered facts that the defendant was in fact guilty and (iii)
Sunday, December 6, 2009 overturning acquittals (not guilty verdicts) which were obtained by trial tampering (we all know what this is). Although I am a defence attorney, I am mindful that State has a responsibility to vindicate the rights of victims and that a defendant’s right to a fair hearing cannot be a monopoly or trump the rights of others in the society. The criminal justice system is a significant mechanism for vindicating those rights and therefore it must be seen to be operating to that end. If that is not done, the destruction of the criminal justice system gradually becomes the reality.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
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THE PATRIOT
SE A•CA•BÓ Big up to the Central American Black Organization (CABO). The organization has relapsed in Belize with the opening ceremonies that were nothing short of a spiritual experience. It was hard not to be seduced by the Panamanian drum rhythms into a metaphysical flashback of a people strengthened and divided by struggle. As I settled into my seat, after wading through the focused layers of head wrapped women, I smiled sheepishly as they addressed me confidently in a mixture of Garifuna and Spanish. Our sole connection was our destination for the next three hours and the tint of our skins. The isles were thick with the scent of well travelled bodies only comparable to the musk of a packed James Bus on a Friday evening. I managed the annoyed chastisement of the attendees behind me as they mumbled at the middle aged woman sitting beside me who was unable to take any control of the gases determined to seep from her body. It was then I realized that this ceremony would leave me with much more than an evening of entertainment. There was a bigger awakening, and there it was: culturally, we are weathering the might of the middle passage syndrome. What? Call it the shell shock of cramming for A-Level History but the thought that this must have been what a well polished version of the middle passage experience felt like did run through my head. I imagined the belly of a slave ship stuffed with brave warriors, weary from being shelved in dungeons of slave factories, only to become disposable tools on Caribbean plantations. I mean slaves were crammed on ships in droves just to feed the oceans of the infamous Middle Passage and only to ensure that the “brata” slaves were sufficient in number to serve the commercial slave labor needs. Their importance extended only in as much as they served the whims of first world consumerism. The African slave boarding the ship had no idea what lay ahead. Each was distracted and self absorbed in the singularity of his own plight. Africans who had made the Middle Passage to the plantations of the New World did not return to their homeland to tell what happened to those people who suddenly disappeared. In this cultural middle passage what is our strategy for resistance and what institutions and resources are dedicated to our survival? The truth is that the whole world is in transition. The tremor of that passing over of the superpower mantle has permeated every aspect of human affairs. Economically, the cracks from the quakes are unmistakable and intimidating, but the cultural sacrifices to this global transitioning are harder to recognize. In fact, the politics of identity is sure to be lost between those cracks. In terms of relevance, black identity, as it has been scourged over the past two hundred years, retains the least immunity to obliteration. Belize has been injected with many economic agents designed to dilute our cultural integrity. Ironically, tourism never helps. All that first world pimp does is to turn countries into caricatures of themselves. Blackness for consump-
tion purposes has to be compartmentalized and tamed. We are in this middle passage of a global transition, a search to redefine purpose and to be comforted by the new drivers of superpower economics. Some of us will not make it and the irreversible effects of a homogeneous and washed-out cultural awareness are the single most threatening waves to continued progress. Our changes must be our own and the responses from our natural voices. Organizations, in the spirit of CABO, should be a megaphone for meaningful social change and rebalancing. At first I felt slighted that blackness was squandered in the intellectual gibberish of Bert Tucker's vicarious experience of Belizean blackness as the guest speaker, and my finger pointing to effective inaction by black "babblers" in strategic positions, but I was tempered to respect the ‘overwhelm-
ingness’ of our plight when blackness is synonymous with nolle prosequi hurdlers on the evening news. Conversely, I am provoked to “bun out” all the "black" professionals who were no shows. Not one doctor in the crowd. There was ONE token politician, a handful of officials from the local host organizations. Now imagine having only five per cent of total attendees being local at an event hosted in downtown Belize City, the so-called black capital. NO lawyer, NO Judge, NO Magistrate, ONE Rastafarian, NO Senator, NO Union President. The absence of a notable businessman nagged at me the most because we all know that black progressiveness without black economic empowerment is a farce. Now, blackness is not the metronome of the choir’s rendition of “Kumbaya” nor the clanging of the conductor’s baton for harmony. Color is so fluid that to look at the color of a man’s skin as a measure of his blackness is a sure formula for disappointment. In fact, the old wives tale being packaged and fabled as true is that the UDP was somehow the representation of the colored elements in British Honduras. A most inexcusable error is to equate royal creoles with blackness. Nope. Big mistake, Kimosabe. Look at them. Finnegan only talks black. Boots is supposed to be black. Patrick Faber was once black. Saldivar eats black. Castro might be black and
29 Hutchy can spell black, I think. Now, I know what you are thinking and we will not be mean and put Dean and blackness in the same sentence - that would just be cruel. At least to his credit, Mr. Tommy Hilfiger has never tried to be black. As for Sedi who took Ashcroft’s money and named the building after Samuel Haynes??? Politicians in Belize are terrified of talking color unless it is the school yard phrase throwing of red and blue. Blackness is definitely not a guarantee to unity or commonality but it is a call to self awareness, self appreciation and progress. Redemption for our black people is in the scheduled CABO workshops which are to come this week but if previous trends of apathy stay true, this opportunity to stop and reflect will blow past us like a lee breeze....... Blacks are a non-prioritized - sometimes undeserving - endangered species who continually assault our own vulnerable status and give justification for the current prejudices of being treated with social borderline tolerance in Belize. Wonder why our black males are in crisis bringing shame and death to our likeness? Well don’t look to what we are doing....look at what we not doing..... but who cares, right? Lip service is taxing enough to satisfy any noise about what wasted melanin stuck in the epidermis should mean.
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The Belize Times
Sunday, December 6, 2009
THINK ‘BOUT IT
CONGRATULATIONS DPP Amidst the cool winds that come from the North this time of year and the expectations that early Christmas music is stirring among the populace, comes the news that Belize’s newest Director of Public Prosecutions was at the altar. That altar, dear readers is where we say I do. Cheryl Lyn Branker-Taitt was a few days ago joined in holy matrimony to Officer Vidal. “Love” in the words of an old classic song “is a many splendored thing. It is the April rose that only grows in the early spring. It is nature’s way of giving a reason to be living. The golden crown that makes a man a king. Once on a high and windy hill; In the morning must two lovers kissed and the world stood still. Then your fingers touched my silent heart and taught it how to sing. Yes, time sure is a many splendored thing.” In this stressful, upside down world we humans are forced to live in, love and money are the answers to just about everything. Big congratulations to the Bride and the Groom. THE DESTRUCTION OF DARREN BANKS Darren Banks had attracted media attention whenever the Police placed charges on him and hauled him off to the Courts. Not a single charge has ever struck. Banks has never been convicted. On one of the charges for which Magistrates cannot grant bail Banks remained in prison for several weeks. He had a nervous breakdown. When he returned to Court he told the Magistrate he saw snakes. The Prison is no place for a person needing mental and psychiatric attention. When Banks was released he acted normal and went about his regular business. Some weeks ago Banks had another breakdown. This time he shaved his head (he was an impressive dreadlocks). He shaved his girlfriend’s head. He behaved weird and aggressive. He is alleged to have stabbed the girl. He was remanded to prison and a psychiatric evaluation was requested by the Magistrate. Reports out of the prison are that Banks got no treatment and no counseling. What he got was pro-forma, standard crazy-man treatment. He got doses of muscle and motion retardants. These medications are said to be to specifically make docile a human being. Banks needs real professional help. Prison is no place for a person suffering a mental breakdown. His family needs to go into high gear. Belize has become a worthless place for the poor and the unfortunate. HURL HAMILTON Belize’s newest Magistrate is Mr. Hurl Hamilton. He was appointed three weeks ago by the Judicial Services Commission and is currently doing a familiarization stint with the Belize City magistrates before being posted to the Cayo Court. Mr. Hamilton obtained his law degree with credit from the University of Guyana which offers a similar course to that of the prestigious University of the West Indies. U.W.I. lecturers and Tutors do the second marking of exams for the Guyana University students. Dozens of ambitious Belizeans who are unable to enter UWI because of quota restrictions pursue their law degrees at the University of Guyana. Congratulations Magistrate Hamilton. We expect you to be true to your oath of office and dispense justice to all who come before you. We urge you to resist any and every attempt by slimy officials in Belmopan who have started to interfere with some Magistrates who are allowing their decisions to be influenced by the evil Pharaohs in the government. BELIZE MADE A MISTAKE Because our foreign policy is not a nationally known and approved one, the government recently dropped the ball. Belize signed an agreement with Israel which allows the citizens of both countries to visit without the need for visas. And Israel offered some technical help to Belize. Israel has a horrible record of inhumane treatment of Palestinians whose lands were captured in the 1967 war. Israel continues to defy United Nations Resolutions which condemns the illegal holding and occupation of these lands and require their return. Israel is a key ally of Guatemala which claims most of Belize. Were it not for British troops in Belize and the loud support of the Caribbean and Third World Leaders, Guatemala would have taken over most of Belize. They may still do so militarily. Belize was recently warned by its Foreign Minister Hon. Wilfred Elrington that if Belizeans reject the government’s efforts to take the Guatemalan dispute to the International Court of Justice, Belizeans should start preparing for war. Belize should not have cooperated with Israel unless and until it publicly acknowledges our sovereignty and territorial integrity. ZELAYA AND DEMOCRACY DEFEATED Big thanks go to the USA and President Barack Obama for supporting the oligarchy and ruling clique in neighboring Honduras. By an illegal coup de etat –i.e a military overthrow, a lawfully and democratically elected President Zelaya was overthrown in June this year. Sensing the disdain of the region for military overthrow of democracy, America announced it would not support the coup and any elections under their rule would not be recognized. But, surprise! Surprise! America reversed its stance and said it would recognize the elections held last Sunday in which an Oligarch candidate was elected. Four puppet nations followed America and recognized the elections. The rest of the region remains against it. Can anyone guess where Belize stands on the issue at this moment?
LIKE A PROPHET There he was on local television - his long whitish beard looking like Charlton Heston as Moses in the Classic biblical movie “The Ten Commandments”. And his words were like a Prophet. His sentiments are in sync with the sentiments of thousands of our disenchanted and downtrodden who once again see no hope. Dressed in his trade-mark military fatigues, we speak of none other than the controversial Rufus X. On Tuesday night 1st December 2009, Rufus X condemned the UDP government for doing nothing constructive for the past two years. He said he was getting tired of hearing the Prime Minister and other Ministers blaming the past government. It is high time to deliver on tackling the high cost of living, the escalating crime rates, the poor health care and social services and the many other problems plaguing the country. Rufus X was not reading from any script. He spoke at length and he spoke from his heart and his conviction. Rufus X will have to be gagged for his words will become dangerous as disaffection and anger spread across the land. And let it be said that Rufus X is no PUP. What he spoke was the truth and his words were spoken with conviction and commitment. With apologies to Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner as Moses and Pharaoh respectively “Moses (Rufus X) the next time you publicly castigate Dean Barrow and his lackeys like that, you will surely be treated as an enemy.” So shall it be written. So shall it be done. BRITISH HIGH Recently the British High Commissioner (Ambassador) of the British Government to Belize was a guest on Channel 5’s morning show. Don’t anyone be upset over what I say. It is just an opinion. The British High was not asked any tough questions. No question on British policy of supporting America’s illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Of how many innocent Iraquis have been killed (the arrogant USA say it does not keep track of those it kills but the results are in the hundreds of thousands of Iraquis). There was no question over Human Rights Watch report from New York entitled “Cruel Britania: British complicity In the Torture and Ill-Treatment of Terror Suspects in Pakistan”. No question of British silence in the face of tiny Belize “nationalizing” a British Citizen telecom company or the issue of nationalizing in general, seeing as how any such by Venezuela is always condemned. Interviews by other media with the new US Ambassador were equally of a poor and non educational content. Belize media can be respectful and professional and ask serious questions of these officials and others. The British and Americans are two of the nations Bob Marley sang about when he taught us “They make the world so hard that every day the people are dying.” WATER vs. SOFT DRINKS Soft drinks win every time. Please people drink more water and resist the sugar and the artificial sweeteners. You know these ain’t good for your health. And the last thing you want down the road is to end up at KHMH – Kill Him Murder Her. OPEN PAKI Two Sundays ago Open Paki was most partial in interviewing a misguided homosexual. The cute hostess, obviously supportive of her guest, kinda went over board by challenging those who believe the Holy Bible. She called them hypocrites. She said even if Jesus came down from his cross and told her it is wrong she would tell him a thing or two. Tek it easy Rosalie. Your guests speak and promote their opinions, even their trans-gender lifestyles. Your role is to ask the questions and provoke responses. Tackling Jesus and the Bible is usually unproductive. Can we have a few lesbians on the show next time, if only to give balance? REPORTER NEWSPAPER The reporter newspaper recently raised the important issue of reducing interest rates in an editorial. It stirred some debate, though not nearly enough. The Prime Minister’s response of helplessness and throwing up his hands in feigned frustrations is inadequate. It must be one of the many reasons so many persons are unhappy with his leadership. The Prime Minister needs to stop this endless talking and start to solve problems. Every person in Belize knows that interest rates on loans are just too high. Perhaps Mr. Prime Minister you can help the many struggling families who are paying interest on loans at DFC, Social Security and Housing Department. And by the way, don’t you see BTL is a huyu egg. Let dat go! USA There are over 30 million Americans without a job and each month the jobless rate grows. The overall statistic is that in a population of over 300 million citizens, 10.2% are jobless. Among black Americans the percentage is 15.7% without a job. One out of every five American children is living in poverty. For Black American the figure is 35% of their children are in poverty. Fifty million Americans lack consistent access to adequate food in the United States of America.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize Times
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Montero Trying to Sell SSB Owned Island?
(Continued from page 1)
in the Ministry of Lands. Unconfirmed reports from a source at the SSB suggest that the company is aware of the situation but is keeping hush about it. That source also claims that in the past SSB had been offered as much as $1.5million dollars for the 3.69 acre island, but had refused to sell. The Belize Times has not been able to confirm why exactly Rene Montero was granted the extremely valuable island off the coast of Ambergris Caye in 2007. Of note at this point is that when the Hon. Gaspar Vega stood in the House of Representatives in 2008 and read off a list of parcels of land which he alleged were given away by the previous administration, there was
absolutely no mention of the 3.69 acre island given to Rene Montero. During our investigation, the Belize Times was also able to dig up another document showing that UDP Minister Rene Montero has been reaping the benefits of his political affiliation. Despite persistent reports by Minister Vega that the Ministry is in lockdown while audits are being done, we have been able to get hold of another document in which UDP Minister Rene Montero is gifted with 3.00 acres of land. That land is situated ‘on the west coast of Bannister Bogue Caye, Spanish Lookout Caye Area, Belize District’ – an extremely valuable piece of island property. Montero received title for that land
through a Grant on August 12, 2008 which was signed by Minister Gaspar Vega. Despite our investigations, the Belize Times was unable to find out why Vega granted his Cabinet colleague 3.00 acres of valuable island property. The reason on the grant document is ‘RETURN OF LAND ACQUIRED,’ but our source at the Ministry of Lands was unable to find any record of any land which had been acquired from Rene Montero at any time. And while the 3.00acres of an island given to a UDP Minister smacks of greed and corruption within the UDP Government, the pressing issue at this point is the island which is
owned by SSB. To date, there has been no official word from SSB, the Unions, the Chamber of Commerce or the Better Business Bureau, all represented on the Board and supposedly now with knowledge of the situation. Our attempts to reach Minister Rene Montero this afternoon for comment were futile. The Belize Times will follow up this story in the Ministry of Lands, where a deed of conveyance is apparently being hushed up and expedited. Legal experts we spoke to state unequivocally that the SSB does own the land, since it was granted title first, in 2005, and that UDP Minister Renen Montero has no legal right to the island.
More Litigation…More Losses Ahead for BTL
(Continued from page 1) would not be a confidence-inspiring event. In fact the main points which came out of Chairman Net Vasquez are that there will be much litigation ahead – to deal with the compensation which must be paid for the hijacking of BTL and also to address the $45million which is being claimed by British Caribbean Bank. BTL is claiming that the loan which was taken out from the Belize Bank (Turks and Caicos) is illegal and that they will challenge the matter in the courts. Chairman Net Vasquez also reported that
the Company’s record for the last financial year shows that BTL lost money, and all indications are that the figures for the next fiscal year will show another loss. The Belize Times has maintained since the takeover that the move by Prime Minister Barrow to take over BTL was done to satisfy a monumental ego and not for the stated purpose of giving the company back to Belizeans. Chairman Net Vasquez made it clear when he stated – ‘the Board of Directors is moving
ahead with preparing the company for re-privatization.’ This bit of news must be a tremendous disappointment for those Belizeans who have rallied forth with the cry that PM Barrow has given BTL back to Belizeans. ‘BTL is readying itself for the future when it returns to private ownership. We are committed to our target of completing the re-privatization process on a timely basis…’ The reality and challenge which lies ahead now for this Barrow administration
is to find an investor willing to take on a company which is losing money, in a climate of recession and in an atmosphere of dictatorship. It is very doubtful that after the arbitrary hijacking of BTL, the delay in offering reasonable compensation to its owners and the refusal by BTL/ GOB to make good on its loans, that there will be any investor willing to take over a company that is well on its way to becoming a ‘red’ elephant, thanks to the UDP Government.
Did MoH CEO Dr. Peter Allen Lie to the Commission?
(Continued from page 1) The discussion arose after testimony by the Deputy Auditor General Wayne Simon revealed that in many instances, CEO Peter Allen went against the recommendations of the Tender Committee and made his own choices of suppliers. In some cases it was reported that the result of the CEO’s decision resulted in inferior equipment being brought into the KHMH. Dr. Allen, in what has been called by members of the media more of a political soliloquy than
testimony, outrightly refuted those claims, saying that in every instance changes from the preliminary recommendations of the Tender Committee were brought back to the table and discussed with the members of the committee before signing off. But today Chief Pharmacist Sharon Snachez Anderson, who sits on the Tender Committee, gave testimony which indicates that CEO Allen lied to the Commission. According to Sanchez, ‘In
the 09-10 tender process the process remained virtually the same in terms of the bids, the submissions, the creation of the documents but the results, the recommendations that were sent to the CEO, any changes that was made the committee was not consulted on that issue.” Sanchez went on to state that the documents showing the decisions made by the CEO which were contrary to the recommendations of the Tender
Committee were shown to her only after the contract had already been signed – “That final document was sent to us via email on April 2nd. Contracts were signed on April 1st…I know I didn’t see it and when I checked the other committee members said the same.” T he Commission of Inquir y reserves the right to recall witnesses at any time, and sources tell the Belize Times that Dr. Peter Allen has already made that short list.
UDP Road Repair (Il)logics Isabel Vasquez I could have written months ago about the seemingly illogical decision of the Ministry of Works to create a bridge at Mile 21 on the Northern Highway (that’s right, I’m sure th o se o f yo u who don’t travel the road frequently are wracking your brains to picture the roaring river at that location... well “keep wracking” is the only advice I can give). S o , we tolerate the disruption to our transportation network. We accept the minor delay it causes to our journeys. In fact, it merely prepared us for this week’s disaster as parts of the same road at the Belize River edge-side at Mile 7 tumbled into the water below, causing hours of delays and miles of tail-back traffic during commuter-heavy times. A man-made disaster it was not, but
nor was it completely unpredictable as that stretch of road has required repair for quite some time. But of course, with all attention focused fourteen
miles further north, nobody was thinking of the deadly consequences neglect of the river-edge stretch could cause. It can only be said that Belize must be blessed for nobody to have been thrown into the river as the road cascaded into the water last Sunday. It is entirely incomprehensible how the bridge at Mile 21 can be legitimized or justified in the light of much more
pressing needs elsewhere in the country. Take the Kendall Bridge, for example: Toledo residents who rely solely on the tourist industry and report a recent decline in activity directly link the fall in trade over the past year to the fact that tourists feel “at risk” when travelling into an area that threatens to be entirely cut off from the rest of the country any time heavy rain
falls. Another bridge, which is similarly desperate for repair since being swept away in last year’s floods, although receives much less attention as it is on a less-travelled road, is the bridge along
the Manatee (Coastal) Road between Belize City and Dangriga. A hundred yards downstream of where the bridge collapsed, a make-shift crossing has been created, but it was everybody’s assumption that this was a temporary solution to a permanent problem. How long can a “temporary” solution apply to a critical aspect of national development such as infrastructure? Whoever is making the decisions as to where the money is being spent, and what projects are most deserving of investment, clearly has a lop-sided view of need and necessity. One need only ask the people their opinions to realise that something is seriously amiss, and the projects deemed ‘worthy’ by the people are most certainly not the same as the projects deemed appealing by the government.
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Sunday, December 6, 2009
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Party Leader Tours the South
We are the PUP!
Insert B 34
The Belize Times
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize TimeS
Notions by: Apathy
On Fairy Tales, Myths… & Dodos
Ok down to business this week… here I was trying to educate the minds at the perspective last week but to no avail. First off let me say that I’m sorry that I have neglected some of the other writers at that other publication and really let me say that I wouldn’t use the word acclaim as what that publication has earned for itself especially because of writers like Gordon Smith. Rather I would say that they have earned themselves the reputation for printing just about anything in order to fill in space, another reason Gordon keeps begging Smart to advertise in their rag. In my opinion when a person resorts to the use of foul language it is usually because they posses very limited vocabulary and their command of the language is so minimal that they cannot help but express themselves in the coarsest and most vulgar of manners. It seems then Ms. Nunez that lame is a better word to describe your writing and if any mistakes were made by the esteemed Chair of this Party it was to
overpay you. I firmly believe that in this life you get out what you put in. In this case I guess that isn’t true because you do have some change for us at the Times judging from the printed diarrhea you cared to submit last week. I know many single mothers and I think it is a disservice to them the way you use it as a pretext to not doing your job if writing is your only effort. Many of them in fact have more than one job and use it not as an excuse but as an incentive to try harder. My advice is don’t let being a single mother define who you are, stop whining about it, its very unbecoming, and by the way the 16 days of activism are still on and the theme is stop gender based violence… that means that women aren’t allowed to beat men either. I wonder, how could a Dino father such a Dodo? Daddy Dino must be wondering the same thing. Gordy dear I truly feel sorry for you. Do you still believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny? Honey those are
just fairy tales. I mean, have you ever wondered why the Party is strapped for cash? Do you know what happened to the money, or how much money was left in the Party’s account post elections and how much the former Secretary General, Henry Charles Usher, left in the coffers? Why do you insist that the press is in great condition? Are you a technician of some sort that you know that to be a fact? You know if you all would stop the rambling over at the perspective you would realize that being a PUP means believing in democracy where the majority rules. That’s why we have elections to elect our Party officials. If the switchers, as you called them, switched it is only because as true PUPs they understand that their loyalty lies with the Party and not with any one individual. If and when there are other elections and if there are changes made then we’ll switch again. Until then I would rather be called a switcher than a sore loser. I mean stop living in the past, gone are the days when little men and big egos ruled the party as their own
insert C 35 private little fiefdom and well if the Party isn’t being run the way you would like it - well isn’t that a good sign. “The Truth will set you free.” What the quote doesn’t mention is how uncomfortable it makes you feel. You all aren’t true PUPs - you all are just a bunch of whining little children upset because anyone dared to take away what you considered your personal property. You are upset because for the longest time you have mistaken kindness and pity for weakness. You are upset because before nobody would have dared to stand up to you and speak out. You are used to handing out abuse and insults as if they were candy. You should start living in the here and now, face reality, face the fact that the good ole days are over, deal with it. If you truly want a united PUP then unite with us if not then get out of the way, but if you think that I am going to stand idly by while you insult Party officials disrespecting the people who voted for them, well it’s not going to happen. In the words of our PM Barrow, “BRING IT ON.”
insert D 36
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The Belize TimeS
Sunday, December 6, 2009
years of a PUP Government
Moho River Bridge Valley of Peace Bridge Beaver Dam Bridge San Marcos/Salamanca Bridge Installation of Thousands of Culverts
2
years of Barrow & the UDP =
Still No Kendall Bridge
Life No Haad Out Ya, Life Haada Out Ya
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The Belize Times
Insert 37 E
Insert F 38
The Belize Times
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Babani & Bernard Make Donation to WYF
Last Saturday, Councilor Kevin Bernard was installed as the President of the PUP Belize Youth Movement (BYM). Also elected on his slate as the Belize district representative was Mr. Swami Babani. Earlier that week Mr. Swami Babani accompanied by Mr. Kevin Bernard and Mr. George Gibson visited WYF and donated fifty jean pants and sixty white button shirts to the Wagner’s Youth Facility. These are to be used as uniforms for the juveniles housed at the facility. Mr. Babani in presenting the donation reassured the juveniles that as a young Belizean himself he understands their plight and is more than willing to assist in any way in contributing positively to rehabilitating their behavior and
their ways of thinking. Mr. Kevin Bernard who is also a counselor of Orange Walk Town Council offered his commitment and suppor t for the youths. Congratulation are in order for Mr. Bernard, Mr. Babani and their team, obviously with this kind of dedication, commitment and leadership our Belizean youth has hope that great things can come to them and it entirely up to them to make the change in their lives. Both Mr. Bernard and Mr. Babani have expressed their intention to continue working in the best interst of Belizeans youths despite their social, political, economical, ethnic, or any other background. Big respect guys.
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The Belize Times
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Insert H 40
The Belize Times
Sunday, December 6, 2009
HOUSTON FUNDRAISER FOR BELIZEAN BURN VICTIM, KENT FLOWERS, JR. 9 year old Belizean, Kent Flowers, Jr., suffered third degree burns to over 80% of his body in a freak accident in Belize little more than a month ago. Kent, Jr. was medically evacuated to the burn center at Shriner's Hospital in Galveston. To date Kent, Jr. remains in critical condition. His parents, Amalia and Kent, Sr. are being housed at the Ronald McDonald house in Galveston. Two other daughters aged 7 & 9 remain in Belize with a grandmother. The family is indigent and desperately needs your help. The Belize Association of Houston has "adopted" this Belizean Family. To that end, the Belize Association of Houston will be holding a "Dining to Donate" fund raising event at Denny's on North Fry Road (please see attached flyer) on Thursday, December 10, 2009. Denny's Fry Road has pledged to donate 20% of the proceeds of the evening to the family. In order for your dining experience at Denny's to count, please follow the link below to download a copy of the event flyer which you will need to bring to Denny's with you. If you cannot make the fund raising event but would still like to help, we have set up a Paypal "Donate" button on the Association's website at www.belizehouston.org. We are also accepting monetary donations on behalf of the family. Kent, Jr., if he makes it, will require an extended period of recuperation which will find him back at Shriners quite a few more times before he is fully well. His recovery will be a long process. Nothing will ever erase the tragic and sad events that ended with Kent, Jr. being admitted to Shriners, but we would like to make the holidays as pleasant as possible for the family considering the tears, tragedy and despair this family has endured over the last few weeks. We are neighbors helping Belizean neighbors. At any moment, this could be one of us. God's blessings to you for any help you can give.