Belize Times July 8, 2012

Sunday, July 8, 2012

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THE BELIZE TIMES

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SUNDAY July 8, 2012

Issue No. 4803

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Worst Budget EVER! Schools cut by $1m, National Security cut by $961,688 while Embassies in Guatemala, Miami, Brussels, etc. get $10m

Belize City, July 4, 2012 The 2012-2013 Budget, presented

by Prime Minister Dean Barrow on Friday June 29th, may be the biggest as it increases the overall expenditure to over $1 billion, but the increase does not reflect any major spending on public investment that will rescue the country from the current economic crisis; in

fact, a close analysis of the document shows the Barrow Administration cutting down on some very important programs, spending wildly in unnecessary areas while recycling old projects. It may be the biggest, but a look at its quality and the lack of any real plan, makes it the worst yet.

The Barrow Administration pro-

PUP: Ready to Lead!

Opposition consults social partners on Budget

poses to do the worst thing any Government can ever do, which is to cut its aid to schools. The 2012-2013 Budget proposes to reduce support to schools by $1,089,289, and this is for several Belize City Southside schools which are in need of more support, not less. Among

Budget is “inconsistent”, “lacks credibility”, says former UDP candidate

the schools affected are including Sadie Vernon Technical High School (budget cut by $248,404), Gwen Lizarraga High School (budget slashed by $212,571), and St. Michael’s College (budget reduced by $148,957). Other schools affected are Edward P. Yorke High School (budget shrunk by $75,290), Belize Rural High School (budget minimized by $88,870), Mopan Technical High School (budget rolled back by $65,327), Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico (budget reduced by $3,032), Georgetown High Continued on page 4

PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca flanked by PUP Parliamentarians listen and consult with social partners

Belize City, July 4, 2012 Today, social partner and private sector representatives commended and congratulated the Opposition People’s United Party for taking the lead in

Beware of Pirates!

the consultation process on the 20122013 Budget.

PUP Leader and PUP-elected Parliamentarians have, since Monday Continued on page 6

Belize City, July 4, 2012 Criminal activity has leaked unto our seas. That’s the warning issued by the Belize National Coast Guard who has alerted fishermen and boat operators to “beware of pirates”.

Last night there was another attack

See page 22

See page 18

Another murder trial falls apart

Art Skeet The Coast Guard on the look out

Wednesday, July 04, 2012 “We are free to fly, Mr. Speaker…the future looks promising…” PM Dean Barrow, Budget Presentation, 2011 “There will be a need for

Leonardo Cassanova

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Caves Branch Road ‘caving in’!

The Case for Re-registration

by Gilroy Usher Sr.

See page 8

Godwin Hustler??

Belize City, July 3, 2012 UDP Senator/Minister Godwin Hulse appears to be hiding from the public and his former “reform Continued on page 4

TOP MODEL

See page 9

Yasmin Andrews

Tax increase threatens

tourism industry Godwin Hulse

13 15 23

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Programs!

Why is the Budget so secret?

Dear Editor, It appears that by design common Belizeans are not supposed to engage in matters of national importance. In the same manner the ICJ/Guatemala claim referendum is being handled, there is way too much secrecy in the Budget preparations and discussions.

I am a part-time University student who has been trying to get my hands on the Budget book. I am interested in learning how our Government will spend our tax dollars and finding out how it will affect my family, my education and my community. When I called the National Assembly in Belmopan I

was told that the Budget is not a public document!! Imagine!

How can the Budget not be a public document when it deals with the public’s money and business? I was told that MAYBE I would be able to purchase the book at Print Belize. Again… unbelievable!! When I called Print Belize, a staff member informed that such is not the case. They do not have copies of the Budget.

I tried too with the Ministry of Finance, but got no help.

The difficulties with trying to get my hands on the budget have been so many that I was so disturbed and chose

Dear Editor, Where is the meat? All I see is Ramen. There is nothing to say yes this was and is a good program. Case in point. When we enter the office of CYDP there is a huge photo of another sign of a truce. Now we must remember that this photo is being proudly displayed. To me, and I can only speak for myself, this photo is either a testimony of success or an indictment of failure?

In less than 20 years, we as

to write the newspaper instead.

The Government needs to stop keeping people blind. The Prime Minister needs to stop believing he is Mr. Right and what he says will always go. No more Mr. PM. We are educated people who can think and make good decisions on our own. We demand to be respected.

Signed, Anthony Edwards

SSB employee vents in essay competition June 21 2012 I think the deadline for the essay submission was today so I made it!

How do I see SSB in the next 5 years?

Let me see. In today’s world organizations take numerous twists and turns and the future is often murky. This is the situation with SSB. With the present management team, I would say the spiral downward will continue. SSB will be unable to explain the Administrative expenses for the following: - An Executive Leadership Team with executive salaries but without leaders and team spirit - A department known as OSM with highly paid people that have no relevant work to do and all day to do it. But we can give them credit to have awesome working knowledge on expensive printers, color ink, extra-ordinary sized paper, and an impressive display of NADA in graphic and vivid colors: And together they earn close to half a million dollars per annum.

Imagine the possibilities!

- Managers from compliance and investment who get the equivalent of their salaries in mileage every month with little to show in productivity.

- Contract workers hired to execute projects that no longer exist, collect mileage without justification and are absent from work with no need for a replacement since there is no work to do in the first place.

- Acting CEO afraid of her own shadow, intimidated by most managers and the union; unable to make decisions but receiving a whopping acting allowance; - A Board with some great new people but also with a couple old, noisy anchors there for years through scam after scam and not held accountable but still collect for every meeting;

- Some branch Managers with no formal education, cotton for brains, zero management skills, no heart and no commitment; yet they collect high salaries and work to undermine SSB; - A useless Investment Department with a joke for a GM yet uses up over ¼ million dollars from the annual budget to cover their salaries; - An E1 Dept that likes to disallow claims; - Executive secretarial services with NO executive secretary calibre BUT paid managers salaries and handle Managers’ files; there is an ‘old’ lady who cuts flowers and says “I don’t know” and “lemme check” to everything; but since there is so many of them, we are not sure who is the ‘real’ executive secretary.

- A so called Legal Department with no ability to provide legal assistance and advice whatsoever; - An NHI Department that operates independently of SSB with grossly overpaid employees that contributed NOTHING to the organization; - A Human Resources Department with no clue on how to manage Human Resources and more importantly no authority to make relevant decisions; however, credit has to be given to them for making sure these exorbitant and undeserving salaries are in the bank on time every month; - A highly overpaid IT Department full of unqualified persons. Their solutions to all problems are ‘reboot’ and ‘restart’.

I do think there is hope though, so I make the following suggestions. Hire a real CEO. A CEO with the skills and abilities to make decisions and delegate responsibilities. A CEO who will not micromanage and discriminate. Hire one with the necessary

qualifications in investment and finance to dig SSB out of the hole it has fallen into. We need a CEO that has character and the rare ability to make good, quick decisions involving relevant persons in the decision process.

Since Narda Garcia there has not been a CEO or Acting CEO to measure up to HALF the manager she was. This pains me to say since I did not even like Ms. Narda. Fire a few people. SSB has a top heavy Management team that needs some serious fat trimming both figuratively and literally speaking.

The organization needs to be restructured in a big way. The GM idea needs to be scrapped and replaced with an Acting CEO. This person has to be skilled, knowledgeable and trusted by the new CEO and not some dinosaur that has been here for a million years.

Send home some GMs especially the ones who do not want to be where they are. GM NBOs has been begging to go back to Orange Walk so do her and everyone a favour and send her home. GM RCRS has reached retirement age, send her home. GM Investment has applied for another job, send him home. Send home a few BMs. You can start with those from Belize City and OWalk since they have no formal education and lack common sense and management skills necessary to manage human beings. Send home ‘mileage Burke’. He has nothing to do since the loan write off has been in place and is on a bloated contract. Delete OSM completely we need storage space.

Send home the eternal trouble makers and dead weights who contribute nothing to SSB instead of transferring them all over the place. SO the way I see SSB in 5 years depends on decisions made in the very near future.

Jah Bless! Peace Out! Feel free to deposit my prize money to Belize Bank account number 1-2manyfoolsatssb.

a nation have lost more than 90% of the very same young men CYDP is supposed to have invested so much in. In less than 20 years, we have lost more than 1500 of these very same young CYDP was to have prevented.

I once heard that insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. We as a nation are flirting with civil war. If very few things have worked for us now, what will then?

We are prisoners in our own homes. We go to work and only to become hostages, because we don’t when a senseless person with a gun could walk in and demand a ransom, get it and senselessly shoot you and walk away. These days nothing works in order. In Anarchy nothing works.

Indoctrination This too is a part of the program.

The Program, like CYDP, is limited to indoctrination. How and when will it succeed? It remains stagnant. Yet, there are those who dress up and applaud because to them it’s glowing with success, all because of indoctrination. If any amongst us think that what needs to be done is difficult now then you need to sit down and think about Belize in 10 years. Some people will be trying the same things and hoping it works.

I will be the first in line to say don’t waste our time. (Programs) like CYDP had a great opportunity to engage the most natural resource for the development of our nation. Yet it has been proven to be just that limited. Why? We can’t be envious of the foolish because of the prosperity of the wicked.

Signed: M.L.G.

THE BELIZE TIMES EDITOR

Alberto Vellos OFFICE MANAGER

Fay Castillo McKay PRINTING/PERSONNEL SUPERVISOR

Doreth Bevans LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams STAFF REPORTER

Alton Humes TYPIST

Rachel Arana OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte Printed & Published By The Belize Times Ltd. #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize Tel: 671-8385 Email: belizetimesad@yahoo.com editortimes@yahoo.com

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

…while Belizeans struggle & suffer This is how the UDPs roll…

Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s new Law Firm Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega’s 2012 Land Cruiser valued at $230,000

Ministry of Energy and Science CEO Colin Young’s 2011 Toyota Hilux – valued at $65,000

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Rt. Hon. Said Musa delivers lecture in Germany

Belize City, July 2, 2012 The absence of Former Prime Minister, Former PUP Leader and current Fort George Area Representative Rt. Hon. Said Musa at last week’s House Meeting was hard to miss, as he is among the most senior of Parliamentarians.

But Hon. Musa’s absence was understandable as he was away, participating in a lecture series at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin, Germany.

The two-term PM who is well respected globally for his understanding of geo-political issues was invited to the 2012 International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy & International Economics and asked to deliver a lecture at the titled “Overcoming Structural Barriers to Growth with Equity in Small Developing Countries -- Perspectives from Belize”.

The lecture attended by hundreds of students who gathered to learn from the brilliants minds that also included Hon. Charles Clarke, Former Home Secretary of the United Kingdom.

Minister of Youth & Sports Herman Longsworth’s 2012 F-150 – valued at $71,736

Minister of Gangs Mark King’s Ford 150 - valued at $74,500

AGAIN - Minister of Youth & Sports Herman Longsworth’s 2012 Toyota 4Runner – valued at $75,000

Minister of Works Rene Montero’s 2012 Toyota Prado – valued at $133,000

Ex-Minister of Indigenous Peoples Lisel Alamilla’s 2012 F-150 – valued at $71,736

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Worst Budget EVER!

Continued from page 1

School (budget cut by $19,684) and Ladyville Technical High School (budget decreased by $42,021).

The Barrow Administration also plans to reduce its aid to Vocational and Technical institutions including the Belize High School of Agriculture in Orange Walk (budget reduced by $117,434), Center for Employment Training (CET) Belize City (budget cut by $38,033), CET Corozal (budget slashed by $9,982) and CET Toledo (budget lessened by $19,684).

Most schools in Belize City already operate on a tight budget, having to carefully balance administrative and management expenses. Most schools look forward to an increase in their budgets so they can spend more in acquiring teaching material and much-needed equipment, and perhaps reduce increasing school fees. A reduction in the budgets for schools, as presented by the Barrow Administration, will either translate to retrenchment of teachers or insufficient support for schools to teach children properly.

But Education is not the only sacrificial lamb for the Barrow Administration’s austerity and discipline exercise. Despite increasing crime levels and the need for more support for security officers, the

Godwin Hustler??

Continued from page 1 friends” ever since he was exposed as a closet UDP by Prime Minister Dean Barrow.

Hulse was once seen as a defender of the national interest. When the PUP was in power, he was among the loudest critiques and had all the answers to problems. He even joined reform groups and clamoured for fundamental changes to the political system. But as soon as the UDP won, Hulse suddenly became quieter, making less public speeches, media interviews and even siding with the Government as a Business Senator.

Today, Hulse has been reduced to a mere player of convenience in Barrow’s game. But is Hulse, like the corrupt UDPs who he joined, playing the game well too?

The BELIZE TIMES has obtained a Ministry of Lands document that shows that Godwin Hulse has acquired 100 acres in the Darling Hall area of the Belize River Valley area. What is most disturbing is that the land, the entire 100 acres, is valued at only $25,000! Now, this is either a rip off, or Hulse likes swamp land.

How else can so much land be valued so little? Did Cabinet, which must review any land sale for parcel above 5 acres, approve this cheap sale? The document also shows the transaction date as recent as June 19 2012, which is less than a month ago, and only three months since Hulse became Minister.

Can Godwin Hulse explain to Belizeans why he acquired 100 more acres, when he already owns properties in Belmopan and Mile 10 ½ on the Western Highway? Couldn’t the land be shared among Belizeans who are in need, or is he as greedy as his UDP colleagues?

What is going here Minister Hulse? Or is that your name has changed to Godwin Hustler?

Police and National Security programs are also being cut, for a second time, in recent years.

Our analysis shows that the cuts to the Police and National Security are over $960,000. The budget for the Belmopan Police Department will be cut by a whopping $811,917. Exactly how that reduction will affect staff, training, equipment and other the day to day functions of the Belmopan Police are unclear. The Police’s Special branch will also see a decrease in its budget, of $13,160, while the National Forensic Services will get $46,062 less.

One of the Police’s important programs, Community Policing, won’t receive additional funds to strengthen and expand its plans. On the contrary, the budget is being cut by $66,480, which could be detrimental to any gains achieved by the model program which was strengthened under the PUP. How does the Barrow Administra-

tion intend to improve citizen’s security when they are tying the hands of security forces?

But one area where it doesn’t appear to be a problem to spend money is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassies. The 2012-2013 Budget proposes hefty increases for seven of the eleven embassies, with the Embassies of the United Nations, Washington, Brussels and Guatemala getting over $1m each. The Embassy at the United Nations is allotted $1,925,924 as it gets an increase of $388,636. The Embassy in Washington where the Prime Minister’s ex-wife Lois Young Barrow was recently posted gets $1,403,620, and an increase of $18,228. The Embassy in Guatemala will get an increase of $2,017 for a budget of $1,121,793. Even the far away Embassy in Brussels, Germany, where Minister Joy Grant was most-recently posted, is benefitting from an increase of $22,272 and will receive a budget of

Sunday, July 8, 2012

$1,535,613.

The other embassies getting an increase in their budgets are those in Los Angeles, Miami and El Salvador. Overall, the Government’s budget for embassies is a shocking $10,706,374.

Is Government’s priority to feed the rich lifestyles of its political cronies it has posted in diplomatic offices?

In times of austerity when the Government is staring at a gaping fiscal deficit, is unable to meets its debt, while its people are shackled by increasing poverty and unemployment, is spending $10m on renting apartments, luxury lofts and diplomatic vehicles such a priority?

With the use of pretty language, meant to confuse already frustrated Belizeans, Prime Minister Barrow painted his Budget as some sort of acceptable plan. But that is farthest from the truth, as all of a sudden the promises to grow the economy with 6% GDP, 5,000 new jobs, reduced taxes, housing, lower crime and less cost of living are no longer priorities for the UDP Administration.

What Barrow’s 2012-2013 Budget really does is sentence Belizeans to a future of hardships and hopelessness.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

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No excuse for failure We don’t expect anyone in the Barrow Administration to admit it, but when Belizeans really take a good look at Barrow’s budget for what is left of the 2012-2013 financial year, they will see that it is a darn failure. It is a bogus budget, one full of excuses and one that offers no plan for national growth and development.

The country is operating in the red, $135m in the red. The economy is heading directly to the reef and even Barrow’s highly-paid advisors at the Ministry of Finance and Central bank are saying that this will be the trend for the next five years. So when Belizeans heard Barrow’s dreary Budget speech last Friday in which he talked about how good the economy is and how GDP grew and that the inflation rate is low, they only had one question to ask: which country is Barrow talking about?

The 2012-2013 Budget fails to inspire and offers no hope for a country and a people clamouring for things to get better, not worse.

We off our economy, so if there is no economic growth, how will a nation and its people survive? The 2012-2013 Budget has nothing to attract a single investor, nothing for the productive sector except for promises of treats at DFC and SSB which are there spend the people’s monies wisely. The Budget does not offer an aid plan for the middle class or a rescue plan for low-income families. There is nothing there to help homeowners who are under threat from the banks. There is neither a single cent for the expansion of the Free Text Book Program that would help to keep more children in school, not a cent for financial assistance for Tertiary Schools, and no money for meaningful youth programmes.

Unemployment is 23% but there is no Job Creation plan. Poverty stands at 43% but there is no programme that will help poverty eradication. The Barrow Administration says it is committed to its so-called pro-program which provides a bag of rice and beans and other food items weekly, but they don’t realize this only keeps people poor and doesn’t help to end poverty. It may be good for the UDP politicians to keep poor people poor, hungry and dependent on them, but it’s bad for Belize which will remain a low-development country.

The prosecution rate is an embarrassing 5% under the UDP Government, yet the budget offers no meaningful support to the Director of Public Prosecution for more staff or training for prosecutors. The Prime Minister has fallen flat on his promise, made since 2008, for a Forensic Lab. This may be the reason the Prime Minister refused to consult with the social partners before putting together the Budget. The Unions, who are asking for salary increases for teachers, Police Officers, doctors and nurses, will not get it. The students, who are asking for more education assistance and scholarships, will not get it.

Barrow’s 2012-2013 Budget is a huge failure because it offers nothing. We wonder why it took him so long to put together a budget that is not drastically different from the last four years.

Come July 11th and 12th Barrow and his flock of dodo birds will be celebrating the food pantry and payment to gang members. They will beat their chest and say Belize is doing well, but in need of discipline. But what they won’t be able to say is why they have been such a huge failure for our country and people. Where there is no vision, the people shall perish. Belizeans wake up.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 8, 2012

PUP: Ready to Lead!

Opposition consults social partners on Budget

Continued from page 1 of this week, held meetings with various groups including the Unions, Churches, Private sector groups, youth organisation representatives, and educational and financial institutions.

Today’s meetings were with the Unions (National Trade Union Congress of Belize, Public Service Union, Christian Workers Union, Belize Workers Union, and Belize National Teachers Union), the University of Belize Student Government, Galen Student Government, COLA, Commoners, Rotary Club and Belize Business Bureau.

At each meeting PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca thanked the representatives for attending and urged them to speak freely.

“This meeting is not being held to gain political mileage, it is to discuss the serious business of the Budget and the future of our country,” explained Hon. Fonseca.

Throughout the meeting the representatives spoke freely, expressing common concerns over the Budget’s lack of support for what they felt were priority areas. One common theme was investing in the nation’s human capital, the people.

Hon. Fonseca assured the representatives that he was committed to a continued process of consultation and he takes their discussion and recommendations very seriously. The Opposition will be debating the 2012-2013 Budget on Wednesday July 11th and Thursday July 12th.

PUP Parliamentarians await the start of the House Sitting at the National Assembly, Belmopan

PUP Deputy Leader Hon. Dolores BalderamosGarcia during meeting with Rotary Club

PUP Leader Hon. Francis comforts Belizean at the steps of the National Assembly, Belmopan

PUP Leader Hon. Francis (far left) & Deputy Leader Hon. Julius Espat (far right) appear on Plus TV’s “Rise and Shine” on Monday morning

PUP Leader Hon. Francis and PUP Parliamentarians during meeting with Union leaders, Student Government Representatives and Youth Representatives

PUP shows strong showing at House Sitting, Friday, June 29 2012

PUP Deputy Leader Hon. Julius Espat makes presentation at meeting with Rotary Club

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

Humor

in UDP Politics!

After last week’s House Meeting Contreras thanked the Prime Minister repeatedly for disregarding and postponing the Law on re-Registration until 2017. “I don’t understand,” said the PM, “why this man so happy”. Just then the CabSec intervened, saying, “because it would have meant ‘going shopping’ in Melchor”. …………………….

Sedi was asked where is the discipline in a “Disciplined Budget” when school budgets are getting cut and Embassies in LA and New York are getting an increase. Sedi quickly responded that he had nothing to do with that and suggested that it must have slipped by the Minister of Finance, which caused his driver to say “yeah Right”. …………………….

Herman Longsworth asked Cabinet to make Mark Espat accept him as a Director of Hallmark. When asked why, Longworth responded “maybe they are into building half of fences also”. …………………….

Patrick Faber asked Cabinet how best he could explain to teachers that he wouldn’t grant them salary increases. Boots then suggested, “Just tell dem deh lucky fu get wah salary, and dat we done spend di money pan pool table and Gapi Lexus”.

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…………………….

Godwin Hulse was seen yawning and making funny noises in Cabinet. Joy Grant asked him what was wrong, and Hulse replied that he was only trying to stay awake. Joy commented “either that or like me, you’re just trying to stay sane wid dis ya crowd”.

In other related news The Minister of Police was asked by a student what was a Gang Suppression Unit doing raiding a meat shop. The Minister was stunned and unable to answer, which caused another student to say “sounds like political beef.” …………………….

Another student also asked, “what do you call a Policeman dressed up in a mask who beats the shirt out of civilians?” Again there was silence until another student said “Barrow Suppression Unit?” …………………….

After reading Amandala’s Tuesday Editorial titled “A Betrayal”, John Saldivar swore it was about Mark and Cordel. What was even stranger was that after reading it a third time, Saldivar still believed it was about Mark and Cordel. …………………….

Some people were happy when Boots gave away some of the Food Pantry monies to the Prime Minister’s wife initiative.

One single mother was heard asking “how he intends to put it back”, at which Boots said “oops I mi tink I was still the Minister of Works”.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Another murder trial falls apart Eye Witness refused to testify against accused duo

BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 4, 2012

By Roy Davis Two men, Art Skeet, 26 and Leonardo Cassanova, 30, charged with the murder of prison officer Edgar Segura, 24, were acquitted of the charge today in the court of Justice Herbert Lord.

Segura, who resided on Flamboyant Street, was shot and killed around 8 p.m. on March 26, 2008. He was standing on Oleander Street talking to two friends when two men rode up to him on bicycles and shot him multiple times in his chest and abdomen.

A post mortem examination revealed that he died from exsanguination due to external and internal bleeding as a result of gunshot injuries to the chest cavity that affected the right lung and abdomen.

The prosecution, represented by Crown Counsel Thalia-Megan Francis,

Art Skeet

Leonardo Cassanova

fell apart when the only eye witness, Indira Banks, took the witness stand and said that she could not recall giving a statement to the police even though she admitted that it was her signature that on a statement that was shown to her.

Banks said that she was with her 2 month old baby by the gate of her residence on Oleander Street when a bullet grazed her finger. She refused to say anything more, however.

Without her evidence the prosecution was unable to prove its case and

Court of Appeal to decide fate of Wyatt Anderson He is appealing 14 year sentence for Manslaughter

Wyatt Anderson BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 4, 2012

By Roy Davis The Belize Court of Appeal today reserved its judgment for tomorrow in the appeal of Wyatt Anderson who was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to 14 years for the fatal stabbing of Robert Brown which occurred on November 22, 2008, at the corner of Raccoon Street and Currassow Street.

Anderson’s attorney, Kevin Arthurs, appealed on three grounds. The first ground was that the learned trial judge erred in allowing the case to go to the jury after the close of the prosecutor’s case or at the tardiest defense. The appellant contended that the trial judge erred in not inviting submissions on a no case to answer at the close of the

prosecution’s case.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl Lyn Vidal, responded that the prosecution had led sufficient evidence upon which a properly directed jury could properly convict and so the judge was legally bound to send the case to the jury for a determination, as he did.

The second ground was that the learned trial judge did not give direction to the jury on how to treat the caution statement by the appellant.

Vidal’s response was that the usual direction was not necessary in this case because the appellant had not objected to the repeated contents in his sworn evidence; so there was no issue as to whether the statement had been given or whether it was true and the directions the judge gave were sufficient.

For the third grounds Arthurs referred to a case that went to the Privy Council which dealt with oral confessions.

The DPP’s response was that the case was not relevant to the present circumstances as there had not been any oral confession by the appellant.

She said that it was simply a conversation between the appellant and the deceased before he died.

Anderson was convicted on February 3, 2011 and he was sentenced 7 days later.

THE WORLD IS READING

THE BELIZE TIMES www.belizetimes.bz

Cassanova’s attorney, Hubert Elrington admitted that his client does not have a case to answer to.

Attorney Carlo Mason, who represented Skeet, concurred and said that his client also does not have a case to answer to.

Francis conceded that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against Skeet and Cassanova.

Justice Lord told the jury of 6 men and 6 women that the harm has not been proven and that the prosecution had rested its case on the evidence of Banks, but Banks had not given any evidence of the incident. He then directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty of murder and manslaughter for both defendants.

Skeet and Cassanova then left the Court room as free men.

Apart from Banks, the prosecution had called 5 witnesses, all of them formal witnesses. There of them were Scene of Crime technicians, one of them was the arresting officer, Corporal Mark Humes; and the fifth was Leopold Segura, the father of the deceased who testified that it was he who identified his son’s body.

Norman McKenzie remanded for Attempted Murder

Norman McKenzie BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 4, 2012

By Roy Davis Norman McKenzie, 21, wanted by the police in connection with a shooting incident, was apprehended yesterday.

McKenzie was charged with attempted murder, wounding and use of deadly means of harm. He was arraigned on the

charges when he appeared today in the #1 Magistrate’s Court.

No plea was taken because the offences are indictable, which means that they can only be tried in the Supreme Court. Neither could the court offer him bail because of the nature of the offences. Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith remanded him into custody until August 13.

McKenzie has denied that he did the shooting.

The incident occurred around 9 p.m. on June 28.

The complainant, Keon Johnson, 21, reported to the police that a man, whom he identified as McKenzie, shot him in his left foot as he was getting out of a pick-up truck on Central American Boulevard.

Johnson was admitted to ward at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.

The doctor who examined him classified his injury as wounding.

BDF Warning for Baldy Beacon Range July 4, 2012 Prior warning is given to all members of the public that with the authority of the Government of Belize, Belize Defence Force (BDF) the Belize Defence Force will be conducting Live Fire Exercise of Baldy Beacon Range, Mountain Pine Ridge, in the Cayo District. The training will take place from the 16th -21st July, 2012.

The local population should avoid the areas and should be aware of the presence of armed soldiers, armed military vehicles, various equipment and aircraft. There will be occasions when gun fire (Live and Blank ammunition) may be heard along with some loud explosions (Battle simulation).

Local civilian should be aware that there is no cause for concern and this is normal for this type of training. (Public advisory – BDF)

This Week’s

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BELIZETIMES SUNDAY JULY 8, 2012 THE BELIZE TIMES see full color at www.belizetimes.bz or Facebook/ Belize Times

Sunday, July 8, 2012

TOP MODEL Make-Up

tips

By Tania Tanesha (E-mail: mua.tania@ gmail.com, Cell: (501) 604-0736) The Eye…brows have it!

What’s the quickest and most popular makeup tip that gives an instant new look? Getting your eyebrows done.

Whether it’s by waxing, tweezing or shaving, trimming and shaping your eyebrows gives your face that lift and frames it well, depending on the shape of your face. But eyebrows play more than a cosmetic role on our faces. Just like every other part of our bodies, it is super important. Eyebrows help to divert sweat and even rain from going into our eyes. The arched shape cleverly diverts moisture so that it drains on the sides of our faces, keeping our eyes relatively dry.

Say what?

Here’s another important factor?

Eyebrows are used for facial expressions and non-verbal communication.

You can tell whether a person is happy or sad just by looking at their eyebrows.

Surprised looks have raised eyebrows, and angry faces have knitted eyebrows that scrunch together. Whatever your facial expression, your eyebrows show off.

Look into my eye…brows Eyebrows are front and center and almost the first thing you see on someone’s face, so it’s important to have them well shaped and groomed. Your brows frame your face and the color and texture can easily and drastically change the way you look. I never recommend tattooing your eyebrows because it hurts of course, and after a while, tattoos fade and discolor. There’s nothing like a natural, soft brow.

Eyebrow tips: A lot of women fill in their brows with pencil liners. This is very popular.

When choosing a color, go for a shade lighter than your hair color, except for blondes and redheads, who should go light to medium brown.

After shaving, trimming or waxing your brows, lightly draw the outline on the bottom part of the brow for a defined shape. Fill in the rest with light strokes of the pencil. Never use black pencils to line eyebrows. This is a sure way of adding 10 years to your face. Before trimming your brows it’s important to brush them with a mascara wand. This loosens the hairs and makes them look neater.

You can use clear mascara to keep your eyebrows sleek and sticking down.

If you’re not sure what shape to trim your brows, always consult with your beauty expert so they can evaluate your color, and face shape. If you’re a Do-ityourselfer like me, then go to any beauty store and purchase any eyebrow stencil and try shaping your brows at home.

Keep in mind that your eyebrows are like sisters and not like twins, so never stress if they both aren’t perfectly symmetrical.

It’s amazing what tiny procedures can do to always keep your best face forward.

Marjeli • Career Plan: Lawyer/ Magistrate • Sign: Cancer • Favourite Food: Rice & beans, plantain & fry fish • Likes: Sports, dancing, socializing with friends & modeling • Lives in Belize City • Fav. Quote: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

CATWALK FASHIONS What’s Hip...What’s Hot...What’s Now! Phone: 203-2936 / 620-7481 #148 Cor. Queen & North Front Streets Belize City, Belize

10

THE BELIZE TIMES

Sunday, July 8, 2012

2012 Smart Harrison Parks Cricket Semi-finals, Game 2

Crooked Tree, June 30, 2012 Double Head Cabbage Excellence stayed alive in the 2012 Smart Harrison Parks cricket semifinals when they spanked Crooked Tree Brilliant 231-116 in Game 2 of the semifinals series in Crooked Tree on Saturday, June 30.

The win takes the series to a decisive Game 3 to be played on neutral ground, either the Lord’s Bank Oval or Bermudian Landing, which will decide who will take on Rancho Dolores’ Western Eagles in the championship finals.

DHC Excellence batted first, and Orson Flowers opened with a six to score 13 runs before he was run out.

Keenan Flowers hit a four as he scored 12 runs before he too was run out.

Sylbert Martinez hit only one four to score 6 runs before Brilliant’s Rodwell Conorquie bowled him out.

Brilliant’s Brandon Lewis took the next wicket for 2 runs, while Marlon “Camala” Nicholas hit a six to score 13 runs before he was caught out.

Kenny Broaster entered to bat 3

fours and a six to score 26 runs before he was caught out. Ian Broaster hit 2 fours to score 10 runs before he was caught. Emmanuel McFadzean Jr. hit a six and 2 fours to score 20 runs before Brandon Lewis bowled him out.

Man of the Match Sydney Martinez batted 6 sixes and 4 fours to top-score with 57 runs, remaining not out while Ewort Nicholas batted a six and a four for 14 runs before Rodwell Conorquie bowled him out.

Conorquie dismissed the last batsman for zero runs, but Excellence had scored 231 runs picking up 55 extras as the Crooked Tree bowlers had bowled 37 wides.

Excellence bowler Kenny Broaster dismissed opening batsman Rodwell Conorquie for 3 runs as Sydney Martinez caught Conorquie out. Arturo Wade batted a four to score 10 runs before Emmanuel Macfadzean caught him out. Steven Flowers hit a six and a four to score 15 runs before Ewort Nicholas bowled him out, and Nicholas took the next wicket for zero runs when Ian Broaster caught out Landis “Ciego” Wade.

Brilliant’s captain Eldon “Pia” Wade led the Crooked Tree squad with 19 runs, remaining not out while Keenon Flowers dis-

BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE

DHC Excellence buries Crooked Tree Brilliant 231-116

Sydney Martinez batted 57 runs

missed the next 2 batsmen for 3 runs.

Shane Westby batted 10 runs before he was caught out, while Marlon Nicholas took the

2012 Belize City Interoffice Basketball Competition

next wicket for zero runs. Jermaine Smith entered to hit 2 sixes and a four, but he too was caught out, the Crooked Tree squad had only managed to score 116 runs when their last wicket fell.

Alamilla’s Furniture arrests Police 78-56 Belize City, July 1, 2011 Alamilla’s Furniture also moved up to the semifinals by eliminating the

2012 Belize City Interoffice Basketball Competition

No. 7 seed, the Police Dept., 78-56.

Alamilla’s Greg “Chippy” Rudon was on top of his game with 15 points, giving Alamilla’s a 7-0 lead in the first minutes. Ekroy Yorke scored 15 points and 5 rebounds for the cops to trail 18-19 at the end of the 1st quarter.

Rhetton Belisle, Carlisle Barrow and Brandon Rogers answered with 12 points each for Alamilla’s to lead 38-34 at the half. They maintained the lead at the end of the 3rd quarter 5549 which continued to the end of the 4th quarter.

Other scorers: Orlando Bowen – 13 points, 9 rebounds Maurice Martinez – 6 points Davis Guzman – 4 points Kevin Domingo – 11 points Shane Rosalez – 7 points John Rudon – 4 points David Alamilla – 3 points

2012 Belize City Interoffice Basketball Semifinals

Tuff e’Nuff eliminates CYDP quashes Belize YFF, 57-41 Telemedia 61-54 Belize City, July 1, 2011 A big win on Sunday has given Tuff e’Nuff the lead spot in the 2012 Belize City interoffice basketball competition.

Tuff e’Nuff defeated Belize Telemedia 61-54 to move up to semifinals.

Lennox Cayetano led Telemedia with 13 points and 11 rebounds to give Telemedia a 15-11 lead in the 1st quarter.

Tuff e’Nuff’s Jamal Kelly answered with 16 points and Farron Louriano had 13 points with huge slam dunks. Tuff e’Nuff had a 28-23 lead at the end of the half and maintained the lead 44-40 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Semi-finals schedule, Thursday night July 5 CYDP vs. Alamilla’s Furniture Quan’s Trading Co. vs. Tuff E’Nuff

Alyson Rivers and Greg Rudon rush for ball control Marcel Orosco defends YFF’s Kenroy Usher

Belize City, July 1, 2011 The Conscious Youth Development Program eliminated Youth for the Future 57-41 the interoffice basketball quarterfinals played at Bird’s Isle on Sunday.

CYDP’s Marcel Orosco and Winston Pratt scored 14 points each. Orosco handed out 3 as-

sists while Pratt had 4 assists as they led 17-11 in the 1st quarter. YFF’s Brian White had 14 points, 7 boards, while Kenroy Usher and Jamir Enriquez each drained in a long trey as they each added 8 points and 4 rebounds to put YFF up 26-24 at the half. Fenton Ross added 6 points, 7 rebounds for YFF and Lincoln Flow-

ers had 5pts, but the CYDP led 4233 by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Other scorers: Lennox Bowman – 10pts Matthew Young – 7pts Bernard Felix – 5 pts Jermaine “Gumbi” Tillett – 4 pts Sherwin Garcia – 3 pts

Sunday, July 8, 2012

11

THE BELIZE TIMES

2012 Belize City Interoffice Basketball Semifinals

BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE

Quan’s Trading Center runs over Maria Chang, 71-45

Andrew Staine lays up over QTC’s Kareem Elrington Wilfred Richards goes up for an easy basket

Champions Cup Football Competition

BDF defeats Maskall 3-1

Harrison Tasher attacks Belize City, July 1, 2011 The Belize Defence Force drilled Maskall 3-1 in Week 2 of the Champions Cup football competition at the MCC grounds on Sunday afternoon, July 1.

Erwin “Bird” Flores and Daniel Jimenez led the BDF assault supported by midfielders Philip Lewis, Harrison Tasher, David Trapp and Khalil Velasquez, but the Maskall defenders Alfred Garnett, Kevin Pelayo, Jerome Madrill and Delvoy Jones and goalie Delroy Jones kept them off the scoreboard the entire 1st half for a nil zip draw at the half time break.

Maskall’s Samuel Leslie and Wayne Godoy led the village squad’s offensive with the help of midfielders Jermaine Gotoy, Albert Salgado, Lanston Webster and Marvin Jones, but the BDF defenders Vallan Symns, Tyrone Pandy, Byron Usher and Victor Nunez and goalie Frank Lopez shut them out.

In the 2nd half, the BDF coach introduced Richard “Cheety” Jimenez, Marlon Meza and Allan Ponce into the game. Richard Jimenez got off a left foot shot that goalie Delroy Jones deflected out of goal, but Ervin Flores turned and fired a shot that beat Jones for a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute. David Trapp got the opportunity to make it 2-nil.

While he flubbed the shot, Marlon Meza issued no such pardon and blasted in a grass burner to embarrass goalie Jones with a 2nd goal in the 58th minute. Meza got another chance to impress the scoreboard when Danny Jimenez set table for him, but Meza missed.

Passes to goalie are never a good idea as Vallan Symns found out to his embarrassment when Samuel Leslie caught up to the ball and blasted in the village squad’s only consolation goal embarrassing goalie Frank Lopez in the 71st minute. Richard Jimenez put the game on ice with a 3rd goal in the 82nd minute.

Belize City, July 1, 2011 Quan’s Trading Center took out Maria Chang 71-45. QTC’s Kachief Thomas drained in 3 long treys to lead Quan’s with 24 pts, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Jacob “Snake” Leslie drained in 3 long treys to score 18 pts, and snag 2 rebounds as QTC led all the way, 21-11 in the 1st quarter and 33-25 at the half.

Maria Chang’s Andrew “Head” Staine scored 15 pts, Ronald Rivers drained in a long trey to score 14 pts, and Marvin Skeet tossed in 12 pts. Keith Pollard added 7 pts for Maria Chang.

QTC’s Travis Lennon answered with a long trey to add 10 pts and Kareem Elrginton answered with a long trey to add 6 pts to put QTC up 51-42 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Vince Garbutt hit 3 pts, 12 rebounds and Jerome “Penny” Ellis chipped in 3 pts for the win. Maria Chang’s Justin Wade added 5pts and Ryan Zuniga scored 4 pts.

Champions Cup Football Competition

S&W Old Road stomps FC Belize 2-1 Belize City, July 1, 2011 S&W Old Road found themselves down 1-0 to FC Belize who came into the ball game riding a 7-0 high from Week 1. Dalton “Chicken” Cayetano and Michael “Soup” Hernandez led the FC Belize attacks with the help of midfielders Francisco “Peely” Briceno, Avian “Chi-chis” Crawford, Ryan Gill and Jael Ottley.

Michael Hernandez eluded the Old Road defenders Glenford Flowers, Christopher Meighan, Ron Thomas and Mark Leslie to embarrass goalkeeper Victor Villamil with FC Belize’s 1st and only goal early in the 1st half. But a defensive error by the FC Belize defenders Leon ”Chow” Cadle, George Estrada, Kristina Perez and Michael Leal, caused the

referee to award Old Road a penalty David “Manu” McCauley Sr. stepped up to convert for old Road and tie ball game at 1-1 up before the half time break.

The Old Road strikers, Paulie “Fabulous” Bradley and Ernest “Dubu” Flores, pressed their advantage with the help of midfielders Jermaine “Bowfoot” Zuniga, Denfield Lemott and David Robateau, until Shaquille Godoy and Keenen Gillett replaced Zuniga and Lemott.

FC Belize coach Marvin Ottley refreshed his attack line with Marlon “Rambo” Clarke, Lorenzo “Lencho” Diaz, and Jerome Bermudez replacing Crawford, Cayetano and Leal, but it was Paulie Bradley who got the better of goalie Elroy

Ryan Gill tries for a goal Rowley to score the 2nd winning goal in the 80th minute for the win.

Other game: Westlake vs. Raymond Gentle City Boys - 4-1 Goal scorers: Jarrett Davis, Leon “Lem” Jones, Andres Makin (2), Joseph Muhammad Ali

Hornets select Anthony Davis 1st overall in NBA Draft Jun 28, 2012 7:44 PM ET, The Associated Press Anthony Davis has a left ankle sprain that must be evaluated later this week before he can be cleared to practise with the U.S. team.

Davis hurt his ankle at the team’s training centre in Westwego on Saturday, and Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman said on Monday that the club considers Davis status for resuming training as day to day.

The 6-foot-11 Davis, who led the nation with 4.65 blocks per game while leading Kentucky to a national title, is among the players being considered for the American squad at the London Olympics.

Davis was drafted by the Hornets first overall last Thursday night and arrived in New Orleans on Friday. He was slated to train for several days at Hor-

nets facilities, along with fellow New Orleans first-round draft pick Austin Rivers, before departing for U.S. practices that begin this Thursday in Las Vegas.

USA Basketball is scheduled to announce its 12-man Olympic roster on Saturday.

Even if Davis had not been injured, it was not clear that he was going to make the Olympic team. However, if he reports for the U.S. team’s pre-Olympic training camp — whether he can practice or not — he could be made an alternate, meaning that he could still be called upon to play later this summer if another frontcourt player on the 12-man roster has an injury or other issue that keeps him from suiting up in London.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Monday

that the Americans have no plans to add any additional players despite injuries to several U.S. team candidates including Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who have pulled themselves out of contention for the Olympic squad. Colangelo added that USA Basketball would like Davis to report to training camp this week even if he has not been cleared to practice yet.

“We’re trying to get a read on his status and then we do want him in Vegas to stay on top of it,” Colangelo said.

The Hornets have been supportive of Davis’ selection to try out for the Olympic team, hoping that it hastens the 19-year-old’s development as he prepares to start the 2012-13 NBA season as a central part of New Orleans’ rebuilding effort.

Davis, too, has said he is eager to learn from being on a national team squad that will include some of the top players in the NBA. “Playing with the superstars in this league — it’ll be a great opportunity for me,” Davis said last week. “They’ll show me the ropes, show me things I’ve never seen before. ... I just can’t wait to learn from them.”

12

THE BELIZE TIMES

THE PATRIOT

Raising the Special Need The bedazzled Inspiration telethon that converted our anxiously sensitive social guilt into shiny tokens of selfless awakenings was a success. It hit every sentimental high note of a God fearing nation which is already predisposed to consume any feel good story in supersized amounts.

This very component of Belizean culture which lends itself to the warmth and fun loving lure of many a returning tourist, disables the local population into a species which is unimmunized against properly packaged deception and cleverly articulated causes. Our hearts and religious convictions are worn on our sleeves.

But Belize has become a society turned on its head and has morphed into an unrecognizably savage beast, deadly and insensitive. Saturday’s telethon was a heat check for the extent of the social decay. The extent that Belize still bleeds and cries for the plight of the disadvantaged is the real inspiration.

However, the devil of the “Inspiration Telethon” is in the details of the glaring disconnect from the true struggles of persons with special needs in Belize and the misplaced emotional knee jerk to superficially alleviate those torturous challenges.

Very few would dear to interrupt this 1.1 million dollar purge fest of guilt but the real story of persons with disabilities cannot be fanned away by one day of check writing. Surely, nothing can dilute the genuine piggy bank breaking and heart wrenching stories of children, mothers and families finally provided with an outlet to register their empathy.

Unassuming Belizeans would shrug a shoulder at any suggestion that there is something amiss in the Universal Studios type performance of Belize’s first telethon of this emotional and economic magnitude. For most it was a refreshing “kumbaya” moment, sighted far too infrequently. The localized principle of anything is better than nothing would threaten to drown out any sober contextualizing of the telethon.

We watched all day, some hooked by the guilt of what we have not done for persons with special needs or the haunting memory of an un-Samaritan incident of shamefully callous ridicule.

Others were invested in the image of the cause under the weight of a family or loved one who falls within the population of children with special needs.

But this was the first condition to the misdirection and exploitation reeking from the organization of the telethon.

The reality is not television friendly and the truth is not palatable but it must be introduced. The backdrop of this complaint is painted harshly on the fact that there are only two specifically fitted educational institutions for kids with special needs. Most persons are familiar with the headline facility at Stella Morris but there is one other school in San Pedro, Holy Angel, which accommodates differently abled students. Outside these facilities there

are only poorly outfitted and inappropriately arranged accommodations the Anglican School in Belmopan which, as an act of tolerance, squeezed out two class rooms for this purpose.

Many parents of children with special needs are forced to migrate to the crime ridden city or to brave the waters to the expensive demands of San Pedro to get access for their child. Many of these parents have little means and are unsupported by families who can lend little more than a kind word and empathetic nod.

A mother of two children suffering from the chromosome disorder, Trisomy 21 or Down Sydrome, who donated to the telethon, confided that

although she was moved to contribute to the telethon in the names of her sons, the inspiration center could not provide relief from her real problems.

She questioned with swollen, tear filled eyes, how could three million dollars be spent on a building that the children would go to once a week but no money is raised for the place that they spend five days of each week.

How much money was raised for Stella Morris?

The dark and depressing reality is that Stella Morris is underequipped and improperly resourced. Even the school bus, is, save for the lettering of the school name on the sides, a regular, public transport bus, unapologetic in the absence of even the base handicap fittings. Additionally children, some of whom are challenged by the spinal cord disorders, are only given the use of the regular Mennonite pine school chairs. Classrooms are intolerably hot and at times thick with the dried smell of saliva. The learning devices are archaic, unreflective of international technological advances and the range of students makes purposed effecting teaching a herculean task.

Sunday, July 8, 2012 Unarguably, the level of service at Stella Morris is a direct testament to the commitment and resolve of persons like Ms. Joy Westby, an unsung hero in every respect. We know that the school’s thirty dollar registration fee is rarely affordable by the families of the children who utilize the school and sponsorship is the lifeline of their operations.

To tie up a million dollars from essentially the same donors who would be targeted to supplement the day to day shortfalls of the school is dangerous, myopic and unwarranted. The organization of the telethon dried up the short term sources of donors tying them up for a minimum of three years.

But the logistics of the center are not free from critical analysis. Located within Belize City, the Center is immediately outside the accessible parameters of disabled children in Corozal, Stann Creek and Toledo. The able bodied ego is potently lent to lazy discrimination in believing that persons with disabilities can move through Belize with Land Rover type ease and long legged strides.

Continued on page 18

Sunday, July 8, 2012

13

THE BELIZE TIMES

Taxi-men to protest City Council’s harassment BELIZE CITY, Wednesday, July 4th, 2012

By Alton Humes Phillip ‘Fada’ Henry isn’t the usual type of political figure we cover in the pages of the BELIZE TIMES; in fact, his ‘claim to fame’ is his consistent schism with his formers allies in the current UDP-led City Council, and more specifically, the Traffic Department.

Recently, Fada’s beef with the city council administration is fuelled by claims of harassment of taxi drivers.

Fada, who is a self-employed taxi-driver, says that the City Council’s Traffic Department has been taking away specific license plates, including his own, which he claims were legitimately obtained.

He intends to voice their displeasure via a planned pair of demonstrations to be held tomorrow, Thursday, July 5th, 2012, in front of the Traffic Department on Youth For the Future Drive and City Hall on North Front Street.

In order to understand exactly how and where things stand, you’ll have to journey back to the 2nd and final term of former Belize City Mayor Zenaida Moya and to Traffic Manager Kevan Jenkins, a man considered by Henry to be ‘Public

Enemy #1’, and who’s also been linked Deon Samuels, a former Councilor responsible for Traffic, who’s been no saint himself in managing the post over his two terms.

Mayor Darrell Bradley, who came to power as of March of this year, tapped someone else to take over a house already fraught to the brim with corruption and heavy amounts of excess. That person is Michael Theus, who himself was an employee of the Council’s Traffic Department.

It was under Theus that about nine new taxi licenses were issued, which are now the subject of the Council’s review.

The plates, with license numbers ranging from the 6000’s to the 7200’s series, were stripped away by the Council reportedly due to an edict that no new

licenses should have been issued in the first place. But, in a case of the good and the not-sogood suffering together, most of Henry’s fellow taxi-men had their plates taken away, while others, including Haitian drivers not even resident in the country, kept their plates according to Henry.

Even higher-ups in the UDP party hierarchy were involved in the fracas, and they put pressure on Theus to cede the portfolio to fellow councilor Alifa ElringtonHyde, until a permanent solution can be reached by the Mayor who was out of the country at the time.

But for Henry and his fellow drivers, the demonstration tomorrow isn’t just about getting their plates back, it’s

Phillip “Fada” Henry says he will lead a protest against the wrongs at the Traffic Department about reminding the City Council – and Darrell Bradley specifically – about their real mandate: serving and protecting the interests of the residents of Belize City.

“Wi need fu stand up fi wi Belizean rights,” he told today.

Rest assured, this saga isn’t over yet, and the BELIZE TIMES will do its best to keep following this story.

Caves Branch Road ‘caving in’!

Other tourist roads an awful mess

BELIZE CITY, Monday, July 2nd, 2012

By Alton Humes Like so many things that continue to slip under the radar of the news cycle, Belizeans would be hard-pressed to be aware of the deteriorating, evermushrooming mess that is the infrastructure in key areas of the country.

One such is the Caves Branch Road in the Cayo District and other roads leading to popular tourist destinations such as the Nohoch Che’en Reserve, the Caves Branch Tours, the Maya ruin of Altun Ha in the Belize District, and many others. But just because it’s not on the immediate radar doesn’t mean it isn’t news, and very huge news at that.

The tour and bus operators who’ve had to, and continue to, traverse those roads month after month without any relief in sight from the Government of Belize were extremely antsy when interviewed by Channel 5 news a few weeks ago, and now that the rainy and hurricane season is here, they’re sure to be much worse.

Most tour operators and tourists have openly and unabashedly declared that the roads, especially the Caves Branch one, need to be quickly and properly fixed, and as soon as is possible.

One of them, David Andrews, described the experience as feeling like “hell” and was deeply displeased that despite their efforts, angrily declaring, “[NICH] collected over thirty million dollars a year with revenue from tourists and this is the road that we have to deal with everyday. It’s

Deteriorating road conditions (photos courtesy Channel 5) a shame from the country for tourists to come in the country and see something like this that is known for cave tubing, # 1 site.”

A tourist who was interviewed said that despite the fun experience they had at the cave tubing site, they would rather have a proper road to travel on, and be the better for it, even added that pay a small ‘fee’ to facilitate fixing the roads would be worth it.

Tom Greenwood, the president of a tour operators’ organization and a noted tour operator himself, admitted in the interview that while he spoke to the Ministry of Works some months earlier about dealing directly with the fixing of the roads, there has not, at least at present, been any further response from the Ministry on how to proceed. The BELIZE TIMES will continue to follow this story as it develops.

14

THE BELIZE TIMES

Of this and that…

TOLD YOU SO It is not Francis’ style. But the PUP should be saying “we told you so.”

The PUP told Belize before the 2012 elections. The PUP said that Barrow was hiding a bad news budget.

Then the UDP said the PUP was just campaigning. Ain’t no good news in this here budget.

Barrow can call times good. We don’t know what he di smoke. But Public Servants will feel the truth.

Teachers will feel the truth. Nurses will live the truth. Single mothers will live the truth. Businessmen will die from the truth.

Belize will get worse. Things will get rougher. It will feel like we are being choked in the next two years.

Tighten up, Belize.

CLUELESS The UDP had one focus. It was to steal the last elections. They had no plan for governing afterwards. They had run out of ideas long ago.

There is no new project in the budget. There is nothing for you in the budget. The last good ideas were from the PUP. UDP have been hiding under oil.

They brought not a single idea for the economy in 2008. They took a free ride on PUP ideas.

The UDP just spent or stole money for four years. They generated none.

Oil was carrying the load. Nothing else. Oil is drying up. Dog eat wi suppa, now.

The UDP is incapable of original thought.

Do not hold your breath. There will be no genius economic idea. Not from the UDP. GUN DOWN America is something else. Guns are being sprayed in Belize City like Sheltox.

In America they have the technology to trace guns. It is done by putting a computer chip inside the gun.

It is called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification).

America was exposed in one tracking of guns. They are responsible for 68% of the guns in to Mexico.

We are not concerned with American capitalism. We care not about America’s drug business. We care about Belizean lives.

Our tuntie leaders should be stoned. They had a big ceremony.

The ceremony was because the US gave us a big pliers. It mashes guns.

Whoopie!

Uncle Sam can track guns. But we ask them for pliers? Give us some chips. Some RFID’s.

Let us learn where they are hiding all these guns.

This is common sense.

AGREE WITH GODFREY Godfrey Smith has about ten dictionaries. One of them is in Latin.

Bright kid. He writes Flashpoint. He writes some wicked articles.

Poetry with big words.

Godfrey says gay marriage is inevitable. He is right. Forget law. Forget God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wears a human robe. She must follow rules. Those rules were

inspired by men. Evil men. Not God. Belize will lose the moral battle.

Gays will have more money. They are more focused. The rear guard of their army is on the attack.

They are well supported. “Rich mi seh”.

The pilinki church is no match.

God, after all, is on the side of the bigger army. Morality has a fool fool army.

Bad things happen when good men stand by and do nothing.

Freedom of expression is the war. Freedom of opinion and preference is the quarrel.

Well, some of us are free to speak our minds. We say it is wrong.

DANGEROUS It is good to see tadpoles. Rainy season is here. Hurricane season is here. This is not a good time.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season is from June 1 to November 30. Belize is included in the forecasts covering the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Some clown at the Weather Bureau has done the worst thing ever.

This is the worst thing since Henry Gordon lost a hurricane. They have said that the 2012 Hurricane Season will be “less active this year.” Makes no sense to me.

But some long name scientists, Philip J. Klotzbach and William M. Gray, say different. They are from the Colorado State University’s Tropical Meteorology Project.

Fool di talk but ain’t no fools listening. The days in Belize are hot hot.

It is punishing heat.

Facts are facts. Two storms have already popped off their list. The season did not even start yet. Explain that!

Cruffy already do not take the hurricane season seriously. This is not the Hurricane Hattie generation.

This is the Hattieville Prison Generation. They think “Hattie” is the alias for a George Street affiliate.

The government should warn the public. Things are bad. The economy is terrible. People need to be encouraged to put up for rainy season. To put up supplies for hurricane. To make a plan for the worse. Hope for the best.

The government is going to have 10 foolish virgins on their hands come hurricane time.

DAMN DAWN God has a sense of humor.

Dawn Sampson was on the TV. She was boasting that the UDP saved us from “rolling black outs”. Current gone immediately after she said that.

Black outs are like “lace blouse” and “jeg-gins”. They are in style.

There is at least one blackout a week. There are surges in current every day.

Poor Dawn. Do not let them set you up. This government wrecks everything. Do not stick your pretty neck out for them.

BERT WILL WALK Cayo no play. They have a history of revolt. They have a history of fixing things. They are emotional. They are beautiful.

Bert Vasquez has been tried and convicted. Channel 7 even did mitigation pleas. They had a psychiatrist tell

us what was in his head. The television news cashed in on the frustration.

Belize tuned in. Reality TV. Coverage like the OJ Simpson trail. Like the Michael Jackson funeral. Like the royal wedding. The newspapers turned him into Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.

No one thinks he is innocent. The evidence sounds flakey. The people have false hope. Chester set them up. A ring is not a conviction. News reports are not evidence. Our police are not CSI Miami.

Bert will win a no case submission. He will then be “nolle prosed”.

He will be whisked off in a plane.

This will be one year from now.

CAYO NO SERIOUS One thousand Belizeans crowded the Cayo Police Station. They were calling for justice. They wanted it in the form of Bert Vasquez’s head. They screamed at the police station. But the police station could not help.

The Government could help. They are responsible. Yet, only six people took the protest to the House of Assembly.

I was disappointed.

Cayo people chose to pick up their pay checks instead of standing up when it really counted.

This is sad.

911 Belize is in the Twilight Zone. Belize has no new money for Policemen.

Yasmin says one hundred thousand dollars cut from the city police. Yet the UDP will pay three men to talk.

The Police Force has three Press Officers. They have zero effect on crime.

It was poetic. The three men faced the cameras. In the background was the police mug shot wall. Beautiful.

It is criminal to have three big salaries. Two useless Press Officers. A press officer is not a forensic doctor.

There is no reason for three people to do a simple job. None.

This is a waste.

Cutkelvin is a waste. He has no

Sunday, July 8, 2012

neck. He also has no sense. He admitted that he has no purpose. His was a political appointment. He had no idea why he was there. That is what he said. He said the UDP just gave him a job.

A job “which we are yet to properly define”. We can define it: unnecessary.

PINOS There are lots of barber shops in Belize. Lots of them do not have even one scissors. Pinos is not one of them.

Pinos is a family tradition. They have been around 40 years. Older than Belize.

The business is still at 14 King Street. It is a land mark. It is a Belizean institution. Brothers Roger, Ronald and Rodwell Jr. took their father’s trade.

They have been cutting hair for a long time. They are as old as Lord Rhaburn. As local as Dits. As cruffy as Marvas.

Very few things survive the UDP. Ask Malic. Ask Archies. Ask Macy’s.

Ask Record Shack. Ask Laura.

Nuff respect to the razor. Pinos is as roots as Ramsey. They are the last of times past. Of times when streets were as wide as Tigris and Dean. Of cargo trucks and bike carts.

Rodwell Pyne Sr. and his sons have been doing us proud. They are loyal to the craft.

They are the only barbers in Belize.

NO LOVE IN THE BUDGET “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” 1 Corinthians 13

Sunday, July 8, 2012

15

THE BELIZE TIMES

The Case for Re-registration

Invest wisely in education, empower our people!

By Gilroy Usher, Sr. (PUP Standard Bearer for Port Loyola)

STATEMENT ON EDUCATION

One of the pillars for free and fair elections in our democratic country is a legitimate voters list. To produce that important necessity the government is charged with conducting a re-registration exercise every ten years. According to the law, 2012 is the year for the next re-registration after it was deferred from 2007. The last re-registration was done in 1997 which is 15 years ago.

After winning the March 7th general election by the skin of its teeth with the narrowest of margin (17 to 14), on Friday June 29th the government amended the law in the House to defer the re-registration exercise for another 5 years until 2017 when the next general election is due. It gave two reasons for that decision. According to the administration it doesn’t have the funds for the exercise and the current voters list can serve us well for another 5 years. That would mean the current voters list would be in use for another 20 years.

After ten years the voters list should be cleaned up with a re-registration exercise to rid it of thousands of deceased persons and thousands of persons who have moved out of the area they were registered for more than 2 years.

The re-registration exercise is also needed to rid the list of thousands of persons who have not lived in a division for a single day and were wrongfully registered to pad the voters’ list in favor of ruling politicians.

The latter is a major challenge in conducting free and fair election. That is because despite the best efforts a candidate he cannot take his message to those thousands of voters, who are registered in his division but have never lived in the area for even one day. The voters’ list should also be cleaned up at least once every ten years to make the number of voters in each constituency

more proportionate. Some divisions have in excess of 2000 voters when compared to the average number of voters per division. The cumulative effect of all those irregularities over the last fifteen years make the current voters list bloated, tainted, disproportionate, unreliable and illegal.

Since the voters’ list has not been updated for the last fifteen years the number of persons who succeeded in voting in the name of deceased persons in the election on March 7 was high or way above average. Similarly as a result of using a voters’ list that is fifteen years old in a number of divisions, several busloads of persons who have never lived in a particular constituency for a single day were brought in to vote in the area on election day.

It is a fact that in its previous term the UDP used political interference to pad the old voters list with hundreds of persons, who weren’t qualified to be voters in many divisions. That was done yearly with transfers and the registration of new voters including those whose naturalization papers were fast tracked.

The UDP padding of the voters’ list was so blatant that in a number of instances its agents registered over 40 persons at certain address, when the home in question could barely accommodate five persons.

Without those unfair practices it’s highly likely that the UDP would have lost at least two of the House seats it narrowly won on March 7 to the opposition PUP. That of course would have turned the table upsidedown, as today the PUP would be in government and the UDP in opposition.

Nobody buys the government’s claim that it cannot afford the money for a re-registration exercise. Funds for this important and necessary undertaking this year can be obtained by cutting back on the millions of dollars being wasted on numerous nonproductive embassies around the world and the expensive trips of weekly globe-trotting Ministers, who accomplish nothing for Belize most of the time they are abroad at taxpayers’ expense.

We therefore join the rest of Belizeans countrywide in asking the government to reconsider its decision not to clean up the already fifteen year-old voters list, and instead conduct the re-registration exercise this year that is so vital for free and fair elections in our beloved country.

THE WORLD IS READING

THE BELIZE TIMES www.belizetimes.bz

Delivered on June 12, 2012 by PUP Deputy Leader, Hon. Dolores Balderamos-Garcia

We in the People’s United Party are very concerned about the state of education in our country.

Let us first say, contrary to what the Minister of Education insists on publicly touting, that the funding allocated to Area Representatives for educational assistance is paltry. The incontrovertible fact is that the allocation per constituency is a mere $300 for only 25 secondary school students and a measly $75 for only 25 primary school students.

Assistance to only 50 children per constituency cannot suffice when thousands of families are facing crushing difficulties in putting food on their tables, let alone finding the monies to educate their children. The Minister of Education has nothing to boast of, and when parents are told to “go to your area representative” this could never begin to address the inadequate attention that his Ministry is giving to our children’s future.

The outlook for the 2012 to 2013 school year is grim, and the Ministry of Education does not seem to have any purposeful direction or sense of urgency for management to our Education system.

Education takes up 22% of the National Budget. Where are the results to show for this spending? The performance of the Ministry of Education is not matching the promises that the UDP Government made to the Belizean people.

When you compare the performance of respective governments, the PUP has stood head and shoulders above the current UDP administration in ACCESS to education, QUALITY in delivery, and RELEVANCE of the curriculum. It was successive PUP Governments which vastly expanded more schools and access as well as trained teachers and built the ITVETS (Institutes for Technical and Vocational Education and Training). The PUP Government instituted the school book program and committed to its expansion to include secondary school, but the UDP Government has failed to deliver on that commitment.

Today we are seeing under-utilized facilities for Vocational and Technical Training, while so many of our young people lack the skills that they desperately need to obtain decent jobs. Government must move with urgency to increase enrollment in ITVETS and other training facilities for the next school year.

Too many of our children are not completing primary and secondary school. The UNDP Human Development Report on Belize states that the Attrition rate at primary level is a cause of serious concern. Government is not doing enough to address declining primary school attendance rates. Likewise, of those students starting high school, not enough of them are completing their secondary education.

We in the People’s United Party insist that our children deserve far better. The Human Development Report tells us we must improve the physical infrastructure of educational facilities; ensure an adequate supply of skilled teachers who are suitably trained and sufficiently motivated to deliver relevant and engaging curricula for students; encourage effective parent and community engagement; and improve governance and tracking mechanisms.

As a responsible Opposition we call attention to inadequacies in the quality and relevance of education at all levels. At the tertiary level in particular, when there is already indication that tuition will be raised at the University of Belize, Government says that there can be no allocations of assistance for UB students due to its debt of over $4.5 million, when earlier this year there was wild and disgraceful spending of taxpayers money on their re-election campaign.

Unless there is proper investment in and expansion of tertiary education how can Belize expect to train the technicians, scientists and professionals whom we need for the development of our country?

Overall, we need an effective education system which can give our citizens the capacity to form a successful workforce and equally successful businesses and enterprises.

This UDP Administration has no sound education policy. They seem to be adrift, with no vision and no focus as to where education in Belize is going. The Education Minister is not inspiring anyone to make the drastic positive changes that are essential.

The spotlight must be placed on our slipping Human Development ranking from 78th in 2010 way down to 93rd in the world in 2011, which is a serious indictment on the Barrow Administration, whose failed policies have sunk Belizeans deeper into depression. While UDP Ministers bask in lifestyles of the rich and famous, thousands of Belizeans suffer in despair.

Belize’s poor performance in education contributes greatly to this condemnatory assessment, and the question must be posed: What if anything Continued on page 22

16

THE BELIZE TIMES

Rev’d Oliver Ottley on Homosexuality

By Dr. Oliver Ottley, District Superintendent Emeritus, Church of the Nazarene Born or chosen orientation?

This is the sixty-four thousand dollar question.

If born, what or who is the source? If chosen, what is the cause? Bible-believing Christians acknowledge divine condemnation of the practice but manifest divine love towards homosexuals with a desire for their repentance and redemption.

Equalizing homosexuality with all other sins It is an age old concept that sin is sin with no difference in how God sees it and deals with it. This outbreak of the Unibam agenda is cause for a fresh look at this concept of sin. It is scripturally evident that the practice of any sinful lifestyle separates the sinner from fellowship with God. Furthermore, sin in this natural world which God created has natural consequences; and not all sins have the same consequences (cf.

Romans 1:26-28). The commandments of God are given on the one hand for our obedience in providing access into fellowship with Him, and on the other hand to protect us from the natural and social consequences of disobedience to His commandments.

The finality of God’s judgment on the sins of men and women “You cannot teach homosexuality as sin” was a recent attempt to make that aberration a law in Canada. Because homosexuality was clearly the most abominable sin of Sodom, it became not the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, but the gross aberration that filled their cup of iniquity to the brim and brought divine destruction of the city.

We remember the record of God’s destruction of the antediluvian world with a flood, save eight in the ark. Jesus said that as it was in the days of Noah so will God’s judgment be at the end. Could this open propagation and proliferation of homosexuals and their supporters be the beginning of the end in filling this world’s cup of iniquity? Whether our persuasion is a pre or post tribulation return of Christ, as Christians we do believe in the consummation of all things pertaining to this world, our final salvation, and a final judgment of the wicked.

Reprobation and compassion Remember how God told the prophet Jonah to declare His judgment on the people of Nineveh, and how the whole city repented in sackcloth and ashes, and how God spared them. The love of God shed abroad in the hearts of those who are truly His reaches out to even those of a reprobate mind. The God who spared Nineveh will spare those who truly repent.

Atheists and Agnostics It is heartbreaking to observe the mentality of some in this country, even some who are born and bred in Belize and have been exposed to Christian teachings but are now, in their educated and perverted opinion, openly maligning the Bible and the Church, relegating them to the realm of hypocrisy, ridicule and mockery. In terms of human understanding some things in the Bible, especially taken out of context, can be made to appear ridiculous, especially to the carnal and natural mind which prefers its own way instead of God’s will and way. The Scripture says it well in 1 Corinthians 2:14: But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (KJV). Our hearts go out to them in love, a prayer and a plea for them to consider their ways and seek the Lord while He may be found.

Admittedly, there are many who profess to be Christian but whose lives belie their profession. Jesus called some of His day hypocrites. But let me repeat what I wrote in another article: The Church of Jesus Christ will endure! Our Lord Himself said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) Amen! His Church is being built according to a blueprint prepared by the Supreme Architect, and the materials which go into its construction are divinely monitored. When it is finished it won’t be “the house that Jack built”; it will be the Church that Jesus built. It will be the Church Triumphant for evermore!

LABOURING IN THE VINEYARD PART 3

[Book Review by Dr. The Hon. Ralph E. Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines of Sir Shridath Ramphal’s Collected Counsel on the occasion of the Launch of Caribbean Challenges at Cave Hill, UWI, Barbados, on June 13, 2012] One of the more penetrating speeches in Caribbean Challenges is that entitled “Vision and Leadership: The Infinite Unity of Caribbean Needs”. It was delivered by Sir Shridath in 2011 as part of the activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Bank of Jamaica and in memorial, too, of a former Bank Governor, the distinguished G. Arthur Browne.

In this address, he identified the articulation of a coherent Caribbean vision and a matching quality leadership as vital ingredients in the fashioning of a united Caribbean. He is emphatic that the basic fault in the divisiveness in our region lies in ourselves as flawed regionalists.

Despite Ramphal’s enormous respect for N.W. Manley and Dr. Eric Williams, he is critical of their personal decisions to stand askance from a direct participatory role in the Federal government. In this regard his language is trenchant, almost bitter: “----[T]he most ardent promoters of the new federalism which swept the Region – Norman Manley and Eric Williams – remained in their home garrisons, declining to dwell in the regional castle that they had helped to construct.

-----Despite the rhetorical passion that had characterised the years of the “federal movement” the imperishable impulse for control over territory, however small, unviable and unsustainable it may have been, had revived. The narrow interests of a controlling social and political elite had prevailed.”

Ramphal does not spare, too, Alexander Bustamante for his opportunism and Grantley Adams for his weak stewardship of the Federation. His denunciation of Cheddi Jagan is sharp: “Nothing absolves Guyana’s leadership at the time. Their abstention, rooted in parochial political ambitions, weakened the chances of the federal effort and may even have opened the opportunity for external manipulation of the constitutional and political arrangements that followed in the then British Guiana”.

But is Ramphal fair in his critique of Manley, Williams, Bustamante, Adams and Jagan? Was the situation with which they had to confront not infinitely more complex than the simple, unalterable choice of “yes” or “no” for the Federation?

C.L.R. James, the insightful commentator of public affairs in 20th century Caribbean, in borrowing and applying Marxist dialectics, had proffered the view that men make history but only to the extent that the historical circumstances so permit

Sunday, July 8, 2012 them to make. This is not simply an interesting academic debate or a mere exercise in historical interpretation. It is pregnant with real meaning for the contemporary Caribbean and the regional integration movement. Ramphal has done us a great service in clearing the bush and shaping the contours in the vineyard for this fascinating reflection on the role of political leadership.

Ramphal’s point is nevertheless still powerful. In a postscript to Time for Action, published

by UWI Press a decade or so after the original Report, Ramphal opined: “If the Commission’s analysis is even partly right (the) future will be for our Region an excessively difficult one. If CARICOM is seen by decision-makers ----- as an occasionally convenient but mainly peripheral facility, not as a central, creative, energising force for development, it will forever fall short of the highest hopes for regionalism that we found among West Indian people.

At the end of the Commission’s experience, this must be the lingering fear: that while everyone will buy the concept of CARICOM as a ‘Community of Sovereign States’, for people the emphasis will be on ‘community’, but for the political and bureaucratic establishment the emphasis could be on ‘sovereignty’ and turf in general.

By and large, sadly, that is how things regional in CARICOM have turned out to be!

Ramphal’s internationalism and sense of engendering solidarity among the Global South enliven the pages of Caribbean Challenges: The struggle for World Peace; the existential imperative of protecting “Mother Earth” from environmental degradation and parasitical over-consumption especially by the Global North; the war waged inside and outside the Commonwealth , with Ramphal on the frontline, for the end of Apartheid in South Africa and for majority rule in former colonial African countries; the building of a united front in the ACP group; and the quest to democratise the United Nations, including its Security Council.

In the ebb and flow of Sir Shridath’s assessments on our region, the final elaboration in his Preface to Caribbean Challenges uplifts us and our civilisation: “It is time for reflection everywhere, but, rather specially, a time for reflection in the Caribbean; and I would urge that the backdrop of our reflection should not be the Caribbean as hapless takers of history’s ordained lot; but as makers of our own way in a less than benign world. We have been both over the millennia – takers and makers; but we have been enough of the latter to speak plausibly and proudly today of a ‘Caribbean Civilisation’. As makers of our way in the world, the answers to these questions about the future should be in our keeping, however arduous the challenges to sustained advancement.”

Sir Shridath has written and spoken with erudition, wisdom, literary ease and grace, drawing widely and appropriately from the great storehouse of literature lodged in the creative imagination. Despite the challenges extant in the human condition and the travails of our Caribbean civilisation, I reiterate, he remains hopeful. His positive attitude, especially in his long autumnal years, his optimism in the capacity of human beings to do the right thing, despite setbacks, draw him to likeminded persons such as the Caribbean poet, Ian Mc Donald, whom he quotes approvingly from the poem Still: “Yes, it is as you say, But let us just get one thing straight: there is beauty in the world – as when the hawk with sheathed wings plummets in the morning air the child plays jumping in the ring, the cloud-enshrouded sun descends in glory in the river-mirror glowing - yes,, there is beauty in the world - and the star-tree blossoms in the night, night that will have an end.

In Caribbean Challenges, the hope, nay the promise, remains that no night in the regional vineyard will last forever; the night will have an end; and in that very night the star-tree blossoms.

That is the enduring dialectic of our condition: Setbacks will be turned into advances; weaknesses and limitations will metamorphose into strengths and possibilities. The continuing odyssey of Sir Shridath Ramphal, his life and work, and his counsel are evidence that the star-tree blossoms.

Thank you!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

In my perspective…

Mrs. Barrow: a model of true leadership

By Rayford Young On Saturday June 30 a mega telethon was planned by Kim Simpliss Barrow and Care Belize. The Bliss Center for the Performing Arts was the venue for the Inspiration Telethon, a firstof-its-kind fundraising effort through which the Special Envoy for Women and Children hoped to raise a million dollars. The target, once achieved, was to be used for the construction of the Inspiration Center, a rehabilitation facility that will provide basic medical care and therapy for children with special needs. While the total cost of building the center is estimated at three million dollars, Kim Simpliss-Barrow said that the goal is attainable and they did reach that goal.

As we all know, Mrs. Barrow has been fighting breast cancer and receiving treatment in Miami for months now. I’ve seen her many times on television as she returns to Belize taking a break from the treatment she was receiving. She did not cover up her head - it was there for all to see she was losing her hair. She was saying this is what I’m going through, this is what this terrible disease does and I’m not going to pretend like most politicians that all is well but I’m fighting this terrible disease with strength, poise and grace. Not blaming anyone or asking ‘why me?’ she faced this trial with confidence and determination.

I admire Mrs. Barrow for those qualities I just mentioned. She is a strong but humble woman. I would put her in the class of great women like Hillary Clinton, the secretary of State for the USA, Margaret Thatcher the first female prime minister of England, elected in 1979; Indira Gandhi, born in 1917, who was made the third prime minister of India after her father’s successor abruptly died and Michelle Obama, the first African American First Lady of the United States of America.

Women haven’t always had an easy time achieving greatness but, even in the face of daunting odds, they still manage to rise to the top and take their place in 21st century society. I would place Mrs. Barrow in that category not because she was elected to an office but for the way she carries herself and is handling her fight against breast cancer. Calm, collected, not blaming anyone and even helping others while fighting her own battle. These are the qualities of a great leader.

Then there is her husband, the Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize. He is the opposite of his wife Kim Simplis Barrow - combative, ar-

gumentative, my way or no way, distrustful, arrogant. When I’m in Belize and Mr. Barrow comes on the television, I usually turn it off or walk away.

He speaks to the people like they are stupid and ignorant. He talks down at you not to you. He makes his case as if he is in a court room arguing a case, blaming everybody but himself for the failures of his government.

He, and he alone, has total control of this government. He is even the minister of finance.

As a former top lawyer in Belize I thought he had sense to know that being the PM of Belize is not like arguing a court case. You have to compromise, listen to the opposition, take into consideration other opinions, be respectful of others, you don’t know it all. No one does. Instead the PM argues and fights with everyone. I have never seen the PM in a good mood.

He always looks unhappy and tired, yet always ready for an argument.

That’s when he comes alive.

In the court room you do whatever it takes to win. It’s all about winning. If you have to go after someone’s wife or their family or a business partner to win a case you do so. It’s a nasty business. The truth is always the casualty. This is the quality I see the PM brought to this office. You never know the real truth, you blame everyone especially the opposition, but never take responsibility for anything. What a missed opportunity to bring the Country together for the betterment of all.

I think the PM would be wise to look at the way his wife handles adversities - with calmness, determination, not blaming anyone, caring for others while going through her own trials. With dignity and respect, she is raising money for an Inspiration Center, a rehabilitation facility that will provide basic medical care and therapy for children with special needs.

Mr. Prime Minister, this is how you lead a country. A diverse country like Belize with major problems needs a leader that listens, is willing to acknowledge mistakes, is respectful of all people and respects the opposition. They were elected just like you. Don’t argue at every little thing, being condescending and spiteful.

I’m sure Mrs. Barrow’s poll numbers are much, much higher than her husband’s. And they should be. She has shown us how to deal with personal tragedies, yet still stay connected to the needs of her Country. These are the qualities the PM would never exemplify because he knows it all and doesn’t seem to know how to be humble and respectful towards others. He is still in the court room arguing. He does not recognize himself as the Leader of this Country, which requires Mrs. Barrow’s style and approach to difficulties.

Rayford Young is a BelizeanAmerican, who currently lives in Michigan, U.S.A. Send comments to rayfordyoung@comcast.net

17

Tax Overhaul – to make Belize’s economy grow sustainably

By Richard Harrison Belize economy is not currently sustainable, because the government has taken on expenses, far in excess of its sustainable revenue base.

Our objective should be to increase our inflows, while reducing our outflows.

Here are some of the things that we should do, to make the economy of Belize more sustainable.

(1) Reduce import duty and RRD on fuel imports to ZERO. Fuel is around 17% of total Belize merchandize imports, hence it is around $200 million per annum.

Government currently taxes this at around 100% hence it raises around $200 million in taxes. This will result in a net loss of government revenue of around $180 million.

(2) Modify tax and accounting laws for crude petroleum industry, such that it encourages more production and accounting transparency. A flat tax of 50% on all exports earnings from petroleum.

At a conservative estimate of sustainable export value of $250 million, government would take in $125 million in taxes on the first $250 million exports. 45% on exports over the next $100 million would bring an additional $45 million, 40% on the next $100 million would bring an additional $40 million, etc. 5% of all taxes from petroleum should go into a fund established to be used if and when there are environmental catastrophe resulting from crude petroleum industry activities.

(3) Reduce GST to 10%, with all items and services subject to the same GST rate, no exemptions, no exceptions. The largest volume of what we consume is not currently subject to GST. GST revenues will increase to around $1,000 million per annum. Exporting companies must be refunded all GST charged on inputs that go into exports, so that they can export without charging GST. (4) Reduce Business Tax to 1% of revenues for all businesses trading on the domestic market (including Free Zone trade) with turnover exceeding $70,000 per annum. This will raise revenues from Business Tax to around $90 million. No other form of taxation on business will be implemented.

(5) Eliminate all personal income tax. This will reduce revenues by an estimated $15 million.

(6) Increase import duties from an average of 9% to 15%, raising import duty on those finished products that compete directly with Belize products, and lowering import duty to between 0-5% for all inputs that are value-added in Belize. This should be done to

create a positive Effective Rate of Protection (ERP) for all products produced in Belize. The lowest import duty to be charged on finished goods imported into Belize will be 5% (such items as medicines, educational and technology material). This will raise revenue from import duties to around $180 million.

(7) Making all imported items subject to the Environmental Tax at a rate of 2%. No exemptions, nor exceptions, no matter the country of origin.

This will raise ET revenue to around $24 million. 50% of this tax revenue should be ear-marked for investments in environmental projects aimed at correcting all human negative impact on the environment, such as recycling of plastics/paper/cans/glass, proper garbage disposal, waste water and sewage treatment. These funds should be used to partner with private entrepreneurs to implement economically sustainable means of achieving the above.

The other 50% should be divided on a per capita basis and cities and town councils for helping with their garbage collection and disposal projects.

(8) Impose a 2% tax on all merchandized exports. This will raise revenue of $10 million per annum. This should go into a fund especially created to support export activity on a competitive application basis. This can be done through a Belize Industry Board, established for this purpose, similar to the Belize Tourism Board, but with a much smaller staff that receives, considers and approves applications for export support on a competitive basis from companies engaging, or preparing to engage in export activity. 50% will be spent back on existing exporters, while 50% will be spent on fomenting new exports.

(9) Impose a road tax on all foreign vehicles entering Belize, at a rate of $30 for personal vehicles and $60 for commercial vehicles. All domestic vehicles must pay a road tax of $100/yr for personal vehicles and $200/yr for commercial vehicles. This will raise around $10 million per annum. This should be earmarked for upgrading and maintenance of all principal highways/ bridges. All tolls will be eliminated.

Results that can be expected from this tax overhaul: i. Fuel prices at the pump will be cut in half to around $6/gallon including GST. This will reduce the cost of production and services in Belize significantly, thus making the entire economy and its productive sector more competitive. ii. The economy will grow at a rate of 10% p.a. for the next 10 years, led by the private productive sector with a balanced budget, allocating no more than 10% of revenues to finance old debts. All new debts need to be used to foment the productive sector, instead of using mostly for non-incomegenerating programs as we have been doing over the past 30 years. Exports can be expected to grow at a rate ex-

Continued on page 22

18 Budget is “inconsistent”, “lacks credibility” – former UDP candidate

Yasmin Andrews Continued from page 1 discipline for expenditure restraint.” PM Dean Barrow, Budget Presentation, 2012 Oh, what a difference a year can make as now the Barrow Administration seems to be singing an entirely different tune from the one it did at the last budget presentation. Prior to the elections we seemed, like Icarus, to be soaring close to the sun. This time around, however, we seem to be free-falling helplessly with so chance of a rescue in sight.

Everyone who got a chance to listen to the government’s budget for the current fiscal year, including their own cronies, walked away with an awful taste in their mouths. It will be a taste that will stick around for at least a year, as yet another bitter Barrow budget has left poor people wondering if they will be able to survive life in Belize.

The devil was in the figures, and no matter how they craftily coined it, at the end of the day, we are dangerously in deficit at $135m, with no way of bridging the gap. In 2011 we collected $862,643,366 compared to the estimated $937,857,347. The oil, tourism, fishing, banana and citrus industries have all showed declines in 2011, while demands for expansion in more infrastructural developments, better access to education and food items have gone up.

Even former UDP candidate, Yasmin Andrews, has weighed in on the flat budget, describing the Budget as “confusing”. Confusing because it does

THE BELIZE TIMES not explain where the monies will come from to meet the demands where there were cuts – and there were many cuts.

Andrews, now an Economist with a doctorate degree, appeared on Channel 5 on Monday. She spoke of government’s need to two things: cut government spending and quit borrowing in order to pay our debts. She emphasized that there simply no other choice.

Andrews opined that government’s claim that the 2% GDP growth is linked to foreign direct investment is absurd since Belize has been losing investor confidence and investment. She said that Belize is embarrassingly dependent on grants and loans, and calculates our dependency on these amounts to a staggering 65% of our GDP. She also believes that inflation is actually higher than the 1.5% which the government claims it rose by. Andrews was candidly critical of the budget, questioning even its accuracy in terms of the numbers.

“We need to balance off the vast disparity between revenues and expenditures if we are to make any kind of positive strides”, she said.

Andrews, who raised the question “where is the growth?” pointing to Belize’s unemployment rate, the high cost of living, and the social deficiencies, received major flack on the UDP’s Wus Ting Da Morning show the day after she made the analysis. They claimed she was talking nonsense.

As to the areas that clearly were not priority areas, there were outrageous cuts, and youth and women were not spared. While they claim that education is a priority area, there were major cuts for many of the institutions.

This country awaits some level of sanity when the able Opposition PUP debates this flimsy and mediocre plan that this government is telling Belizeans is their national budget for the next fiscal year. With these glaring imbalances, may God be with us!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE PATRIOT

Raising the Special Need Continued from page 12 Who was consulted in the idea of taking the life savings and piggy bank dreams of our children and flushing them into the glitter of a three million dollar building? It is confirmed that the Parent Teacher’s Association of Children with special needs were not consulted.

Surely for them the doubled discrimination of having to travel or relocate to the city to access the facilities at the Inspiration Center places the building as part of a distant mental note rather than a real option for regular and full usage.

The dignity of a school education is largely more valuable to many of the parents of children with special needs than a fancy center. As such, a properly thought out vision would have addressed the absence of appropriate humane facilities in each district as well as long plaguing concerns for disabled children.

Some are so unkind to the telethon initiative as to condemn it as a political distraction.

Their critique is that it teased of the insult of the Government’s penchant to direct circuses at any expense. Similarly they argue that from a trained eye it appeared to be a shakedown

of prominent businessmen eager to curry some political favor from a government who otherwise is busy stifling their businesses. The critics rush to finger the money trail in support for their discontent and question how Poverty Alleviation funds earmarked and previously used to bribe volatile gangsters into the peace can be stripped to this venture. Some go so far as to complain that Belizeans have been dragged through one emotional distraction to another since the March elections, from Cancer, death, and now the disabled.

Those sharp thrusts at the Inspiration Center are not shared in like vein by this columnist but the point must be registered that relief, care and provision to the special needs of children with disability in this country, is not a matter to be televised and glamorized for one day. In that time we throw money into one building. The persons directing this “simon says” exercise remain beyond reproof because of their pedigree. We therefore blindly obey the command that our consciences pay penance for its failure to do something for the underprivileged or disabled.

There are 1.1 million reasons why we need to speak soberly to this issue. Clearly Belize cares about the suffering in our midst. Do not misuse the weakness. Do not take our kindness for weakness. As closely as the critics watch, God watches even closer…

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

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RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES? 1. Not to abuse, bully or injure anyone else.

2. To listen to our parents and not talk to strangers.

3. Not to go to places we know we are not allowed to be.

4. Not to do what our friends are doing because we want to be cool.

5. Never be silent. Always talk to our parents about everything that happens to us even if we are afraid.

6. If our parents won’t listen then we must try to tell someone else like a grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, teacher, pastor or another older person we feel will try to protect us.

7. To always listen to our instincts/guts. If something doesn’t feel right don’t be fooled, don’t be quite, don’t go along with it.

Right to speak or write our thoughts…Our responsibilities are: Over the last two weeks we have looked at some of our rights.

1. To respect the right of other persons to speak or write their This week to end our little look at our rights we will learn about thoughts. our responsibilities.

2. Not to try to force others to accept our way of thinking.

Along with our rights are our responsibilities.

Do you remember we have a right to go to school? Well our reRight to a clean environment…Our responsibilities are: sponsibility is to work hard and do our best to do well.

1. To help keep the environment clean by not polluting.

2. To recycle, reduce and reuse.

Here are a few other rights and our responsibilities: Right to health and see the doctor… Our responsibilities are: 1. To eat the good food our parents give us like fruits and vegetables.

2. Stay active by playing a sport, exercising or going walking with our parents.

3. If we feel sick we must let our parents know so that they can take us to the clinic or a doctor.

Right to not be abused or injured… Our responsibilities are:

I KNOW MY CONVENTION! Across 5. Article 6 of the Convention says I have the right to be _____________.

7. Article 26 says if I am poor or in need I have the right to get help from my _____________.

8. Article 7 says I have the right to a _________.

9. Article 42 says I have the right to know my ___________ and adults should teach me about them.

Down 1. Article 11 says I have the right to be protected from ____________.

2. Article 12 says I have the right to give my _____________.

3. Article 9 says I have the right to live with my __________ unless it is bad for me.

4. Article 39 says I have the right to ___________ if I have been hurt, neglected or badly treated.

6. Article 23 says if I am disabled I have the right to ____________ education.

Answers: 1.

Kidnapping; 2. Opinion; 3. Parents; 4. Help; 5.

Alive; 6. Special; 7. Government; 8. Name; 9. Rights

Across

You can use the Convention and play a game with your parents, sisters or brothers or friends to list what our other responsibilities might be.

You may not have responsibilities for all of them, because for many it is the adults around us and our government’s responsibility to look out for us.

But still try, because it is a great way to learn about our rights that are to be protected by our government and to know our responsibilities.

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Why has Belize

become a Killer Country?

I just finished reading an article where two young men were captured by the police after apparently attempting to rob and then to kill two grown men! I am perplexed to hear the age of these young men who are choosing the vicious path of crime to knit together their purpose and their destiny.

Belize seems to be at a loss or at least seems to have its hands tied in dealing with the issues of crime and unruly behavior. It has basically become our culture to behave in such a manner. There are now two prevailing cultures in Belize, one that spurts out crime and another that tries to hide from criminals.

We stay in our houses and avoid going out at times of that day that are not considered safe.

But let me roll on from here to why I am writing on this particular topic because we all know too well what the state of our little, but beautiful, nation is. Land of the free, where it seems that every one is free to do what ever they want especially the criminals!

I’m currently attending a meeting that is referred to as a revival and found out an interesting observation or should I say vision that the pastor received. The pastor saw a huge black spirit spreading its wings over the country. This spirit was given or allowed position by us Belizeans and now it is solidly in place.

According to this vision the spirit demands blood for ransom and it especially targets the youths which may be the reason why the young men earlier in this article have not even reached the age of twenty but are engrained and engaged in criminal activity!

Let’s just say that if this is true then we have a problem. No law, no fire arm, no police, no GSU, no jail, no pleading mother who has lost her son, no human rights organization, not even the government, can bring peace! We cannot fight the spirit with the flesh! The way this huge dark spirit demands payment is only by blood and that is the blood of the citizens! The problem which exists then is not based on excessive influx of foreigners, or poverty, or lack of jobs, or lack of governance but rather it is based on the people who are equipped to deal with such a spirit and kick it out the way!

No one who wants to fetch pale of water would try to do it with a strainer, and likewise no one desiring to use a strainer would pick up a bucket! In this same manner if our problem exist in the spirit then our attempts to use earthly wisdom and solutions are pretty much futile and will end up in “dead end” results!

In the same way a special force called the ‘Riot Squad’ is called in when the citizens get out of hand, likewise a special force is to be called in when the problem that exists is a spiritually propelled one!

I am therefore making a ‘phone call’ to all the foot soldiers of the Kingdom, its time to remove this spirit and its demands, its time for war! Let’s arise, let’s wake up and begin to turn the instruction and remedy outlined in the constitution for nations that desire healing for their land. One such remedy is found at (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Many say the answer is education, more schools, cutting out corruption, more jobs, better governance, better salary, bigger jails, and many recommend the ‘death sentence’!

My question to you is this: “what if the problem is a spiritual one?”

Until next week God Bless!

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Sunday, July 8, 2012

THE BELIZE TIMES

THINK ABOUT IT RE-REGISTRATION We live in a democracy in which the sacred document that is a foundation of that democracy is whack.

We talk of our Voters’ List with over one hundred thousand voters thereon.

Since 1997 the voters list has not had a comprehensive clean up. The cleaning of the list is referred to as re-registration. This means all voters living in the respective electoral divisions would be required to go in to the elections office in their areas and register anew at the address they are living.

Over the years the politicians have resorted to their usual behavior and encouraged some of their supporters to register at addresses although they live somewhere else.

It is called padding the voters list.

It subverts our democracy in many ways. One way is that persons living one division vote in another division and thereby thwart the will of voters who actual live in the division.

It prevents a candidate from being able to meet and try to convince a voter to support him. He can’t find the voter, because the voter is registered in the division but lives in another division.

It encourages bribery and taking advantage of poor people who accept money to register where they do not live.

It encourages others to sell their address to crooked politicians, so fanatic supporters can be registered at that address although they live somewhere else.

The UDP won re-election in March on this crooked voters list. They won by a MERE SIXTY votes. This was sixteen votes for Elvin “The Canadian” Penner and forty-six for Rene Montero.

The small, small difference of a mere sixty votes allowed the UDP to move from fifteen seats to seventeen seats. And thereby obtained a majority out of thirty-one seats.

The PUP had fourteen seats and with two more seats would have had sixteen to become the new government.

So, we have a very practical example of how a few votes can change the outcome in a division and also affect the overall results of an election.

What a thing. Therefore the need to have a clean voters list.

In 2007 the Voters List was to be cleaned up, but with the general elections due in February 2008 none of the political parties thought it sensible to undertake the re-registration.

It was put off for July 2012.

An early election was held in March 2012 and the UDP reaped the results, as stated above by a mere handful of votes.

Very lousy explanations are now being offered by the UDP government why it won’t clean up the voters list.

One excuse is the PUP did not clean it up in 2007. That is no excuse to refuse to do it now.

Another explanation is that it is expensive and the government can-

not afford it at this time. That is hogwash.

Even if it cost one or two million dollars, democracy and a clean voters’ list demands that we do the right thing.

Next year will be the Referendum on whether the Guatemalan Claim goes to the International Court or doesn’t go. Do we want to have an unclean voters’ list for such an important, life or death issue?

The new Leader of the Opposition, armed with almost half the elected members of the National Assembly, should make this issue a fight of principle against the government’s wrong decision to retain a dirty voters’ list.

THE GOD PARTICLE You will hear some more on this topic on the international news. It is considered a huge “discovery” by scientists.

Scientists in Europe say they have discovered an atom, a particle that can offer insight into how the universe was formed and how the universe works.

Sounds most interesting.

But using God’s name as the name for the particle is overdoing. It is arrogant and it is disrespectful to those who believe in the Almighty God; maker of heaven and earth.

Maker of all things above and below the heavens.

The maker of the Universe, the maker of the incredible species called human beings made in his likeness and his (or her) image.

Amen.

FOREVER YOUNG Scientists at Harvard University, USA, have announced an incredible and important achievement.

After years of research and experiments they have succeeded in reversing the process of aging. Mice which had grown old, they were able to make them young again.

Weak and feeble old mice have been transformed into healthy mice by regenerating their aging bodies and internal organs.

Note carefully that the scientists have said; it is not a slowing down of the aging process, but a dramatic reversal of the aging process.

This is science fiction come to real life. This is absolutely fantastic.

The trillion dollars question has to be how soon you scientists can make old men young again?

For women they have almost solved their concerns. Wrinkled skin on face can be made smooth by plastic surgery.

Sagging titties can be made firm and young through breast implants.

Old lady-looking buttocks can be made firm and sexy like Kim Khardashian type bombshell bottoms.

Falling hair, thinning hair and “pickie” head are already under control through weave and artificial hair.

Women have already found ways to look young and beautiful. All power to women, every time.

GHETTO QUEEN Have you seen the Ghetto

Queens?

They are the new thing on the southside of Belize City.

They are young, beautiful, black and brown.

They are survivors. They come from out of the belly of the beasts and the poverty that grip their daily lives.

They are pretty and their bodies are sexy. And they are to charming and looking like little Beyoncés and Single Ladies.

Among the Ghetto Queens are the Champion Bubblers.

These are younger girls with their hair and nails and revealing clothes.

They got the bodies too.

And oh what bodies they got.

Have you seen a Ghetto Queen?

Have you seen a Champion Bubbler?

BENNY’S SALE Benny’s twice annual sale is one of the biggest events for construction materials in Belize City.

Last Saturday was one of the sales day.

The crowds gathered from early in front of the gate at the compound on the Northern Road.

As the gate opened they rushed for the dollar tiles. Yes, large 2 feet by 2 feet tiles for only one dollar each. In minutes tiles were gone.

Hundreds of plywood and plycem disappeared. Only forty dollars each.

Normally sells for eighty dollars.

Another popular item was bathroom fixtures and paint. Will there be a September Celebrations special rate? Can’t wait.

EGYPT ON THE RISE The great nation of Egypt has been around long before baby Moses was hidden in the Nile River and found by one of Pharaoh’s daughters.

Egypt is one of fifty nations of Africa. It has a population of 84 million Egyptians. It has been ruled by Pharaohs and Monarchs from biblical times.

With the fall of the Monarchs some fifty years ago, military dictators took over.

People power brought down the last dictator known as Hosni Mubarak. But the military is still powerful and controls the key institutions in the country.

The first democratically elected President was sworn in last week.

His name is Mohammed Morsi.

To the dismay of Israel and the USA, President Morsi has said he will support the Palestinian people.

This is great news because in these modern times there is no people suffering deliberate oppression and evil as the Palestinians have been subjected to in the past decades.

President Morsi also said: “There is no power above people power. Today you are the source of this power. You give this power to whoever you want, with God’s blessing”.

“I fear no one but God”.

AFRICA RISING The continent of Africa has vast deposits of oil, gas and minerals and more continue to be discovered.

Five of the world’s ten fastest growing economies are countries in Africa.

A recent article in the New York

21 Times by Nicholas Kristoff is an excellent read on Mama Africa, the cradle of civilization.

USA In the mighty United States of America, they seem to be going backwards. Six companies dominate ALL TV news, radios, online, publishing and the movies.

Nine companies control ALL the newspapers in the USA. Sounds like capitalist dictatorship and control.

Sounds George Orwellian.

But still all congratulations are due this 4 July, America’s birthday.

OPEN LEARNING On Channel 86 on Belize CBC Cable provider, a Belizean TV station called OPEN LEARNING is broadcasting. There are music videos, local news and overseas news.

I watch every morning at 7:00 am because I can see Al Jazeera news and learn things in many other countries not covered by CNN, NBC, blah, blah, blah.

Could we ask OPEN LEARNING to see if they can get us African news and programs and eventually to do a show like the one on Monday nights on Channel 5?

DAN SILVA A recent visitor to Cahal Pech Resort in San Ignacio was awestruck and full of praise.

A whole new wing has been added to the hotel. It comprises large spacious rooms with verandah that allow the mountains of rolling hills to be seen, and the lights of the twin towns to glisten and glitter in the eyes at night.

There are two swimming pools.

Cabanas of rustic hue and roofing with wha-ha leaves as roof.

The food is, as always, excellent.

The staff is courteous, professional and friendly.

How good and how pleasant it is to see a Belizean family-owned business providing top of the line, quality hospitality service to visitors and locals. Last week the resort was filled to capacity – no room in the inn.

All taken by happy, satisfied, smiling tourists.

Dan is still the man.

Respect and congratulations to you, your hardworking wife and family and the rest of your staff.

DAVID CRUZ Recently in Belize City on a shopping visit from Belmopan with his wife was David Cruz.

David was a former Permanent Secretary (CEO), and an Ambassador for the country posted overseas.

He was a District Officer, Magistrate, Administration Officer, Union Official and Trainer for public officers. A huge sports enthusiasts, he was one of the driving force for softball, football and basketball for Belmopan and many of the surrounding villages.

David is the brother of union activist George Frazer.

David gave the best years of his life serving his country in many areas.

Respect is due.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAY “Take no gift, for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous”. Exodus 23:8

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Beware of Pirates Continued from page 1 against a fisherman at sea.

Sarteneja fisherman, 60 year old Cornelio Verde, was assaulted by pirates, shot and almost left to die, while his belongings were stolen.

Verde and his two sons, Ezekiel and Mescali, were steering their small boat in the area of Colson Caye, northeast of Dangriga Town, when they were approached by another vessel with four men carrying large guns.

Operations Officer in the Coast

Guard, Lt. Greg Soberanis, explained what their investigations found out happened, “They were approached by 4 men requesting fuel. The men immediately pulled out a weapon which resembled an AK-47, and the incident turned from one of requesting assistance, to one of robbery.They were instructed to jump overboard from their vessel. They complied and jumped overboard. Shots were fired at the individual. Mr. Cornelio Verde was shot between his right thigh and his

Tax Overhaul – to make Belize’s economy grow sustainably Continued from page 17 ceeding the national growth rate, as our exports will become significantly more competitive. iii. The profitability of all businesses will increase in this lower tax environment, making businesses have more confidence and capital for investment in expansion and new ventures. Investments in domestic production will double in the first year, from expansion of existing businesses and start up of new ventures. Belize will need to update its accounting rules, perhaps adopting SSAP as in the UK. iv. The price to consumers for most items and services will be reduced, except for those items that compete directly against Belizean produces, which will be taxed higher, so as to encourage local production and make value-adding in Belize more profitable and successful. This is a narrow range of items, because Belize does not produce a wide range of goods. v. Consumers will immediately have more disposable income from personal income tax relief, and will use it to increase general demand in the economy. vi. Foreign Direct Investments will reach $300 million in the first year, and grow at a rate of 10-20% per annum if this tax regime is implemented, as genuine investors flock to centers that allow for competitive production and profitability. vii. We will create 13,000 new jobs each year, over the next 5 years. Belize will be in a position to adopt creative immigration policies to attract highly skilled and talented persons, competing for brain-gain advantages in the global marketplace. viii. The need for development concessions will be eliminated, as import duty on inputs are reduced to 0-3% by law in the Customs Tariff Law. Business will no longer need to pay for these services and will now be able to invest those funds used for applying for these benefits in expanding their business. Government can reduce the budgets for Beltraide and Income Tax Department, and expand the GST department and oversight of the Customs Department. Since we currently prefer the discriminatory development concessions, while keeping import duties on inputs in place, we currently have to report exemptions on import duties as ‘subsidies’, which make our productive sector appear to be heavily subsidized and inefficient. This new regime will correct this appearance. ix. With $10 million per year from

road taxes, and increasing this amount annually we can immediately implement a $200 million project to build new paved highways from Orange Walk to Belmopan ($80 million), Georgeville to Caracol and Five Sisters Lodge ($40 million) and Coastal Highway ($40 million). Upgrades to Western and Northern Highway can be done for $30 million, upgrade of road from San Estevan to Sarteneja ($10 million). x. The “real income” of workers in Belize will see a significant boost, given lower cost of basic food items, lower cost of mortgages and rents, lower utility and transportation costs, tighter job market. xi. Belizean workers can thus be encouraged to save 6% of their now higher real incomes in Workers Bank of Belize, collateralized by the Government of Belize granting them 30,000 acres of land near major towns, which they can use to build houses for workers. This bank can raise $70 million in deposits each year from workers payrolls. It will thus be capable of raising $100 million each year, for the first three years, to finance home mortgages not exceeding $90,000 for its members, based on these cash deposits and the collateral obtained as a grant from government. It would require mortgages be paid over 30 years and with monthly payments being $200 to $400. xii. We will produce more of what we consume, demand less from abroad, and produce a higher surplus for exports, thereby significantly improving our GDP, trade balance, foreign reserves and the general wealth of our country and people.

NOTES: i. Income Tax relief so far has been a waste, since our Customs Tariff Law favors imports, thus all that additional disposable income has been shipped abroad, mostly to buy rapidly depreciating assets like cars, appliances, clothing, make-up and accessories. If the Customs Tariff Law is updated to favor domestic production, then most of new disposable income will circulate and ripple inside the economy. ii. The overall tax burden on the tourism sector will see correction with this new regime, making our tourism offer a lot more competitive. iii. The highway and road infrastructure proposed above are directly related to our production and tourism expansion objectives.

Richard Harrison is a local businessman and investor in the manufacturing and service industries. Send comments to harrisonbz@yahoo.com.

buttocks. At that time, they were instructed to get back into their vessel, where they were transported to Colson Caye at their fishing camp, where they robbed of all their products, robbed their 2 engines, and the individual, Mr. Verde, was left bleed and to basically succumb to his injuries.”

Invest wisely in education, empower our people!

Continued from page 15 is the UDP Government doing to arrest the slippage? Some two thousand students will graduate this year, yet they face the bleak prospect that over 60% of them may not find a job, and thus enter the swelling ranks of the unemployed.

The People’s United Party therefore insists on the need to prioritize how the education dollar is spent, including cutting down on wasteful spending. Belize simply must get better results from the millions of taxpayer dollars currently invested.

Access to school at all levels must be increased significantly, as well as the retention of students in academic and technical training. Above all, there MUST be marked improvement in QUALITY and RELEVANCE if the downward spiral is to be halted and reversed.

If we fail our children now, we put at risk the future development of Belize. But, if we invest wisely in their education we can guarantee that our nation will reap great benefits from a skilled and empowered people.

Sunday, July 8, 2012 The injured man bled for almost three hours before they could contact the Coast Guard. Help was sent out immediately, but by that time the culprits were nowhere in sight.

Verde is in a stable condition recuperating at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Tax increase

threatens tourism industry Belize City, July 2, 2012 With no creative ideas to spur economic growth and very little available room to further tax the productive sectors, the Barrow Administration has sunk its claws into the economic veins of the struggling Tourism Industry, announcing an increase in taxes that could cripple that sector.

In his Budget presentation last week Friday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that in 5 months the existing 9% Hotel and Accommodation Tax will be replaced with the 12.5% General Sales Tax that will be applied to all tourism related services.

This is an increase of 28% in tax for an industry that has seen much better days under the PUP administration, and has had to literally fight it out on their own to attract visitors under the Barrow Administration.

What Barrow’s tax increase, from the 9% Hotel Tax to 12.5% GST, does is increase the cost of Belize as a tourism product. Belize is relatively known as one of the cheaper tourism destinations in the region, especially for the back-packing travellers. The new tax adjustment which increases the tax amount and expands the taxable base to include every single tourism-related service threatens that specific sector that has seen a boost over the last ten years.

The tax increase is a growing concern among many tourism stakeholders, including hotel and resort owners, water-taxi operators and tour operators. Several hotel owners we spoke too expressed alarm that while the industry appears to be buoyant because of the amount of revenue in taxes it

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provides to the Government, for them who do all the work it has become increasingly challenging. The hotel owner said the tax increase came as a total surprise, and even more since they were expecting to hear new ways which Government planned to assist tourism stakeholders.

“This tax is driving a dagger into the tourism industry. We have been struggling to find new ways of attracting visitors, but now telling them that it will cost more to visit Belize may not be good,” said the hotel owner, who asked to remain anonymous.

An additional concern for many of the tourism stakeholders, especially the owners of hotels, guesthouses and resorts, is what will happen to the revenue collected from reservations that have been made, ahead of the tourism high season which is from November to April. Does the Government plan to charge GST on revenue from services that did not include the 12.5% tax? If it does, it will result in thousands of dollars in losses for stakeholders.

The greatest concern for tourism stakeholders is that even the revenue generated to fund promotion and marketing services of the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) will be diverted to the Government’s coffers. The Government will then decide what portion will be allotted to BTB to carry out its work, placing the important agency at the mercy of Government’s generosity. This is a total reverse of the autonomy given to BTB under the PUP Administration who believed that the best way to allow the tourism industry to grow was to allow the professionals to do their job.

UDP protects

drug chemicals importer, Vernon Cuthkelvin Belize City June 25, 2012 The secret “destruction” of $10 billion worth of dangerous precursor chemicals which had been imported to Belize in six containers by UDP crony Vernon Cuthkelvin has raised many eyebrows. Not only because the destruction of the chemicals was carried out by the Barrow Administration’s very own security forces, where political manipulation is rife, but because as far as we know no media-house or independent entity was invited to witness the operation therefore compromising even the semblance of authenticity.

More disturbing is the fact that the man, who signed Customs documents claiming by oath that the imported items were “fertilizers”, is getting a free pass by the United Democratic Party Government while other Belizeans are persecuted with vengeance for the smallest infractions.

If you just remarked “he dah mussy wah UDP”, you’re right. The importer of drug chemicals is no other than UDP crony Vernon Cuthkelvin, who’s heavily involved in the Barrow Administration. Just a few years ago Cuthkelvin was an employee of the Ministry of Housing. That was around the same time he became a wanted man after racking up a huge bill at a Corozal resort and running off without paying. We wonder now who cleared that bill for Cuthkelvin.

After that, he actually headed the marketing for the UDP’s online propaganda newspaper in Belmopan known as “Capital Weekly”. To those

in the media, this had all the signs of an official scam – an online newspaper with no printing or major overhead expenses charging for ads at the price of a printed newspaper and getting them by the dozens from the Government of Belize.

Undoubtedly, Cuthkelvin is a wily operative of the UDP and the Barrow Administration’s failure to prosecute him for fraud further establishes the Government’s complicity in criminal behaviour.

If this incident had occurred in Mexico or the United States, Cuthkelvin would have been arrested and prosecuted immediately. The containers he imported, under the claim that they carried fertilizers for a “business” in Orange Walk, contained almost half a million dollars’ worth of precursor chemicals that could manufacture some 400 metric tonnes of methylamphetamine (crystal meth). Crystal meth is an illegal drug.

But this is not Mexico, this is Belize and the UDP, who it is known is involved in the drug trade, is in Government. The Prime Minister defended quite a few suspected drug kingpins in his lawyer days.

Now with the UDP in office, huge drug planes use our highways as landing areas and even international reporters accuse the Government of facilitating narco-traffickers.

While the UDP’s protection of Cuthkelvin will go unchallenged here in Belize, it is certainly cause for concern in the eyes of the United States. They are aware that most precursor chemicals land at their door steps, and can at least breathe a sigh of relief that Cuthkelvin’s containers were stopped in its tracks. Now, to their total surprise, even after the largest bust of precursor chemicals per net value, the accused trafficker roams free.

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Sunday, July 8, 2012