Belize Times October 20, 2013 by Belize Times Press

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

The Truth Shall Make You Free

20 OCTOBER 2013 | ISSUE NO: 4867

www.belizetimes.bz

$1.00

Penner Gaan… UDP Next!! Belize City, October 16, 2013 Prime Minister Dean Barrow was forced to “wheel and come again” in a desperate attempt to do damage control in the face of the reins of Government slipping away fast. This week, two major factors landed like bombshells for the UDP, first the outright rejection from residents of Cayo North East, and second the sudden flight of Elvin Penner. Barrow expected to be welcomed as some kind of royal messiah by residents of Cayo North East during his urgent three-day “tour” of the constituency on which the UDP’s Elvin Penner has brought shame upon. But the Penner Nationality and Passport scandal and new revelations of massive corruption at the Immigration Department involving UDP Ministers and the illegal sale of visas has hit a nerve in every right-thinking Belizean. Instead, Barrow was shunned and

Disgraced UDP Elvin Penner was spotted in Melchor, Guatemala on Friday October 11 with loads of luggage

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PUP Leader Demands Answers & Action!

PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca says the UDP must come clean

Belize City, October 17, 2013 Opposition Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca took Prime Minister Dean Barrow and the UDP to task, calling for answers and action at a press conference on the Immigration Scandal on Tuesday, October 13th. Independence Hall was filled to capacity as energized supporters flooded into its halls to listen to the Prime Minister in waiting take a stand for Belize. Hon. Francis said that the people of Belize deserved proper accountability from the Barrow Administration of what has really taken place at the Ministry of Immigration. He laid out seven points that must be addressed by the Government.

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UDP Induces with “millions and millions”

UB Faculty Outraged Page 31

ARREST PENNER NOW!!

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OPINION OUT Removed from the list?

Editor Sir: Ever since the public announcement of the First Lady’s affliction she has been on my list for consideration for greatness. If a person uses her own tragedy to ameliorate the human condition, this is the stuff of which historical greatness is made. But we all somehow believe that the truly great person rises above personal feelings and considerations, casting them aside to focus on the greater good for the rest of us. After her public support in favour of Criminal Code 46, I have put on hold my assessment of greatness for the lady, for I am questioning whether that is really for the greater good or for political advantage or simply poor judgment Timing is important. So, I question whether there is a crisis now in Belize concerning the safety of our children against violations. Would it not have shown better instincts in her to withhold any endorsement of 46 until after a Supreme Court judgment on the constitulionality of 53? Does she not see that pushing 46 right now is encroaching on the independence of the Judiciary and threatening the sacred democratic principle of the separation of powers? What should we conclude? That the judgment of the Lady has been subverted by her anxiety to help her husband out of a political minefield? But is this not his own creation? But is this not better removed by a frank, truthful admission? Perhaps, that he is obeying an agenda forced upon him by international preda-

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THE BELIZE TIMES

OUT Who is Ali Baba? And who are the thieves?

Dear Editor, It was quite interesting that Barrow used the analogy of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves in his last press conference. I was waiting for the press to pick up on it because if Barrow publicly called out Penner, and is publicly saying that he hopes his Ministers who he had heard were engaged in visa hustling are not any of the 40 thieves, then the question is who is Ali Baba? As the saying goes, if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. Signed, Steve Tillett

tors, that he is genuinely afraid of the severe financial damage that could be caused to the Nation? Don’t you think that this truth would cause the whole nation to rally behind him to preserve our values and our Constitution? Whatever happens, I believe that whoever wins the next general elections will need to win on a call for the creation of a national campaign to preserve our identity. Either Mr. Barrow or Mr. Fonseca will have to do this. The defeat of the Homosexual Agenda calls for a united front of all our political and civil forces. We must win this battle if we wish to become the great people God has destined us to be. Signed: Paul Rodriguez

OUT Our pension in trouble?

Sisters and brothers, Running the risk of being irresponsible but ensuring we are all well informed we write to you today. I logged into my personal payment information in the intranet today and it finally struck me what the proverb “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush” really means when I looked at the bottom line figure of my pension and considered the information we recently received. Attached are some documents of bills and proposed regulations that the current government wants to enact into law. We have already done a preliminary consultation with a lawyer in order to grasp the magnitude of the changes that will affect us should this act pass into law. The following is a quick summary of what we have found out already: 1. 14 set of laws, that are interrelated to the proposed “Belize Pension Act”, have already been passed. 2. The Trust Act is a new set of laws, and there are some very good things within this law but this is tied to the Belize Pension Act. 3. The Belize Pension Act is in essence an act to restructure, regularize and standardize Private Pensions, private pensions like the one we have here at BEL. 4. We don’t know if the Belize Pension Act has gone through any stage yet, we plan to find out, however we were informed that it is possible GOB will move on it the next sitting of the house probably in two weeks. 5. All these laws including the Belize Pension Act were formulated without ANY consultation with the Unions (Workers) who are going to get directly affected by them. 6. GOB has been working on these laws for many years now. 7. The Belize Pension Act will in essence make the way we are managing our Pension (Currently being co-managed with the Company’s Management) a violation, thus GOB would have all the rights to “take over” the control of our Pension. 8. The law as it stands does not recognize a “Trust Deed and or Pension

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Deed” as an “Entity” as it does with a Registered Business, therefore a Pension Deed is only a document as far as the law is concerned and a document cannot manage money nor own assets. 9. The Belize Pension Act does not include “Grand-Father” clauses within specific sections, which would allow us to continue to run our pension in the same manner we are currently Managing it. Our greatest concerns are the following: 10. Control over how the money is invested would be taken over by the Organization (which has to be a licensed and is a registered entity in this regard) and the risk of losing our monies due to bad investments become clear and present danger 11. The small but very good benefits, such as the X-Mas Pension Loan and the Educational Loan would be out of the question. 12. You would only be able to get your 100% (lump-sum total) from your pension when you turn 90 years of age, if you live that long ;-) 13. We don’t need to sign off on anything for them to legally take over the Management of our Pension, if the Act is passed into Law it makes our existing Pension Fund consolidated into the new and Standardized Scheme! Your Union Executive has already engaged the other utility Unions and we are formulating a plan of action to halt this Act from passing into law and allow the Unions, who are directly being affected by it to have a say and get the necessary amendments so that our hard earned dollars are managed by the capable hands who have managed it ever since! Monitor all communication from your Union Executive and be ready. Please Print and share this with all BEL workers! Remember that United we bargain and divided we beg!

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

14 APR 2013

ISSUE NO: 4840

The Truth Shall Make You Free

www.belizetimes.bz

$1.00

serving Belize since 1957 as the longest continuous newspaper. Founder: Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price, People’s United Party Leader Emeritus EDITOR

Alberto Vellos

LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte Printed and Published By The Belize Times Press Ltd. Tel: 671-8385 #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize

Email: belizetimesadvertisement@yahoo.com

editortimes@yahoo.com

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PM Confirms Castro’s Scandal

Belize City, October 16, 2013 One UDP politician glad for the Penner passport scandal is surely Edmond “Clear the Land” Castro. Three weeks ago, Castro was close to being stripped of his Ministerial portfolio as Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport after allegations surfaced that he had sexually assaulted a female Taiwanese government official while he was on official business in that country along with Belize Continued on page 31

Liquor License NOTICES Notice is hereby given that SONIA BAIZAR is applying for a Beer Liquor License to be operated at “Nuns”, situate at #8587 Curl Thompson Street, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

PUP NOTICE Convention for Party Units

The People’s United Party announces a joint convention for the United Women’s Group & Marshalls Service Corps to be held on Sunday October 27th, 2013 at 10am Independence Hall

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PUP Leader Francis Fonseca: Let’s fix a broken system! Belize City, October 17, 2013 Opposition Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca said that the next PUP Government will introduce sweeping reforms to fix the broken system under which the country is being managed. The Immigration scandal has, once more, brought focus on a system all too easy to corrupt if left unchecked in the hands of power-hungry Ministers. Elvin Penner did not and could not have the proper authority to certify immigration documents, yet the Prime Minister granted such power and now hundreds of nationality papers and passports carry his signature illegally. This is not the first time that the Prime Minister displays disregard for the constitution and the

rule of law, but there is no system in place to punish him when he acts out of line. In other countries Heads of Government can be impeached or placed before an inquiry or trial to answer for their lack of judgment or wrongdoing. Once found guilty, they can be imprisoned. Hon. Francis said there must be checks and balances for everyone in the system, especially elected officials. No one is above the law. He said the PUP’s call for an independent Senate Inquiry into the Immigration scandal is not political rhetoric, but an example of the Opposition’s commitment to establishing levels of accountability. Senator Lisa Shoman will at the next Senate meeting introduce a motion calling for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry. Senator Shoman said this investigation should not replace a criminal investigation headed by the Police and Director of

Public Prosecution. She said that the extent of the subversion of the system may not be known until a constitutional body investigates what occurred with “Pennergate”, as she has coined it. Senator Shoman added that the proposal for a motion has received the expressed support of the social partners who share seats in the Upper House. But the Government majority in the Senate could derail any motion put on the table. Among the other proposals put forward by the PUP are the strengthening of the Public Accounts Committee to involve social partners and minimize its political control held by any party; having an Elected Senate; the removal of Ministerial discretion; and the strengthening of oversight bodies including the offices of the Auditor General and Contractor General.

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on the

3 LESSONS FROM PENNER By Francis W. Fonseca The International Immigration and Nationality corruption scandal which has rocked this UDP government and ended the political career of the first elected Mennonite politician, Hon. Elvin Penner, has sparked unprecedented public outrage and offers us important lessons moving forward. I high-

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THE BELIZE TIMES

light just three of those lessons in this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s column. 1. B e l i z e a n â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s , rightly, regard their nationality and identity with great pride and will jealously and aggressively guard against any attempt to cheapen or bastardize that identity. Politicians who

continue to ignore this lesson and continue to engage in the sale or gifting of passports or visas in exchange for money and/or votes do so at their own peril and will face devastating consequences way beyond even what

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Mr. Penner has thus far faced. 2. An effective opposition, a vigilant media, and an engaged civil society are all critical elements of a functioning democracy and all Belizeans, regardless of political affiliation, have a vested interest in preserving the vibrancy of these institutions of governance. 3. Ministerial discretion is central to corruption and must be put in check. The next

PUP Government will undertake a comprehensive review of our Laws to determine how best we can limit Ministerial Discretion thereby limiting the opportunities for improper or unlawful exercise of that discretion. Where that discretion must be exercised there should be put in place additional layers of protection to ensure greater accountability and transparency.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

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EDITORIAL FOR GOD’S SAKE: STOP IT This is the worst we have seen Dean Barrow. Really, it is the first time we have seen him this bad. Normally he swoops down and tries to polish and absorb the wrongs, inadequacies and failures of his ministers. The last time he slipped was at Old Belize on November 23, 2011 when Barrow admitted that “…people have this perception that we are incompetent in Government, and 9 times out of 10 they are correct.” This week Barrow admitted another truth of the UDP. They are not only incompetent according Barrow but they are also thieves. Barrow himself used a reference saying that his own UDP Ministers “must be one of the forty thieves”. This then makes Barrow, Alibaba. The real story is the witnessing of the end of Barrow’s leadership. Like the kingdom of clay it is falling. He is falling. Barrow’s leadership is at its most compromised. Both as Prime Minister and as leader of the UDP. He has flip flopped and made some blistering wrong decisions in this passport scandal. We forget that he started off pretending to spank Penner. Then he got “ignorant” and irritated because he said the man had suffered enough. Then he authorized his Party to fight the recall process. That was a terrible move. Barrow made the political decision to protect the corruption and crime of Penner. The UDP followed. Then Barrow went on an embarrassing tour of Cayo North East. It was a wake up call. At the San Ignacio public meeting, there was only a handful of people. Most people that we at BELIZE TIMES observed simply walked by. Barrow whose glitter would in the past bring a few people out on his name alone, now in October 2013, is getting less attention than a third party candidate. It got worse, in the Duck Run tours. There the numbers cannot be inflated. Why? Because we saw it on TV. The turn out was poor. All of the Mennonite Community stayed away. They stayed away from Dean Barrow. For some ill advised reason Barrow made the public meetings a measure support for the UDP. Well watch the news cast, they are being rejected. Barrow is not accustomed to this rejection. So out of his element that Barrow went into a queer ramble of questionable “offerings” to the people of Cayo North East. He disrespected the rest of the country. The inducement started from as small as a culvert and quickly grew into talk about how many “millions and millions of dollars” he had and was going to spend on them. We know the teachers and public servants, waiting for their raise, heard him. So Barrow’s fall from grace was televised and he said he was glad it was being recorded by the media. He told Belize that we are now chopped liver. Buying the people in Cayo North East is now “priority” and “jumps to the head of the line.” Why? The only reason is because as he said the UDP must do whatever it takes to keep that seat. Oh, how low Barrow has fallen. But this is the culture of the UDP, they bribe. They bribed the

gang members in Belize City. That failed. Elvin Penner bribed the hundreds of immigrants he was giving nationality documents and registering to vote. That failed because obviously they did not vote for him. The UDP tried to bribe the country with ham and turkey for Christmas out of tax dollars. It did not work. They are still unpopular. They tried to trick and bribe the Unions with a promise of oil money. That has not worked. They tried to bribe the country in the last general elections and it did not work. They lost every single district to the PUP. Despite all the bribery they were rejected and had it not been from some huge betrayals to the PUP, the people would have gotten a new government. The reality is that this country did not want the UDP and Dean Barrow again. The people were betrayed. The melt down now of the UDP and Barrow is just the fermentation of that rejection. What Barrow wanted the UDP ministers to stop was not the hustling. According to him he heard about that. What he wanted them to stop was exposing the truth of who Dean Barrow is. Exposing Barrow to a level of scrutiny and pressure that he would not be able to stave off with confusing big words, personal vouches and grand standing. Francis Fonseca and the PUP hit so hard that by Tuesday Barrow had joined the written demand and position of Leader Francis Fonseca to force Penner to resign. Barrow was now following Francis Fonseca. This is the first time we have seen Barrow who is an egomaniac being led by anyone. Well, on Tuesday, history shows that Francis Fonseca made Dean Barrow a follower. Fonseca did this not by righteous and skillful means. Fonseca brought down Barrow with humility and stern strategy. He did it by championing the side of the people. Let us not forget that Francis toured Cayo North East first. He was on the ground with the people first. In fact, the reason for the bold rejection of a vindictive government was because Francis did his work. He had been embraced by the people of Cayo North East. They chose Francis and the PUP. The difference is that Belizeans are awake. Belizeans have changed their view of Barrow. They see him for what he is. They always saw the UDP for what they are: incompetent and arrogant. Barrow used to get away with political murder. That has changed. Barrow has spent all his political capital over the past six years. He has used up all his tricks to keep up a façade for the UDP. The defense plan of the UDP is easy to see. It was simple. Barrow would take and absorb all the blows for the forty thieves of the UDP cabinet. The problem with Dean Barrow’s formula is it takes time to develop and collect that political capital. With the scandals so deep and so often, Barrow’s capital is spent. He is exposed. What he wants the forty thieves to stop doing is “for God’s sake”, stop putting him in a position where people realize, that he has no more clothes.

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Penner Gaan… UDP Next!! Continued from page 1 embarrassed. As the UDP caravan that included dozens of Government vehicles fuelled with tax dollars passed through Cayo North East, residents thumbed their noses, rolled their eyes and closed their windows and doors until the scent of death passed. Barrow then instructed the UDP Cayo North East Committee to make sure they brought out people to their rallies, and the best they could muster was a handful of family members who were threatened and forced to show up at the boring events. In the face of such rejection, Barrow got desperate. He began to spew the kind of propaganda he normally saves for general election time. Barrow claimed the UDP has “millions and millions” of dollars in their coffers, and he was prepared, after having neglected the constituency for many years, to spend any amount if Cayo North East residents voted the UDP in the impending by-election. He promised the installation of culverts, the construction of a new school and the kind of spending Cayo North East “had never seen before” but only IF they voted the UDP. This barefaced vote-inducement occurred in plain view of media houses who were recording the poorly-attended events. Barrow has no shame. But the politician in him gives him no option. He is desperate and is staring at the edge of the precipice. His Government is falling apart, one year into its second term in office. Barrow was forced to the drawing board when over the weekend, Elvin Penner pulled a fast one on him and secretly absconded to the western border with his family and a load of luggage in hand, before boarding a vehicle with Guatemalan-license plates which whisked him away. Penner has since reported to Channel 5 News that he feels he has been mistreated by his own Party. Realising that Penner had “flown the coop”, leaving behind the mountain of dirty deeds for the UDP to deal with, Barrow pulled the trigger on the UDP representative for whom he had begged forgiveness. The UDP concocted the story of finding “new evidence” on Penner, and after briefing the Cabinet about how the “story” would be told, he called a press conference to announce that they had cut ties with Penner. When pressed to expose what the “new evidence” was, Barrow spoke in ambiguous language and even tried to confuse the media, claiming that the evidence was “factual” and not “legal”; therefore, he could go no further. Hulse, who admitted to being the first UDP Minister to discover the “irregularities”

outrightly refused to provide details, claiming that he “would not and cannot say” anything else. But no one believes anything Dean Barrow and his goons say anymore. They have enveloped themselves in a web of lies and deception. PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca, who has consistently defended Belize and who wrote Penner demanding that he resign or face recall, further exposed Barrow’s shameful acting during a press conference held on Tuesday, October 16th. Hon. Francis said that Barrow is doing his utmost best to mask the desperation following Penner’s flight. He said that Penner has fire-power that would implicate specific UDP Ministers in wrongdoing and Barrow fears that Penner would unleash an offensive. “They waited until Penner, in their view, could do them no harm, but believe me from wherever he is he will get the information back to Belize,” said Hon. Francis. Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s antics, lies and theatrics are empty and transparent for all Belizeans to see. The UDP’s Elvin Penner has reached the end of his political life and must not face the consequences. Let the chips fall where they may Penner. The UDP’s end is nigh.

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PUP Leader Demands Answers & Action!

THE DOC fu Pickstock

PUP Leader Hon. Francis & Dr. Francis Smith

Deputy Leader Carolyn Trench-Sandiford

Deputy Leader Hon. Julius Espat

PUP PICKSTOCK CONVENTION

Continued from page 1 Firstly, he called on the law enforcement officials to give a progress report of the criminal investigation into Elvin Penner. Second, he said there must an audit conducted into the number of passports sold by the UDP. Third, the Opposition leader called for a Senate Inquiry to investigate the scandal. He indicated that any investigation led by Godwin Hulse lacked credibility since he would be investigating his own Ministry. Fourth, the PUP Leader demanded that Prime Minister Barrow declare on what legal basis he conferred the power to Elvin Penner to sign immigration documents as a Minister of State in the Ministry of Immigration. Barrow claims he had received sound legal advice, but the Constitution explicitly states that only the Governor General can give such powers to Ministers and not Ministers of State. Fifth, the PUP Leader vouched that the Party would continue to support Orlando “Landy” Habet in the fruitful Penner-recall process and he called on the UDP to cease its intimidation and victimization of residents. Sixth, he called on the Prime Minister to carry out a comprehensive audit to provide answers on the reports that Ministers are hustling and selling visas. “Who were the ministers that the Prime Minister says he was begging not to continue selling these visas? The Belizean people need to know. Who were the ones that he was looking at around the Cabinet table and saying; “please, you all will bring down the government if you continue”. We need to know who they are and we need to know if this quota system was sanctioned by the

PUP Cayo North East Standard Bearer, Orlando Habet Cabinet. It is our information that it was sanctioned by the Cabinet. We need to know under what authority it was sanctioned. We need to know who was involved. We need to know how many visas were sold under this program, for what price and to whom they were sold?” demanded Hon. Francis. Seventh, the PUP Leader called on the Government to carry out a much needed cleansing of the voter’s list through a re-registration exercise. Hon. Francis said that the current immigration scandal, in which it has been exposed that fraudulent Belizean nationalities were issued wantonly, the integrity of the electoral list has also been compromised. Just before the 2012 elections, the UDPs Elvin Penner was caught red-handed facilitating the nationality of hundreds of immigrants and hurriedly getting them on the voter’s list in his constituency. Hon. Francis made it clear to the Barrow Administration that they could no longer continue to hide the scandals. He noted that the lies and blatant cover up by the Prime Minister and his Ministers have eroded any trust which Belizeans may have had on the Government.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

WOMAN IN THE HOUSE By Dolores Balderamos Garcia

CONFLICT OF INTEREST!!! There is a very famous quote from John Emerich Edward Dalberg ACTON, the first Baron Acton, who lived from 1834 to 1902. It is from Lord Acton’s Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton and is the first entry in a Dictionary of Famous Quotations compiled by Robin Hyman and published in 1962. To state it entirely it goes like this: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men... There is no heresy worse than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” Anyone living in Belize today will tell you that this brings to mind none other than Hon. Dean Barrow, the Prime Minister. I agree wholeheartedly with Gilvano Swasey, who, in his answer to the question: ‘why is Prime Minister Barrow covering up for Penner,’ answered: “Power, because if Penner goes Barrow’s house starts to crumble.” I would like to focus this week on the issue of Power, the Separation of Powers, and the obvious Conflict of Interest that the Prime Minister has displayed and is continuing shamelessly to display. Just a few examples will suffice. When, a few years ago, the Prime Minister had his brother appointed to the Court of Appeal there was clear Conflict of Interest and the wielding of Power so as to interfere with the Separation of Powers, not to mention blatant Nepotism. The hurtful part too is that as a lawyer he knew better. Not long after the Prime Minister’s brother assumed his seat on the bench of the Court of Appeal he must have realized (if he had not realized before) that his position was untenable. He would have had to recuse himself from every single case involving the Government of Belize, because even the possibility of a Conflict of Interest cannot be countenanced in a properly functioning democracy. His blood relationship to the Prime Minister should have made it obvious to himself and his brother the Prime Minister that they ought not to have taken that step. Yet they thumbed their noses at our people and our democracy and went ahead anyway. Why? Because the Prime Minister felt

he had the Power to do so. To rein in the absolute Power of a leader is the reason why there must be the Separation of Powers, and the Executive or Government should never interfere with the power of the Judiciary. It is as plain as the nose on anyone’s face that the Prime Minister should never have been putting on a lawyer’s hat when speaking of the possible criminal wrongdoing of ex Minister of State Penner. First of all, everyone knows the saying: he who has himself for a lawyer, has a fool for a client! How can the Prime Minister advise himself? Secondly, he cannot wear the Executive cap and the Defence Attorney cap at the same time. He was even wearing the cap of the Director of Public Prosecutions, who must act independently, in saying that there is no way there can be any criminal charges against his ex Minister of State! Again it is a flagrant Conflict of Interest. It was also highly interesting to hear the comments of Mr. Bobby Lopez as he appeared on the Monday night Dickie Bradley show on October 7, 2013. To quote him loosely, he said that the Prime Minister is being “a player and the referee” at the same time when it comes to his involvement in so many statutory bodies and entities. Mr. Lopez also said that PM Barrow is a CEO and not a Prime Minister, since he is so busy checking up on BTL, BEL, BIL, the National Bank and others, which are competing with the private sector. He should get out of the way of business people, and lead and govern the country!! Well said indeed, Mr. Lopez, and here again what do we have? - what else but a blatant Conflict of Interest. The Prime Minister would do well to refer to and to heed the words about Power by Lord Acton that I have quoted above. He should respect the Separation of Powers. He should try to locate some humility, and most of all he should stop all his games and all his wearing of too many hats. He has got to stop all the CONFLICT OF INTEREST he engages in. These have brought him down to the ground in the eyes of all right thinking Belizeans!! They can also bring down his Government!!

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For Sale By Order of the

Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Assignment of Mortgage made the 26th day of April, 2010, registered in Deeds Book Vol. 13 of 2010 at Folios 827-844, between HERITAGE BANK LIMITED (the Assignor) Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., and RUPERT MARIN, and under Deed of Assignment of Mortgage made the 31st day of December, 2002, recorded in Deeds Book Volume 2 of 2003 at folios 975-988, between SCOTIABANK (BELIZE) LTD. (the Assignor) and HERITAGE BANK LIMITED, which said property was mortgaged by the said Rupert Marin to the said SCOTIABANK (BELIZE) LTD. on the 15th day of May, 2002 and recorded at the Land Titles Unit in Deeds Book Vol. 19 of 2002 at Folios 1033-1056; and the said SCOTIABANK (BELIZE) LTD. will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto. All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. THE FIRST SCHEDULE ALL THAT lot piece or parcel of land situate at Lake Gardens Area, Ladyville Village, Belize District, a part of a subdivision of 164.63 acres being the lot numbered 375 and comprising about 1,341.27 square yards coloured yellow all as the same is shown on a plan of subdivision by Henry D. Flowers, Licensed Surveyor, dated the 10th day of February, 1999 recorded at the office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys in Belmopan at Entry No. 4379 Register No. 2 hereto annexed TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon. THE SECOND SCHEDULE ALL THAT lot piece or parcel of land situate at Lake Gardens Area, Ladyville Village, Belize District, a part of a subdivision of 164.63 acres being the lot numbered 389 and comprising about 1,416.46 square yards coloured yellow all as the same is shown on a plan of subdivision by Henry D. Flowers, Licensed Surveyor, dated the 10th day of February, 1999 recorded at the office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys in Belmopan at Entry No. 4379 Register No. 2 hereto annexed TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon. DATED this 9th day of October, 2013. MUSA & BALDERAMOS 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorney-at-Law for Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

For Sale By Order of the

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THE BELIZE TIMES

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UDP Induces with “millions and millions”

Social Justice and the New Revolution A Mantra from the Beginning… A Mantra that Must Continue… C. Trench-Sandiford-Deputy Party Leader From the onset, the mantra of the peaceful constructive Belizean revolution was social justice. For many, these are simply two words coined and perhaps conveniently repeated by our party members at our functions, and by many in the public domain, possibly understood and believed by some, maybe a few, and hopefully, by most. Notwithstanding, there are those who have lamented that our party has de-anchored from our social justice moorings, and that it is no longer our mantra, while others are convinced that we have stayed the course, and retained the sanctity of our moorings. Perhaps it is timely as we transition into a new revolution, that I pose the question, what is social justice, and what do you understand it to be? Why did it become our mantra, and what really is a mantra? Perhaps, only then, can we truly as a party, answer the question whether our mantra has prevailed throughout the journey of our great revolution, if it is relevant to the new revolution, and what lessons we have learned along the way. To do so, one must reflect on the values and beliefs, the life and work of the Rt. Hon. George Price, for these cannot be divorced from his political ideologies and philosophies, which when combined, found permanent domicile in his decisions as a leader of the People’s United Party, and as Belize’s First Minister, Premier and Prime Minister, as he skillfully, purposefully and tenaciously calibrated, navigated and journeyed on the path of the peaceful constructive Belizean revolution, which

was to bring a better life and a just share of the wealth of Belize to all Belizeans, not a few. His values and beliefs were anchored in a doctrine that embodies ideas that promote human rights, the dignity of the human being and political, economic and social equality, and one that embraced the concept that the use of policy and legislation is mandatory for removing inequality in the distribution of resources, for societal participation in change and reform, for personal responsibility, and for creating access to opportunities through action. Those are underpinnings of the social justice doctrine, one of the distinctive features of Roman Catholicism, said to be coined by a Jesuit priest based on the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. The Rt. Hon. George Price was a devout Roman Catholic who studied to be a priest. It must be noted that social justice is also the foundation of many other religious and spiritual traditions and movements, and intrinsic to the doctrine, was concern for the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. The values and beliefs of the Rt. Hon. George Price, rooted in his spiritual foundation, became our mantra, or our consciousness. Social justice became the sacred words of the revolution, the object of our concentration, and that which defined our political purpose. He believed in it. He lived it. But the revolution is a journey, and not a destination. It is not static, but dynamic, and as it changes and evolves, it is important, that at all times, as a party, we are all on the same page as to where it is headed, and what is it that it is to achieve, for if we are on the same page, then we can inspire others to join us. Equally important, is that we share the same values and beliefs, and be guided by them in our decision making, for it is these that keeps us anchored and unified in a common cause, a common purpose, a common direction. It is these that ought to underpin our work and our decision making as it did for the Rt. Hon.

George Price. Only so can we inspire others to join and live the revolution. For while the Belize of 2013 can boast of many successes and achievements of the revolution, gained by adhering to the social justice mantra, it is also one of poverty, economic and social exclusion, of rising hopelessness and despair, of arrogant, selfish and power hungry leaders, and of moral bankruptcy. Lessons must be learned from the journey. Why? But there is hope, for Belizeans continue to express their desire of a Belize where they can live in peace and harmony with their environment, where they can be resourceful and independent, one in which their families can be given the opportunity to unleash their full potential, and live in dignity, and one which guarantees the territory integrity and sovereignty of Belize for the next generation. There is a saying that goes like this, if we do not know where we are going, we will never reach. And there is another that says, if we stand for nothing along the way, we will fall for anything along the way. Our values and beliefs are our moral compass. It is what anchors us along the way. Social justice therefore, must continue to be our mantra, our consciousness. It must be embedded in our policies, our legislation, our programmes, our projects and action as we radically and fundamentally change and reform our governance, economic and education structures and systems, which our Party Leader, the Hon. Francis Fonseca has ear marked as the three pillars upon which the new revolution will stand. Only so can the new revolution bring about meaningful and true change, only so can it protect the people and nation state of Belize to ensure the survival of Belize as a nation state, for if there is no nation state, there is no us, and if there are no us, there is no Belize. Only so can it regain the confidence of the Belizean people in our party and our democratic processes; eradicate that poverty that dehumanizes many of our people, and bring about social progress; and forge that national unity to create a Belize that all of us can be proud to leave for our children.

Belize City, October 16, 2013 According to sections 32 (1) (a) and (c) of the Representation of People Act, “The following persons shall be deemed guilty of bribery within the meaning of this Act: (a) every person who directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf gives, lends or agrees to give or lend, or offers, promises, or promises to procure or to endeavor to procure, any money or valuable consideration to or for any voter, or to or for any person on behalf of any voter, or to or for any other person, in order to induce any voter to vote or refrain from voting, or corruptly does any such act as aforesaid on account of that voter having voted or refrained from voting at any election.” (c) every person who directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf, makes any such gift, loan, offer, promise, procurement or agreement as aforesaid to or for any person in order to induce that person to procure, or to endeavor to procure, the return of any person as an elected member of the House of Representatives or the vote of any voter at any election. This is the law as it pertains to the criminal offence of bribery. Any person committing this offence is liable to imprisonment for up to one year in jail. On Sunday the 13th of October, 2013, the Prime Minister flanked by a slew of other desperate and failed UDP representatives, vultured their way into Cayo Northeast, in what can only be characterized as the final gasps before the UDP’s collective expiration. In front of a measly 25 UDP stalwarts, the Prime Minister set off on one of the most disgustingly blatant and offensive attempts at voter inducing our nation has ever witnessed. The visibly wounded and embattled Prime Minister openly declared his intentions to influence the upcoming by-election in the Cayo Northeast division when he said: “We have in our coffers millions and millions of dollars……the kind of spending that you will now begin to see by this Government in the Cayo Northeast Constituency is the kind of spending that nowhere in this country has ever seen before”. So, did the Prime Minister commit the criminal offence of bribery on the 13th of October, 2013? What is for sure is that he was “inducing” the voters to vote UDP with the “promise” of “valuable consideration”. Perhaps, now would be an opportune time for the Prime Minister to once again explain the difference between the factual evidence and the legal evidence. But that’s not the only potential offence that Dean Barrow committed on the 13th of October. What about the criminal offence of undue influence? After promising to dump millions and millions of dollars in Cayo Northeast (yes teachers, it is completely normal for you to cringe upon hearing this again), Dean Barrow went on to deliver an open threat to the people of Cayo Northeast: “If you want to see that kind of progress come to this community, come to the surrounding villages, and come to the whole of the Cayo Northeast Constituency, you will do whatever it takes to ensure that the United Democratic Party holds on to that seat in the House of Representatives”. That’s a big “if”. In other words, what Barrow was telling the people is that if you do not vote for UDP in the upcoming by-election, you stand to lose the very same millions and millions he promised you. According to section 34 of the Representation of People Act, “Every person, who directly or indirectly, by himself or any other person on his behalf(a) makes use, or threatens to make use, of any force, violence or restraint, or inflicts or threatens to inflict, any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm, or loss upon or against any person, in order to induce or compel that person to vote or refrain from voting or on account of that person having voted or refrained from voting at any election is guilty of undue influence within the meaning of this Act”. The threat not to spend millions of millions of dollars in Cayo Northeast in the event the UDP does not hold on to the seat sure sounds like a threat of “restraint” that would inflict “spiritual injury” and “loss” upon the voters of Cayo Northeast. Of note, is that this offence likewise carries a penalty of up to one year in jail. Having said all this, the real question is: will there be an investigation into whether Barrow possibly committed the offences of bribery and undue influence? Having heard Barrow declare Penner “innocent of all criminal charges” when in fact that is the job of the DPP and the police to decide, best bets are that Dean will bark at any such suggestion. We can hear him already: “Are you out of your bloody mind Jules? I am the DPP. I am the police. As a matter of fact I am the judge, jury and executioner. Like Penner, I too am cleared of any criminal wrong doing.” Continue to dig your hole, Mr. Prime Minister. You really need no assistance. Your days are numbered.

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TOPMODEL 13

FALLING Poem by K.L. Arthurs May 2000 Sometimes hurt has to wait and healing has to sacrifice itself in your own pain, but in the end, emptied anxiety of un-promised expectation let me know that your guarantees are outlined in the chalk of human essence that bloated but genuinely miscalculated inspiration of need, just the unused parachute. I have been here before so I live the seconds of my life Once more in the moment’s reach beyond the curtains of now, not regretting the corners of yesterday nor fearing the curves of the future for I know these reinforced arcs of this living cycle all too well. Having landed, just that unused parachute. You some how made me Made me value the fighting Knowing loss is the mortal’s only God.

Location: Seadreams Hotel in Caye Caulker

That is the easy part, losing all my world was the most taking away ever gave me, what is hard? Just the unused parachute. My paths will never be the same but it is not about me. One day I will be nothing more than a prop in the polyester soaked musk of your senile nostalgia. Not meant to be alone but happy yet I know one day in tomorrow, you will awake, Fishing then you will value me as the unused parachute. By: K. L. Arthurs

Chantel • •

Height: 5’ 4” Career Plan: As a current banker my plan is to further my career in the banking Industry. I eventually want to become a small business owner and grow from there.

• • • • •

TOP MODEL Clothing and Accessories provided by CATWALK FASHIONS

Sign: Capricorn Favourite Food: Anything Italian Likes: Reading, Travelling and Spending time with my family Lives in: Caye Caulker Fav. Quote: “If you can dream, you can achieve”

visit us at www.belizetimes.bz or Facebook/ Belize Times

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14 SPORTS

THE BELIZE TIMES TIMES THE BELIZE

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Ports & Customs

Winston Pratt scored 38pts

clash in interoffice basketball finals Belize City, October 11, 2013 Undefeated Ports Belize Limited will take on the Customs Department in the Belize District firms’ basketball finals, beginning at Bird’s Isle in Belize City on Thursday and Friday night, October 17-18. Both teams eliminated the Belize City Council and Atlantic Bank in the semifinals on Thursday and Friday October 1011. Customs had to go to double overtime to eliminate the Atlantic Bank 7875 in game 2. Erwin “Poty” Orosco hit 2 treys to score 22 points to give Atlantic Bank a 19-10 lead in the 1st quarter. Winston Pratt hit two 3-pointers to help Customs take over the lead 30-28 at intermission. Kevin Lorenzo drained in four 3-pointers for 20 points; while Ludric Beeks and Oliver Solis each added seven points to add to the lead, now at 56-51 in the third quarter. Keith James rallied Atlantic Bank with 16 points, Eyan Rene added 11pts and Jermaine “Gumbi” Tillett scored nine; as

they tied the score 64-64 at the end of the fourth quarter. Dave Apolonio added seven points and Castillo hit two 3-pointers for eight points to keep the score tied 71-71 in the first overtime, but Kent Young’s four points put Customs over the top 78-75 in the second overtime. Ports Belize Ltd ran over Belize City Council 54-32. CitCo’s Kenroy Usher hit a 3-pointer for 9 points as CitCo led 11-5 in an effort to take the series to a third game. Vince Estrada hit four 3-pointers as he led Ports with 21 points, while Earl “Bolo” Johnson added 12 points to take over the lead 17-16 at intermission. Lennox Bowman and Leroy Forbes followed suite with 3-pointers; Bowman scoring eight points and Forbes – seven, as they led 33-24 at the end of the third quarter. Charles Armstrong, Cecil Price and Kent Franklin tossed in a basket each for the victory.

Byron Pope wins Orange Walk bypass criterium Orange Walk, October 13, 2013 Benny’s Megabytes’ national road champ Byron Pope won the Belize Cycling Association’s annual Orange Walk bypass criterium on Sunday, October 13. Pope clocked 2:26:24 to win the $700 1st prize and a trophy. Byron Pope is also a member

Top 5 Juniors

Top 3 Elites

Kirah Eiley won 1st in Female category

Top 3 Masters 4/5

of the National Team which will be leaving on Thursday, October 17, to represent Belize at the Caribbean Elite Cycling Championships in Curacao from October 18-20. They include: Shalini Zabaneh and Kerah Eiley, Edgar “Nissan” Arana – 8th, David Henderson – 9th, Joel Borland – 11th, and Robert “Liam” Stewart – 16th.

Ctiterium results: 2nd place - Giovanni Lovell - Telemedia 3rd place - Manuel Balam - Depredadores 4th place - Erwin Middleton - Capital City Cycling Club 5th place - Brandon Cattouse - Team C-Ray Masters (6 laps on the By-Pass) 1st place - Luigi Urbina - Team C-Ray 2nd place - Jose Choto - Belikin Western Spirit 3rd place - Julio Cesar Dzul – Depredadores Masters 4/5 (3 laps on the By-Pass) 1st place - Raymond Hyde - Team Santino’s 2nd place - Wilbert Jones - Telemedial 4G 3rd place - Barney Brown - Scotia Bank Youth Category (4 laps on the By-Pass) 1st place - Michael Grajalez - Mando’s Pizzeria Juniors (4 laps on the By-Pass) 1st place - Tarique Flowers - Benny’s Megabytes 2nd place - Philip Mencias - Capital Jewel 3rd place - Zahir Figueroa - BECOL Uprising 4th place - Oscar Quiroz - Team Xibalban 5th place - Delawn Abraham - Benny Megabytes Females (3 laps on the By-Pass in a time of 1:28:38) 1st place - Kerah Eiley - National Team Selection Youth novices (Age 8 – 10, Start Line to the First bridge and back) 1st place - Henry Li 2nd place - Zahir Clark 3rd place - Jamai Scott Age 11-13 (Distance 4.7 miles (Start Line to San Estevan Round a bout and return) 1st place - Zamir Esquiliano 2nd place - Gian Lovell 3rd place - Efrain Mencias Age 14+ (Distance 7.8 miles (stat line to second bridge and return) 1st place - Gerson Lovell 2nd place - Darien Anderson

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Hattieville United, Rising Stars, Young Stars & Brown Bombers win in

SMART Mundialito

Belize City, October 12, 2013 The Hattieville Youth United Sports Club, Ladyville Rising Stars, Young Stars and Brown Bombers all enjoyed big wins in the 2nd week of the 2013 SMART Mundialito football tournament held at the MCC Garden in Belize City on Saturday, October 12. The Ladyville Rising Stars posted their 1st win: 1-0 over the Belize Elementary School boys and girls. Camryn Lozano finished an assist from Ian Young to score the Rising Stars’ winning goal. The Ladyville Jaguars struggled to a scoreless draw with the City Boys Juniors in game 2. The Young Stars also enjoyed their 1st win 1-0 over Collett who held them to a scoreless draw up to the half, but the Stars’ central defender Joshua Guzman over-

lapped forward to score the winning goal after the break. The Brown Bombers posted their 2nd win, 2-0, over Third World to lead the competition with 6 points. Eshak King scored the Bombers’ 1st goal to lead 1-0 up to the break. In the 2nd half, Sherwin Requeña iced the win with a 2nd goal. The Survivors held the Hattieville youth to a scoreless draw up to the half, but Hattieville Youth’s Mario Rivera scored the winning goal in the 2nd half. The tournament continues on Saturday, October 19, as the Survivors take on the City boys, the Young Stars face the Brown Bombers; the Rising Stars take on Third World; the Collet Strikers, will do battle with Hattieville United; and Belize Elementary challenges the Ladyville Jaguars.

Hattieville United team

Rising Stars team

Young Stars team

SCA enjoys major wins in volleyball competition Belize City, October 11, 2013 The undefeated SCA girls won their fourth match in the high school volleyball competition, held at Bird’s Isle. The SCA girls clobbered the winless Wesley College girls: 253, 25-12 last Thursday, October 10. SCA hammered the La-

Fort George United dominates Mayor’s Cup with 4-1 record

Kareem Musa with Team Fort George United

dyville Technical High School girls: 25-9, 25-9 on Tuesday, October 8 and they dominated Belize High School 25-3 and 25-6 on Friday, October 4. SCA had also won their first game against Nazarene 25-3, 25-6 on Wednesday, October 2. SCA’s Sherika Burton and Leandra Betson led the attack spiking home points at the net on balls set by Xiomara Quan and Nayala Tun, while Gianna Brown and Karena Bernard received and blocked. Nazarene High’s Maurisa Williams, who is also teammates with Burton, Betson, Bernard and Quan on the national

team, scored some points with the support of Princella Samuels, Lisberta Samuels, Gillian Gonzalez, Darcie Gordon, and Leanny Gonzalez. SCA’s Karen Quan, Hanna Diskin and Alexis Burn got some court time as substitutes to help SCA win. Other Matches: Belize High School vs. Ladyville girls - 25-23, 20- 25, 15-4 BHS girls vs. Wesley College 23-25, 26-24, 15-6 Nazarene High vs. Ladyville Tech – 24-26, 25-23, 16-14 Ladyville Tech vs. Wesley College - 25-13, 22-25, 15-7

SJC leads high school volleyball competition

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Belize Credit Union League INTERNATIONAL CREDIT UNION DAY: BCUL PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS Hello everyone, and happy International Credit Union Day on behalf of the Belize Credit Union League and all its 11 affiliates! I appreciate you taking the time today, Thursday, October 17th, 2013, to celebrate the Credit Union Difference and to recognize the contributions that credit unions make every day in the lives of their members and their communities worldwide. As far back as the year 1948, credit unions have come together annually on the third Thursday in October to commemorate the credit union movement’s history and achievements. This year we have selected the theme “Credit Unions Unite for Good: A Better Way” to anchor the celebrations. “Credit Unions Unite for Good: A Better Way” emphasizes the benefits of cooperation among credit unions worldwide to better serve their members. It also speaks to the powerful global network of 56,000 credit unions in 101 countries that serve 200 million people worldwide, which no other financial institution can claim, and the advantages that result from sharing challenges, sharing experiences and solutions with one another to better serve members. Here in Belize, our credit unions are involved in outreach programs at schools and in rural communities to bring financial education and financial services to all areas of our beautiful country. Despite the numerous challenges we face today, sadly from within and from outside of our Credit Union Movement, we continue to make significant contributions in the communities where we are located. Can you imagine a Belize without the Credit Union Movement? Community commitment and positive, economic and social changes are just some of the ways that credit unions differ from traditional “for-profit” banks and other financial institutions. Credit unions are very different indeed, both in philosophy and structure. For more than 150 years credit unions worldwide have proudly collaborated to put people before profits in order to provide access to affordable financial services for all members. Credit unions invest their earnings in helping members meet their financial goals. In addition to reduced loan rates, lower or in most cases, no fees, fines, and charges and, better service and benefits, members experience the difference that comes through our democratic structure, services we provide and social goals that credit unions embody. Credit unions in Belize form part of the World Council of Credit Union’s powerful network of more than 56,000 credit unions in the world. Today we join our fellow credit union members in 101 countries to celebrate! Whether our members are rich or poor....from villages, towns, or cities....in communities at peace or in conflict....credit unions are helping members to create new opportunities every single day. With access to a safe, convenient place to save money and secure affordable loans, members from all walks of life are able to create new opportunities for themselves....thanks to credit unions! The first credit union in Belize, St. Peter Claver Credit Union, opened its doors in 1943 in the Toledo District with the vision to serve you....our members. From that day our goal has always been the same....to meet your financial needs and to provide you with opportunities that enable you and your family to succeed. With your continued support Belize Credit Unions have grown over the years to almost $700 million dollars in assets and over 136,000 members. We do hope to continue growing as our communities grow. In the spirit of International Credit Union Day let us look beyond our local community to recognize credit unions for the important role they play in many distressed urban and rural areas worldwide. Many people would not have been able to afford to own homes, start new businesses or attend school without the help of their credit unions. In some areas of the world people would have no access to financial services at all without their credit unions. No matter where you are in the world access to financial services is vital. Rich or poor, we all face similar challenges in life. Together credit unions are helping members overcome those challenges....not only here in Belize but throughout the world. Credit unions have consistently carried on the traditions set forth by their early pioneers and exemplified the values of thrift, self-sufficiency and volunteer leadership, democratically elected from among the members. Those qualities help credit unions create a special place for themselves among the world’s financial institutions. Thank you for joining us to celebrate International Credit Union Day! One member at a time we are working to build stronger communities and we look forward to serving you and your family for years to come! We encourage you to visit your credit union today and celebrate International Credit Union Day. If you are not yet a member, we invite you to join a credit union today…there is one in every district. Once again....a Happy International Credit Union Day and may God continue to Bless and Guide our Belize Credit Union Movement!

CREDIT UNION DIRECTORS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS, MANAGEMENT AND STAFF TOGETHER WITH MEMBER-OWNERS WILL MEET IN COROZAL TOWN AT THE COROZAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 19, 2013 FOR THE BELIZE CREDIT UNION LEAGUE’S ANNUAL CONVENTION TO BE FOLLOWED BY ITS DINNER AND AWARDS BANQUET AT THE PRINCESS HOTEL & CASINO (FREE ZONE)

We at the BELIZE TIMES are proud of all our Credit Unions and congratulate them on a job well done!

THE BELIZE TIMES

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Scales of JUSTICE

by anthony sylvestre

Irreparable Damage! Mr. Al-Jedda was born in Iraq in 1957. In 1992, Mr. Al-Jedda left Iraq and went to live in the United Kingdom. He subsequently, in June 2000, acquired British nationality. But Iraqi law did not permit dual nationality so Mr. Al-Jedda lost his Iraqi nationality automatically on acquiring British citizenship. Mr. Al-Jedda then travelled to post 9/11 war ravaged Iraq in 2004. He was suspected of being a member of a terrorist group. He therefore was arrested by US forces and held indefinitely without charge. He was released three years later. Shortly before his release, the British Immigration Minister (called Secretary of State for the Home Department) revoked Mr. Al-Jedda’s acquired British nationality on the basis that it was not conducive to the public good, using of course, Mr. Al-Jedda’s suspected

ties to terrorists. Mr. Al-Jedda sued the British Minister of Immigration for revoking his nationality and for damages for his illegal detention for three years. He argued that by revoking his British citizenship, the Minister was leaving him “stateless”; that is to say, he wouldn’t have any nationality because he had already lost his Iraqi nationality back in 2000. On Wednesday, 9th October, 2013, the highest court in the United Kingdom (the Supreme Court) agreed with Mr. Al-Jedda. They held that Mr. Al-Jedda’s British citizenship could not be revoked even if there were valid reasons for its revocation as to do so would leave Mr. Al-Jedda “stateless”. The UK Supreme Court observed that: “The evil of statelessness be-

came better understood following the re-drawing of national boundaries at the end of the two world wars of the twentieth century and following, for example, the Reich Citizenship Law dated 15 September 1935 which provided that all Jewish people should be stripped of their citizenship of the German Reich. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948, provides in article 15: “(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.” Mr. Al-Jedda could very well be the South Korean Won Hong Kim or one of the other notorious recipients of Belizean citizenship as a result of this Barrow/Hulse/ Penner immigration and nationality disgrace. For, we don’t know how many of the recipients of Belizean citizenship as a result of this Barrow/ Hulse/Penner immigration scandal are like Mr. Al-Jedda; that is to say, their nation of birth does not permit them to have dual nationality and consequently, they may only be holders of Belizean nationality. And which would therefore mean that although we are understandably “bex“ and angry and outraged at the fact that there are many unknown persons out there with Belizean nationality obtained fraudulently, the Government of Belize could very well face lawsuits if these nationality certificates are revoke/cancelled right about now.

19 These people could argue (if that were so) that they will become “stateless“ like Mr. Al-Jedda if their Belizean nationality is revoked, even though the nationality was obtained by fraud and breaches of the Belizean Nationality Act. Lawsuits, as Belizeans have learned from Barrow, is a costly thing. But this is what we have been further exposed to as a result of Barrow, Hulse and Penner. The Al-Jedda’s case then, should be an eye-opener to Belizeans: Even when we want to do the right thing and stem the disgrace caused by this scandal by revoking those nationalities fraudulently issued by Penner, we may be prevented from doing so. Barrow, Hulse and Penner, therefore, may have caused us more harm and damage than we realize. By illegally giving Penner permission to sign Belizean nationality, Dean Barrow has set in motion the chain of events that have led to this scandal. Godwin Hulse for his part, was complicit in the illegality. For Barrow told us that he got Cabinet’s approval to do this illegality. Hulse did not protest to Barrow, nor did he complain nor brought this to light to the Belizean public as he would have done in his former life as an ordinary citizen. And Penner, of course, grossly abused the authority Barrow illegally gave him. All three should therefore be held liable for the irreparable harm and damage that they have caused to Belize.

THE BELIZE TIMES

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Barrow - the Real Economic Dunce Belize City, October 8, 2013 Since 2008 the Belizean economy has been experiencing consistent recessions. The downward slide began in 2008 and was officially acknowledged by the government in October 2009 – exactly two weeks after PM Barrow had claimed that Belize’s economy was doing great, puffing his chest, holding his bad back and saying “the winds are now blowing in our economic sails”. The ink that wrote that statement was barely dry when Barrow had to report the real bad news that recession has struck. Technically a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP is “the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within Belize in a given quarter of the year”. So in the period January 2013 to March 2013 Belize experienced, for the FOURTH time since 2008, a reduction in GDP when compared with the previous quarters and all indications are that the economic growth will be weak for the entire 2013. The latest report from the Statistical Institute of Belize claimed that agriculture (sugar and citrus), electricity generation and petroleum are in a downward spiral. Most glaring from the report is that petroleum has fallen by 26 percent, the steepest dip in three years. The decreases in these primary products are indications that government revenue also decreased. It means that the Barrow government has less money for its much-touted social programs such as the Boost Program and Food Pantry. The reports are that the list of persons on these programs are shrinking while the unemployment rate is rapidly increasing. In addition, the trade deficit has widened as the reduction in the productive sector continues due to a lack of progressive policies to improve exports and the increasing high cost of fuel and financing. While the importation in absolute dollar

Basketball Tournament in Port Loyola Belize City, October 17, 2013 The PUP Port Loyola Committee has planned a friendly basketball tournament in the division for Sunday October 27, 2013. The tournament will be held at the court in the Jane Usher Area of the division for players 16 years and older and will start at noon. Prizes for the event are 1st place $200, 2nd place $100, and 3rd place is $50. Teams interested in participating in the event should contact Larry Wright or Mr. Bedir. Prior to the commencement of the tournament, events with special prizes for the children will include running race, lime and spoon, three-legged-race, and jumping in crocus sacks. Delicious food and drinks will be available from local vendors.

value remains consistent with previous years, the productive sector (exports) has shrunk. Therefore there is less foreign exchange coming into Belize and more going out. With Christmas approaching, businesses will find it hard to obtain US currency to pay for their imports, which peaks during the last quarter of the year, as very little US dollars will be available because little has been earned via exports. It would appear that the government’s policy for increasing exports is to sell Belizean passports because that seems to be the only commodity that is flying over the borders while no gov-

ernment assistance is being given to the small farmers and entrepreneurs. The Barrow government is busy setting up foreign bank accounts, so they can trap all the US currency outside Belize from these patrimonial sales and leave the small business owners to catch the queues at the banks for US dollars. This is unfair to Belizeans because government crowds out the small man for US dollars. Belizean embassies and consulates are occupied sniffing out passport applicants in foreign lands when really they should be focusing on locating new markets for Belizean products to justify the large crony salaries they are receiv-

ing from the same Belizean taxpayers. However under a corrupt and inept UDP government, no economic growth has occurred since 2008. In fact they have squandered over one billion dollars in oil proceeds which they diverted to balance the past years’ budgets because of government’s shrinking revenue. The oil revenues should have been in addition to the regular revenue the UDP inherited in 2008. So it is clear as day that as long as the UDPs are in charge of the economy there is no growth that Belize will experience and no prosperity for Belizeans. And what does our Prime Minister and Minister of Finance have to say? Nada!

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2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

Reid Pennergate By G. Michael Reid The pressure continues to mount on the Dean Barrow government to do more than just talk about the endemic corruption that exists within its midst. The long weekend did little to quell the flustering ruckus surrounding Pennergate and to their credit, “the media nuh dih play fuh accommodate”. The talk shows remain abuzz with calls for an investigation into not only Penner but the entire Dean Barrow cabinet. The Prime Minister himself has confirmed the receipt of reports that several of his ministers are involved in a lucrative hustle involving passports and visas at the Immigration Department. This is a matter of increasingly grave concern. This past weekend, no less than the Prime Minister himself led a contingent of his most powerful ministers into Cayo Northeast. Their mission: to warn the people of that constituency not to vote for the recall of disgraced minister, Elvin Penner. While the Prime Minister has bragged that his government was the one that gave the Belizean people the option of recalling corrupt politicians, he was the very one standing in the way and doing everything he could to ensure that the process does not work. How ironic! After his long weekend of campaigning against Penner’s recall, it seems the Prime Minister had an epiphany. On Tuesday morning he informed the nation that he no longer wants any part of Penner. According to Mr. Barrow, Penner was not only unwanted in Cabinet; he was not wanted in the UDP and was not even wanted in the House of Representatives. You see, it seems that you can “kill a man after he is dead”! This was the second Press Conference that the Prime Minister had called in less than a week. The first was to defend Penner and to inform the country that he, the PM and his government, would be throwing all their resources behind Penner. In fact, at a scantily attended meeting in Duck Run, the Prime Minister

ting the signatures to the Elections and Boundaries Department for scrutiny, they were informed that some 8,000 signatures had been rejected. Interestingly enough, 8,000 was just about the number of signatures from the total amount that needed to be disqualified in order to block the referendum from happening. What a remarkable coincidence. What Habet and his team did to avoid Oceana’s problem was to informed the few who attended that ask voters to provide two pieces of in the next five months, “they would identification. That makes it easier see spending like has never happened to validate signatures but presents anywhere in Belize before”. According a different problem. It would have to the Prime Minister, it was not about been very easy to identify those who Penner but about keeping the United signed and made them targets for Democratic Party in office. Does the victimization. Once the signatures Prime Minister really have the authoriare collected, they are forwarded to ty to spend taxpayers’ money to keep the Election and Boundaries Coma corrupt politician in office or to buy mission. That entity is an arm of govan election? ernment and is run by cronies loyal By Tuesday however, the Prime to the government. It was good to Minister was informing the counhear the Leader of the Opposition try that Godwin Hulse had found so pledge to do something about this much more stuff on Penner that he problem. This is a department too vicould not continue to defend him. Of tal to democracy to be run by political course, the Prime Minister didn’t have cronies. A main campaigner on the ground and a likeA main campaigner on the ground and a likely candidate to run for the United Democratic Party ly candidate to run for the United Democratin the bi-election is Alberto August. Guess what post ic Party in the bi-election is Alberto August. Alberto August held up to Guess what post Alberto August held a couple of months ago? If up to a couple of months ago? If you you said head of Elections and Boundaries, you must said head of Elections and Boundaries, know a little about UDP you must know a little about UDP style style politics. Another man who was seen publicly campolitics paigning in a bright red shirt in a recent village council to wait on Godwin; any “normal” Beelection and who was most likely on supporters in the west very, very conlizean could have given him the same the ground in Cayo again this past fused. information. Mose Hyde had been weekend is no less than a recently The PUP is proceeding with the saying for weeks that “where there seconded Commissioner of Police. recall as normal and is trying to avoid is one, there is more.” Hell, all the Are you beginning to see the scope the problems that affected Oceana. man had to do was to talk to Arthur of the problems facing us? In December of 2011, Oceana Belize Saldivar. The fortunate thing is that there along with several other NGO’s under The Prime Minister rightly noted is hope. Francis Fonseca has promthe name Belize Coalition to Save Our that he could only ask Penner to reised sweeping reforms in all areas Natural Heritage, collected and subsign and there was nothing anyone where they are sorely needed. He mitted 20,160 signatures petitioning could do if he did not want to. He will need much help for there a lot the Government of Belize to hold a refdid say however, that after a wasted to do. Let us rally behind this humerendum on the topic of allowing Offweekend out west, he and the powble warrior who has offered himself shore Oil Drilling in Belize. The twenty er-players of his party would no lonfor the task. The future of Belize dethousand signatures easily exceeded ger support Elvin Penner. This would pends on us! the amount required but after submitmean then that he is conceding the recall and he announced that his party was looking for a suitable candidate to run in the bi-elections. No word if it would be another Mennonite. Had Mr. Barrow not seen the light and decided to remain obstinate, I would not have been holding my breath regarding this much touted recall mechanism; it was never meant to work. Even if Landy Habet and his team were able to collect the required 1,800 signatures, it would have been extremely difficult to get out sixty percent of all registered voters to the polls. First of all, even during an election year, when the goodies are handed out hand over fist, and with two parties working together to get people out, they are barely able to entice more than seventy percent of the electorate to the polls. It is very unlikely then, that one party working on its own, with very little resources, would have been able to get sixty five percent of registered voters out. If not impossible, it would have been highly improbable. Of course, before they even got to that point, there was the matter of getting the thirty percent of registered voters to sign. This would not have been easy since government is the biggest employer in Belize. There was a clear message from the UDP ministers on the ground. Sign the petition at the risk of your employment; simple as that! The situation is different now that the PM has recalled his hounds but he has no doubt left his

20 OCT

THE BELIZE TIMES

Home Economics What would happen if fuel was $7.00 per gallon? By Richard Harrison The pump price of fuel could be $7.00/gallon if the government would remove all taxes (except 10% GST) from the fuel that is imported. What would be the effects in the economy if the pump price was $7.00/gal? 1. A normal bus run from Benque to Belize City would cost $60 in fuel...instead of $90. This savings of $30 per run could be used to lower bus fares and/or improve the quality of buses and services and/or increase the benefits to workers of the bus companies...or to increase the profits of the bus companies operating. You can extrapolate this effect across all bus runs, water taxi to the cayes, plane rides across the country, taxi fares and personal transportation and distribution. Approximately $50 million per year would be the direct increase in savings and/or investments by users of fuel in the economy. 2. The cost of producing corn would go down from around $0.18/ lb to around $0.15/lb...a savings of $0.03/lb or 17%. This would make corn producers much more competitive in local and regional markets, allowing them to sell more corn at a better price to consumers and/or earn more profits from their investments in the production of corn and corn-based products, such as animal feed, corn flour, etc.,...and/or contribute more to the general economy in the form of taxes. Annual production could grow to over 100,000 metric tons or 200,000,000 pounds...with a saving or increase in investment capacity of $6,000,000 per year from corn alone. 3. A small tour operator that spends $200 per day on fuel would see his cost reduced to around $150. With savings of around $8,000 per year, he could invest in expanding his tour business, finance an addition to this home, provide for better education for his kids and/or give his family a better standard of living. In aggregate, tour operations and transfers in Belize could save around $7 million each year. This kind of significant reduction in tour and transfer operations could significantly impact the competitiveness of Belize’s

BELIZE TIMES

The fastest selling newspaper in Belize

tourism offer, driving up demand and tourism arrivals accordingly. 4. The nurse, public servant, teacher or home provider who now spends an average of $3,500 per year on fuel would now spend only $2,600… saving around $900 in a year...which would help handsomely with paying off the credit union for their homes... or to help cover the electricity and cable bills... or to contribute annually to a pension fund which would be valued conservatively at around $66,000 within 30 years. For 50,000 private car owners in Belize, this could amount to a pension fund valued at around $3,300 million in 30 years. 5. The price of everything in Belize, relative to Mexico and Guatemala, can be lowered by between 5-35%, depending on the fuel cost contribution to total cost of the item, which would significantly increase the incentive for Mexicans and Guatemalans to shop in Belize in large numbers. Our border towns would experience a great boom in business. 6. The government revenue from taxes on fuel would be reduced by around $70 million… but the boost to the economy and GOB revenues from other sources would more than compensate for this reduction. Bigger, more profitable businesses can afford to pay their taxes or offer better prices to stimulate more demand… or increase their rate of investments to expand more rapidly in the domestic and international markets. This is not a ZERO-SUM scenario. Heavy taxation at the base of the economy (fuel) is one of the principal albatross around our necks… it works like a heavy ball and chain around our ankles. By allowing the people to put their money to work, before it is taxed… will bring to life all kinds of synergies that will result in a major boom for the Belize economy… far over and beyond the loss of $70 million from fuel taxes. Richard Harrison is a local businessman and investor in the manufacturing and service industries. Mr. Harrison holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from Lancaster University, United Kingdom. Send comments to harrisonbz@yahoo.com

2013

PUP NOTICE

Cayo North East Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Cayo North East Electoral Division is scheduled for November 24, 2013. Applications can be picked up from the Secretariat or Mr. Ursulo Guerra, Vice Chairman for Cayo North East Executive Committee. Completed applications are to be submitted to Mr. Ursulo Guerra and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package. Deadline for submission is October 24, 2013.

PUP NOTICE

Corozal North Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Corozal North Electoral Division is scheduled for November 24, 2013.

Applications can be picked up from the Secretariat or Mr. Gilberto Camal, Chairman for Corozal North Executive Committee. Completed applications are to be submitted to Mr. Gilberto Camal and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package. Deadline for submission is October 24, 2013.

PUP NOTICE

Belize Rural North Executive Committee The People’s United Party is accepting applications for members of the Belize Rural North Executive Committee. Application forms are available at the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City. Date of Election is October 23rd, 2013 Application must be filled and returned to the Secretariat, addressed to the Secretary General by Friday October 18th, 2013.

PUP NOTICE

Belize Rural North Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Belize Rural North Electoral Division is scheduled for November 30, 2013.

Applications can be picked up from the Secretariat or Mrs. Carol Williams, Chairlady for Belize Rural North Executive Committee. Completed applications are to be submitted to Mrs. Carol Williams and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package. Deadline for submission is October 30, 2013.

20 OCT

2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

Barrow’s Political

Chernobyl

Godfrey Smith

Flashpoint

October 11, 2013 clear mushroom cloud guaranteed to bring not a Seventeen months into the golden era for the UDP but acid rain for weeks to People’s United Party’s second come. term of government, skeletons Mr. Barrow made two unexpected admisfrom the Intelco/Social Securisions during a live, televised press conference ty Board subterranean closet on the afternoon of Thursday October 10th 2013. popped up, unleashing a tidal He stated that he knew the Immigration Departwave of financial scandals that ment had “problems” which was why he put the led to the resignation of sevunelected Godwin Hulse (whom he trusted) as en ministers from the cabinet the substantive minister. He disclosed that Mr. of Prime Minister Said Musa in Hulse’s elected junior minister, Mr. Penner, comAugust of 2004. It marked the plained that he felt “like a fifth wheel on a wagon” beginning of the end for a PUP and begged him specifically to be able to sign nathat had been governing with a tionality certificates. The PM said he took legal addelusional lack of awareness of vice and gave him the authority to sign. That such the public’s loathing for it. The executive authority was lawfully and constitutionparty had just secured a second, ally conferred on Minister Penner is doubtful. The consecutive landslide general decision to grant him signing privileges - the execelection victory in March 2003 utive remit of a substantive minister - also exposand seemed to have had things es the PM to the charge that he exercised poor Rat minding the cheese? in hand when the bubble burst judgment. in August 2004, emitting political Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca radiation that poisoned the PUP’s stated at a meeting of the House of Represenelectoral chances. tatives shortly after the scandal broke that putting Minister Penner in In the general election of February 2012, the UDP charge of nationality was like putting the rat to mind the cheese since barely managed to hold on to the reins of power by his proclivity was well known. Indeed, in the run-up to the February a razor-thin margin. But thereafter it seemed to move 2012 general elections, he had been featured on the news as being from success to success, deftly re-negotiating the involved in the mass naturalization of hundreds of immigrants for regissuperbond against the odds, staving off a looming tration as voters in the impending elections. teachers’ union revolt and dampening the inflamed Then in February 2013, the tenure of then Director of Immigration, passions of pastors over the genRuth Meighan, came to an abrupt end after cabider policy. net took a decision to transfer her to an obscure In his Independence Day post of undersecretary finance. It was rumoured speech the prime minister anthat the motive for her re-assignment was benounced the write off of low-incause she was in the way of Mr. Penner. Minister Hulse, while expressing regret at seeing his direccome housing loans, the construction of a state-of-thetor of immigration go, had denied that the reason art sports facility in Belize City and more goodies to be for her transfer was friction between herself and financed from Bolivarian “Petrocaribe largesse”. Shortly his minister of state. thereafter, and eighteen months into its second term, The prime minister was candid enough to the United Democratic Party Government finds itself readily and freely admit that he had heard about writhing in the throes of a Medusa-like corruption scanthe involvement of his ministers in the sale of vidal involving the sale of Belize passports and visas. sas and had implored them to: “For God’s sake The scandal has contaminated Elvin Penner forcing stop it.” This concession, perhaps unwittingly, exhim to resign as Minister of State in the Ministry of posed Minister Hulse as having lied to the media Immigration, sent the Deputy Mayor Eric Chang, the alsince, just days earlier, when asked virtually the leged broker of the deal, into deep cover in Taiwan, led same question about the visa hustle, he categorito calls for the resignation of the substantive Minister cally denied any knowledge of it. of Immigration, Godwin Hulse and to calls for a crimThat Minister Hulse must have known is butinal investigation of Mr. Penner. As more information Could he authorize Penner to sign? tressed by the fact that the prime minister went leaks out, the burgeoning scandal threatens to spread further to say that at every other Cabinet meeting to diplomats, public officials and expose a quota-based he had been warning his ministers that if it was ministerial hustle involving the sale of visas to Asian one thing that could bring down the government it was hustling at the nationals. This thrashing, untamable monster scandal has not only blown Immigration Department. The leading media houses have credibly asits lid but is also set to burst its bureaucratic seams creating a political Cherserted that well-placed sources within the government have confirmed nobyl for the Dean Barrow administration. the existence of the quota-based ministerial visa hustle. Minister of NaThe scandal broke on September 19th 2013 when Elvin Penner, memtional Security John Saldivar himself admitted to assisting constituents ber of the House of Representatives for the Cayo Northeast electoral diviwith Asian relatives to get visas but “not in a major way”. sion (and the first Mennonite Belizean to hold elected office in Belize) was The prime minister faces Sophie’s Choice: cutting off Penner comcalled into the prime minister’s office and made to resign. The official press pletely could expose the true depths of UDP corruption if Penner sings release hinted at a link between his resignation and a South Korean named about what he knows. On the other hand, embracing him - as Mr. BarWonhong Kim imprisoned in Taiwan and clutching a freshly minted Belize row and the UDP have chosen to do - has not only deepened the pubpassport. lic’s skepticism that politicians are equally corrupt and only interested As it turned out, the hapless Minister Penner had single-handedly midin self-preservation, it might have also debunked, finally, the perception wived Belizean nationality into the hands of the jailed “Citizen Kim”. The that the UDP is not as corrupt as the PUP had been - a distinction that likelihood that he fraudulently signed nationality certificates not only for the Mr. Barrow has strove to maintain since 2008. In the collective mind “Citizen Kim” but also for a number of other Asians including one Jalal of the public there is no longer any such distinction. Ebrahimi, in whom the United States has an interest, has sent up a nu-

20 OCT

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

Recipe of the week

Churros With Coconut Sauce Is your sweet tooth calling? Well, answer it with this Chet. inspired recipe. Ingredients: For the Sauce: • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk • 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk For the Churros: • 11/4 cups whole milk • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 tablespoon sugar, plus more for coating • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 11/4 cups all-purpose flour • 4 large eggs • Vegetable oil, for frying Directions • Make the sauce: • Cook the condensed milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it turns a light caramel color and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 10 to 15 minutes. • Gradually add the coconut milk and whisk until smooth, about 5 minutes; set aside. (You can refrigerate the sauce, covered, up to 2 days; reheat before serving.)

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• Make the churros: • Bring the milk, butter, sugar, vanilla and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. • Reduce the heat to medium low; add the flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture gathers into a glossy ball, about 1 minute. • Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. • Beat in the eggs one at a time with a mixer. Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip. • Fill a shallow dish with sugar for coating the churros (about 1/2 cup). • Heat about 2 inches vegetable oil in a wide saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. • Working in batches of about 6, pipe 3-inchlong segments of batter into the hot oil; use a knife to cut off the segments. • Fry, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch. (Return the oil to 350degrees F between batches.) • Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain briefly, then roll in the sugar. Serve with the coconut sauce.

2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

How many cats can you find?

20 OCT

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

BRAIN

TEASER

SUDOKU PUZZLE #39/2013

Hon. Jose Mai & SMART partner in support of education Orange Walk District, October 10, 2013 The Hon. Jose Mai continues to provide education assistance to students of Orange Walk South. Six students from the Belize High School of Agriculture and one student from New Hope High School received education

grants today from the Hon Jose Mai. A total of $1050 was paid directly to the institution by the Hon. Jose Mai. Hon Mai is grateful to telecommunication company, SMART, for providing the financing for the grants to the students of Orange Walk South.

See answers NEXT WEEK

PUP PARLIAMENTARIANS ATTEND MEETING IN GUATEMALA

PUP Corozal South West Area Representative Hon. Ramiro Ramirez and Senator Hon. Collet Montejo join their Belizean counterparts in a meeting with Guatemalan and OAS officials

Answers for last week’s puzzle SUDOKU PUZZLE SOLUTION #38/2013

Answers for last week’s puzzle

See answers NEXT WEEK

20 OCT

THE BELIZE TIMES

2013

BELIZE TIMES WEEKLY

SCIENCE & TECH R

Selected By Chris Williams

World’s first malaria vaccine on course for 2015 8 October 2013 by Andy Coghlan Encouraging results from the longest and largest trial of a malaria vaccine could see the world’s first anti-malaria jab approved by 2015. The disease infects more than 200 million people a year, and kills at least 660,000 – mostly children. The vaccine could be used for the first time in 2016. “It’s on that trajectory, and the plan is to file with the European Medicines Agency in 2014,” says David Kaslow, vice president of product development at the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, which supported development of the vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). A positive scientific verdict from the European agency, expected in 2015, would pave the way for African countries to approve it for use by 2016, says Kaslow, who presented the results in Durban, South Africa, at a major international conference on malaria. Called RTS,S, the vaccine was tested in 15,000 children in 11 African trial sites. Half were babies aged 6 to 12 weeks and the other half toddlers aged 5 to 17 months. Half in each group received the vaccine and half a placebo, and all continued where possible with other precautions to prevent malaria such as sleeping under bed nets. The latest data show that eighteen months into the trial, the vaccine continued to work best in the older age group, echoing results seen one year after the trial started. Efficiency issues At that one year mark, there were 56 per cent fewer cases in the older group and 31 per cent fewer cases in the younger group. The new data show that the vaccine’s effectiveness waned slightly after 18 months: there were 46 per cent fewer cases of clinical malaria in the older age group, and 27 per cent fewer cases in the younger group. “We expected this,” says Kaslow. “Efficacy wanes for most

followed for a total of 41 months on average, but the results after 18 months are positive enough to persuade GSK to initiate plans to submit for approval. “While we’ve seen some decline in vaccine efficacy over time, the sheer number of children affected by malaria means that the number of cases of the disease the vaccine can help prevent is impressive,” says Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of GSK.

A jab, then protection (Image: Frederic Courbet/Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)

vaccines, which is why, for example, we give booster shots for tetanus.” Kaslow says that boosters have already been given at 20 months to see if they revive the original efficacy of the vaccine. “One-third of the children in the trial have now received a booster dose, so we’ll learn in the next year if this protects the children for a further period,” says Brian Greenwood of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who heard the results presented in Durban. The older children will be

Great potential From the average incidence of malaria across the 11 sites, combined with the fact that single children are prone to as many as four infections a year, the researchers calculate that the jab has the potential to prevent 941 cases of malaria per 1000 children vaccinated in the older age group, and 444 in the babies. “These data support our decision to submit a regulatory application for the vaccine candidate,” says Witty. As to why the vaccine seems to be more effective in older chil-

Vast ancient tomb raised from the dead by restoration In the pre-dawn darkness of the equinox, you enter the single, small door of this ancient burial chamber. You walk down the 21-meter passage until it widens into a chamber in front of you. Suddenly, the first rays of sun strike the doorway, and the whole chamber is illuminated. In those brief few minutes of light, you could be sharing in a ritual of life and death first imagined around 4200 BC. This enormous structure is the Soto dolmen in Trigueros, Spain, which has been returned to its prehistoric glory after a nine-year restoration. The mound is 60 metres across and 3.5 metres high, making it the largest of more than 200 dolmens, or megalithic tombs, that dot the Huelva province.

dren, Kaslow says there’s no explanation, but there are some possible reasons. One is that immune systems of the babies are too immature to respond to the vaccine. Another is that unlike the older recipients, they received a pentavalent vaccine at the same time against five other diseases. “It’s possible the hepatits B component of the pentavalent vaccine interfered with the malaria vaccine, but we don’t know yet,” he says. A Third reason is that there could be some interference from maternal antibodies. Kaslow says there is also hope from other vaccines entering trials, particularly for “transmission-blocking” vaccines. These trigger production of human antibodies that block development of the malaria parasite not in humans, but in the guts of mosquitoes that have swallowed the antibodies while feeding. “It’s active vaccination of humans to produce passive vaccination of mosquitoes,” he says. Trials also began this year of a vaccine made from live but weakened malaria parasites painstakingly extracted from the spit glands of mosquitoes. The vaccine worked extremely well in the first six recipients, and larger trials are planned.

THE BELIZE TIMES

Little is much

read an email a few years ago, and it changed the way I operated in life. The message was from one of those friends who believes they were placed on this earth for the sole purpose of forwarding ‘feel good’ emails. You know the type. Every five texts of their bundle are sectioned off with your name on it. And each and every one manages to wake you up in the morning with a ‘Hope you have a great day’ or some random Bible verse. Although this practice can be encouraging to some, when the gift becomes a ritual, at least for me, it loses its luster. For some strange reason I opened that email when usually I would recognize the name of the sender and toss the message until I needed an emotional booster. Here’s a shortened version of that powerful story. A nerdy young man was having a hard time at school. He had no friends and his family situation was far from ideal. He was a bit of a shy nerd with the typical glasses, braces and sky high grades. But he was routinely bullied and ignored. He felt invisible and worthless and was desperate to fit in but couldn’t. So one day, he just gave up and went to school to clear out his locker and was prepared to head home and disappear from life, permanently. As he was walking he tripped and all his books went flying. Of course the students started laughing at him, cementing his resolve to end his life. But something happened. A kind jock noticed his dilemma, kneeled down, and helped him pick up his books. The young man went home and returned to school the next day and the next all because of that one kind deed. Moral: You never know when the little you do impacts somebody’s life forever. You can ask Jesus. He’ll tell you, but in a different way. Jesus said, “Wherever the Gospel is preached people will talk about this”. See, this prostitute had the audacity to come into a respectable man’s home and perfume Jesus’ feet. In those days, women were valued as animals. A little old man would swagger into a clay maker’s house and strike a deal with a girl’s daddy: “I’ll give you three milking cows and fifty wooly sheep for Martha, there.” The father would probably mull it over, then reply, “throw in a new sandal and we’ve got a deal”. But the prostitutes… they were seen as lower than goose poop to people. Yet, Jesus was referring to Mary, a prostitute when he said people would remember. Unfortunately, not all the little things we do are beneficial. That you can ask Spiderman, he’ll tell you. A business owner owed Spidey a few thousand bucks and wouldn’t give it to him, although he had earned it fairly. As the superhero was walking out of the building, a thief came running past him, having just robbed the business owner. Feeling spiteful, Spiderman let the crook pass. That same thief murdered his beloved Uncle just a few minutes later. And so, I urge you to perform every task as though you were doing it for God. Remember, even the little things can make huge waves in the lives of those around you. Until next week, God bless.

By Dr. Mark Musa

20 OCT

2013

The Flu/ Influenza

The flu is an illness caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract. There are three types of influenza virus: A, B and C with influenza A causing the most illness in humans. The flu viruses are constantly changing with new strains appearing regularly. This makes it difficult for humans to develop long-term immunity from infection. In 2009, a new flu virus termed Influenza A H1N1 swine flu developed in Mexico and rapidly spread worldwide to cause a deadly pandemic. What are the symptoms? The flu virus is spread by droplet infection from coughing, sneezing and talking. You can inhale the droplets directly, or you can touch an object with the virus and then transfer it to your mouth or nose. The flu symptoms include fever and chills, dry cough, sore throat, runny nose or stuffy nose, headache, muscle aches and sometimes extreme tiredness. Most people who get the conventional seasonal flu recover completely in 1-2 weeks, but in certain high risk groups especially the elderly, the flu can be a serious life-threatening illness. What is the key to flu prevention? To prevent the spread of the flu wash your hands often and thoroughly, cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Avoid crowded areas to prevent spreading or becoming infected with the flu. Most of the illness and death caused by the flu can be prevented by the annual flu vaccine. The current recommendation is for everyone 6 months or older to receive the vaccine each year. This vaccine is made up of non-infective/inactivated viruses that cannot itself cause the flu illness. The effectiveness of the flu vaccine is about 80-90% in preventing the flu. The vaccine helps to reduce the severity, the risk of hospitalization and complications such as pneumonia. The vaccine is updated every year to try and cover the most current strains of the virus causing infections. Those at high risk such as the elderly, pregnant women, persons with asthma, chronic bronchitis, diabetes and heart conditions would benefit the most from the flu vaccine to prevent any serious complications. Are there any side-effects to the flu vaccine? The flu vaccine is well tolerated in the majority of people. The most serious side-effect is an allergic reaction in persons who have an allergy to eggs. About 5-10 % of persons receiving the vaccine may experience headache, low-grade fever and muscle cramps for about a day after the vaccine. The injection site of the vaccine can also become sore and irritated. Treatment of the Flu Drink plenty of liquids, rest, the use of saline liquid into the nose can help with nasal congestion. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) should be used to control fever and body aches. Because the flu is caused by a virus, antibiotics are not effective to treat it. There are anti-viral tablets such as Tami flu (oseltamivir) that if started within 48 hours of symptoms can reduce the severity, the length of flu-like illness and help prevent complications. Persons at high risk should consult their doctor early in order to try and prevent severe attacks of the flu and its complications such as pneumonia.

20 OCT

2013

THE BELIZE TIMES

EDITORIAL Español

POR DIOS: ¡BASTA!

Este es lo peor que hemos visto Dean Barrow. Realmente, es la primera vez que lo hemos visto tan mal. Normalmente se abalanza sobre él y trata de pulir y absorber las injusticias, las deficiencias y los fracasos de sus ministros. La última vez que se deslizo de labias fue en ‘Old Belize’ el 23 de noviembre de 2011, cuando Barrow reconoció que “... la gente tiene la percepción de que somos incompetentes en el gobierno, y 9 de cada 10 veces están correctos.” Esta semana Barrow reconoció otra verdad del UDP. No sólo son incompetentes, según Barrow, pero también son ladrones. A sí mismo Barrow utiliza una referencia diciendo que sus propios Ministros UDP “ha de ser uno de los cuarenta ladrones”. Esto entonces convierta a Barrow en Alibaba. La verdadera historia es el atestiguar el fin del liderazgo Barrow. Al igual que el reino de la arcilla que está cayendo. Él se está cayendo. El liderazgo de Barrow es de lo más comprometida; tanto como Primer Ministro y como líder del UDP. Ha fracasado cambiando posturas y tomado algunas abrasadores decisiones equivocadas en este escándalo de pasaporte. Nos olvidamos de que él comenzó pretendiendo que ya había castigado a Penner. Luego se puso “ignorante” e irritado porque dijo que el hombre ya había sufrido lo suficiente. Luego autorizó a su partido para luchar contra el proceso de destitución de Penner. Ese fue una terrible movida. Barrow opto por tomar la decisión política de proteger la corrupción y el crimen de Penner. Su Partido UDP lo siguió. Entonces Barrow tomo una penosa gira de Cayo Noreste. Fue una llamada de abrir de ojo. En la reunión pública de San Ignacio, sólo había un puño de personas. La mayoría de las personas que nosotros aquí en el BELIZE TIMES observó simplemente caminaron sin parar. Algo que en el pasado sacaría la gente solo porque se trata del nombre de Barrow y ahora en octubre de 2013, es cada vez menos atención que un candidato de un tercer partido. Se puso peor, en su gira de Duck Run. Alli…los números no pudieron ser inflados. ¿Por qué? Como vimos en la televisión. La asistencia era pobre. Toda la comunidad menonita se mantuvieron al margen. Se quedaron fuera al margen de Dean Barrow. Por alguna razón poco aconsejable Barrow hizo las reuniones públicas como medida al apoyo UDP. Bueno miren el noticiero, que están siendo rechazados. Barrow no está acostumbrado a este tipo rechazo. Así que fuera de su elemento que Barrow fue a un paseo raro de sobornos a los habitantes de Cayo Noreste. Él faltó el respeto al resto del país. El soborno comenzó prometiendo tan pequeño como una alcantarilla y se convirtió rápidamente en hablar de la cantidad de “millones y millones de dólares” que tenían y que piensa gastar en ellos. Sabemos que los maestros y los funcionarios públicos, quienes siguen esperando su aumento de sueldo, los escucharon. Así que la caída de gracia por parte de Barrow fue televisado y dijo que se alegraba de que estaba siendo grabado por los medios de comunicación. Le dijo a Belice que ahora somos hígado picado. La compra de la gente en Cayo Noreste es ahora más “prioridad” y “salta al frente de la línea.” ¿Por qué? La única razón es porque, como dijo; el UDP debe hacer todo lo posible para mantener ese es-

caño político. Oh, cuán bajo ha caído Barrow. Pero esto es la cultura de la UDP, sobornan. Han sobornado los pandilleros en la ciudad de Belice y eso fracasó. Elvin Penner sobornó a los cientos de inmigrantes a quien le dio documentos de nacionalidad e inscribió para votar. Eso fracasó porque, obviamente, no votaron por él. El UDP intentó sobornar al país con jamones y pavos para la Navidad fuera de dinero de los impuestos. No funcionó. Ellos todavía son impopulares. Ellos trataron de engañar y sobornar a los sindicatos laborales con la promesa de dinero del petróleo. Eso no ha funcionado. Ellos trataron de sobornar al país en las últimas elecciones generales, y no funcionó. Perdieron en todos los distritos. A pesar de toda la corrupción que fueron rechazadas y no habían sido de algunas grandes traiciones dentro del PUP, el pueblo habría logrado un nuevo gobierno. La realidad es que este país no quería al UDP ni Dean Barrow de nuevo. El pueblo fue traicionado. El derretir del UDP y Barrow es sólo ahora la fermentación de ese rechazo. Lo que Barrow quería que sus ministros UDP paren no es el ajetreo. Según, él ya sabía de eso. Lo que él quería que se detuviera era exponiendo la verdad de quién Dean Barrow realmente es. La exposición de Barrow a un nivel de escrutinio y presión que no iba a ser capaz de evitar la confusión con grandes palabras, personal que dé fe y grandilocuencia. Francis Fonseca y el PUP golpeo tan fuerte que para el martes, Barrow ya se había unido a la demanda y a la posición de líder Francis Fonseca para forzar que Penner renuncie. Barrow ahora estaba siguiendo a Francis Fonseca. Esta es la primera vez que hemos visto a Barrow, que es un ególatra ser dirigido por otra persona. Bueno, el martes, la historia muestra que Francis Fonseca hizo de Dean Barrow un seguidor. Fonseca hizo caer a Barrow con humildad y estrategia. Lo hizo defendiendo el lado del pueblo. No olvidemos que Francis visito Cayo Noreste primero. Él estaba en el suelo con el pueblo primero. De hecho, el motivo del rechazo audaz de un gobierno vengativo era porque Francis hizo su trabajo. Él había sido adoptado por el pueblo de Cayo Noreste. La diferencia es que los beliceños están despiertos. Los Beliceños han cambiado su visión contra de Barrow. Ellos lo ven como lo que es. Ellos siempre vieron al UDP como lo que son: incompetente y arrogante. Barrow utiliza para salirse con la suya político. Eso ha cambiado. Barrow ha gastado todo su capital político en los últimos seis años. Ha utilizado todos sus trucos para mantener una fachada para la UDP. El plan de defensa del UDP es fácil de ver. Era simple. Barrow iba a tomar y absorber todos los golpes de los cuarenta ladrones del gabinete UDP. El problema con la fórmula de Dean Barrow es que se necesita tiempo para desarrollar y recopilar ese capital político. Con los escándalos tan profundos y tan a menudo, se gastó ese capital político de Barrow. Él está expuesto. Lo que él quiere que los cuarenta ladrones dejen de hacer es “por el amor de Dios”, dejar de ponerlo en una posición en donde el pueblo se dé cuenta, que esta desnudo.

THINK ABOUT IT CABINET IS A CRIMINAL GANG For some time now, the Cabinet has been behaving like a gang of criminals. The issue with Toledo Rosewood was one of the worst cases of gangster behavior. Then the death of 13 babies and S.I.F. added fuel to the fire. The passing of a law to authorise Ministers and cronies to be in charge of a strange creature called Belize Infrastructure Limited has gone ever further. It is highly improper and illegal to place public funds outside the control of the public service machinery. Major gangster more. But the Penner scandal seems to be the straw that is breaking the proverbial camel’s back. No criminal investigation. No independent investigation. No truthful report to the people of what happened. And to top it all off – the Prime Minister and his Ministers were at one point in full campaign and support to keep the hopeless Penner in the Honorable House of Representatives. Unheard of. UNEASY LIES THE HEAD… After a hard day campaigning for the helpless Penner last Saturday, the Prime Minister was shown in Duck Run village addressing a tiny rally of about 30 persons including children and teenagers under 18 years looking disinterested. Jules Vasquez’s camera was brutal and unsympathetic to the Prime Minister. He was shown walking like a semi cripple. His body was twisting to the left as he struggled to walk. A close up of his face showed him looking old and mashed up and almost evil like. The strain and stress of trying to save his government had taken a terrible toll on him. Uneasy lies the head that covers up corruption. His message was a disturbing slap in the face for decency and democracy. He will be resorting, with full force to that awesome political and economic weapon of bribery to the electorate. “Millions upon millions of dollars”, will be squandered, the like of which has never been seen in the country. None of the million will be on people. All for “infrastructure” and culverts and roads and buildings and show case projects. In a country of almost 50 percent poverty were most young people will never see the inside of a college, sixth form or university. The future looks bleak. VISA SCANDAL The visa scandal is just as bad, if not worse, than the criminal passport scandal of Mr. Penner. Ministers of government through their agents take lists of persons, mostly Chinese, Indians and Russians, to special officials in the Immigration Department and get visa approvals. The visa approvals either take place in the form of a visa placed inside the passport or a covering letter is given, copied to the Immigration official at the Airport or border point or to an Embassy abroad saying that the following person or persons have been approved a visa which allows them to enter Belize.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

For Chinese and Indians there are special facilitators in Belize with very close connections to Ministers. For each Chinese visa the facilitator collects five thousand US dollars apart from the official fees that are paid to government. Out of that ten thousand, the Minister gets a cut from the facilitator. The Indians handle most of their visa matters, claiming to need employees for their stores and cooks and domestics for their homes. Greed has caused these lists to balloon to hundreds upon hundreds of visas. Human trafficking is a big part of this trade that has been in full swing since 2008. Facilitators with connections to a certain Minister of State arrange for Chinese to enter Belize at night through Benque. They are then transported to Corozal and hide until they are crossed into Mexico and on the U.S.A. In many cases, like with Russian passport, the visa and citizenship documents are back-dated so as to give the impression the persons were in Belize for a period. Entry and exit stamps are sometimes back-dated in passports. Big, big money hustling has been going on. WISHY-WASHY PRESS CONFERENCE The Press conference or media briefing or anansi dancing or whatever which was held last Thursday on the Immigration/Penner passport scandal was the longest and most wishy-washy ever held. The press briefing featured Immigration Minister and his senior staff of C.E.O. and Director of the Department. Turning up as side-kick major support was the embattled Prime Minister (one is tempted to write – Crime Minister) It lasted four hours. Four hours of unsatisfactory responses, half truths, misinformation, obfuscation, out right lies and deception and some attempts to chastise the media. At the end of it all, there were more questions than answers and the media and the public saw through the attempt to hood-wink and pacify. It back-fired. SPEAKING OF BACK-FIRE It is almost like poetic justice. Belize’s high handed and arrogant Prime Minister and his subservient Cabinet had sent out a Press release that they would hijack the Public Accounts Committee and hold their own hearings and review what they want to review. So said so done. Bogus and illegal hearings got under way The social partners who are represented in the Senate were invited to attend as observers. So they did. Bagarang! The barge turn over. Big fat John Saldivar under the barge the scratch his banana. The social partners released a stinging rebuke to the Prime Minister and his sycophantic Ministers.

A Press release issued jointly by the Council of Churches, the Evangelical Churches, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Trade Union Congress states that “Like many Belizean, we are deeply concerned that the Public Accounts Committee is NOT, in its current composition, responsive to or representative of the need for proper accounting of the use of the country’s financial resources by the state”. The joint release goes on to say that the UDP meetings of the Public Accounts Committee are “significantly flawed, and has NO CREDIBILITY as an investigative process. We emphatically declare that we refuse to lend credibility to such a CHARAGE”. This is a huge blow to the Prime Minister who was making fools of the social sector partners and by extension the good, decent people of Belize. The Senators who presently represent the Churches, Chamber of Commerce and the trade union Congress are respectively – Father Noel Leslie, Mark Lizarraga and Ray Davis. Respect for standing up to petty tyranny. AN EVEN BIGGER UNION ISSUE For ten years Public Officers and other public employees of the nation have not received a salary increase or even a cost of living adjustment. The cost of living over the last ten years has gone way beyond the wages and salaries of public employees. For Police Officers, BDF, Nurses, Teacher and the General Public Service pay days are more problems than solutions. They are a headache for many. The pay cannot keep up with expenses. Petrol is over twelve dollars a gallon. Electricity has jumped by 17 percent this year alone. So has bus fares for students and other commuters. Add to this school fees, books and uniform and then the biggest expense, food. Public officers, Police, Nurses, Teachers and BDF and City Council and Town Council employees are now economic slaves. They work only to try to keep up with bills. No extra left over for anything. For those with mortgages – they are going under. The government is boasting of the millions and hundreds of millions it will be spending for upcoming City Council and Town Council elections – New Sports Stadium, new boulevard, cement street, new bridge, new bus terminal, new bank. But nothing for the hard working public officers, Police, BDF, Teachers, and Nurses. Not even a new government complex, not even uniform, nothing. Unions your first duty is for the salaries and working conditions of your members. If things so good why are things so bad. BAR ASSOCIATION The Bar Association cannot bar themselves from offering guidance to Belizeans as to what is the meaning of proposed Section 46 amendment talked in the House of Representatives. There is a duty to inform our people. The government is lying over the meaning of the words in the proposed law.

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Let the truth be told. WHAT ABOUT LANDS The question is? Which one is more corrupt, Immigration or Lands Ministry. HEALTH MINISTRY AGAIN Gross negligence has surfaced again at the Ministry of Health. Like the 13 dead babies at KHMH which the CEO knew nothing of until it hit the news; Dangriga hospital embezzlement going on for two years and CEO knew nothing U. B. AGAIN The University of Belize is back in the negative news. This time heavy handed bureaucrats are violating the most important principle of labour law – changing terms and conditions of employees without their agreement. U.B administration with the Education Minister’s support is forcing lecturers to change their employment terms of security of service to written, one-year employment contracts. The law does not allow it. Could someone please tip-off the Lecturers not to go to the Labour Department as they always work with employers and government against employees – always. GLEN TILLETT Glen Tillett is back. He is one of Belize’s most analytical journalist. He has credentials and he is an artist and poet. He attended the Prime Minister’s 4 hour press conference and posed a series of piercing questions. The PUP need to bring Glen Tillett back in the fold. “Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their ailing country” SHAKESPEARE First, a minor joke. Have you read Shakespeare, the person asked? The answer, No, who wrote it? William Shakespeare is the best, the bestess, by far, of all the great writers in the English language. If you love words. If you love the sheer beauty of language you should learn to read and understand the greatest writer of all time – William Shakespeare. The language, the plot of his plays and the double and triple meanings behind and inside the use of words is just awesome and enjoyable. Movies and TV are entertaining but they cannot compare to the sheer joy and majesty of the wordsmith himself. Shakespeare wrote 36 plays. These were published in the First Folio, put together by fellow actors and colleagues after his death. Last week, new research using computer “fingerprinting” has now established that Shakespeare collaborated in the writing of three plays: “The Spanish Tragedy”, “Mucedorus” and Arden of Faversham. There should be evening classes for adults and students who wish to learn to read, appreciate and enjoy the great writings by the best of the best.

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G.G. – victim of passport scandal? Belize City, October 17, 2013 A series of negative implications, regional and international, as a result of the UDP’s passport scandal has begun to unfold, and Belizeans are already feeling the effects. The BELIZE TIMES has learnt that the Governor General Sir Colville Young, on one of his recent travels, was sort of “roughed up” by travel officials who required that he disclose his passport and travel documents once the airplane that left Belize arrived and began unloaded passengers. The normal practice when dealing with dignitaries such as Governor Generals and other Heads of State is that a special chaperone is assigned to them to accompany them out of the airplane first and separate from the ordinary travelers and away from the hassle of security officials. But this did not occur and the G.G. was asked to show his passport along with the rest of passengers. Could this be the new treatment for any one holding a Belize passport? Is this just one effect of the disgraceful passport scandal caused by Elvin Penner and the UDP? The BELIZE TIMES has also learnt that travelling on the flight were National Security Minister John Saldivar and House Speaker Michael Peyrefitte who are both UDPs. Was this why the extra security step was taken to scrutinize all Belizean passports?

PM Confirms

THE BELIZE TIMES

UB Faculty Outraged

UB Board forcing illegal contracts on lecturers?

Belize City, October 17, 2013 Trouble is brewing at the national university, University of Belize, over the imposition of new employment terms for lecturers. On October 1st, letters signed by the Director of Human Resources Hertha Gentle were sent to 20 lecturers advising them to appear at the Human Resources Department to sign contracts no later than October 12th 2013. The lecturers were told that if they failed to sign the contracts they would be removed from the October payroll. According to reports, upon reviewing the proposed contracts and noting that one year terms were being proposed, lecturers grew very concerned about possible instability at the university. The University of Belize Faculty and Staff Association (UBFSA) has attempted to intervene in the matter, calling on the HR Department to clarify the purpose of new terms, asking the UB Acting Provost Dr. Wilma Waight to advise if the contracts being imposed on the lecturers are proper, as well as requesting that the UB President Dr. Cary Fraser meet with the faculty to allay growing concerns. Those calls have gotten no

direct responses. The UB Faculty and Staff Association has indicated that there already exists a system to determine the tenure of employment for lecturers. The University applies a tenure-track system which allows faculty to remain on staff based on a Promotion and Tenure Procedure. According to reports, the HR Department has indicated the new contract terms were decided by the Board, which was dissolved in August. The UB Faculty and Staff Association said nothing was mentioned to them at a faculty orientation held on August 5th. In fact, they have pointed out that the Acting Provost had expressly committed to assisting the development of a Promotion and Tenure Procedure document to strengthen stability at the university. A press release issued by the University on Tuesday this week, in response to the reports, declared that the decisions taken are within the scope of the University’s regulations. The release stated that indeed the faculty’s employment is based on “an annual basis and, subject to an annual review of job performance by their supervisors”, but also admitted that the “performance reviews have not been rigorously applied in the evaluation process and the University’s management”. The University indicated that only lecturers, who were already employed by the University prior to

the 2000 merger which amalgamated five institutions to form the University of Belize, have permanent status until retirement age. The UB Faculty and Staff Association was not satisfied with the press release. They said that the lack of consultation and communication, followed by intimidation tactics used to force the contracts on the faculty are unethical and unprofessional. They also believe the proposed contracts are illegal and contravene the Labour Law act. The Association is further concerned that there has been no response from anyone at the UB management to any of the issues they have raised through correspondence to the different offices. On Thursday afternoon, the University informed the Faculty and Staff that the UB President, Dr. Fraser, would meet with faculty members by campus starting on October 24th in Belize City, but there was no indication whether the University would put on hold their demands for contracts to be signed until discussions are held and completed. The Association has informed its members that they are getting legal advice, and are prepared to take a stand if necessary.

Castro’s Scandal

CARTOON

Continued from page 3 City Mayor Darrel Bradley and passport scandal “person of interest” Belize City Councillor Eric Chang. Castro, who had been stripped of his rank in 2011, after convincing evidence reached the Prime Minister of his involvement in a land scam, faced another major public embarrassment. But the whole Penner fiasco has overshadowed Castro’s scandal, or it is just a matter of time before he goes on the chopping block? Last week, the Prime Minister confirmed that he had gotten report of the allegations but was yet to get any official report from Taiwan. We at the BELIZE TIMES do not expect the Prime Minister to take action against Castro or any other Minister who engages in wrongdoing now. The Prime Minister is desperately trying to hold on to Government and cannot afford to be kicking out Cabinet Ministers in the name of good. As for Castro, he remains mum. The allegations against him are that he tried to do more than “clear the land” during his visit to Taiwan. A Taiwanese protocol officer, who was designated as Castro’s chaperone, has reportedly claimed that the UDP Minister made offensive sexual advances towards her.

THE BELIZE TIMES

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