In November 2023, six police offers were dismissed from their post in connection with the landing of multiple drug planes in 2021. The accused are, Delwin Casimiro, Nelson Middleton Junior, and Eric Young, all former police officers who were linked to a drug plane landing and were charged criminally and later dismissed from the Belize Police Department. The case also included Manuel Caliz, along with his sister, Epifania Caliz who was dismissed primarily for ammunition charges and her husband Elmer Nah, who was charged jointly for possession of prohibited ammunitions without a gun license. The officers were dismissed in November of 2023 in a letter they all received from the Commissioner of Police Chester Williams ordering them to state a reason why they should not be dismissed. All applicants did so but in response, Williams said the men gave no valid reasons and they were subsequently dismissed. Today, leave was granted for judicial review by a newly appointed judge. The leave for judicial review is for them to now go in search of certiorari as the judge squashed the Compol’s decision to dismiss these officers. Representing the six applicants in court was attorney, Lyndon Jones. The Attorney General’s Ministry was represented by Samantha Matute, the Assistant Solicitor.
Contrary to a report that has been circulating that stevedores at the Port of Belize Limited are on a strike, this evening, the President of the Christian Workers Union informed our newsroom that there is no immediate plan to strike. Flowers shared that there was police presence at the P.B.L. compound and that they had removed a gang that was there. The police presence follows a press conference that the Christian Workers Union today at which it reported that a series of negotiations have brought about no change. Those negotiations were between the C.W.U. and the interim board of Port of Belize Limited towards a settlement over compensation for over thirty stevedores who say they were wrongly terminated. Initially, the C.W.U. was entertaining a compensation package of one point five million dollars for the employees, but the union had second thoughts and eventually rejected the offer. Today, the C.W.U. called a press conference to vent its discontent after the meetings that broke down. At the heart of the discussions is the Ministry of Labour, whose intervention has been to assist the two sides to reach some middle ground in their dispute. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
A proposal put forward by the interim board of the Port of Belize on February fifteenth was roundly rejected by the Christian Workers Union. This was on the grounds that the proposals to bring both sides to an agreement over compensation for thirty-five stevedores were terminated union did not meet the standards that the union had hoped for. Today, the President of the CWU, Leonora Flowers said they tried to compromise with some of the proposals, but in the end, it did not pay off.
Leonora Flowers
Leonora Flowers, President, Christian Workers Union
“They made an offer to us that day, and that offer was for a change in gang size, and several other things coming directly from the proposal. Although it touched on gang size, we said we will take it to our members. We will take it to the attorney. We went to the attorney and we asked her guidance and we instructed her to go ahead and make this, and this for us in a settlement deed or a settlement agreement. When we went to the stevedores, although there was a little bit of a reluctance to give up a member from the gang, in the end, the stevedores membership said, okay, we’ll go with that. It was a reluctant decision, but we wanted to move the negotiations forward to get the sugar money discussion out of the way. Unfortunately, after three days, we went back to the team for the government, and after three days, we could not come to an understanding or any mutual grounds, none of that was able to strike.”
Flowers said that the CWU informed PBL on Saturday of its position and also that it will not continue with dialogue because the union thought that PBL attempted to strip away terms and conditions that are in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Leonora Flowers
“We will not discuss the CBA and its terms. The CBA for us is a sacred document. We signed it and we will abide by that until we go to the CBA negotiations. Needless to say they don’t agree with us. They say we were already agreed, which we were not. I say we’re not agreed until we’re agreed, until we sign a document. We never agreed, we were disagreed to see if it was palatable. We were being asked to reduce the gang from 14 to 13 members. When we sat in the same room, the stevedores said, but we have gangs, we have 17 members, so what happens then? The Port of Belize tried to do that. So if we can’t sit at the table and dialogue with you and negotiate with you in good faith, if we feel that we’re being taken advantage of, it is time to call a halt and that is what we have done.”
Chief Union Representative for the stevedores, Marlon Middleton says the stevedores feel as if though their worth has been trivialized.
Marlon Middleton
Marlon Middleton, Chief Union Representative, Stevedores
“Our members originally had asked us to negotiate a payment of $4.9 million. The other guy, I won’t call any name, the other guy got his fair share and more – $196 million, $45 million of which was payable up front. Now you are telling us that you cannot give us $4.9 million. You broke us down to $1.6. We were willing to accept it. And then now you are telling us that we have to abide and go with what PBL is saying. You are the boss now of PBL, so then be, the boss.”
Meanwhile, Flowers said the position that the board took on behalf of the government was offensive, but the CWU is willing to resume negotiations at anytime.
Leonora Flowers
“The Government of Belize is the largest stakeholder in the Port of Belize, so this offer came from the Government of Belize. They can say otherwise. It came from the Government of Belize to say they will override whatever exists in our CBA. I have never seen overriding a document that offended me so much, and it offended our team. And that was one of the issues that brought us to full stop. We are prepared to commence the negotiation of the new CBA tomorrow. If you are ready, we are ready tomorrow. Let’s not piece meal this. Let’s not cause destruction on our CBA. We can discuss the CBA immediately.”
News Five attempted to get a comment from the Ministry of Labour on this matter, but our efforts were futile. Marion Ali for News Five.
Meanwhile, the C.W.U. and the Citrus Products of Belize Limited (CPBL) have signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement that covers workers employed by CPBL factory and machine shop. The C.B.A. is valid for a period of four years, from 2021 to 2025, provided that no other union obtains representational rights during this time. The main goal of this agreement is to maintain and enhance the positive working relationship between CPBL and C.W.U. It places significant emphasis on safeguarding the welfare and interests of CPBL’s staff.
This evening, the Port of Belize Limited issued a three-page press release in which it accuses the C.W.U. of making omissions and misleading statements during its press conference earlier today. P.B.L. says that it is of the view that the C.W.U.’s statements were made to sway public opinion in its favour and impact the course of the negotiations. P.B.L. highlights that there has been no compensation award to stevedores by the Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal (ESAT). P.B.L. points out that the tribunal directed both parties to engage in negotiations on the terms of payment. P.B.L. says that in good faith, it made a proposal for a redundancy package in order to amicably resolve the legacy matter. The P.B.L. says that the port is in urgent need of restructuring in order to be a viable entity. The company states that it considers the redundancy package proposal, which the C.W.U. did not accept, was more than fair and reasonable. P.B.L. says that it asked for several changes in the current work practices that it feels are needed for more efficient operations at the facility. It also notes that no additions can be made to the official list of stevedores unless both parties agree and that the number of gangs cannot be increased unless supported by increased cargo and agreed upon by both parties. Meanwhile, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (N.T.U.C.B.) has lent support for the C.W.U. in its current stance against the Government. In a press release of its own, the N.T.U.C.B. says that the C.B.A. negotiation process must remain separate and should be respected as afforded under the Labour laws. The umbrella union says it stands in solidarity with the C.W.U. and the stevedores.
The Belize National Teachers Union says it is being constantly attacked by the Government of Belize. The union is now calling on Prime Minister John Briceño and Christopher Coye, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; to retract recent public statements they made pointing fingers at teachers for poor performance in the education sector. The union says it condemns the statements because they irresponsibly generalize the flaws in the education system as being a direct result of the quality of teachers. One of the most recent comments came from Minister Coye during a World Bank report launch event in San Ignacio. The report noted that investments being made in the sector far outweigh the returns. Today, the union held a press conference in Belmopan where Jorge Mejia, the acting president of the B.N.T.U., outlined the issues raised in the report and why they believe fingers should be pointed at the Ministry of Education.
Jorge Mejia
Jorge Mejia, Acting President, B.N.T.U.
“The issues outlined by the report related to the education sector highlighted several areas, one the lack of reliable measures of learning at the secondary level. High repetition rate in primary and secondary, inefficient use of grade repetition as a support policy, potential issues with salary structures for teachers, affecting the evaluation of the education sector, challenges implementing strategies to reduce learning gap between subgroups, high expenditure on secondary education, inadequate measures in student progress and ways to support students that has special needs. The report also looks at poor student performance in Belize, declining in PSE scores, factors including student performance, tougher assessments, and shift in test taking pools towards learning outcomes of students. We also want to share with the public that in no way the report directly linked poor teaching as a major factor contributing to low performance in the education system. Despite the finger pointing that the minister has stated in public, this is not the real scenario. The key stakeholders that should be responsible to ensure that all policies are in place should be the ministry of education and in extension the chief education officer.”
And, it has become common to hear teachers complain about a lack of resources at these press conferences. But, in light of the World Bank report, Keisha Williams the union’s National Treasurer took a different approach. She questioned how much of the government’s investments in education, as highlighted in the report, are trickling down to the classroom. She also chided the Ministry of Education for endlessly piloting projects with no real analysis, only to further burden teachers.
Keisha Williams, National Treasurer, B.N.T.U.
“Let us take a look at resources for example, if you are to ask any teacher across the length and breadth of this country, how are they doing as far as resources are concerned. Who is providing the resources to them? They will tell you that they have to dive in pocket for a lot of the resources. In fact, most of the resources that are used in the classrooms teachers have to provide out of their pocket for. There is no denying that the budget allocation in this country has a huge lump sum that goes to education. Where the money goes is the question that the general public needs to ask. Is it trickling down in the classrooms? As far as the oversight of the system, the Ministry of Education is responsible to make sure that the system is properly running, has policies to address the day to day running of the institutions the provide management for, they are responsible top provide insight and strategies to bridge the learning gap that they recognize. Instead of that we have a lot of pilot projects coming to us as teachers, they are piloted but there is no analyzing of these projects at the end. The teachers is burdened with more work because these pilot projects come with extra finances that does not trickle down to the teachers. The general maintenance of the system, it is the general responsibility of the Ministry of Education and not the teacher.”
And finally from the B.N.T.U.’s press conference, we heard from Bay Rivas, the union’s National Secretary. Rivas noted that teachers are fed up of being blamed for the inefficiencies within the education system. He noted that the union is cognizant of the important roles teachers play in the classroom, but that nothing will change if there isn’t a systemic overhaul.
Bay Rivas, National Secretary, B.N.T.U.
“When you have already dealt with all your personal business you have to find a way to fix your classroom. You need to find a way to prevent the roof from dropping on your head. We need to find a way to compile the state of some of these schools, bat infested, where they have woodlice and you ask the managing authorities, they will tell you they are not responsible for that, go and have a bizarre and make sure you have enough money to fix your classroom. So, we are saying enough is enough, this is way too much. We are tired of dealing with the inefficiencies of the system and on top of that you wah come and seh well dah your problem. If we are going to fix thing we need systemic changes and not try to scapegoat the teachers. We are not here to say that we are not cognizant that our roles as teachers are one of the most important when to comes to our student learning. What we have a problem is that the insinuation, because these politicians they will not come out and say oh these teachers don’t know to teach, well maybe Johnny would, because his kind of loose, definitely the system failed him. As I said, if you put very qualified teachers in the same system it will produce the same results because the problem is the system, so if you want change it because you need to change the system.”
Earlier today, Minister of Education Francis Fonseca spoke about the relationship between the Government of Belize and the Belize National Teachers Union, in the wake of recent comments made by Prime Minister John Briceño. While he reiterated that both parties share an amicable working relationship, he also emphasized that the quality of education that students receive is contingent upon the quality of their educators.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“We have a good working relationship with the Belize National Teachers Union. It’s been a respectful relationship and we speak openly and frankly, so that’s nothing new. We have talked openly about the need and the BNTU accepts that there is a need for improved teacher education. We need to improve the quality of teacher training and we need to ensure that we are equipping our teachers with more skills. As you all know, we’ve implemented a new curriculum, a competency-based curriculum. That new curriculum requires that our teachers develop news skills. So that’s an ongoing effort, it’s an ongoing effort and whatever the government has said about it, it’s not to be critical. It’s not to disrespect teachers, it’s not to be critical of teachers, it’s to say to them that we need to work together to ensure that teacher training is improved. All of us have a collective responsibility to ensure that because the quality of our teachers is directly linked to the quality of education.”
The People’s United Party Belize City municipal slate introduced its manifesto on Monday, after the team held consultations with residents to come up with what their needs are in various areas of the city. And over the weekend, our cameras caught up with former Mayor, Bernard Wagner and two of his councilor candidates as they went about their campaign with residents in the Faber’s Road Extension area. As News Five wraps up our coverage of the pre-election campaign trail, Marion Ali towed along for a brief part of that descent on Faber’s Road and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
As the hours draw nearer for the municipal elections, the political parties used their last weekend to reach as many of the residents in anticipation of voter support on Wednesday. Former Mayor Bernard Wagner led part of the slate in their campaign on Faber’s Road Extension. And while their manifesto pledges to deal with drainage and infrastructure, Wagner told News Five that municipal governance has changed.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate, Belize City
“Municipalities regionally and globally has changed and have quickly recognized that that da nuh weh mek wa city. A city da the people, a city da the food, da the culture, da the arts, and, so it’s a local economic development, the local economy. And so as a municipality in the 21st century, you have to be able to strike a balance. You have to be inclusive. You have to show that you understand the type of challenges residents are facing on a day-to-day basis, not only in physical infrastructure, but their social needs as well, and that is what we have been doing. We have been essentially one of the key drivers in driving our local economy. We believe strongly that the best platform of getting people earning an income is the best social program.”
Kaya Cattouse is seeking her second term as a councillor. Over the past three years, she was responsible for sanitation, a portfolio she says posed no challenges for her. But the plan, if she and her team are voted in again, is to refocus on infrastructure.
Kaya Cattouse
Kaya Cattouse, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City
“We had no workers out there picketing. We had no problems with them any at all. We were able to work together get the job done. I believe we have been doing a good job at the council as it relates to garbage – talking about the portfolio that I was given, noh?”
Marion Ali
But overall, as a council, what would be the first things that you would like to see get done, moving forward?
Kaya Cattouse
“One of the things in our manifesto is the digging of drains. This is something that we plan to, take, a more intense look into because we have seen that streets are being fixed, however, drains, on those same streets need some work as well as drains on streets that have not been fixed as yet. That is one of the things that we plan to take a very good look into – abandon lots, something else.”
This will be Eluide Miller’s first bid at the polls, but he already had a first-hand experience when the PUP held a convention in 2023 to select the top ten candidates from a list of over twenty. Miller did not only make the cut, he topped those polls. He was an administrative employee at City Hall prior to his candidacy.
Eluide Miller
Eluide Miller, P.U.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City
“I’m a new candidate but not a new face to most of our residents. And certainly the work is not new to me. And so I’m very comfortable and it’s been great so far.”
Marion Ali
“A lot of residents do to have also said that there is no need for an elected council because the administration at the city hall can get the same job done as effectively. What’s your take on that? And you coming from the administrative level in city hall, would you’d know about that?
Eluide Miller
“Yeah, I completely disagree with that point. The city is extremely huge. We’re the biggest municipality in the country, right? We have just about 70,000 residents to look after; 730 more than 730 streets, right? And it’s a lot to manage. And having been an employee of the council before, I know the amount of administrative work. And the councillors play a very important role in decision making, right, and in policy making. And that is what they are there to do to shape the policy. And the council is guided by that policy.”
The United Democratic Party is fielding a team of seven candidates for Wednesday’s municipal elections. Career educator, Doctor Nelma Jones Mortis is leading the charge for the U.D.P. Eleven. They launched their manifesto several days ago and are now hoping that they can reclaim those municipal seats once held by their party. News Five’s Paul Lopez spoke with Mortis and her councilor candidates in this installment of Meet the Candidates.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The United Democratic Party is seeking to end its two-term municipal drought in Belize City. After a longstanding reign in the Old Capital, Belize City residents opted for a People’s United Party municipal slate in the last two municipal elections. Well, Dr. Nelma Mortis, the United Democratic Party’s Mayoral Candidate, and UDP councilor candidates Angelie Perez and Samson Jacobs have placed their names on the ballot and are confident of victory at the polls.
Nelma Jones Mortis
Dr. Nelma Jones Mortis, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, Belize City
“I am a thirty years or over experience educator. I am also a researcher, a social activist and I am inspired for two various reasons. I am a person ho believe in service and that is the greatest effort you will get out of me, to serve the people. Additionally I am also trying to make, or at least give a better reflection to the younger woman than me to walk in political leadership where we are not well represented.”
Angelie Perez
Angelie Perez, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City
“I am a paralegal and I decided to put my name on the ballot for two reasons, I want to be able to see more young people being represented and as well as women, because I believe we have a voice and in order for my voice and the voice of the young people to be heard there must be representations.”
Samson Jacobs
Samson Jacobs, U.D.P. Councilor Candidate, Belize City
“I am a teacher at Edward P Yorke High School. I started off at Sadie Vernon Technical High School but prior to that my first place of employment was Hand in Hand Ministries where I use to work with persons who were infected and affected with HIV and aids. I am social workers by degree but I am also a trained teacher and I have a certificate in grant proposal writing and project management.”
Mortis and her team launched their manifesto last Thursday. The document has three key areas of focus, environment, economy and equity. She says most of the residents she spoke with on the campaign trail were more concerned about national issues as opposed to municipal challenges. She added that issues of food and citizen security are on top of the list of those concerns.
Nelma Jones Mortis
“One of the greatest thing that comes out from the people on the ground is more of national issues and I know I do have to do a lot of work in helping out people to understand the importance of local government. At this point there is not really much thing to say about the local government as much as there is thing to say about national government. And, that has to do with the nexus for food and security. People have to eat, people are hungry. People want to feel secure. Their lives and I have to say this, recently there have been a lot of electioneering where the streets are being fixed and close to election or upon election and that symbolize that us as politicians we are hinging people’s livelihood and quality for life to an election and it should not be that way.”
Mortis noted that the business community in Belize City already raised a number of concerns to her team that they plan to address if elected on Wednesday.
Nelma Jones Mortis
“Parking is a major issue for them, especially on Albert Street and Regent Street. So we have to create a vision for that. Either we do parking that goes up or we cut off a certain are just for parking, that is something that has to be assessed. Two, they speak a lot to the trade license, which is seems there is not equity across the board when it comes to that. Now that is beyond the Belize City Council’s purview, however again, collaboration as the mayor of this city that is where my leadership comes in having to bring this central government to point the way forward.”
And councilor candidate, Angelie Perez, says if young people are questioning what impact a youth can make through politics, she has a message for them.
Angelie Perez
“I think the kind of impact a young person can make, if we shy away from these roles we will never be heard. So we must step up. WE must embrace these leadership roles in order for our voices to be heard. When I decided to put my name on a ballot and told people, one of the questions people asked is if I was ready because politics is a very dirty game and I am very grateful to the good lord that this time it hasn’t been like that and my mayor also doesn’t believe in negative campaigning.”
Councilor candidate Samson Jacobs also voiced several concerns he heard from residents that he believes his team would be able to effectively address.
Samson Jacobs
“I remember on the campaign trail we were back in Gungulung area and some business owners were complaining about the drainage and the street. One of them actually said when they come to purchase in the store they could not enter because the water the cover the bridge to get in. I believe the same way they consider the north side people to pay their taxes and they get their services, the same needs to be done on the south side and that is where the equity comes in.”
This afternoon, the United Democratic Party held a press conference at its headquarters here in Belize City. During the session with the media, Party Leader Shyne Barrow began by criticizing the Briceño administration for promises it has failed to deliver since taking office in 2020.
Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“We approach the time of the most sacred exercise in our democracy which is tomorrow, March sixth, the dawn of change for the better, because yoh got two kinda change, the PUP change and then the UDP change, for the better is upon us. You know, for the last three, and six in some instances, even twelve consecutive years if you look at Orange Walk Town, who have had four consecutive terms of doing nothing. First they complained about not having a central government that was PUP and now that they have a central government that is PUP, with none other than the prime minister and four other representatives, I believe, being from Orange Walk, they have done nothing for the people of Orange Walk Town. We have just been subjected to broken promises, mismanagement, misappropriation of funds and rampant corruption by the PUP local government. The promise of synergy has never arrived. The optimal benefits that were declared to be looming once you had a PUP central government and a PUP local has turned out to be a marriage of complete disaster. We have suffered, the Belizean people have suffered from this dysfunctional, extremely dysfunctional relationship.”
