On Thursday, U.D.P. Chairman, Michael Peyrefitte was asked about the murder of Coast Guard Officer, Charles James, as a former Minister of National Security. Peyrefitte lamented the death of yet another law enforcement officer by gun violence in the span of three weeks. He says that it is a reflection of lawlessness in the country.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, UDP
“When anybody dies in the country, especially criminal related killings you feel sadness overall because them doesn’t seem to be a sense of law and order in the country. But when you have members of the security forces being killed needlessly then it is really a concern, because you would hope, it is like for example when people are assumed to have a certain level of decency that you wouldn’t do certain things to a child, you wouldn’t do certain things to an adult, anybody who is serious and committed enough to do something to violate a member of the security forces is a serious contender and for a person to think that is nothing for them to do it tells you there is a mood in the country right now that people feel like to hell with law and order to hell with what is going on, they will do what they want and it is almost as if they are confident they will get away with it. It is as if we are living in a time now where life seems to be very cheap and there doesn’t seem to be anything in place to arrest the trend we are on, not even the state of emergency is stopping certain things. it makes you wonder how much worse it will get.”
Two men have been sentenced to life behind bars for a 2016 murder. They are Marlon Padilla and Guillermo Duarte. They murdered Edgar Aldana on April second, 2016. The men will now serve life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after twenty-five years. Aldana was chopped to death in Selena Village, Cayo. The murder was because of a misunderstanding.
Belize City resident Richard Bennett is tonight a freeman. He was acquitted of the murders of Cynthia Conorquie and Allen Garcia. They were fatally shot while at Conorquie’s residence on Logwood Street in Belize City in March 2021. Bennett was set free after the judge upheld his attorney’s no-case submission. At the start of the trial, a voir dire was held, and it was ruled that an oral confession was inadmissible due to procedural irregularities. There was no Justice of the Peace present, nor was the proceeding recorded, leading the judge to conclude that it did not qualify as an interview. Despite the Crown’s presentation of eleven witnesses and video footage allegedly showing the shooter, both pieces of evidence were deemed inadmissible. Bennett was represented by attorney Leroy Banner.
In December 2023, the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Transportation made several amendments to motor vehicle and road traffic regulations, which were implemented in March of this year. These amendments include the mandatory use of seatbelts for drivers and all passengers in motor vehicles and the predominance of the use of electric devices, such as cell phones, while always driving a vehicle. Failure to comply with wearing a seatbelt will result in the issuance of a traffic violation ticket, while the use of an electronic device will incur a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both a fine and imprisonment. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams said that while the adjustment may not come easily to most, it is important.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“It certainly gives the police and the traffic wardens the authority in law to be able to issue violation tickets for any person who is found to be driving a motor vehicle not wearing a seatbelt and to persons who are on a cellphone while they’re driving. So, it is, it is a good thing. I must say that many a times we see people committing these infractions. I myself do it at times. So, I have to make the adjustment as well. As you would know, I’m a person who traversed the country a lot and if I know I’m going somewhere that I will return home later than expected, I would not take my driver because he has to go home to his family. So I would normally drive myself. And when I do drive myself, I still have to be paying attention to the phone. messages are coming in, calls are coming in. So I have my vehicle, when I connect your phone to the vehicle, there is an application on my phone that allows the phone to read the text, so that is good. And I also use the application where I can speak to the phone and the phone, writes the text messages, and then just say, send it. So there is that hands free capability with the phone, once connected to the vehicle. But it still is a distraction at times. So, again, it’s just a matter for us to make that adjustment and make sure that we comply with the regulations. in terms of the seatbelt, we know that there have been many instances where seatbelts do save lives. We have had a number of traffic fatalities on our highways and so it is important that drivers as well as passengers in vehicles wear the seatbelt. It is to save your own life should the need arise.”
Over the weekend another man lost his life while at work while undertaking an occupational risk. The incident has prompted the National Trade Union Congress of Belize to ask when the Occupational Safety and Health Bill will become law. President of the NTUCB, Luke Martinez told News Five that while they wait with bated breath for a protective bill to pass into law, more people are dying because their employers are not held accountable to ensure occupational safety.
Via phone: Luke Martinez, President, NTUCB
“Belize continues to be one of the countries that seem to not want to have occupational safety and health regulated. And that’s definitely a travesty on our part. And clearly it leads us to wonder how serious our legislators are as it relates to ensuring that we have a safe and healthy working environment. The National Trade Union promised that we are the team that we’ve been pushing this agenda for over a decade and every step we continue to seem to be close, but far, and that’s very concerning to us. Last time we updated the media and the country we were at the Ministry of Labor with the bill where the Chairman of the National Trade Union Congress had submitted our documents to them stating that we’ve come to terms with a lot of the grey areas that were existent and we want this bill to pass now. And the ministry had prepared a Cabinet paper. They shared the Cabinet paper, presented that to Cabinet, and Cabinet forwarded the bill to the Attorney General’s Ministry. Now, this is two months ago, two months ago, right? And while we understand that the technical staff has to ensure that the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed, workers are falling to their deaths, right. And one would argue that the bill is not going to stop people from dying immediately, right. That, for me, is not a valid argument. Once we have safety in all workplaces, we are going to get there.”
Martinez told us that the umbrella union has put together a work plan to launch a campaign to legislate the OSH Bill in a more organized manner. He said that a part of that plan is to include regional and international partners in the union’s attempt to expedite the process.
Via phone: Luke Martinez, President, NTUCB
“We’ve decided to reach out to our regional partners also to assist us in pushing this agenda. So for the week of the 21st, I think, to the 25th, we’ll have our regional partners from Trinidad, from the Labor College and with them, we’ll be one of the experts. And he is happy and we are excited about getting him to give a presentation to the general public. And I will be invited. The presentation, of course will be around the importance of OSH and how we could move this forward, including as advancing us in Belize as a fundamental, right. So it’s bigger than what we’re looking at right now. And so the National Trade Union Congress continues to do our part, right. The International Labor Organization is fully supporting us. They are supporting us with financing the campaign that we’re launching. Ms. Vera from the International Labor Organization will be in Belize. We’ve engaged not only regional, but also our international affiliates to help to push and promote this agenda now. Of course the aim is to ensure that we sensitize every single worker. We sensitize the working class that we synthesize, the general public, and also we – one of our target groups is high school in third form, second form, as well as at the tertiary level.”
Belize is hosting the fiftieth Caribbean Telecommunications Union Executive Council Meeting and the Caribbean ICT Ministers Seminar and Retreat. The Caribbean Telecommunication Union or CTU was established in 1989 to bring CARICOM member states together to develop inter-regional and international communication networks. Since its creation, CTU has become a key regional voice for the formulation of information and communication technology best practices and policies within the region. Members of that union are in Belize, not only to learn from how we have progressed as a nation but also to share their knowledge. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Representatives from twenty CARICOM member states all gathered inside the San Ignacio Hotel’s Bedran Hall for the Fiftieth Executive Council Meeting of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union.
Michel Chebat
Michel Chebat, Minister of Public Utilities
“So we have representation from all twenty CARICOM member states. We have nine ministers and PS representing all the countries who are members of the CTU.”
The executive meeting is being held simultaneously with a Caribbean Information and Communications Technology Network. These events are being hosted by the Minister of Public Utilities, Michel Chebat.
Micheal Chebat
“I think this seminar really highlights the importance of this whole digital transformation agenda and the key role that IT is playing in transforming the lives of our citizens and our economies. So, having the presence of so many ministers from across the region really brings to the fore how important this sector really is.”
Regional digital collaboration is at the heart of this event. Through the development of regional strategies and policies, CTU member states have been learning from each other’s successes and failures. Hasil Bacchus is the President of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union and the Minister of Digital Transformation in Trinidad and Tobago.
Hassel Bacchus
Hassel Bacchus, President, CTU (Hasil Backas)
“We are all on the same journey. We are all on the same journey. We are just in different stages of that journey. There are some things in which Trinidad and Tobago is a bit ahead. There are some things in which Barbados is a bit ahead. In terms of energy and energy works you find Belize is ahead. We find St.Kitts is trying to follow. That statement I made that together we are stronger, it is not just about the strong bringing the weak, it is about learning from everyone and all of us creating this economy of scale for the Caribbean that individually we cannot do.”
Through the seminar, the union will update its members on developments in the information and communication sector. As technology evolves, CTU has established itself as a preferred source of ICT advice for regional governments. Rodney Taylor, the Secretary General at the union shared some areas that will be discussed.
Rodney Taylor
Rodney Taylor, Secretary General, CTU
“Such as 5G developments, cyber security and we also have a special presentation on renewable energy. So, that is an opportunity for them to be brought up to speed on what is happening in the industry. Beyond 5G, our governments are doing a number of initiatives such as public sector modernization using technologies. 5G and next generation technology and connectivity are fundamental to that, because we want to make sure that everyone has good connectivity so that they can have access to these services in a digital environment. So, connectivity is high on the list and cyber security is also important, that as they connect in a secure environment, that these public services are secure as well and people’s personal data is well protected.”
Also present at the seminar was Doctor Cosmas ZavaZava. He is the Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau under the International Telecommunication Union.
Dr. Cosmas Zavazava
Dr. Cosmas Zavazava, Director, TDB
“It is really a pleasure to be here and I want to thank the government and the people of Belize for the hospitality extended to me and the rest of the delegates. It is important because Belize is one of the Small Island Developing States and we are in the Caribbean and we are just almost getting to the UN Conference for SIDS and we try to find solutions with respect to connectivity and how connectivity helps to achieve healthy targets, agriculture, safeguarding the environment, etc. So all the sectors depend on connectivity.”
Michel Chebat
“So we have shared with them the progress we have made. We have spoken to them about the digital leave system we have for our public officers, we have spoken about our digital connect centers, about green energy and how that impacts ICT.You know we had a very interesting conversation with the representative from Cuba who spoke to us about their national ID and that is something we are embarking on. So it has been a great experience for all of us.”
The United Democratic Party (U.D.P.) of Belize has issued a statement condemning the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, following the nation’s adoption of a law that seeks to defend a portion of Guyana as its own. The legislation is being referred to as the ‘the Organic Law for the Defense of Guyana Essequiba”, and the U.D.P. says that this irresponsible, dangerous, and unprovoked act by Venezuela has resulted in an escalation of tensions between the countries. The statement notes that this action poses a serious threat to peace, stability and security within Latin America and the Caribbean region. Both nations have been going through an increasingly tense border dispute that may be reaching a tipping out. U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte says the U.D.P. is urging Venezuela to take the matter to the International Court of Justice.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, UDP
“Guyana is a sister nation to ours. She is a CARICOM sitting and we value Guyana. We understand fully what she is going through because well were going through the same thing and now we are before the ICJ and hopefully within the next year or two we can resolve that once and for all. Our simple position is this, whenever we get these types of disputes, strong arm tactics we wouldn’t support under any circumstances to say the least. If there is a border dispute. If there is an issue, all we say to another nation that has been good to Belize, Venezuela, is look take your issue to the ICJ. We live in a civilized world and we want to settle this in a civil matter. So Guyana, Venezuela, if there is a dispute, whether it relates to the Essequibo area or any other area of the country, if you have a dispute then join forces for this to happen, like what Belize and Guatemala did, so go to a referendum, have a vote and take the matter to the ICJ.”
With all the breaking and mending that has been taking place within the United Democratic Party, Chairman Michael Peyrefitte has been a constant party figure. There has been no conversation about him leaving the party, whether by force or willingly. So, does that mean that members are satisfied with Peyrefitte’s performance, despite the U.D.P.’s recent defeat at the municipal polls. Well, we asked him and he said his party is pleased with his performance, at least to his knowledge.
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.
“Listen to me, I was giving someone the statistics the other day. We look at this PUP like some juggernaut. When the UDP won the Belize City Council in 2006, it wasn’t for another twelve years that they won the city council if my math’s is correct. We have been in this situation for three years, going on four years. It is not a very long time; it feels like a long time given what has happened. And we have a current prime minister who was not the leader of the party eighteen months before he became prime minister. Things change. So, politics I am very fluid. What I can tell you about me is that nobody will tell me when it is time to leave. I will make that determination. I was voted in by the national convention to be the chairman. There are a provision within the constitution of the party, that you can call a national convention and you can remove me if you want. People are free to do that and then having not done it, and we show no lack of interest in triggering these things, if that is what people want to do within the party, they would have done that, but if enough people come to me in the party and tell me they want me to go, I’ll go.”
The Anti-Narcotics Unit is operating under new leadership after Assistant Superintendent and former Deputy Commander, Roberto Novelo, was replaced with Francis Williams, who was Novelo’s deputy. When asked about the change in the unit, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams explained that Novelo was removed from his position as he did not meet requirements upheld by the U.S. government that are needed to fulfil the role. Williams was also pressed about a recent search being conducted by the unit, which he said is still under investigation.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“No, the ANU has a commander. the substantive commander, as you rightly said, was removed. We do have a MOU with the U.S. government in particular this year. As it relates to the administration of the ANU, where the commander and all members must undergo certain procedures every three years. And if you don’t pass those procedures, then you are removed. And so the farmer or the substantive commander, um, did not meet the requirements and so he was removed. And the deputy commander is now the new commander.
Reporter
“He failed the lie detector test?”
Chester Williams
“He did not meet the requirements.”
Reporter
“And then we saw the ANU doing a search at camp twenty. At a residence of a man and we know that there’s a lot of hubbub about this, it’s supposedly a land fraud case, all types of allegations are being made and we know the personalities are personalities who might be of interest to police. What do you know about the raid at Camp twenty by the AMU?”
Chester Williams
“I know that the police, not just the AMU, but police officers are always and if it is that the police have information of any, um, wrongdoing being done by anybody, then the police will go in and do what needs to be done. And so Camp twenty is no different. Once there’s information, then we go in and try to verify what we’re getting.”
Reporter
“But you’re aware these people are alleging land fraud orchestrated by someone associated with a Belize city gang?”
Chester Williams
“Well, I am not aware of that aspect of it. if that is the case, then I would encourage them to come and make a report on it and then we investigate and see.”
