The quiet of Consejo Village was shattered on Thursday evening when a resident was gunned down inside his yard. According to police, twenty-nine-year-old Johnny Arana was working in his backyard when a gunman emerged from some nearby bushes and opened fire on him. Arana’s home is situated at the entrance of the community. In fact, the village’s welcome sign is erected directly in front of his home. Consejo Shores, a community of predominantly expats, is located within the vicinity. News Five understands that prior to the shooting incident, a security alert was issued in Consejo Shores’ neighborhood watch group informing residents of suspicious activities in the area. Shortly thereafter, shots rang out and residents of Consejo Shores took necessary actions to secure their properties. One resident told News Five that incidents of this nature never occur in the village. We were also informed that there are several cameras in the area that may have captured the incident. Arana and his family are well known to villagers as they own a business in the community. We sought comments from them, and they declined. A motive is yet to be established. We will continue to follow this story.
Month: April 2024
Keyren Tzib Skips Sentencing, Judge Orders Her Remand
Thirty-three-year-old Keyren Tzib was found guilty of the attempted murder of former coast guard colleague Kurt Hyde on March thirteenth and was granted bail by High Court Justice Candace Nanton in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars. She was scheduled to return for sentencing today but was a no-show. According to Tzib, she is afflicted with COVID-19; however, she failed to provide medical documents validating her claim. As a result, the conditions of her bail have since been revoked and the judge ordered her immediate arrest and remand to the Belize Central Prison where she will remain incarcerated until May tenth, her new sentencing date. Earlier today, attorney Arthur Saldivar spoke on behalf of his client who was absent from court.
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney-at-law
“Ms. Tzib is still represented by Mr. Bradley and his firm. I have come on to assist, join the team, so to speak, with a view to giving Ms. Tzib as many options or perspectives as possible going forward. Now as you know Ms. Tzib was convicted of attempted murder in court on the thirteenth of March and there were certain conditions imposed on her for bail extended to a convicted person. Given her state, emotionally and psychologically, and given the voluminous conditions, she was unable to fulfill and was found in breach. As a result, bail was revoked today pending sentencing on the tenth of May. We are now in a position where we are preparing submissions for the tenth of May. As you know, this is a very tragic situation. Ms. Tzib was a shining light for the coast guard as one of the first females to join and not only that, but her academic acumen and capacity being as high as it was, she was on a trajectory to do great things at that institution. It is unfortunate that the institution that she chose to serve actually marshaled itself against her, bringing about a very unfortunate incident that they should bear responsibility for happening.”
We have been able to confirm that Tzib has since been detained and remanded to the Belize Central Prison on the orders of the Justice Nanton.
Mother and Son Injured in Fire
This morning, a mother and her child were injured when their home erupted in flames while they were sleeping. The incident occurred around nine-thirty a.m. on Raccoon Street near Central American Boulevard. After hearing a disturbance, several neighbors rushed to assist before alerting authorities. Fortunately, the mother and her son were able to escape, however, they were burned during the process and were not able to recover any of their possessions. News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the scene today to gather more details. Here’s the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Marsha Dawson, a resident of Raccoon Street for over seventeen years, was carrying out her morning routine when a commotion nearby startled her. At first, she wasn’t sure what the commotion was but upon seeing flames at her neighbors, she and her husband rushed to the scene to assist.
Voice of: Marsha Dawson, Neighbor of Fire Victim
“Well this morning, I get up and I mi di do some washing, and I look through the window, because I mi hear like something like a gunshot, so I look through the window, and but I noh see nothing. So I peep cross to my neighbor’s house, I look and I see smoke come out through the front door. So after that, I hail my husband, I tell he, I said, baby, fire. So by the time we left my room, reached to the front door, we sih fire to come out of the front door. So my husband tell me mek we get a bucket. So he get to a bucket full of water and he run over here. And when we come, the young lady dih cry, said that his son is upstairs. And we come two ah ney get bad burn.”
The house belonged to Michael Gill, more commonly referred to as “Bibby”. Dawson said that he has owned the house for over twenty years and the woman, and her infant son had only been living in the house for a few months. Together with her husband, she did her best to assist the neighbors with limited resources.
“Who all was here to help extinguish the flames?”
Voice of: Marsha Dawson
“Me and my husband, we were the first two with a bucket of water?”
Britney Gordon
“And did anyone call the fire department? When did they get here?”
“Well, I call the police fih tell ney fih assist me call the fire truck. So they say everything de pan dih way. You know, they neva tek too long. They reach a reasonable time. Carry the young lady, the police, take her in the hospital.”
According to neighbors, the residents received severe burns and are currently still recovering in the hospital. The source of the fire is still unknown.
“What kind of injuries did the young lady receive her and the toddler?”
Voice of: Marsha Dawson
“Some bad burns where I see. Her entire body, face. Ih foot, ih hand, ih chest.”
Reporter
“I know she was disoriented, but did she say what may have caused the fire? Where did it start?”
“No, she mean as shock cause when I call her, she just stand up. Just say watch me, and they say nothing. Nothing, nothing.”
As the family was unable to recover anything, the community is appealing to the public to assist in any way possible.
“Do you know what kind of losses she accumulated here? Was she able to recover anything?”
Voice of: Marsha Dawson
“Lost everything, everything, everything. Nothing’s here.”
As her neighbor lost her phone in the fire, Dawson can be contacted at the number 6145-1679 for donations. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Senior Courts Introduce National Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
A National Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee has been formed and it is co-chaired by Justice of Appeal Michelle Arana, Justice Martha Alexander, and Justice Candace Nanton. The formation of the working group, formerly the National Mediation Committee, aims to enhance access to justice through affordable settlements of disputes, as it complements the full trials. The advantages of court mediation include swifter resolutions to disputes, savings on the cost of litigation, it also allows litigants the power to settle disputes. The committee is also made up of key stakeholders in education, law, media, management, religion, and medicine.
Who Qualifies to Build Bridges in Belize?
On Thursday, the Briceño administration formally opened the new Haulover Bridge, a massive concrete structure that was designed and built by Belizean contractors and engineers. While the contract to build the bridge was awarded to M&M’s Engineering, questions are being asked regarding the eligibility of other local contractors where bridge construction is concerned. Here’s how the Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Julius Espat, responded to those questions.
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
“I’ll tell you who can bid on a bridge right now, right now, at that level. You have all the road contractors, Cisco Construction, Imer can bid right now without even thinking about it, they can pass the prequalification process. So that’s two. You have Banman, I think, Roadway can bid. You have Teichroeb, that I believe can bid. You have one of the gentlemen from Spanish Lookout that can bid. A&N can bid and now Roque can bid. So you have six, I think you might have a seventh one. And so everybody has an equal opportunity to be able to win a bid. Roque has an advantage to a certain extent because he is the brainchild of the design. So all the other contractors, when they build bridges, have to by the pre-stressed beams from him, they have to hire his engineers, they have to hire his barges. He has done a wonderful job to put himself in a position to be able to do this, but the other contractors can and so at the end of the day you look at the technical aspect of it and all of them will pass. And then you look at the financial and most of them will pass, and then from there you look at the price and whoever comes in the lowest, and not always it’s the lowest that wins, is awarded. This is the first time Roque [Matus] has received a job of this magnitude on his own. All the other bridges, all the ones he did on Caracol, he did under Cisco and under A&N, and under Banman, if I’m not mistaken. The one in Sarteneja, he did under OECC’s supervision. The one on the Coastal [Plain Highway] he did under the mandate of Imer Hernandez.”
Assault Victim Says She Never Threw a Glass at Attacker
Earlier this week, a woman took to social media to plead for justice after she was allegedly physically assaulted by a man. According to twenty-five-year-old Andreinae Samuels, she had recently left Shisha Eight Lounge when she got into a verbal dispute with another woman. Samuels claims that before the argument got physical, twenty-eight-year-old Rene Flowers intervened and proceeded to beat her to the ground, allegedly in defense of his friend. Following the incident, Flowers proceeded to file his own report against Samuels, asserting that she had thrown a glass at him first. We spoke with Samuels today who refuted that account. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The incident occurred between the late hours of Sunday night and early Monday morning at Shisha Eight Bar and Lounge. According to twenty-five-year-old Andreinae Samuels, she and her boyfriend had an argument, during which Samuels threw a drink at him. After being asked to leave the premises, she claims that she was provoked by a woman and later attacked by the woman’s friend, Rene Flowers.
Voice of: Andreinae Samuels, Assault Victim
“So I was out after Reggae Sunday at Shisha Lounge. I was put out because I threw a drink over my boyfriend. And went, I left to go and see if guy was at his house, if I came looking for like my boyfriend and they said he was not there. So while I was standing there, the girl, she was like provoking me and stuff like that. So we just had a back and forth and then after that, I had a water bottle in my hand. And before I could even do anything with this bottle or whatever, this boy hit me to the ground, right? He said he would do anything for his friends. And after he continuously hit me on the ground, The girl in the back. beat her whatever. Her friend came out crying, not really crying, but trying to help me. She was like, why you to try help her? And stuff like that. I had a group of friends who end up find me. And we tried to set chase up on the car, but we couldn’t because they were like swerving and stuff to try and make us crash.”
Flowers was brought in for the assault on Monday. However, Samuels would receive a call the following day asking her to report to the station.
Voice of: Andreinae Samuels, Assault Victim
“Tuesday, I was called in by a corporal and to bring my ID. When I reached, they told me I am detained for common assault. So I was like, really? I’m trying to get the understanding why am I being detained for common assault when I didn’t throw water on this guy. She then said that, it happened in Shisha that I threw a drink on this guy, his story also saying the same thing that I threw a drink on him in Shisha. This was said in front of the judge as well that I threw a drink on him in Shisha. He was nowhere in the vicinity that I was in Shisha. He also said that something about a pint bottle, never once you would have seen those glasses all over the place. Basically, he get bail, and it’s just like I just still in a shock because we used to work together and he used to be my friend. So that kind of was a twist to it.”
“I get a black eye. I have my knee that is messed up every day, like it opened up more. I have scratches on my buttocks cause I had on a skirt, like my face bruised at the bottom and just everywhere hurt. I can’t eat, that the one thing that is affecting me, I can’t eat because he hit me in my face, like a lot of blows. I just want to go ahead with the court case and see what happened from there. I have my attorney and everything already, so I just hope that it don’t go like this because he should have never put his hand on me because in no way, shape, or form that even respectable as a man.”
Samuels maintains that she never intended to get physically violent with any person involved in the dispute and is currently working on gathering witnesses from the scene. She implores the police department to review the video footage from the bar in hopes of clearing her name. Britney Gordon for News Five.
School Gardening and Its Importance in Education
The inaugural School Gardening Competition concluded earlier this week, ahead of the start of the National Agriculture and Trade Show. Twelve schools from across the country took part in the competition in the primary and secondary school categories. The idea is to promote agricultural education and sustainable farming practices among schools in Belize. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
School gardening is an invaluable educational tool for students at the primary and secondary levels because it provides a hands-on learning experience where students can apply biological and environmental science in real life. They can observe plant growth, understand soil composition, and learn about the importance of biodiversity. The National Agriculture and Trade Show steering committee found it fit to launch a competition to encourage students to engage in practical learning.
Emilio Montero, Ministry of Agriculture
“This year, for the first time, the NATS committee suggested if we can do a school garden competition which is what the Ministry of Agriculture promotes a lot, working with gardening in primary school, as well as in high schools. So the proposal was put to me to lead it since we work a lot with schools. So in November, I was tasked to promote the school garden competition. We designed a flier that was posted on our Facebook page for the ministry and very interestingly, a lot of schools countrywide wrote to us expressing their willingness to participate in the school garden competition.”
Emilio Montero
“Countrywide, from all six districts, we started with fifteen primary schools and eight high schools that wrote to us expressing their interest to participate.”
Students develop responsibility, patience, and teamwork as they work together to maintain the garden. They also learn planning and research skills as they decide what to plant and how to care for it.
“At the time when we started receiving letters of expression, right away we saw we had to put two categories, the primary school and the high school categories. That also gave us the task of developing what we call a rubric, what would we be looking for in the garden to grade them, to be as transparent as possible, and coming up with the best winning garden. So some of the criterion that we put forth was garden design, the implementation of the garden, a garden that would be showing agricultural techniques, kind of like irrigation systems, tackling pests and diseases, if there would be any, and if the garden was environmentally friendly.”
Emilio Montero
“For primary school, the winner came out of Corozal District, in the name of San Victor RC, a Roman Catholic primary school and second place was San Antonio United Pentecostal out of Cayo District. In the high school category, we had Valley of Peace Seventh Day Adventist which came up with an innovative type of gardening, sustainable agriculture practices which is what the ministry is promoting. And second place, out of Orange Walk District is Belize High School of Agriculture. Now within the recognition, innovation and technology, innovation and research. The technology recognition award is going to be given to Itz’at STEAM Academy out of Belize City, Belize District. And for the innovation research it’s Corozal District in the name of Escuela [Secundaria] Tecnica Mejico.”
It’s a multifaceted educational approach that aligns well with the goals of agricultural education. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
New Haulover Bridge is Sixth Longest Bridge in Central America
This morning, vehicular traffic was diverted away from the newly built Haulover Bridge, as government officials, including Prime Minister John Briceño and Minister of Infrastructure Development Julius Espat, cut the ribbon on the replacement structure. It’s a project that was conceived by the previous administration but came to fruition under a People’s United Party government. Coming in at a little over thirty million dollars, the new Haulover Bridge is the longest crossing in the country and was built entirely by Belizean engineers. It’s a spectacle of skill and resourcefulness that was overseen by a woman engineer from start to finish. We begin tonight’s newscast with the inauguration of the new Haulover Bridge. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano.
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
“It’s a wonderful bridge. It is an accomplishment for Belizean engineers and for the Government of Belize.”
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The Haulover Bridge was officially opened today, several months after a soft launch was held to declare the structure passable. It is a monolith that spans roughly five hundred meters and replaces the previous structure that stood as a relic of Belize‘s colonial past.
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“It’s the longest bridge that we have in Belize and that was because we had to extend the approaches to the bridge because we wanted to avoid consolidation on the approaches.
The new Haulover Bridge is designed to significantly reduce travel time, making transportation more efficient. Over the years, this crossing near the mouth of the Belize River has proven integral to urban and economic development by facilitating the movement of people, goods and services.
“This new Haulover Bridge, much like its predecessor, holds momentous importance as it symbolizes resilience, strength, ingenuity and embodies the steadfast spirit of our Belizean people. Today is a day of celebration and thanks, a day to celebrate all the hard work that went into the planning design and construction of this bridge and a day to thank all who helped in getting us here.”
Built at a price tag of almost thirty-one million dollars, this well-designed bridge offers a safe crossing point which is particularly important given its location. Its design and construction has pushed the boundaries of engineering in Belize.
Meghan Martinez, M&M Engineering
“When it was found that the old and dilapidated Haulover Bridge had reached its design life and was in desperate need of replacement, the MIDH commissioned us to conduct preliminary studies and presented design options to the Government of Belize. The process of this project has encompassed several years of planning, starting with preliminary design concepts, soil explorations, surveys, peer reviews and final design. When we conducted a traffic survey in 2017, it showed us that there were over thirteen thousand vehicles crossing over the old Haulover Bridge. Today, that number is around seventeen thousand vehicles.”
Under the previous administration, projections for the cost of a new bridge were estimated at around fifty million dollars. What has been built is a superstructure that comes in well under that budget.
“This bridge cost us thirty point nine million. We got a loan from the OPEC Fund for twelve million [U.S. dollars] which is twenty-four million Belize [dollars] and so the counterpart was another six [million dollars.] We were able to build the bridge for the exact thirty point nine and the breakdown between the financing for loans is seventy percent from OFID, thirty percent from GOB.”
The Haulover Bridge is not just a physical structure that straddles the estuary of the Belize River, it enables social and economic progress.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“We gather here at the mouth of the Belize River to celebrate the opening of a remarkable structure that will not only connect Belize City with the north of our country, but also bridge communities and opportunities. This new bridge spanning the Belize River here at the mouth of the Haulover Creek stands as a symbol of progress, unity and shared aspiration. It is an engineering marvel made in Belize by Belizeans and it reminds us of the power of collaboration, innovation and vision.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
What will G.O.B. do with Old Haulover Bridge?
With a new structure in place, what will the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing do with the old Haulover Bridge? It’s a question that was put to Chief Engineer Evondale Moody earlier today. Realizing savings of almost twenty million dollars, permission has been sought to use the remaining funds to relocate parts of the bridge to Cayo District where it will be reassembled to provide access across the Macal River. And what about the prime crown lands that are left in the wake of the relocation? According to Moody, government will have to decide what to do with the highly valuable real estate.
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“Even with that thirty point nine [million dollars], we were not able to use all of the loan funds, and so those loan funds, we have asked OFID for permission to use that to relocate the old structure. We’ve already implemented an addendum to the contract to M&M Engineering and so now they will start with the dismantling of the structure and two sections of this structure will go to Santa Familia, in the Cayo District. What happened last week is that I did a reconnaissance with Roque Matus of M&M Engineering of a proper location. There are two locations that were identified, one is along Branch Mouth that leads to the Hammock Bridge and then there is another section on the eastern side of the Macal Bridge which is known as the Trapiche Road. That one is more ideal for us to put the structure because where the Hammock Bridge is, is a good location, however the approach to the bridge, the Macal and the Mopan is adjacent to that road and once that floods the road will be inundated by floodwaters so even if we put the bridge there, we elevate it, you still would not be able to access the structure. And so, I have determined and I have informed the ministry that we will place this structure on the eastern side, on Trapiche to lead us to Santa Familia and present a bridge structure for them there.”
Isani Cayetano
“What becomes of these pieces of land now since the access is on the other end and the bridge will be removed?”
Evondale Moody:
“That’s a very good question. I have informed the minister and the CEO that at this point in time that land belongs to the Government of Belize. It’s prime land and that is one of the most expensive land and so that is a decision that will have to be made by the Government of Belize. I don’t know what they are going to do with it, but we have land on both sides, on the south side and on the north side and one of the reasons why we did not build a bigger round about here is because land acquisition here is very, very expensive. We paid three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars] per acre.”
Who is Eligible to Build New BelCan Bridge?
There are four bridges in Belize District that are in urgent need of replacement, including the Swing Bridge and BelCan Bridge in the Old Capital. Those structures are set to be replaced under the George Price Highway Upgrade Project; however, there seems to be some hostility between the Ministry of Finance and the MIDH over who will get the contract to build the new BelCan Bridge. We hear first from Chief Engineer Evondale Moody.
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“So the four new structures that the MIDH is looking at is BelCan, the Belize City Swing Bridge. The Burton Canal Bridge urgently needs to be changed and also Hector Creek Bridge which is in Hattieville. As the minister mentioned, those four bridges are under the George Price Highway upgrade project, and so we are liaising with JIICA who will provide grant funding for us to replace the Swing Bridge. We are awaiting a decision from the Ministry of Finance on how they want us to move with the BelCan Bridge because it’s an urgent one that also needs to be replaced because of its substructure. And then section three of the project which is from Belize City encompasses two structures which is Burton Canal and also Hector Creek.
Reporter
“Is there a sort of turf battle over the BelCan which is keeping an unsafe bridge in operation for too long?”
Julius Espat
“Turf… I don’t want to use that word, I don’t believe in that word. Our job is to make sure that when the procurement process is done, that we follow the international financial institutions’ guidelines. They are the ones that lend the money and they are the ones that establish who can and who cannot bid. We will not allow, at least if I am at the helm, anybody to bid on a project that does not follow the procurement minimum qualifications that the IFI’s establish and if anybody is mad with that, so be it, because the IFI’s establish that and we have to respect it.”