August, 2024 - Channel 5 Belize

Minister of Health “No Smoking Guns Here”

The Government of Belize called a press conference late this afternoon to clarify the purchase of two parcels of land at a value of six point nine million dollars for the construction of a tertiary level hospital in Belmopan. The media briefing comes on the heels of a demonstration in Belmopan on Friday. It was attended by Belizeans who are dissatisfied with the decision to spend millions of dollars for the undeveloped acreage, in the face of free lands from the University of Belize. Minister of Health and Wellness, Kevin Bernard was the first to speak at today’s press conference. He opened his statement by saying that there is no smoking gun when it comes to the six-point-nine-million-dollar land deal.

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health and Wellness

“The truth is that as far as that as far as the land acquisition for the site for the Belmopan Hospital is concerned, there is no smoking gun. There is nothing to hide. K.H.M.H. is our national referral hospital for secondary and tertiary level care. But K.H.M.H. functionally and physically has numerous challenges. As such, we determined that a new modern hospital should be built in a more climate resilient and central location, a hospital able to provide quality secondary and tertiary level health level health care to those from the southernmost and western most villages and towns. We also decided that Belmopan would be the optimal location. Belmopan is centrally located. It offers higher ground for climate resiliency. It is in the vicinity of the University of Belize. So, we saw it as an opportunity to support the efforts of U.B. in developing tertiary level medical education in Belize by also having it as a teaching hospital for our students where clinical education work could be done. The government agreed to build a hospital on land to be acquired from U. B. After the technical working group visited the proposed U. B. land and fully aware of the needs required to construct the new hospital, they determined that the U. B. land was not an adequate location. They presented a number of reasons for their determination. One of the primary reasons was the lack of access to care, including emergency care. This would be significantly delayed because of where the UB land is situated. The U.B. land is in a flood prone area. A creek runs through this land that leads to the river that cannot be blocked, or it could cause flooding in the entire area. Also, the technocrats at Belize Water Services Limited informed us at the Ministry of Health that to provide water and sewage services to the U.B. site, it would cost an additional two point five million dollars to provide the service in the area.”

Minister of Health “This is the Best Option”

Minister Bernard went on to explain why the land offered by the University of Belize was deemed inadequate, following a visit by the ministry’s technical team. By his estimations, it would cost the government seven million dollars just to build road infrastructure to the area, that excludes additional infrastructure which is necessary. Bernard says several land options were reviewed until they settled on the two parcels next to the Hector Silva Airstrip.

Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health

“To get to the site that U. B. Was offering could easily take fifteen minutes or longer. This was a persuasive reason why Cabinet supported the proposal to relocate the hospital. With no road or other infrastructure like electricity and water, imagine what it would cost to get all in all this in place. And how long will it take? Imagine the inconvenience and cost our nurses, doctors, cleaners, security personnel, and others who would work at this hospital would have to endure having to go an additional six miles to and from work every single day. For all these reasons and more, the technocrats in the Ministry of Health made a presentation to Cabinet recommending that the location be changed to a suitable land near the highways. Cabinet was convinced and requested that the Ministry of Natural Resources in collaboration with the Ministry of Health identify an appropriate location for the hospital. Several options were presented and reviewed. All private parcels and Ministry of Health ultimately settled on the two parcels on the roadside that were unencumbered and easily accessible. The process of negotiations with the owner thereafter commenced at which point both parties obtain their own valuations based on comparative, comparable sales. The Ministry of Natural Resources valuation was six point two million, while the owner’s valuation was for nine point three million. Ultimately. The owner agreed to six point nine million, seven hundred thousand dollars higher than gobs valuation, but two point nine million lower than the owner’s valuation for the record, we in the Ministry of Health and Wellness are convinced that this is the best possible location for the hospital to be constructed.”

U.B. Land Would Pose Challenges to Patients Says M.O.H.W.

Nurse Lizett Bell is the head of the Ministry of Health’s technical working group assigned to the university hospital project. The group also consists of representatives from the Central Executive Unit within the Ministry of Economic Development, RECONDEV, and the Ministry of Health. Bell also joined the minister at the head table. She spoke on the challenges hospital staff and patients would face in accessing the hospital, based on a technical assessment.

Lizett Bell, Deputy Director of Hospital Services, MOHW

“You are looking at how patients would navigate, or how patients would move within the urban infrastructure to get to the facility. So, you’re speaking about transportation links, people able to walk to the facility. ease of access with low-cost transportation. And based on our experience at the Ministry of Health, we currently have the Palmview Center that is located in Maya Mopan, which is closer than this particular area and to date, there is no public transportation goes to that particular area. We are still transporting our staff for each shift to that facility. So you can see how that also was an important factor for us, not only the access for the staff, the safety for the staff in the area, but ultimately the users of that facility. So that facility, why we say the users, because the facility will provide secondary services, meaning the Western Regional Hospital is going to be replaced. So the population of Belmopan will no longer access services at the Western Regional Hospital. They will access the service at this new facility. In addition to the secondary care, this facility will also provide the tertiary care services for the Cayo District and also for the south of Belize, but one thing that we need to also remember is that this facility will act as the alternate to Karl Heusner in the event of a natural disaster. We know that the vulnerability for Belize City and Belize District, so if Karl Heusner needs to relocate in a category four or five, this facility will also be able to accommodate for such emergencies.”

B.W.S. Says Belmopan Sewage System is Safe Near Hospital Compound

The Chief Operations Officer at the Belize Water Services was also present at today’s press conference to address growing concerns over B.W.S’ sewage system that is located near the two parcels of land acquired for the construction of the hospital. For the avoidance of any doubt, Minister of Health Kevin Bernard confirmed that the parcels have been purchased by way of three installments. As for B.W.S.’ Chief Operations Officer, he says that there is no need to worry about the sewage system because it is operated with the highest standards in mind.

Sanjay Keshawani, Chief Operation Officer, B.W.S.

“This plant was upgraded in 2015 with the funding from IDB crew. And since then, it’s almost going to be 10 years. This plant meets all the standards suggested by DOE, as a matter of fact, international standards as well. So, the plant is working to the best efficient capacity. We don’t have any issues with the plant, nor smell. Secondly, I saw some questions posted on the media about the leakage. So, in terms of safeguard, we have installed geosynthetic clay liner under the plant. And there is a one-foot clay layer. on top of the geosynthetic clay liner just to have a double protection. So we don’t see any issue plant being nearby the proposed land at all. We have to be compliant. We have to submit the data to P.U.C. every month. As a matter of fact, public health and D.O.E do random checks on our plant and we meet all the standards at that plant. So we don’t foresee any issues. Now with respect to proximity, a couple of years back, I was sent to U.S., requested by U.S. Embassy to visit some of their plants. And their plants are in the heart of the cities. So in New York, Washington, Baltimore, I visited couple of their sewer treatment plants. They are in the heart of cities. It’s just to put necessary safeguards so that’s what we have in place from since then. So at BWS, we don’t see any issue with the land nearby our plant. As a matter of fact, that will reduce some cost of extending the utilities to the land what they have selected recently.”

Lands Commissioner Comes Under Fire

The President of the P.S.U., Dean Flowers also took aim at Land Commissioner Talbert Brackett. He undertook a valuation of the fifteen acres with instructions from the government. And, in 2022 Brackett approved the subdivision of those very parcels. Here is what Flowers had to say.

Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U.

“Where the ministry of lands is concerned, and again very nice fellow, very good fellow, the commissioner of lands, nice fellow, but when he himself.”

Reporter

“He subdivided the land and he valued it. So he is in a conflicted space.”

Dean Flowers

“And that is why I brought him up, because I want to say with all due respect to the commissioner of lands, nice man. But when we bring back people into the system, you see why sometimes we speak strongly against it. They come to do more damage than harm and I think that I am pleading to the government, please let us look at elevating one of the bright public officers. There is Ms. Doreth, Mr. Cal, excellent people there. There is no need for us to have a retiree doing this type of stupidness, valuing bush for six point nine million dollars. Weh wrong with you brother, when the P.S.U. just help the government reacquire just twelve acres of land for three point three million dollars. This is madness and the commissioner of lands needs to be also held accountable for that foolishness it went to do.”

Land Commissioner Defends Himself Against Public Criticism

Talbert Brackett, the Commissioner of Lands, responded to criticisms made against him. He, in essence, chastised the media while providing a detailed explanation of how the two parcels of land were valued. Here is a snippet of what he had to say.

Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Land, Land Department

“Please check these information before going out there blurting foolishness. I know you’ll come back at me for this, but my name is on the line because you call my name on radio stations, on TV stations. I am working with professional standards of valuation, so we get the G.D.V., to move on. When you get the gross development value, we subtract for roads, which are in there. We did not give final approval because we are waiting on ministry of works to grant them the letter for final approval, but the roads are in there subtracted. This is why I’m saying conservative, because that is subtractive. Subtract, if I add that in, it’ll add to the value, we subtract for all developments. We subtracted for surveys. Subtracted from the gross development value. When you get the gross development value, then you use the present value of a dollar today’s value, not future and this is why I use one hundred and sixteen, because it is conservative. We are being fair. I’m not taking up for the government of the day. I am doing a professional job. I’m doing a professional job. There’s a station that said I am doing it privately. The letterheads clearly indicate government of Belize.”

Who Killed Demitri Usher? Police Detain One Suspect

A family is left grieving as bloodshed erupted in the Old Capital on Sunday night. The deadly shooting happened a stone’s throw from one of Belize City’s main arteries, near Cemetery Road, adjacent to the Constitution Park. Surveillance cameras captured the incident and police have detained one suspect, as they continue their investigations. The victim was a father-to-be and a football player whose only fault may have been his past neighbourhood. News Five’s Marion Ali has this report on the murder of Demitri Usher.

Voice of: Stepfather

“He had just bathed and eaten and gone down to the store to buy a lighter and come back in and when ih come back in, ih look like the person mi di wait by deh soh.”

Marion Ali

“Which is right over the fence.”

Voice of: Stepfather

“Right over the fence and when dehn shot ah he got shot in the head and in his chest and one in his back.”

Marion Ali, Reporting

Demitri Usher was not supposed to be in Belize City on Sunday night. In fact, he was supposed to begin working with a construction company and was just awaiting his police record to leave and take on a new job. On Sunday night, just before eight, he returned from the shop and entered his yard on Wood Street, adjacent to the Constitution Park on Cemetery Road when a gunman shot him dead.

Voice of: Stepfather

“We hear the gunshot and we hear “ma ma” and she jump up and we run out and then when she mi deh down deh ih look like the person mi deh by the gate and ih fire two more shot again.”

Surveillance footage shows that the assailant stood just a few feet away in the park, arms stretched over the fence, aimed at Usher, and then the gun discharging several shots. Usher’s stepfather told News Five that his stepson called out for help. His mom ran to his aid but could not resuscitate her son. The gunman was not quite finished after he shot Usher. Another relative was just entering the yard behind Usher and he too came under fire but managed to escape.

Voice of: Stepfather

“Ih run into his uncle and his uncle’s stone ah with a pint and he fire shot back at his uncle again and then he went back.”

It appears that the shooter was one of two persons on a motorcycle that waited on Wood Street near the shop where Usher had gone to purchase. The gunman walked from there into the park and waited near the fence where he knew Usher would soon pass on his way into his house. Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero shared what investigators have gathered so far.

A.C.P Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division

“Around 8 p.m., police responded to a shooting incident at Wood Street in Belize City. Upon their arrival, they found a male person with gunshot injuries. He was identified as Dimitri Osher, twenty-three years. He was immediately taken to the K.H.M.H. for treatment, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Information received is that Dimitri was sitting on the steps at the house by his apartment when a male person came and fired several shots towards his direction. The male person then got onto a motorcycle and fled from the area. We have one suspect in custody and we are doing follow up regarding this murder.”

By all accounts, Usher was a positive young man. His first child is expected to be born in two months, and he would have turned twenty-four in November. Today, the Ebony Lake Football Club expressed regret at the senseless killing of the athlete on their Facebook page.

Voice of: Stepfather

“He always deh out da the Berger Field di play football. That one and the things weh ih like do to. Ih always deh out ya.”

This was the second time that someone made an attempt on Usher’s life. The first time was two years ago. His family believes that it was because of his previous address on Banak Street.

Voice of: Stepfather

“He used to hang out with the guys from through deh, yes and it stop.”

Marion Ali

“Where is that?”

Voice of: Stepfather

“Banak Street. And ih stop hang out around deh from four or five years ih stop hang out around deh.”

Police are reviewing surveillance recordings of the murder captured from different angles. Marion Ali for News Five.

At Long Last, A Sugar Industry Commission of Inquiry

The first set of hearings for the Commission of Inquiry into the Sugar Cane Industry commences on August twenty-seventh and will run through to the thirty-first. The stakeholders that have been called for the public hearings in the north include Belize Sugar Industries Limited, Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Corozal Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association, as well as the Northern Sugar Cane Farmers Association. News Five spoke by phone with Hugh O’Brien, chair of the Commission of Inquiry.

On the phone: Hugh O’Brien, Lead Coordinator, Commission of Inquiry

“The Commission of Inquiry has reached the stage where it’s having hearings and the public hearings commence tomorrow, Tuesday, August twenty-seventh, and will run from Tuesday to Saturday this week, Escuela Secundaria Mexico Conference Room. The following week, the public hearings will move to the Ministry of Agriculture Conference Room at the [National] Agriculture and Trade Show Grounds in Belmopan. Hearings are going to be streamed live on the Government of Belize’s press office page and the press: the TV, radio, newspapers, and online agencies are allowed to attend. All the hearings are recorded and be there to see how the discussions go. These hearings are following the first visit that these commissioners made to Belize and, by the way, these commissioners come from different parts of the world. There’s one from South Africa, there’s one from the United Kingdom, from Mauritius, three of them, and there is a local commissioner as well. These commissioners came to Belize earlier this year and they met with the stakeholders. They met with them and received presentations from these stakeholders, they visited field operations of farmers in the north, from the cane farmers associations, as well as from BSI. They visited the plant at BSI and then in the western part of the country, they visited Santander Farms and their production systems and they also visited the Santander sugar factory here in western Belize. So the commissioners now, following that set of visits that they had. They requested specific information from the stakeholders, asked them specific questions and so stakeholders were allowed to make submissions and even made a public release asking for anybody who wants to make submissions to be able to do that by providing their email address and so forth. So that information, quite a bit of information has come in to the commissioners, they are reviewing that information. These hearings now are staged in a way that the commissioners will take the knowledge and understanding of Belize’s industry, take that knowledge that they have and they will interact, and ask and clarify key clarifications from the different parties that are going to come to the hearings and answer those questions.”

G.O.B. Makes $72 Million Dollars from Boledo Over 8 Months

The Ministry of Economic Development is reporting seventy-two million dollars in gross revenue from the sale of Boledo and lotteries over the course of eight months. From that they are reporting some thirteen million dollars in profit. The ministry is further projecting one hundred and eight million dollars in gross revenue within a period of twelve months. Narda Garcia, the C.E.O. in the Ministry of Economic Development broke down the numbers for us.

Narda Garcia, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Economic Development

“Gross sales, seventy- two million. Seventy-two million for the eight months? And we are reporting, net profit of thirteen point five more or less million.”

Reporter

“So how much paid out in winnings? How much administrative costs?”

Narda Garcia

“Our administrative cost, I will tell you, is less than one percent. It’s about six hundred thousand dollars. That’s paying software, paying the cloud for the servers, etc. And we have six staff members. That’s it. Winnings is sixty-nine, seventy percent. It fluctuates between sixty-nine and seventy percent. And then we have to pay the agents and the resellers. Or we pay the resellers who pay the agents.”

Reporter

“So, how much of a percentage is that part?”

Narda Garcia

“That’s fifteen percent. So that the agents have basically stay with five percent and they pay the reseller, or the small agents’ ten percent.”

Paul Lopez

“To me it’s shocking that over eight months Belizeans are spending some seventy-two million dollars in lottery. What, what, what does this say?”

Narda Garcia

“The way you look at lotteries from an economic standpoint, right? Or gaming really is a reallocation of resources to a sector of the population. Right? This is what happens. You will never be able to stop gambling or gambling, playing lotteries. It will always be from all spheres of all sectors of society. But basically, the low-income earners are the biggest players. And why? For all the social reasons, that’s the situation. How does the seventy-two million compare to eight months on the Brad’s for a comparable period? I was looking at the numbers last night and I’m looking from 2019 when he reported gross sales of nineteen million. Annual gross annual gross sales of nineteen million. So this is almost four times that. Yes and 2022 when he reported forty-five million. But at that time remember that the government had changed. I was already chairing a new board, a new lotteries committee, and we were trying to do our work as best as possible to ensure more oversight.”

Belizean-born Composer is First Black Female Master of the King’s Music

Belizean-born composer Errollyn Wallen has made history by becoming the first black woman to be appointed as the Master of the King’s Music. The holder of this prestigious title becomes a member of the British royal household, responsible for composing music for special occasions. We spoke with Kim Vasquez, Director of the Institute of Creative Arts at NICH, who told us what a remarkable achievement this is for Wallen.

Kim Vasquez, Director, I.C.A.

“This is a significant achievement and definitely it felt it fills us with a lot of pride and joy for her. Not only because yes, she is the first black woman to get this recognition. But also I think for us as Belizeans knowing her journey from Belize to the global stage and now to this new appointment, this is a significant milestone in her career. And so we are very happy for her. We are very proud of her as Belizeans. And I think that what it’s what it signals to us to here at NICH is the need for us to So to build a better bond, a stronger community off musicians, not only here in Belize, but also to connect with those in the diaspora as well.”

Britney Gordon

“So for those of us at home that might not know who miss Errollyn is, can you just talk a little bit about who she is and the name that she’s made for herself?”

Kim Vasquez

“She’s a Belizean composer. She’s a wonderful musician. And again, I think maybe the wider public is not aware of who she is, but certainly among the community of Belizean musicians and music educators in Belize everyone is very much familiar with who Errollyn Wallen is, and we have followed her journey, and like I said, we are just so very delighted and so proud of her for this achievement.”

Britney Gordon

“And the plans are, even if we’re not able to connect with her in the future, to promote and support Belizean artists, composers, that are aiming to do something like this in the future?”

Kim Vasquez

“And I think that is one of the most important things we can take away from this achievement, even though she’s very busy what we should be doing is yes, maybe wanting to connect with Errollyn Wallen I think what there is a message of inspiration, especially for young Belizean musicians, youths on a whole, that if you have talent, that’s just one component to it. And I can tell you something about Errollyn Wallen is that she has really applied herself and the dedication and the perseverance and the practice and hard work is when you put that in to any talent you have, then of course you will have these types of achievements in life.”