The Queen of the Bay Designate is twenty-three-year-old Deanni Laing. The beauty queen was selected from among a pool of eleven contestants who vied on Saturday night at the Belize City Civic Centre. After several segments of competition, Laing got the nod from the judges. She told us today that preparing for the pageant started in March when she signed up to compete. And after she got in those hours of sacrifice and rehearsals, it was smooth sailing from there.
Deanni Laing
Deanni Laing, Queen of the Bay Designate
“I had signed up for the Miss Belize Rural. So, it has been about five months training from work to the gym, gym to training. And so, it has been rigorous. However, it has been one that has really shaped me to be more disciplined and not only physically but mentally prepared for the pageant.”
Marion Ali
“And on pageant night itself, what was that like?”
Deanni Laing
“Pageant night was all fun for me. It was like finally the moment is here. It’s time to showcase all the hard work that has been put in behind the scenes so that my family and my friends, colleagues and the entire Belize can see my capability. My advocacy for the National Queen of the Bay was inspiring young women. While shaping society through entrepreneurship and building a connected nation. So most of the work that I’m going to put in will be catered towards our young women. However, not limited to them. I have been advocating for young entrepreneurs for the past four years. And so I just want to expand on the advocacy throughout this one year. And also to see how my advocacy diversifies throughout this one year and who all else I can connect with.”
On Sunday, the P.U.P. held a convention to endorse Kaya Cattouse as the standard bearer for the Albert Division. Cattouse will go up against the U.D.P.’s Tracy Taegar-Panton, the incumbent area representative. Following Cattouse’s endorsement, Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner told News Five that Cattouse’s endorsement was the party putting its best foot forward. And as for the public’s belief that Wagner once had an interest in running in Albert, he said that was not the case.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“Kaya obviously represents our best foot forward and we feel confident that with her representation in Alberts and we put in the work, we will see victory here in the Alberts Division. I can’t be concerned about the other side. We can only control – you only worry about what you control.”
Marion Ali
“Mayor, you yourself had your eyes in this area a couple years ago, or at least that was the interpretation that we in the media.’
Bernard Wagner
“As the mayor of the city, I represent all the constituents in the city, and so I have a definitely some sort of in row in, in the different divisions. But I, I believe that, so, Kaya being a woman gives us our best chance. I believe that we need more women in the midst of our party and certainly Kaya is the best of the best in terms of women empowerment, in terms of women propulsion within the P.U.P., within the People’s United Party. Were you asked to step aside for her? Not really. No, I, I didn’t have no sort of given the fact that I am all over the city, people naturally would think that, um, I have some interests. I was supposed to be in college. I was supposed to be, um, messed up. I was supposed to be in Queens Square. No, I am concerned about serving the city, um, completing my term, ensuring that we leave it in a better place that we found it. But then you don’t just win mayorship for three terms and then disappear into the sunset. Where will you go after this? Um, I have no plans on that at this moment. I know that I want to ensure that we continue to work under the banner of the People’s United Party to ensure that we put our best foot forward to ensure that our city continues to progress.”
Albert Area Representative Tracy Panton also acknowledges Cattouse’s candidacy. This morning, during an appearance on Open Your Eyes, the two-time area rep welcomed the competition and applauded Cattouse for her decision to run in that constituency.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“I was elected in 2015, in Albert, for the first time and ever since then, the Albert executive committee and the Albert care team has worked diligently in the division serving the people in government and out of government. I respect the fact that Ms. Cattouse has offered herself as a candidate, it’s good to see young women and women seek political leadership. So I applaud her on that decision. We don’t take any opponent lightly, we’ve never have taken an opponent lightly. We’ve never made broad and sweeping statements against an opponent. We know what our job is and our is to serve the people and when you serve the people, the people support you. That has been my experience and we don’t intend to change our strategy because it has worked and it has worked very well for my campaign and we’ll continue to do so.”
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital has received another upgrade from the Belize Tourism Board. Today, the hospital revealed the newly renovated Accident and Emergency Unit. Over six hundred thousand dollars was invested in the project to provide better healthcare to Belizeans and tourists visiting the country. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the inauguration for more details. Here’s the report.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
In life-or-death situations, the accident and emergency unit is often the first point of contact for patients of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Now, after years treating patients in a dilapidated facility, the K.H.M.H. Accident and Emergency Unit received a much needed upgrade. C.E.O. of the K.H.M.H., Chandra Nisbet Cansino, explains what patients can expect to see in that part of the hospital.
Chandra Nisbet Cansino
Chandra Nisbet Cansino, C.E.O., Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital
“We have upgraded the area where patients will now sit and wait. And we have upgraded some of the patient rooms. We also have some equipment. You don’t see anything in here as yet because they will start to set up. This week we wanted the media to have an opportunity if you all wanted to do a tour and we wouldn’t be able to do that if patients were in the beds. So we are going to set it up and if you all want to come back to look at it after that, then you are welcome to do but it’s primarily, and then we fix the entire roof. Change the entire air conditioning system to a more efficient system and so it’s definitely going to be more comfortable.”
Funding for the project was provided by the Belize Tourism Board. Minister of Tourism, Anthony Mahler explained the significant role that healthcare facilities play in tourism.
Anthony Mahler
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“Tourism touches a lot of other sectors, a lot of other industries, health being one of them when people look at the destination to come, they look at the health services provided. We in the past, we inaugurated the Poly Clinic in Placencia to support that era, which is one of the fastest growing eras of tourism in the country. We’ve had some major incidents over the last few years here in the Belize District, and we believe that if we are to cater for a large number of tourists coming into the Belize district, seventy percent of the cruise passengers come here and all overnight arrivals to the airport come to the Belize district. If you’re any, you have any mass casualty issue, then, I think Karl Heusner has to be prepared.”
The renovation of the unit is just one of many changes coming to the hospital as it continues to improve the services provided to the citizens of Belize.
Chandra Nisbet Cansino
“There is something about an aesthetically pleasing look. When you go to places, you already, feel bad, you to come. You’re sick. The least we can do is make it at least look welcoming. And we also took into consideration the staff because it certainly upgrades the working conditions for staff as well.”
Following the recommendation of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is also planning to construct a new tertiary level hospital in Belize City. This hospital would essentially replace the long-standing Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, which has served as the country’s primary healthcare facility since 1996. We spoke with C.E.O. of the K.H.M.H., Chandra Nisbet Cansino for her take on the recommendation.
Chandra Nisbet Cansino, CEO, Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital
“A study was done by CABEI in regard to that, and they had made the recommendations were, they gave both options to renovate and to rebuild. The actual rebuilding. Was more efficient and more cost efficient than renovating because whatever structure is built would have to be resilient to a category five hurricane. And to bring a structure like this, up to a standard like that, it would be very expensive. But if you will build a structure from the beginning with that plan already in mind, then it would make more sense to build a new building and to renovate. You find that the location would be maybe more accessible in any way? I think it’s pretty central because we live in a small country, we are very much tied to location. But Chetumal Street is what, like five minutes away from here. So I don’t think it would impact the accessibility by Belize City or the country.”
Community health workers provide basic health and medical care within their communities. There are dozens of these trained men and women across the country and as the communities grow, reliance on these workers increases. To expand the scope of these workers’ capabilities and ensure that they are adequately supported, the Ministry of Health and its partners have launched the updated Community Health Workers Manual and job aid tool. News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the ceremony today for more details.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
For many people living in remote areas of the country, accessing immediate healthcare can be a challenge, particularly for the elderly or those living with disabilities. Often, community health workers are the first point of contact in receiving medical attention. This year, Belize is strengthening resources and support for these workers with the launch of the revised Community Healthcare Workers Manual. Technical Advisor for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Kathleen Azueta Cho explained that the last update to the manual came in 2013, and considering the country’s growing reliance on these workers, the need for additional support was crucial.
Kathleen Azueta Cho
Kathleen Azueta Cho, Technical Advisor, MOHW
“This new manual that we are launching today is a comprehensive document that encompasses the different topics that are cross cutting across the Ministry of Health and Wellness. It includes topics ranging from maternal child health, mental health, which was deficient in the first manual. We have environmental health, we have nutrition, and it really is a document that was developed with feedback from the different partners and the community health workers themselves. Initially we started with a review and a desk analysis of what is existing and what is deficient.”
The community health workers will also be receiving a job aid tool and an increased monthly stipend of five hundred dollars. The job aid tool is a portable flipbook that workers can reference while out in the field for additional information. Minister of Health and Wellness, Kevin Bernard says that further resources are in the works.
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health and Wellness
“Our steps include expanding partnerships with international financial institutions to optimize the CHW program. We aim to equip our community health workers with digital tools like tablets to transform and streamline their work, enhance communication, and improve the quality of care they provide. We will also develop an operational monitoring and evaluation plan for community health programs. This will ensure that our health care services are effective, efficient, and responsive to community needs. It is crucial to invest in the elements of CHW programs such as supervision, structures, and continuous training, but equally important is fostering trusting relationships between our CHWs, our community members, and health professionals.”
UNICEF and Official Development Assistance Korea are key players in providing support and funding for the program. Health and Nutrition specialist at UNICEF, Doctor Olusola Oladeji explained UNICEF’S role in bringing this project into fruition.
Dr. Olusola Oladejo
Dr. Olusola Oladejo, Health and Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF
“Last days we had the discussion with the ECOPA unit led by miss Kathleen and her team to look at the community health workers program as well in Belize. We used a tool called community health workers problem matrix to assess what are the areas of improvement. One of the area we discover was the training, the old manual that was developed in 2013 was found not to be sufficient anymore in terms of the content, if you could remember in the last few years, especially during the COVID community health workers were very supportive during the COVID outbreak. So that led to the need to review their time of reference, their scope of work as much as possible. And more importantly because when the government increased their stipend from a hundred Belize dollars to five hundred Belize dollars. It became so important that there used to be need to expand their scope of work.”
During Friday’s protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Belmopan, the President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers called for the removal of the auditor general. He contends that an audit of the Department of Lands and the procurement process within the Ministry of Health and Wellness are long overdue.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U.
“I have said to this nation, the Auditor General Ms. Dorothy Bradley must go. We have been asking since 2010 for an audit of the lands department. We can’t get that audit which was done by officers in the audit department. We would have been able to uncover by successive governments the corruption that has been occurring in the lands department from king hatchet was a hammer. Yet this administration refuse to commission and audit of the lands department and Dorothy Bradley refuse to do it. And I am saying to all our partners, the U.S. Embassy, the British, all of them I understand supported her reinstallation. She needs to go. She is doing the people of Belize a disservice and I am calling on the prime minister if unu serious, commission and audit of the lands department. Commission an audit of procurement in the ministry of health. We need an audit of procurement in the ministry of health. We need an audit to understand how the money the spend in health. These are the ministries with the biggest budgets.”
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The Inter-office Basketball League is back. This season consists of a total of fourteen teams equally divided into two divisions. It is early in the season, but teams are already battling for the top two positions in each division that gives them an express ride to the playoffs. On Sunday, in the first game of the day, Bowen and Bowen, in the grey and blue jersey, took on K.H.M.H., in black and red. This is their second game of the season. They both lost their first match.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Luwani Cayetano with the two-point jumper to put Bowen and Bowen on the scoreboard. Max Nicholson creating some room to put up the jumper. He makes that one. Joshua Westby on the fast break, passes off the ball to Sheylon Matthews under the rim for the layup. Bowen has eleven points and K.H.M.H. is up by one, with twelve points in the middle of the first quarter. A corner three from Alexander Ellis gives Bowen the lead. They ended the quarter on top with twenty-five points. K.H.M.H. has seventeen points.
At the start of the second quarter Lopez gets the offensive rebound and uses his body to get the second chance points. K.H.M.H. with nineteen points. It is now a twenty-nine to twenty-seven points game in favor of Bowen. Elmer Hamilton is wide open for the corner three. He takes the shot and makes it count, stretching the lead to five. Kyle Pitts comes up on the turnover. Sends the ball off to Hamilton. Tarique Solis with the drive. Bounce pass to Darnell Galvez, then Westby who puts it up. A beautiful play all around sends the game into time out. Bowen now up by seven points. The second quarter ended with Bowen and Bowen maintaining their eight-point lead with forty-three points to K.H.M.H.’s thirty-five points.
At the end of the third quarter, Bowen and Bowen had a nine-point lead. Both teams struggled from the three-point line. K.H.M.H. put up a good fight in the fourth quarter. They outscored their opponents by three points. But ultimately it was not enough to give them the victory. The game ended eighty-two to seventy-six points in favor of Bowen and Bowen. The Belize City Council reigns supreme in this division, that is Division B, early in the season, while the Belize Coast Guard and the Belize Police Department are tied for the top spot in Division A.
On to some more basketball action in the William Dawson Sprite Basketball Tournament. In this match Boom Blazers, in the green jersey, are taking on Hattieville Underdogs, in the red and blue jersey. An early start to the scoring for the Boom Blazers. Number seven for the Underdogs, on the other end, with smooth jumper. The referee calls a travel against Boom on this play. An open two point shot in the first for Underdog’s number five. A fast break is converted into a two-point basket on the other end. Boom Blazers were held to four points in the first quarter, but the Underdogs were only able to score eleven points.
The low scoring continued and by the end of the third quarter, the Blazers had scored only ten points, while Hattieville underdogs had twenty-two points. Blazers scored sixteen points in the fourth quarter, more than all three prior quarters combined. But it was not enough to defeat the Underdogs. They finished the game with thirty-two points.
And finally, for tonight, we bring you highlights from the Belize District Volleyball Association’s Division One Female Competition 2024. SQ Ultra Stars took on SQ Junior Stars on Friday night inside the SCA Auditorium.
Junior Stars has control of this one in the first set. Up ten points to their opponents’ seven. Emma Solano for Ultra Stars over the net. Emaun Marin. Mira Bood sets and its Marin again. Lissany Castillo sets it up for Jada Espejo. That one goes over the heads of the Junior Stars and lands on the line. That’s a point for Ultra Stars. Kaliee Godfrey with the serve. The ball is picked up. Bood with the set and Marin with the strong send across the net. Kristi Mai picks it up. Godfrey gets a touch of it. Catillo sends it over. Easy touch for Chloe Bowman to Bood. A net violation is called against Ultra Stars. Kristi Mai up to serve. Her team, Ultra Stars has a one-point lead with seventeen points. Great effort by Bowman. Bood works to bring it back, but Jaycee Usher was alert on the other side and made light work of the play.
Ultra Stars won the first set twenty-five to eighteen points. In the second set Ultra Stars dominated, winning by thirteen points. SQ Junior Stars came back in the third set putting up a fight. A big starting serve for Bood proves too much for her opponents. Bood with another massive service. Ultra Stars’ Amayah Lino up to serve. Ultra Stars is down by three points. A big block for Ultra Stars, cutting into that lead. Mai looking to wrap this one up for Ultra Stars at game point and the service goes out of bounds. That is twenty-two for Young Stars. Young Stars trying to keep this one alive. The service goes over the net and the referee awards a point to Young Stars. They now have twenty-three and a timeout is called. But this one quickly came to an end with an out-of-bounds service.
Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.
In an official statement today, the National Students’ Union of Belize (NSUB) expressed strong opposition to the government’s $6.9 million land acquisition for the now controversial University Hospital. NSUB alleged inflated valuations and potential corruption behind the deal, stating, “This decision, marred by allegations of inflated valuations and speculation of corruption, is not only an affront to the Belizean people but also highlights a much deeper issue in our society: the systemic inflation of land prices that locks out ordinary citizens from owning property.”
The union argued that the expenditure represents a misuse of public funds and criticised the government’s choice to invest in private land rather than enhance public assets. While NSUB supports the construction of the University Hospital, it calls for a reassessment of the project’s location, emphasising, “We call for a reevaluation of the project’s location with a focus on long-term benefits rather than short-term convenience or private gain. The UB campus remains the most logical choice—it is already the heart of higher education in Belize, and positioning a teaching hospital there would create a synergy that benefits both students and the wider community.”
NSUB also highlighted the broader issue of rising land prices in Belize, which they believe obstructs property ownership for many Belizeans. They stated, “The unchecked inflation of land prices that makes property ownership a distant dream for many Belizeans. The time has come for the Government to tackle this crisis head-on by introducing regulations that prevent land speculation and prioritise access to affordable land for Belizean families.”
The NSUB stressed that the new hospital should be a symbol of progress, not a sign of mismanagement.
Sanjay Keshwani, Chief Operations Officer at Belize Water Services Limited, told the press during a live press conference that the BWS Sewege treatment plant in Belmopan was upgraded in 2015.
“This plant meets all the standards suggested by the D.O.E. and, as a matter of fact, international standards as well.” He said that the plant is working to the best efficient capacity.
“We don’t have any issues with the plant nor smell.”
The land that the government purchased is located near the Sewege treatment pond. The land, which was purchased for $6.9 million, will be used to build the now controversial hospital.
