August, 2024 - Channel 5 Belize

Opposition Leader Returns from Trip to Jamaica

Leader of the Opposition Moses “Shyne” Barrow returned home today after a visit to Jamaica where he met with several key political figures and investors in that country. Barrow paid a visit to Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness who is also the chairman of the Caribbean Democratic Union of which the U.D.P. is a member. Barrow also met with Jamaica’s Opposition Leader Mark Golding, politician Lisa Hanna, as well as billionaire investor, Michael Lee Chin, to name a few. When we sat down with Barrow today, he told us that the purpose of his visit was to receive council from Prime Minister Holness ahead of Belize’s general elections.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“I personally met Prime Minister Holness two years ago at the International Democratic Summit that we have every year in Washington and I have stayed in touch along with former Prime Minister Chastanet from Saint Lucia who is also a member of the Caribbean Democratic Union, former Prime Minister Doctor Keith Mitchell who is now the leader of the opposition, Chastanet is also the leader of the opposition. We are all members of the union. And the purpose of that collective is to do exactly what I sought in Jamaica to get council, to get advise as we approach the general elections. Holness has won two consecutive terms and he was prime minister when he took over from Prime Minister Golden when he resigned. He has a wealth of institutional knowledge on how to deliver the victories. So it was very important to meet with him and get his guidance and strategize with him and soak up all that information he has to offer as a senior parliamentarian and very successful prime minister.”

Opposition Leader Says Meeting with Vybz Kartel Was “Moving”

But, it was the opposition leader’s meeting with Vybz Kartel that went viral on social media. The Jamaican dancehall recording artist was freed from prison a few weeks ago, after spending thirteen years behind bars in connection with the 2011 murder of Clive “Lizard” Williams. Kartel became a free man and after only a couple weeks of freedom, U.D.P. Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow met with him in Jamaica. The musical legend endorsed Barrow’s bid for prime minister and committed to visiting Belize in the coming weeks. Barrow explained that he visited Vybz Kartel along with U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte several years ago, while the artist was still incarcerated. He described the meeting this time around as moving. But there are critics who are of the view that it is not a good look for the Leader of the Opposition to associate with Vybz Kartel. We asked him for his thoughts.

Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition

“To see the journey to freedom and to be a part of that, because obviously when you go to visit someone and you see them in captivity you pray for them, their family, their freedom and to see he has gotten his freedom it is a testament to his resilience, and I believe it is something all of us could learn from, especially the youths. I know a lot of the youths in Belize look up to him. Even people my age grew up listening to his music. I am forty-five. But life teaches you whether you want to learn or not. But innocence or guilt, I believe we go through these journeys and challenges to learn lessons. So, my prayer for him is that he would have learnt whatever the universe wants to teach him and that he would be patient with himself. Obviously we are musical brothers, and we have that comrade. He means so much that I travelled to Jamaica to see him. And, we have stayed in touch so when I was visiting with the prime minister and other political figures and investors I didn’t forget my roots. So, it is not that because I am a member of parliament and the opposition leader that I would forget my music roots. No, never.”

Paul Lopez

“We saw that he endorsed your bid for prime minster here in Belize. What does his endorsement do for your campaign?”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“He is in Saint Vincent right now and he met with the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent Ralph Gonzalves. I appreciate a friend being a friend, but I have to do the work along with my colleagues. We have to get sixteen seats. This is not the U.S or other democracies where the people vote for their prime minister or president. But I appreciate his vote of confidence for what it is worth. But we have a lot of work here to do in Belize.”

Paul Lopez

“There are those critics who say that a man of your stature who is vying for national leadership shouldn’t be associating himself so closely with somebody who pushes this type of artistry that promotes vulgarity, lewdness and even violence in some cases.”

Moses “Shyne” Barrow

“I believe in freedom of speech and as I said Prime Minister Gonzalves just met with him. So, I do not judge the artist. I embrace artistry. I don’t believe in restricting the creatives. I believe it is the responsibility of the state to change the circumstances that a lot of these artists sing about and ig they change the circumstances then they can’t be popular because what they sing about will not be a reality.”

Mai says San Pedro D.O.E. Substation is a Success

In late June, San Pedro welcomed its own office for the Department of Environment. There, the D.O.E conducts several duties, such as managing natural resources, preserving and protecting the environment, and controlling pollution. Today, Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai provided an update on the duties of the station and he told us that it has been a great success.

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, D.O.E.

“There are several issues that we have dealt with. So again, the San Pedro substation is our first attempt at decentralization. It is critically important to have an office in San Pedro because it is the fastest developing. And we’ve been there, we’ve been there for a couple months now, and over that period, we have definitely dealt with some serious issues, maybe four or five of them. We currently have one in the pipeline. Have people been persecuted, or are you in the works to persecute them? Yes, we’re in the process of persecuting a few, yeah, a few persons. We also are from, we, and enforcement and persecution is just one aspect of what we’re doing on the island. We have also been providing advice to the Town Council. and the Caye Caulker Village Function in terms of some of the development plans, et cetera. And we are participating in some sensitization training and et cetera, sharing of information in relation to the environment. So it’s much more than just a hardcore enforcement compliance monitoring. We’re doing other support activities as well, but yeah, we do have some enforcement related matters in the pipeline.”

D.O.E. says Dangriga Park Plan Will Undergo Environmental Clearance Process

Last week, the Briceño administration broke ground for the construction of the Dangriga Multipurpose Park. This park is designed to offer several amenities for recreational activities. However, there are concerns that the size of the park will pose a threat to the environment due to possible erosion of the coast. Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai says that the proposal will be adequately evaluated.

Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, D.O.E.

“Yes it does and in fact we’ve been in discussion to ensure that this type of project, in fact this one in particular comes through the environmental clearance process. At this point we were told that the project is being conceptualized. And everything, and so there’s a time when the proposal will come to the D.O.E. for environmental evaluation.”

Reporter

“Even though they already have a design?”

Anthony Mai

“Yes, indeed. So that’s the first step. You need to have the design, but you need to conceptualize what the design will include in terms of operations, right? And so when they have all of that together, they will come to us for environmental clearance.”

Reporter

“You all don’t have anything to do with the erosion aspect to some extent because one of the questions is, you are suffering from erosion, have suffered it from in the past, so how do you create such a huge development there?”

Anthony Mai

“The erosion issues it’s not a singular agency that deals with it. So the Department of Environment have some input to it, the mining unit, et cetera, has some input to it. Coastal Zone Management Authority, collectively we look at these things. In the past we had conducted a study by some support from the Cuban government. We have a good report and recommendation on what is affecting the erosion within that area. In fact, Currently, we have a draft terms of reference that we will finalize soon, where we want to expand the project and the assessment that the Cubans did to understand the erosion that is affecting the Placencia area and all the way down to Monkey River. What they, when we’ve met with the experts from Cuba and what they had recommended to us is that they said, listen, rather than doing this thing piecemeal, let’s do an assessment of the entire coastline. Now, that comes at a cost. And so we are in the process where. We are contemplating if we need to expand the terms of reference to include the entire coastline. And we need to discuss the cost of doing so. Because the current terms of reference that we have for Placencia and for close to the Monkey River, the cost of doing such an assessment is considerably higher. So we are weighing that in relation to having finances to do that versus doing the entire country. But it’s a concern and we are discussing it. There are discussions going on at the moment relation to that.”

KTV the Remix R&B Night Inside the Bliss

The final showdown for KTV the Remix Season Six is here. Tonight, the top three contestants from this season will battle it out to see who will take home the ten-thousand-dollar grand prize next week. You certainly do not want to miss tonight’s live show inside the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. The music genre for tonight is R&B. It all goes down at eight p.m. We spoke with Producer Viannie Reyes about what can be expected.

Viannie Reyes, Producer, KTV The Remix Season 6

“The songs are locked in. Choosing the song is their decision. We don’t have any say. The coach works with them. The judges would probably give ideas of this song matches your voice. But they have some songs that I think majority of the public would know. They are singing two songs tonight, one from the genre and also one they selected from any genre to gain additional points. So, tonight is the night where we will see who will make it to the top three, which is the finally for next week.”

Paul Lopez

“Why should people come out tonight to the live show?”

Viannie Reyes

“It is very different than what you see on live TV. You get to win great prizes. It even sounds different to be quite honest and just the ambiance and the joy of being with the contestants. You get to see the behind the scenes. We also have the halftime challenge where we invite people on stage to be a part of that. You get to see that live but you also get to participate and you never know what you can win when you are at KTV. You can purchase tickets here at Channel Five, Eighty-Eight Shopping Center or at six o’clock p.m. at the Bliss. So be sure to get your tickets, it is only give dollars per person. The earlier you come you get better parking and seat selection as well.”

Belize Launches Network of Digital Connect Centers

Belize completed Phase 1 of its Digital Inclusion Program, establishing 14 Digital Connect Centers nationwide. The project, led by the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics, and E-Governance (MPUELE) in collaboration with the Embassy of Taiwan in Belize through the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims to increase digital access and application of information and communication technologies (ICT) within marginalised communities.

The Digital Connect Centers are located in various regions, including Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize, Stann Creek, and Toledo. Each centre is equipped with computers and high-speed internet, providing access to government services and digital skills training.

Phase 1 also included 20 training sessions, educating 356 youths in Microsoft Office Essentials.

Phase 2 of the program will focus on digital skills training for the elderly.

Panama Deports 29 Colombians on First US-Funded Flight

On Tuesday, Panama began repatriating undocumented migrants on flights funded by the United States. The first flight carried 29 Colombians with criminal records. This program is part of a new agreement between U.S. officials and Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino, who took office less than two months ago.

The program aims to reduce Panama’s role as a transit point for migrants heading to the U.S.

The U.S. has allocated $6 million for these deportation flights. Marlen Piñeiro, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official, stated, “The message we’re sending is very clear: Darien is no longer a route,” emphasising that migrants should use only legal methods to enter the U.S.

Panama’s migration chief, Roger Mojica, mentioned that deportations from countries such as Ecuador and India are continuing. However, repatriating Venezuelans is challenging due to suspended diplomatic relations after recent elections in Venezuela.

Members of Integrity Commission Sworn In

The Office of the Integrity Commission of Belize has announced the formation of a new Commission in accordance with Section 3 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, No. 21 of 2007.

The following individuals have been re-appointed to serve as members of the Commission for a two-year term, effective April 1, 2024:

– Andrea McSweaney McKoy – Chairperson
– Zoe Roberson-Zetina – Member
– Katherine Vanessa Meighan – Member
– Ricardo Ismael Moguel – Member
– George Randolph Swift – Member
– Payal B. Ghanwani – Member
– Jaraad Ammar Ysaguirre – Member

The Integrity Commission plays a crucial role in upholding transparency and accountability within Belize, ensuring that public officials adhere to the highest standards of conduct in accordance with the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Prime Minister and APAMO Establish Collaborative Working Group

On August 19, Prime Minister John Briceño convened a meeting with the executive members of the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations (APAMO) to chart a collaborative path forward.

The key outcome of the discussion was the decision to form a working group composed of government representatives and conservation NGOs. This group will lead the revision of the National Protected Areas Systems Act and the Protected Areas Conservation Trust Act, marking a significant step toward a more inclusive approach that benefits both the conservation community and the people of Belize.

The Working Group will include representatives from:

– Office of the Prime Minister (Blue Bonds Unit – Project Finance Performance Unit)
– Ministry of Sustainable Development and Climate Change
– Ministry of Blue Economy
– Ministry of Tourism
– APAMO
– Belize Marine Protected Areas Network
– Belize Network of NGOs (from a conservation NGO)

The group’s primary objectives include:

– Enhancing co-governance of the National Protected Areas Systems Act and the Protected Areas Conservation Trust Act
– Strengthening reporting and accountability mechanisms
– Facilitating resource mobilization and leveraging for both Acts

In attendance with the Prime Minister were Orlando Habet, CEO Dr. Kenrick Williams from the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, and CEO Kennedy Carrillo from the Ministry of Blue Economy and Disaster Risk Management.

Prime Minister Briceño emphasized his commitment to addressing the concerns of the conservation community and advancing the agreed-upon goals to strengthen the relationship between conservation organizations and the Government of Belize. Both parties have agreed on a three-month timeline for the working group to present amendments and complete essential tasks. Minister Habet will provide regular updates to the Prime Minister, ensuring transparency and progress in this crucial conservation initiative.

This collaboration represents a proactive effort to promote sustainable conservation practices and enhance the well-being of Belize’s natural heritage and communities.

Cell Phone Repair Course for Women and Youth Launched in Corozal

A new training program focused on cell phone repair has been launched in Corozal Town. The Corozal Think Tank, which oversees the Regional Economic Development Masterplan for Corozal District, is collaborating with the Ministry of Investment and the Women’s Commission to provide this training.

The “Cell Phone Repair Course for Women and Youth” aims to equip participants with skills for maintaining and repairing cell phones. The program addresses the current shortage of technicians in Belize and the limited availability of cell phone repair services.

The training is part of a broader effort to enhance skills in sectors important to the Orange Economy. In a press release issued on Monday, the ministry stated, “The objective of the course is to bring sustainable self-employment opportunities to the participants. It is being implemented because there is need for technicians who are skilled in the upkeep, cleaning, maintenance and repair of cell phone devices. There is currently no training course of this kind in Belize, and the offer of cell phone repair service is lacking in various parts of [the] country.”