2024 - Channel 5 Belize

19 Firearms Retrieved After Recent Tradeoff with SOE Detainees

The extended State of Emergency, which saw dozens of young men from various neighborhoods in Belize City and Roaring Creek Village detained, has come to an end. Many of these individuals, including numerous gang members, were required to surrender their weapons, yet the department managed to retrieve only nineteen firearms. Earlier today, we spoke with the Commissioner of Police to get his insights now that these alleged troublemakers are back on the streets.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“We didn’t get as much as expected. We got a total of nineteen weapons, different calibers and a number of ammunitions. Those were collected and submitted as found property and will be sent to the National Forensics [Science] Service firearm or ballistics unit for testing.”

Isani Cayetano

“What has the observation been in the wake of that extended SOE, in terms of how the gangs interact with each other at this point?”

Chester Williams

“Well we do have follow-ups. Brother Nuri is tasked to ensure that he does follow up with them to ensure that we have a system where they don’t just come out of SOE and we leave them right there. We want to do programs with them, so Brother Nuri and LIU are tasked in ensuring that we do follow-ups and different programs with them. We have a system where they were told that if it is that there is some issue is brewing between them and other groups, for them to come forward and let us know and then we’ll step in and do intervention, mediation. I think some of them are serious about trying to make a change and we must do what we can to help them make that change.”

MoE Agrees Payment System for Teachers is Antiquated

The Ministry of Education has issued a press release emphasizing the importance of timely teacher payments. They acknowledged that the current salary processing system is outdated and prone to delays, often due to incomplete or late submissions. The ministry provided several clarifications in their statement. Firstly, they noted that one hundred and twenty-two teachers were scheduled for an off-cycle payment, which the Treasury Department confirmed would be deposited into their bank accounts by this evening. Additionally, the ministry pointed out that a few names on the B.N.T.U.’s list of ninety-nine teachers were duplicates. Of the remaining names, forty-four were already included in the off-cycle payment and should have received their payments by now. For the last batch of forty-three teachers, the ministry found that nine had already received their September salaries, three were secondary or tertiary-level teachers processed through a different system, and four were being finalized for the next payment cycle. The remaining twenty-seven teachers required further attention, and the ministry is working with school management to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. Today, B.N.T.U. President Nadia Caliz reiterated the union’s stance and explained what prompted them to address this matter.

Nadia Caliz, President, B.N.T.U.

“What really broke the camel’s back was when our teachers came forward and said there was an agreement with the ministry that we would not be kicked out of the system, but we were kicked out. We didn’t receive our salary. We were paid in the month of August and now in September no salary. What happened? And we started to query with the ministry what was actually going on. We did not get the kind of response that we wanted. We stand by our one-thirty [list]. We stand by our one-thirty. We went through our listing, cause they called us, we went through our listing, and we do have one-thirty. Three of those though, we will admit, were paid because those teachers actually were increments and we mistakenly submitted that. But if you look at the BNTU’s press release, it said one hundred and thirty plus teachers in this country. One hundred and twenty-two teachers are going to be paid today, but you still have like an outstanding thirty-five or so. And up to this morning, we have teachers calling and saying, “I did not fill out that form because I had no faith in the system. But now that we see so many persons being paid, could you please add my name onto that list?” So again, we’re receiving another list of persons. It’s not about the numbers. For us, our teachers are suffering. They have worked. They deserve to be paid. Teachers should not be going through this. There are things that I can’t even say publicly that teachers have shared with me that they’re doing so they can survive, and some of it is very unethical. I’ve visited teachers who called me, crying, asking for assistance. All I want to see come October, that our teachers don’t go through this.”

One Month Later, Maskall Primary Still has Teacher Shortage

A month ago, several schools reported a shortage of teachers as the new school year began. Among them was Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Maskall Village, which faced a loss of three teachers across its pre-school, middle, and upper divisions. Fast forward a month, and the school has made significant progress, securing one teacher and on the verge of hiring a second. However, they are still searching for a teacher for their pre-school department. Today, Principal German Ramirez shared with News Five the strides the school has made towards full staffing and how they have been managing the ongoing shortage.

German Ramirez, Principal, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Maskall Village

“We have managed to secure one teacher coming this way to help us with our teacher shortage. We have been doing everything we can from our end to ensure that he remains in the community. It’s not something easy for him, but he’s adapting and we’re lucky to have him here. We’re still short of two teachers. We’re working on one, trying to make sure that we get his license. The license application process goes through some bureaucracy, and I guess some vetting. And so that is probably what is keeping us back from getting the other replacement in this community. We’re still working to try and secure the replacement for the preschool as well. So I work along with the general manager of Catholic public schools to try and see if we can secure the replacements as early as possible.”

Marion Ali

Explain to me how it’s been over the past month in getting the curriculum delivered in an effective way to these students with the shortage of three teachers.

German Ramirez

“It’s not been easy, I mean, we tried to stay in alignment with what we have to be doing for the month of September but jumping out of a classroom and going into another, you don’t get to do what you need to do as effectively as possible. So, what we try to do is to ensure that our children are busy, getting their printed packages for them to be working on while I’m there. I can explain while I’m out, they work on their own with some limited supervision from the teacher nearby.”

Former Belmopan City Admin Breaks Silence on Innovabel Estate

Former Belmopan City Administrator Sherlene Julien has stepped forward to clear her name amidst controversy. Julien’s name appeared on a leaked list of Innovabel Estate land recipients from within the council, suggesting she acquired six parcels of land through two companies, Ajalon and Associates Limited and Almeya Consulting Limited. In her statement to the media, Julien firmly denied ever owning a company named Almeya Consulting Limited. The document also claimed that Julien’s son received two parcels, with all eight properties allegedly sold to her for a thousand dollars each. Julien refuted these claims, stating the document is intentionally misleading and full of errors. She clarified that she received four parcels of land, less than an acre, as part of a legally negotiated employment contract. The value of these parcels was deducted from what she was owed for nearly three years of service to a financially struggling city council. Julien contends that the accusations are baseless, aimed at tarnishing her professional reputation and undermining her contributions to the City of Belmopan. She also expressed that the situation has caused undue distress and reputational harm to her son and family.

Lighting Strikes Property Twice, Destroying Home and Killing Pet

A family is homeless tonight after a devastating lightning strike destroyed their house. Remarkably, lightning struck the property twice on Wednesday afternoon, tragically claiming the life of their pet in the first strike and igniting a fire in the second. This freak incident has left the family heartbroken and desperately seeking help from the community. News Five’s Paul Lopez brings us the story.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

A home in Georgeville went up in flames on Thursday afternoon. The victims of the fire, a young family, lost everything. We spoke with the owner of the destroyed wooden structure, Vannesa Guzman.

Voice of: Vannesa Guzman, Fire Victim

“This dah mih something that we never expect because I was not at home at the moment. I was with my mom when my little brother called me and told me that my house was on fire. I didn’t believe him at first but then he video called me and showed me that the house was smoking out and when he came and checked the house it was already too late.”

The circumstances surrounding the fire are nothing short of shocking and are certainly not a common occurrence in Belize.

Vannesa Guzman

“When they told us who it happened, ih mih really shocking. I never believed lightening cause something like that. We pitbull get it first then he dead. Then we house get it next.”

Guzman’s brother lives on the adjacent property. He ran over to save some of the household items, including items purchased for her son’s birthday party that was to be held on Saturday.

Vannesa Guzman

“He mih the try get some stuff, but by the time he get up the step the house just explode. Then everything, we cant save anything. We lose everything, like nothing we stay. But I just, I try be strong. It hurts a lot. We wont say it does not hurt. These are things we can recover, but we had memories. I had memories from my baby and we were looking forward to his party. He was so excited. He did his countdown and when he see that his house was burning it hurt him a lot. Up to now, he still stay frightened.”

Guzman and her family lost everything to the freak fire. They are now seeking assistance from the public to get back on their feet.

Vannesa Guzman

“I just hope we could get the little help that everyone says they could help. I just pray that they do, cause we nuh got nothing. So, we really appreciate, with all my heart. Anything wah work for us.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

You can reach the family at 608-1088 and 627-6361 if you wish to offer any assistance.

Investing in Stocks, Bonds and Shares and Belizeans

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) serves as the regulatory and supervisory authority for Belize’s non-banking financial services. In 2021, the Government of Belize enacted the Securities Industries Act, which expanded the responsibilities of the former International Financial Services Commission, transforming it into the FSC. Now, the FSC oversees the securities sector and the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry. Although legislation to regulate the securities sector has been in place for the past four years, the FSC is actively working to raise awareness about the investment opportunities within this sector. Today, they hosted a press briefing to shed light on these opportunities and provide further information.

Claude Haylock, Director General, FSC

“You really should care because I mean we are starting the process of regulating the securities market in Belize. Securities have always been in Belize. It is there but it has never been in a regulated and formularized way. Basically securities are stocks, bonds, people buy shares in companies. People are able to invest in that way. As the company prosper the shares increase in value. Their little part in that company increase in value. There are some Belizeans who own shares in BTL. When those companies do well, they do well. It gives Belizean an opportunity to invest in other things, rather than having a bank account and lets be frank, we all know. You getting little or nothing in bank. It probably cost more to keep your money in the bank than what the bank gives you in interest rate. Securities gives Belizeans another opportunity for investment and to grow wealth. I think that is an important objective of government to broaden, democratize capital in Belize. Belize is a very bank centric economy. The introduction of securities will give Belizeans other ways to invest in the market.”

Building Investor Confidence and Awareness in Belize

One example that Claude Haylock, the Director General at the Financial Services Commission, highlighted is an Initial Public Offering or IPO that the San Pedro Town Council recently floated. This IPO is valued at twenty-eight million dollars. The FSC is not responsible for promoting such opportunities. They exist to build investor confidence and awareness while carrying out their regulatory responsibilities.

Claude Haylock, Director General, FSC

“Let me give you a real example right now. We have just approved, I shouldn’t say the word approved, under the Municipal Securities Act, the San Pedro Town Council has floated and IPO to the tune of twenty-eight million dollars which if Belizeans, the IPO is put out there, Belizeans can look at it and subscribe to it. They can buy a piece of that bond offering. It is an attractive interest rate, an attractive rate of return, so why not. We are not here to promote that. That is not what we do as regulators. I just wanted to give that as an example of a practical way that we are starting to deepen the investment market in Belize. There are others that are warming up. We have nine registrants under the Securities Industry Act, sixteen, so there is real activities take place. There are brokers, dealers, agents, so Belizeans have an opportunity to be able to engage these people to look for investment opportunities other than holding land or keeping the money in your bank account or hiding it under your mattress.”

Registering and Investment Opportunity in Belize

So, how does one go about launching an IPO or any other investment opportunity? According to Marlos Kus, the Director of Licensing and Authorizations at the FSC, the first step is to submit the necessary documentation to the commission. He elaborated on the detailed process and the rigorous oversight involved, emphasizing the commission’s commitment to ensuring that fairness and transparency are at the heart of every investment opportunity.

Marlos Kus, Director of Licensing & Authorisations, FSC

“Any municipality or company that wants to do an IPO, the first thing they need to prepare is a prospectus. The Municipal Security Act outlines what should be in a prospectus. The main reason for the prospectus is for the issuer to disclose all the risk or the information that the material investor would need to decide as to whether they should invest in this offering. The commission does not express anything on the merits of the offering. What we issue is a receipt that they have filed this prospectus. When an investor sees that it is not to say oh this offering is good. It is that we have ensured that the offering has disclosed all the material information. So, an investor should look at the prospectus, look at it from the beginning to the end and make that decision, should I invest in this? To develop a market we need to educate the Belizean people because this is relatively new to everybody, so we need to start there.”

Developing Smart Investors to Build Belize’s Securities Sector

Many of the terms used to describe investment opportunities available to Belizeans are often too complex for potential investors to understand. This complexity is a key reason why many Belizeans are not taking advantage of these opportunities. To address this, the Financial Services Commission is launching a smart investor awareness campaign during World Investor Week, from October seventh to thirteenth. This week is recognized annually by the International Organization of Securities Commissions, of which Belize recently became an associate member.

Nilda Sosa, Director of Operations & Corporate Services, FSC

“All IOSCO members and supporters, such as IDB, the World Bank Group and partners of IOSCO to promote this global initiative will be launching investor initiatives and activities. There will be competitions that will focus on the importance of investor education. There will also be webinars and workshops with the objective of educating the public in the different areas that were mentioned. From our perspective, the FSC will be launching an investor center website where resources and tools can be accessed with that investor center, we host the official webpage for World Investors Week and all the resources, information that we will sharing with the public can be accessed through our website at FSCBelize.org.bz. We will also have complementing that a free webinar that FCS will be coordinating for the public. This webinar is called Smart Investing a Guide to Navigating the Securities Landscape. This will be complemented to the FAQ segment we will have.”

Mexico Pledges to Honour Existing Electricity Supply to Belize

In May, former Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador discussed with Prime Minister John Briceño the possibility of increasing Mexico’s power supply to Belize by five megawatts. Although that discussion did not come to fruition, this week, PM Briceño held a similar meeting with the new Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum. Today, Minister of Energy Michel Chebat informed News Five that President Sheinbaum assured them that the existing arrangement would be honored and that they would explore ways to increase the power supply. The meeting also included Mexico’s new Minister of Energy, Luz Elena Gonzalez Escobar, and her team.

Michel Chebat, Minister of Energy

“Present at that meeting was also the head of the CFE from whom we actually purchase electricity. It was a very fruitful discussion. We discussed several issues, including the agreement for Belize to purchase energy from Mexico, we spoke about Belize’s energy security, which is very important for us. We also spoke about Belize’s energy security, which is very important for us. We also spoke about the basic needs of energy of southern Mexico and Belize and discussed a little bit about how we could go about addressing the issues on both sides of the border. I think our meeting was the first meeting she ever had since taking over this position, but she did assure us that all the agreements we had in place with the former government will be respected and will be honored. And we looked also – and obviously we discussed the possibilities of increasing that as we had done with the former president. And there is that commitment to look at that and to see how best we can get that done. I think one of the important things that did come out of this meeting is a commitment from the new administration to continue working with Belize to make sure that we have the energy supply that we need. And we also agreed that we’re going to have a joint working group that will of course consist of BEL and PUC who are going to be meeting regularly with our Mexican counterparts to see how best we can push forward these agreements.”

We also asked Minister Chebat to respond to allegation of voter fraud that his political rival in Cayo North, Dr Omar Figueroa had brought forth this week, he said that because the matter is now before the courts, he could not, but offered to give a comment after the court has dealt with the case