While we had him with us today, we also asked Minister Mai for his perspective on the recent incident at the San Ignacio Town Hospital where members of a family are said to have barged into the facility and threatened the medical staff if they didn’t save a loved one. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has told us that he has suggested more stringent measures to be put in the place at the hospital, as well as the consideration for the hospital to have its security guards become special constables to be able to make arrests. It is a protocol he says the police is considering extending to health facilities in other areas of the country. Today we asked Minister Mai, who is the Area Representative, Orange Walk South if the measures to control any boisterous behaviour at health facilities in Orange Walk.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Area Representative, Orange Walk South
“Crime in any shape or form is bad, especially at the hospital, it is just makes it even worse. But Minister Musa and his police officers, they have adjusted – Commissioner Chester Williams, the Prime Minister, spoke on it and he was very concerned. He said we need to find these people and jail them, arrest them, let the law apply to them. So I don’t have much of a concern here because I know it is an isolated matter. It has been addressed and I think that it shouldn’t happen again.”
Marion Ali
“Is it something that you’d like to see implemented here in Orange Walk, where you’re a standard bearer yourself – sorry, an area rep?”
Jose Abelardo Mai
“Of course. We haven’t seen that in Orange Walk yet, I believe, but as a citizen and a leader in government, I would like to see that crime be eradicated so that we can address quickly and swiftly and let the law apply swiftly.”
A video going viral on social media shows a boy being bullied by a group of boys. The incident took place in Santa Cruz Village, Toledo. The video has angered the public, with many calling for the boys to be criminally charged.
Police Commissioner released the following statement regarding the incident:
“In relation to the video depicting a group of young boys bullying another young boy, please note that the police is addressing this situation. An official report had been lodge with the police and the boys doing the bullying are in custody. It’s very disheartening to see how these young boys could have opted to bully such a quiet and humble person. It is more disheartening to have see how the others instigated this bullish act to occur.
While the police is addressing this matter, it is important for parents to pay more attention to what their children are doing. This is how gang group starts. The police will be working with the parents, students and schools to address this issue, to ensure the young man do not become a criminal gang, to see what can be done to allow then to continue their education while, at the same time be punished for what they did, that there is an amicable resolution to this issue that will take into account the best interest of all parties and to ensure there is no reoccurrence of such action towards no other child.
While we focus on protecting our children from adults who may wish to harm or use them to carry out criminal activities, we must also protect them from being hurt or bullied by their peers.
Every child must know that bullying is a crime and shall be treated as such. Together let’s unite to end bullying in our schools, homes and streets.”
Authorities are investigating the murder of Benito Cal, a 67-year-old man, in Roaring Creek Village, Cayo. According to police, the investigation commenced after officers responded to a report at the Roaring Creek Cemetery earlier today. Upon arrival, officers found the motionless body of Cal, bearing injuries to his face.
Cal was last seen around 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12, and was discovered lifeless at approximately 6:30 a.m. the following day.
The body was subsequently transported to the Western Regional Hospital, where Cal was pronounced dead. The investigation is ongoing.
Commission of Inquiry Begins Investigation into Belize’s Sugar Industry
The Commission of Inquiry into Belize’s sugar cane industry, established by Prime Minister John Briceño on March 19, held its first meeting on May 29. The Commission, led by Chairman Wayne Piper and commissioners from Belize, Mauritius, South Africa, and the UK, aims to examine the industry’s entire value chain and provide recommendations to the government. The initial meeting outlined plans for visits to sugar mills and production sites across Belize, with commissioners arriving in early June. The Commission’s proceedings will not be public, but updates will be provided through the Lead Coordinator, Hugh O’Brien. The final report is expected by November 30, 2024.
BSI Expresses Concerns Over Commission’s Focus
In a press release dated June 4th, Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI) expressed support for the Commission’s role in advising on industry modernization. However, BSI also expressed concern. Its primary concern is sharing proprietary information due to competitive pressures. BSI stated it would not cooperate if the Commission’s focus shifts to negotiating a new commercial agreement, which they consider a private matter. BSI says it is open to discussing reforms to industry regulations and participating in efforts to improve mill efficiency and cane yields in northern Belize.
BSCFA Calls for Public Inquiry and Cooperation
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) later issued its press release on June 6th. BSCFA says that it welcomed the commencement of the Commission’s work, viewing it as long overdue since the last inquiry in 1969. The BSCFA emphasised the importance of this investigation for the sugar industry and urged the Commission to hold public meetings. The BSCFA expressed concern over BSI/ASR’s position on sharing sensitive information with the Commission.
Lead Coordinator, Hugh O’Brien, says Inquiry Going Quite Well
On June 13th, News Five’s Marion Ali caught up with Hugh O’Brien, the Lead Coordinator for the inquiry in Orange Walk Town. When asked how the inquiry is going, O’Brien said, “The inquiry to, in my view so far is going quite well. The ambience between the people that the commissioners have met, particularly, we’ve sat down. We spent a day and a half with BSI. That went extremely well. BSI was very, very open. They shared their information that they had with them and various components of the factory and how the factory operates and their overall program and their views for the industry in terms of what they see is needed for Belize from their perspective. And then the tour of the factory with BSI went extremely well. And then following that the second day they did a tour of field activities, BSI’s operations at the field level, their farms and the services that they are with a view from their perspective that they have in mind. That they can contribute towards helping to modernize the industry in Belize.”
When asked about the commissioners’ views, O’Brien said, “they are calling me because currently they are meeting with the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association at the SIRDI office in Buena Vista and the commissioners also yesterday did a complete, they receive a presentation from Santander which have a very different structure and they’ve toured the Santander factory and they also had a complete tour of the Santander fields of sugar cane. So, they’re getting a good view and a good handle of, of what is occurring in Belize? Previous to that, they had presentations from the staff at the Sugar Industrial Research and Development Institute. They had a presentation and discussion with the sugarcane production committee because the way sugar is delivered in the north is very different than the west and is a very intricate system in the north because of the large number of small farmers and people battling to try to get their sugar into the factory.”
When asked about the concerns raised by BSI, O’Brien said, “The commission has never changed its focus. The terms of reference of the commission of inquiry was drafted and there were concerns that BSI raised. That’s when I kind of got involved and the prime minister asked me to, and I said, we’ve had discussion with BSI. They sent back recommendations from their standpoint and we made adjustments to the terms of reference, but we never gave in to what BSI wanted.”
O’Brien said that the commissioners will now create a list of specific items that they want from the two factories.
Yesterday, June 12, 2024, the Fisheries Department received a report of a manatee calf in the Belize River that was observed to be unable to dive. In coordination with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI), a team from the Fisheries Department responded to this report. Through a joint effort, the male calf was successfully rescued and transported to Orange Walk, where the team met up with Wildtracks who then transported the calf to the rehabilitation center. The calf was unable to dive, was emaciated, sunburnt and had propellor cuts on its tail. “Kevin” the manatee calf is in a delicate condition but is now receiving care from the Wildtracks team.
The Department is grateful for this collaborative effort with its partners CMARI and Wildtracks. Recently, the Fisheries team that responded to this stranding attended a training at Wildtracks for manatee response, rescue and rehabilitation and yesterday that knowledge and those skills gained were applied.
Police in Dangriga are investigating one of their own. Police Constable Harry Bo is accused of firing a single shot near another officer’s feet. It happened on Wednesday night while PC Bo and other officers were in front of Wa-gusina Fast Food. While waiting for their food, PC Christian Koyoc praised PC Jerel Hendy for his performance.
PC Bo quickly interjected, saying, “I am the sickest. You no work with me yet. You need to work with me one of these days.” Wanting to prove that he is the “sickest”, PC Bo reportedly pulled out his service weapon and fired a single shot near PC Hendy’s feet.
PC Hendy reported the matter to higher-ups.
It is unclear if alcohol was involved. We are told that PC Bo refused to provide a urine sample.
A request for comment has been sent to the Belize Police Department.
On Thursday, G7 leaders reached an agreement to lend Ukraine $50 billion this year, backed by profits from frozen Russian assets, to support the country’s war efforts and rebuilding initiatives.
This plan, which has been in development for years, is a win for US President Joe Biden, who has been advocating for the deal amid some European countries’ hesitation. The agreement will be formalized in the summit’s concluding communique.
However, key details of the plan still need to be ironed out. While the US is prepared to offer a loan of up to $50 billion, the exact amount the US will lend remains uncertain. Other countries will contribute to share the risk.
Officials anticipate that while it will take time for the funds to be disbursed, the process will begin within this calendar year. The funds will be allocated for military, budget, humanitarian, and reconstruction support.
The loan can be considered “secured” due to the interest generated from the Russian assets. Although there are scenarios where the income stream “may not flow,” reparations could provide a solution.
If a peace settlement occurs, the assets could either remain immobilized, continuing to generate interest to repay the loans, or Russia could be held accountable for the damage caused.
It was a big day for the Joint Unions Negotiating Team, as it signed a long overdue collective bargaining agreement with the Government of Belize. It was a lengthy process that began in late 2008 and, sixteen years later, was finally completed today. The Belize National Teachers Union, the Public Service Union and the Association of Public Service Senior Managers were all represented this afternoon at the House of Culture here in Belize City, where signatures were affixed to a new C.B.A. that has the approval of all parties. But was the signing of the collective bargaining agreement merely ceremonial, since the time allotted for the existing agreement expires in August? Following the event, Prime Minister John Briceno spoke on his administration’s will to complete the process within the period that it has been in office.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“We are a government committed to doing what is right, that we are a government that’s committed to our workers and that we made certain commitments to the union when we needed help when we just got into government and, lastly, it is the right thing to do. That is why we managed to finally come to, bringing this agreement to an end which is, unfortunately, the next two months the time period will end and we’ll have to start a new cycle.”
Reporter
“But sir, you are also the prime minister who complains almost in every budget presentation about the onerous wage bill, it’s at like six hundred million now. Where are we going with this, as in when will you take steps to curtail that?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“That has not changed and in my remarks I mentioned it and it’s something that has to be addressed. We are addressing it right now when it comes to the issue of the pensions, it is unsustainable and we’ve had a number of discussions with the unions and the unions have already agreed in principle that the pension as it stands right now is unsustainable and that we are coming up with an agreement as to where’s going to be the cutoff date as to will stay on on the present system and who will come on on the new system.”
Spearheading the effort on the part of government was Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde. Along with a team of senior government officials, he sat with the Joint Unions Negotiating Team and together they hammered out the terms of the new agreement. Admittedly, Hyde said the process was at times testy. Nonetheless, both parties were able to arrive at an amicable management-union agreement. So, will the C.B.A. be short-lived?
Cordel Hyde
Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister
“In some ways, but it’s substantive too because, the truth is, there was a big sticking issue for all these years, for sixteen years which is Proposal 22 which is a costly one, as the prime minister pointed out. Over a five-year period, it’s gonna cost sixty-eight million dollars. No government was willing to countenance that over this long period of time but it was absolutely important to them. I can tell you that sometimes things got really, really testy over that issue, even within the unions themselves. But it’s the right thing to do, ultimately you have teachers working for many years in the service, working at institutions where they are getting seventy percent of their salaries from government, thirty percent from private owners and then when they retire, they can only get seventy percent of pension from government and the private owners are the, not the private owners but the church owners. They don’t pay, they are not able to pay, as they say, so these people, after giving all their lives to public service, I mean it doesn’t get any better than that when you’re a teacher and giving so much of your time, so much of your effort, so much of your being to teaching.”
The People’s United Party has chosen Doctor Osmond Martinez as its standard bearer in Toledo East where he will face Dennis Williams of the United Democratic Party in an upcoming bye-election. The vote, restricted to that constituency only, will see a new area representative taking office ahead of general elections in 2025. While the prime minister has been reserved in a sharing a date for the bye-election, he told reporters this afternoon that it is now set for July seventeenth.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I’ve asked for the writ to be prepared and the date that I have set after consulting with the Elections & Boundaries Commission to see when they could get ready the voters list, I would want to have it as early as possible. The date is going to be July seventeenth, which is going to be on my birthday. So I’ll be working on that day in Toledo East.”
