When it was finally Lee Mark Chang’s turn to speak at the event, he kept it brief. He explained his decision to run in the Mesopotamia constituency against Barrow, emphasizing that when he fights, he fights to win. He also dismissed any claims that he’s only there to spoil Barrow’s chances, making it clear that he’s in it to defeat the P.U.P. candidate.
Lee Mark Chang, U.D.P. Candidate, Mesopotamia
“In my preliminary canvassing of the area, respect and dignity is lacking. The people are telling me, the committee is telling me in the Mesopotamia division that these individual lacks respect and discipline and to treat them fairly in the division and this is why I am here for the people. When I fight I nuh fight fih lose, you could ask anyone of my opponents. I don’t fight to lose. I fight to win and I don’t come here as no spoiler. I come to win the division and take care ah the people. I believe the people of Mesop wants the seat to stay for the UDP but they cannot support that individual, Mr. Shyne Barrow. So my initial information, the feel that they want to vote in back a UDP, but they don’t want him. Suh he lose his own division and I will make sure of that.”
Panton was asked if Chang’s candidacy in Mesopotamia means both he and Barrow will lose, potentially giving up a seat the U.D.P. has held for decades. Panton firmly dismissed that idea, saying she doesn’t buy into that narrative.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Taegar Panton, Area Rep., Albert Division
“I don’t subscribe to that narrative. I have never subscribed to that narrative. Seventy percent of the decision makers of this party made a determination. We did not leave it to that seventy percent. We have travelled to every village, district, town across the country. And we have met with our UDP supports and what you call the fence voters waiting to see. It is absolutely crystal clear to me that as long as Shyne Barrow is in play the UDP cannot win. The people of this country has agreed and has said to me resoundingly that Shyne Barrow must go and go he will. It is messy and it is frustrating for the public, for our supporters, for me. But democracy is messy and we have to be prepared to deal with the mess. We cannot allow, it is too great a price to pay for injustice and evil and dictatorship to set into the party. We cannot retreat.”
Lord Michael Ashcroft joined the Open Your Eyes talk show this morning, diving into Belize’s political landscape. The prominent businessman and keen political observer didn’t hold back, offering his take on the increasing rift within the United Democratic Party.
Lord Michael Ashcroft, Political Observer
“This is a very shameful situation that Belize is in. The only good news for donors of political parties in Belize today is that nobody has to put up any money because there is no doubt the PUP will win and they don’t need any money and it’s definite that the UDP are gonna lose and they don’t need any money either. So donors can relax during this general election, keep the money in their pockets or book a nice holiday to Miami or wherever they want to go. But having said that, here you have a political opposition in complete disarray. You have two sides of an argument who believe that they are absolutely right, and both of them who feel that the other side is totally wrong and in any compromise, there has to be people giving ground. At the moment, neither side in the opposition is prepared to give ground. Now this, of course, will come to a head.”
Today, Panton announced that the alliance has filed a motion in the High Court to stop Shyne from appointing candidates to run against the duly elected and endorsed standard bearers of the U.D.P. She also mentioned that their attorneys will be writing to the Elections and Boundaries Commission, requesting that neither faction of the U.D.P. be allowed to use red in the upcoming general election.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Area Rep., Albert Division
“We have instructed our attorneys to write to the elections and boundaries commission alerting them to the fact that the matter of leadership and control of the UDP is before the court. In this instance we believe it will not be prudent and even an interference of the court process that the commission will assign a traditional color of red to any of the disputing groups until a decision of the court is forthcoming. This would ensure that no person or group for persons can claim the color red unless there is a pronouncement by the court. So, this is a matter of respecting all duly elected and endorsed Standard bearers who were in place prior to this dispute.”
Jose Luis Uc Espat
The United Democratic Party has welcomed national anti-corruption and social justice champion, Jose Luis Uc Espat, as the new Standard Bearer for the Albert Constituency. Espat brings with him a rich history of battling government corruption and advocating for justice for families affected by violence. He is running against the PUP’s Kaya Cattouse and Alliance for Democracy leader Tracy Taegar-Panton in that constituency.
Is there a right or wrong way to spell words in Belizean Kriol? Opinions vary on this. The short answer is that spelling Kriol words isn’t easy. Depending on who you ask, there is a standardized way to write in Kriol. Despite the publication of a Kriol dictionary, many Belizeans believe that if you can understand the word, it’s spelled correctly. In tonight’s installment of Kolcha Tuesday, News Five’s Paul Lopez hits the streets to see how well we know how to spell words in our common tongue.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
No matter where you go in Belize, you’ll hear people speaking Kriol. It’s different from Haitian Creole, Louisiana Creole, or the various patois found across the Caribbean, though there are some similarities. Belizean Creole is a vibrant mix of English, Miskito, Spanish, West African, and Bantu languages. Some Belizeans describe it as broken English, insisting there’s no right or wrong way to spell words in Belizean Creole.
Andrew Reynolds
Andrew Reynolds, Belize City Resident
“I went to some people at the Jehovah Witness Church, and they try to write in kriol, they try to read in kriol and it does not work. I could not understand nothing. I am sixty-five-years-old. I have been gone for thirty-five years. Still when I was growing up they was teaching us English in school. This broken English is not really cool. You cant go anywhere to talk kriol, nobody will understand you. Try and uplift yourself. I nuh down with the creole language.”
Silvaana Udz, the Chairperson of the Language Committee of the National Kriol Council says otherwise.
Paul Lopez
“There is this phrase, “the wronger ih wronger, the corrector it correct”.
Silvaana Udz
Silvaana Udz, Chair, NKC Language Committee
“That dah just jokey talking when they think that kriol does be bastard English or so. Kriol as a language was born from the grammar of primary west African language pattern with whatever words the English mih the use. Deh the beat yo if yo nuh the chop the yard or whatever. Because of that the thinking of these great people from West Africa that were forced to come, our enslaved ancestors. Their pattern was different. All the creole languages, whether they are French based like Haitian Creole or Louisana Creole, they all have preverbal tense patterns.”
Even though Kriol is the lingua franca of Belize, reading and writing it isn’t straightforward for many Belizeans. We decided to put it to the test with a Kriol spelling challenge, using words with long vowels like ‘bone’ (spelt ‘boan’), ‘fight’ (spelt ‘fait’), ‘soup’ (spelt ‘soop’), and ‘water’ (spelt ‘waata’).
Paul Lopez
“The first word dah fight and you spell it fite. The second word is bone, as in a dog bone, chicken bone.”
Erick Garnett
Erick Garnett, Belize City Resident
“If you want you can say boan. I will ask you one, how do you pronounce no in creole?”
Paul Lopez
“Nuh?”
Erick Garnett
“Hmpmm.”
Paul Lopez
“The first word dah fight. The second word is bone. The third word is water. I’ll throw in a little bonus since you look like you really good at this. The final word is soup.Try spell the word leaf for me, like a long ee, the leef dah come from a tree.
Spell the word soup for me in creole.”
Ari Dorado
Ari Dorado, Belize City Resident
“I think dah wah good language for the people that can’t talk English good andthey could understand that a little better.”
Paul Lopez
“The first word I have for you is fight, spell the word fight in creole. Second word in creole is bone, spell the word bone in creole.”
Benita Keme-Palacio
Benita Keme-Palacio, Belize City Resident
“House, house? Hous..”
This challenge showed that while some words might be easy to spell in Belizean Kriol, people generally struggle with spelling and reading the language. The University of Belize’s Intercultural Indigenous Language Institute aims to change that with a four-week course on Belize Kriol Literacy.
Delmer Tzib
Delmer Tzib, Coordinator, UB Language Institute
“The whole idea here is that we develop a rooted citizen that s able to also develop appreciation for the local language and at the same time engage with global culture. So these languages and communications systems allow us to learn from each other, not only the language, but our cultural practices, nuances and different expressions that represent our identity.”
Residents of Monkey River Town are deeply worried about their community’s future. It’s a tale many Belizeans know all too well. For decades, this small coastal town has been slowly disappearing into the sea. The situation has only gotten worse over the years, thanks to the effects of climate change. Tonight, the residents are raising their voices about yet another threat to their riverbank—the booming eco-tourism industry. News Five’s Britney Gordon brings us the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Just three months ago, this tree stood proudly on the banks of Monkey River Town. Brian Garbutt, a local resident, fondly remembers taking his son there to hunt for iguanas. Now, it’s just another piece of driftwood, claimed by the relentless erosion of the riverbanks. For years, the residents have been battling this erosion, but as Garbutt points out, the problem has only gotten worse.
Brian Garbutt
Brian Garbutt, Monkey River Resident
“In the late 1990’s that’s when tourism get started here in Monkey River, right? About ninety-seven, ninety-eight, right? For the first couple of years, everyone that would do their tour, they would go up pretty slow, right? But on their way back down about noon time, you know, the sun would be up, the humidity would be real high, pretty much at that time. Most of the wildlife would seek shelter to get away from that immediate heat, right? So there’s not much to see. And that’s when these guys started to run their boat full throttle. And I have been I would say get awake about two weeks ago when I went up into the river and I could have seen the effect that are taking place against the river.”
The area has turned into a bustling tourism hotspot, with boatloads of cruise passengers arriving several days a week during the high season. Local tour guides whisk these tourists off to Harvest Caye or Placencia, navigating through the Monkey River waters. While the community appreciates the revenue, there’s a catch—the speed of the boats is causing problems.
Brian Garbutt
“Can you imagine a boat with about twenty people doing about twenty miles an hour within, the widest area within our river? Probably would be about thirty yards. You imagine five, six of these boats just keep banging on direct onto the clay.”
These boats, carrying anywhere from ten to thirty passengers, send waves crashing into the banks as they speed by. But erosion is just one of the negative effects residents have noticed. Ebenezar Gordon, a tour guide since the early 2000s, often joins these tour boats to educate visitors about the local flora and fauna. While his livelihood relies on these tours, it relies even more on preserving his home.
Ebenezer Gordon
Ebenezer Gordon, Monkey River resident
“The whole environment changing because of big companies like the farmingcompanies, you know. They have made big trench for the farm, so it do affect the water around here. When we were younger, when it’s raining, this river used to take long before it goes down. But now, two, two days maybe the longest and it’s get calms around here. If you notice around here, you see a lot of erosion taking place.”
Residents also say that the boats stir up sediments, which the river can’t wash away, leading to shallow pockets of water. Garbutt, a fisherman by trade, mentions that navigating the river is becoming increasingly difficult.
Brian Garbutt
“Let’s say for the day, one ton of sediment would be coming downstream, right? And the impact that these boats are doing to this river at this present moment, one ton would come down and meet with twenty tons. So what would happen? That would just keep trapping up and trapping up. That eventually, what I have seen in my lifetime, if the almighty permits me with another ten years, it would be very impossible for me to get up in the river within a 23 foot Mexican skiff.“
Residents suggest imposing a speed limit for boats passing through the area. They also propose a small fee for tour guides to help fund the town’s maintenance.
Ebenezer Gordon
“We have that stuff in place for a long time and it’s not having enforcements. I wish they could enforce it for us?”
Britney Gordon
“Who would be the persons in charge to enforce that?”
Ebenezer Gordon
“Well, I think it’s BTB, you know, because the guys there know, but they just want to ignore us because we don’t have the laws to back it up.”
A few years back, locals were filled with hope when they heard about a project aimed at saving the riverbank from erosion. Residents say funds were collected, but unfortunately, the plan never materialized.
Brian Garbutt
“And it’s pretty sad, you know? That guy went over there and raised that fund, have to come through the government. Literally for sure sixty percent would go to the government. So many people comes in and do their research. So much goes out. I hope that we get about a hundred thousand. Because it’s pretty sad. We have a job that would be much bigger than what they are about to do, that is done by a local writing placentia done for a house right here on our coastline in Monkey River.”
The future might seem uncertain, but the residents remain hopeful and determined to save their cherished community where the river meets the sea. Britney Gordon for News Five.
While chatting with Lord Ashcroft this morning, the topic of cruise tourism also came up. As a major player in the industry, he didn’t shy away from sharing his thoughts on the Stake Bank project. He also pointed out the flaws in the proposed Portico and Port of Belize cruise terminals.
Lord Michael Ashcroft
Lord Michael Ashcroft, Political Observer
“So here we have on things like Stake Bank and others, yes, we want a port or we want a cruise terminal and we want that… Good policies, what’s the plan? And this is where it always falls down because there’s no plan, and so, something like Stake Bank, it all starts off, Stake Bank was a favorite of the government of the time. They got all the concessions, off they went, and then all of a sudden, there’s Portico down in the south and that looks a bit more interesting, well let’s abandon Stake Bank. Stake Bank run up an enormous amount of debt, Atlantic Bank is up to here in loans to Stake Bank, government moves over here and Stake Bank is in trouble. Then they concede that Atlantic Bank will be in trouble if Stake Bank defaults. So now the government’s gotta panic around to try to save Stake Bank and what they did because of Portico down here and they couldn’t get the Port of Belize together and then they made sure that the Port of Belize’s environmental clearance was negated. Then they fixed it, so NEAC said no, they’re all in a a mess everywhere.”
One of the big worries hanging over the B.D.F. is the talk of low morale among the soldiers. Brigadier General, the Commandant of the B.D.F., acknowledges that there’s definitely room for improvement, but assured that steps are being taken to address these issues. Loria mentioned to reporters that allowances for the soldiers are in the works, but he didn’t shy away from pointing out the clear neglect, especially when their structures are put to the test by hurricanes.
Brigadier General Azariel Loria, Commandant, B.D.F
“ The morale of the soldiers the pay, it is still not fully resolved. That is something that is still at the desk of the Public Services Commission. And the pay continues. I do not believe that it will be caught, but that is only my belief, and they continue to receive their salaries every single one of them. And there are some allowances that are in the pipeline as well. So I don’t know how that would be an issue whenever we have been hearing of even pay allowances for everyone. And then we have been neglected and the media is aware of that. When every hurricane comes, you all know what happens to our installations at Price Barracks. You see zinc all over the place, but we were trying to improve.”
Loria also discussed how the B.D.F. manages weapon handling on bases, especially in situations where disputes between soldiers could escalate. He highlighted that militaries worldwide focus heavily on training and proper weapons handling. Additionally, command leaders are trained to defuse conflicts before they become serious, given the significant risks involved.
Brigadier General Azariel Loria
Brigadier General Azariel Loria, Commandant, B.D.F
“The professional firearms – the militaries around the world, well, know that it is a risky business because we do handle powerful weapons, military weapons that can hurt people if we do not properly train, if we do not know how to properly handle them. So we always emphasize on training, training, and training. And that also goes hand in hand with our leadership, our attitudes on how to ensure that whenever we have instances like that, how the patrol commanders will be able to face, confront a situation like that. It’s one of the many risks of our profession, of professional military arms that we have to deal with, hence the reason we continue to train, maintain our training readiness so that when we go out there on operations, we can also maintain our operational readiness.”
Earlier we heard from the B.D.F Commandant, Brigadier General Azariel Loria spoke of strides being made within the B.D.F to uplift the working conditions of the soldiers. But he also alluded to neglect, and when the media asked, we found out that the building where the fatal shooting occurred didn’t have necessities, such as an indoor bathroom.
Brigadier General Azariel Loria, Commandant, B.D.F
“It doesn’t have an inside restroom or a bathroom per se, so the soldiers have to go outside and access it. But yes, we have been – it was worse than that. It was abandoned police building that we have refurbished and we’re trying to refurbish it little by little. It was worse than that before and, and even worse that the soldiers used to live in a large tent before. So we have gone somewhere from under a tent to that refurbished building and we’ll continue to refurbish it. But slowly but surely, we’re going to get it done with the resources that we have available.”
