Tonight, there’s still no official word on the appointment of the three United Democratic Party senators. Over the past two weeks, the Government of Belize has appointed its six senators, and the church, NTUCB, NGO community, and business community have all made their selections. Here’s a summary of all the Senate appointments made so far and the ones we’re still waiting for. It’s been nearly two weeks since the March eleventh general elections, and the People’s United Party (PUP) along with the social partners have swiftly appointed ten senators to represent them in the Upper House. However, there are still a few spots that need to be filled.
The PUP appointed senators include:
Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay who is returning as the Lead Senator for Government Business
Christopher Coye is returning as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
Linsford Castillo has acted as a temporary senator and now he assumes a permanent role in the Senate. Castillo is also the People’s United Party’s Secretary General.
Hector Guerra is an attorney-at-law described as a young and ambitious individual with strong leadership qualities.
Rosel Arana and Brittney Galvez are the latest women to join the ranks. They’re set to bring a powerful voice for women and youth to parliament.
On the side of the Social Partners:
The Church has appointed Louis Wade Jr. to take over from Moses Benguche. Wade, who owns Plus TV and serves as a pastor at an evangelical church in Belmopan, is stepping into this new role.
The NTUCB has reappointed Glenfield Denison as its senator
The Business Community has reaffirmed its trust in Kevin Herrera, who expressed his gratitude for the continued confidence placed in him
Meanwhile, Janelle Chanona is back as the 13th Senator representing the NGO community, following a second endorsement. One of her notable achievements in parliament includes chairing the recently concluded Senate Select Special Committee Inquiry into the Portico Definitive Agreement.
This brings the total number of appointed senators to ten. But why has the United Democratic Party delayed in announcing its three Senate representatives? Is there unrest brewing? Party Leader Tracy Taegar-Panton has assured that the names will be revealed as soon as they’re finalized. We’re awaiting the announcement of those appointments.
On Monday, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams mentioned that he’s hoping to finalize the details of his new role as C.E.O. at the Ministry of Transport this week. However, Williams hinted that he has other ambitions. When asked if the potential creation of a new constituency in the rapidly growing Stann Creek district might tempt him to run for office, his response was a bit vague. Here’s what he had to say when the question came up.
Reporter
When the redistricting exercise happens, everyone agrees that there’ll be a new Stann Creek constituency, there has to be ten thousand voters. Do you see your ascension to a CEO post as a pathway to someday being a political candidate, perhaps in a new Stann Creek constituency?
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I cannot speak to what the intention of the Prime Minister to put me as the CEO, other than maybe that he wants to have someone there who is going to get things done and try to bring the ministry up to a certain level. But to answer your question, I do have aspirations, so if it is political aspirations or other aspirations, I won’t say it but I do have aspirations. You take that how you want and if or when that time comes, I will make my move.”
The Caribbean Court of Justice is currently tackling a constitutional dispute between the Government of Belize and four privately-owned liquified petroleum gas companies. The two-day hearing kicked off today with submissions from the appellants, including the Controller of Supplies, the Minister of Economic Development, and the Attorney General. They are contesting a Court of Appeal decision that ruled the Government of Belize violated the companies’ constitutional rights to work and property by blocking them from importing LPG into Belize. The gas companies involved—Gas Tomza Limited, Western Gas Company Limited, Southern Choice Butane Limited (Zeta Gas), and Belize Western Energy Limited—also filed a cross-appeal on grounds of freedom of association and equal treatment, which they initially failed to prove. Today’s session lasted six hours, with the appellants still presenting their case. Eamon Courtenay, one of the four attorneys representing the Government of Belize, was the first to make his submissions.
Eamon Courtenay, Attorney-At-Law
“We say very firmly that the Court of Appeal was wrong on section seventeen and section three, property issue and section fifteen the right to work. We say that it is clear that is was the intent of parliament to reform the LPG sector by introducing a new regulatory regime and we ask this court to give full faith and confidence to the declared intention by the Parliament. Your honors and you will hear this repeatedly, it was the intent of the government to liberate this sector from the Zaragoza brother oligopoly for reasons proven in evidence and it is critical for the court to appreciate that there is a reality on the ground that existed that caused insecurity on the ground in the supply of LPG to Belize, that caused transfer pricing in that sector, that caused questions about the quality of LPG sold to consumers and there are serious problems about smuggling. These are issues which the legislation sought to address.”
As you might remember, in 2021, the government amended the National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Project Act to let other companies import LPG. This change came after the act was initially passed under the former U.D.P. administration. However, the amendment required private companies wanting to import LPG to build an import facility with a storage capacity of one point five million U.S. gallons. CCJ Judge, Justice Peter Jamadar, sought clarity on why such a requirement was necessary. Here’s a snippet of the exchange between Justice Jamadar and Eamon Courtenay.
Eamon Courtenay
Eamon Courtenay, Attorney-At-Law
“The difficulty with two hundred and three hundred and a fifteen-thousand-gallon facility is that trucks come in everyday across the border. Everyday permits are applied for, and trucks are coming in over and over and over. One point fivemillion dollars is essential for this project to be successful.”
Justice Peter Jamadar
Justice Peter Jamadar, CCJ Judge
“So the one point five was deemed sufficient to meet your security, supply, your cost analysis, what if a smaller operator said ok you are taking care of Belize, this is enough to meet your needs, I want to do a three hundred, that is adding on to your one point five, I want to be a smaller operator. Why is that problematic if you have already covered with your government?”
Eamon Courtenay, Attorney-At-Law
“One point five is not sufficient it is what will allow the project to work. The country is actually using in excess of fourteen million gallons.”
Justice Peter Jamadar
“So having additional facilities is desirable.”
Eamon Courtenay
“Fourteen million which is roughly one million per month, the need to go through the facility is one point one. If we say somebody can bring in three hundred then one point one will not go through the facility.”
Justice Peter Jamadar
“So you needed to create a monopoly get one point one to make that project a success and anybody who threatened that minimum threshold had to be excluded.”
We will continue to follow the hearing on Wednesday.
Sign language is a visual language that uses hand shapes, facial expressions, gestures, and body language to communicate with people who have hearing impairments. Just like spoken languages, there are different types of sign languages, each with its own unique grammar and vocabulary. Unfortunately, sign language isn’t widely offered in Belizean schools. As we discovered for this week’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday, there are two main reasons for this: there aren’t enough qualified interpreters for the Ministry of Education to hire, and the salary for the job isn’t competitive with other professions. However, at Itz’at STEAM Academy and Stella Maris School, students have access to sign language, which helps them better understand their lessons. We saw firsthand just how impactful this is when we visited them today. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story.
Malique Hutchinson
Malique Hutchinson, Student, Itz’at STEAM Academy
“I love my friends, my classmates, and I love my family.”
Marion Ali
“Isabella, when you finish school what would you like to be?”
Isabella Sanchez
Isabella Sanchez, Student, Itz’at STEAM Academy
“I think when I’m finished, I’d like to work in a restaurant.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
Malique Hutchinson and Isabella Sanchez are first form students at Itz’at STEAM Academy in Belize City. Both are hearing impaired, and had they not have a sign language interpreter present, they would have had a harder time grasping the concepts of their lessons. This is part of an education tool for students who need it at the secondary level. But the culture of having it has been lacking. Rose Williams has been a sign language interpreter for almost fifty-seven years, and she says it is necessary.
Rose Williams
Rose Williams, Sign Language Interpreter
“Signing and doing interpreting is very important for them to get whatever is being said because they cannot hear and so they will not be getting whatever is being taught. So I need to get it, whatever the teacher is saying, and then I sign it to them so that they can understand.”
Sign language has been part of Stella Maris’ culture for decades. Teacher Sheree Salgado shared that this practice dates all the way back to the 1950s.
Sheree Salgado
Sheree Salgado, Teacher, Stella Maris School
“This school started off with one student who was visually impaired. Back then, they didn’t know much about how to cater for him. So the sister at the time, she went to Jamaica and she came back with information of how to assist. And so, when the school actually started, it started off with three visually impaired students, one deaf student and a child who had meningitis and their classroom was downstairs of what we call the Sister Cecilia Home back then. And, you know, they used to house mentally challenged persons there. So that’s how it started, so from 1958.”
Beyond cultural considerations, sign language should be a tool available in all Belizean schools. Christy Almeida, Special Education Program Coordinator at the Ministry of Education, emphasized that a student’s inability to understand a lesson due to hearing impairment doesn’t reflect their intelligence.
Christy Almeida
Christy Almeida, Special Education Program Coordinator, MoE
“A child or a student who is deaf or hearing impaired does not necessarily mean that they have an intellectual impairment. There might be other issues, but for the most part, these kids should and could be supported in our inclusive setting.”
But as Almeida pointed out, there are two main issues: there aren’t enough qualified interpreters, and the salary offered for the position isn’t attractive enough for them.
Christy Almeida
“Finding interpreters that can provide the service for them so that they can interpret what the teacher is doing – there is a serious lack of interpreters of people with that sort of qualification. And it’s almost like a chicken and an egg because we have some people in the deaf community that can sign or that support those in the deaf community that can sign, but they will say “Well, how much am I going to get paid? Maybe I can get paid more if I go to a call center.”
In the classroom, sign language helps to close communication gaps, especially in exams.
Rose Williams
“I would read whatever the problem is and explain it to them so that they know what the problem is asking for, and then I leave it to them for them to work it out.”
Sheree Thurton-Gillett, the sign language interpreter at Stella Maris School, shared that keeping the younger students engaged can be quite a challenge. To capture their attention, she must get creative in the classroom.
Sheree Thurton-Gillett
Sheree Thurton-Gillett, Sign Language Interpreter, Stella Maris School
“I have to do some attractive visuals, first of all, even if it’s a letter. The letter “A” has to have an alligator behind it or an apple as well. And then the sign for “A” on the card along with the letter “A” and I would sign, this is “A”. I would point to letter “A” and I would show them this is “A” in sign language.”
Thirteen-year-old Jada Muschamp, who also has hearing impairment, relies on the sign language interpreter at Itz’at to help her understand her lessons better. Outside of school, she gets creative in finding ways to communicate with others, just like many people do.
Marion Ali
“You have your friends outside of school, how do you communicate with them?”
Jada Muchamp
Jada Muchamp, Student, Itz’at STEAM Academy
“I communicate with them using my phone. Through my phone I can communicate with sign language.”
Belizeans have been demanding renovations to the Marion Jones Sporting Complex for years. Athletes and other users have had to make do with worn-down tracks surrounded by overgrown mangroves. Earlier this year, the neglected state of the area led to sightings of snakes and crocodiles. But today, there’s finally some good news—the mangroves are being trimmed, marking the first step in addressing the issue. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth and Sports shared more details about the mission to revamp the facilities.
On the Phone: Devin Daly, Minister of State, Youth and Sports
“Basically myself and Minister Mahler we’ve initiated a cleanup for the Ion Jones Sporting Complex program that we’re planning on rolling out for the entire country, but starting off in a city and it’s basically sanitizing and getting the era cleaned and more suitable for people in the city to interact and workout.”
Britney Gordon
“So when did this begin?”
On the Phone: Devin Daly
“We’ve started I would say about two days after the Prime Minister appointed the portfolios.”
Britney Gordon
“And so when can we expect them to be ready to use?”
On the Phone: Devin Daly
“We’re not necessarily stopping from the residents from using the Marion Jones while we’re doing the works. The works usually start from the morning and we have the necessary cautionary tips and cones while the works is being carried out, but we’re not stopping anyone from using the facility. We don’t necessarily have an end date as yet for the complete renovations of the Marion Jones, however, it’s a work in progress.”
Exciting changes are on the horizon for the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Across the country, sporting facilities have been in various states of disrepair, and athletes have struggled to secure funding to follow their dreams. But according to the newly appointed Minister of State, Devin Daly, a new era of transformation is beginning. We spoke with Daly earlier today about his and Minister of Youth and Sports Anthony Mahler’s ambitious plans to revamp the ministry. Here’s more on that.
Britney Gordon
“What other initiatives can we expect to begin to roll out?”
On the Phone: Devin Daly, Minister of State, Youth and Sports
“The development of sports has two parts of it. It has the physical part whereby, there is competition and there is development starting at the youth stages. And there’s also the development and upkeep of facilities. Our primary focus at this time is getting the facilities up to standard. And that, we’re currently doing an assessment countrywide, and we’ve started inBelzie City. And so that’s just a part of our mandate, dealing with the development of the facilities and then rolling that out with collaboration with the federations.”
Britney Gordon
“What are some of the challenges that you’ve encountered upon attempting to begin this work and how are you navigating that?”
On the Phone: Devin Daly
“So far we’ve been getting the necessary assistance that we need to carry out these changes in the ministry and for NSC. And so far the staff has been very cooperative with the new vision and the new idea led by Minister Mahler and myself.”
Today was a special day for the upper division students at Holy Redeemer Primary School—they got to inaugurate their brand-new playground. This fantastic addition was generously donated and built by the Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise and the Interact Club of Belize High School. It’s all part of their ongoing mission to improve school facilities across the country. Britney Gordon was on the scene to bring us all the details.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Over the past few days, the Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise and its partners have been busy building an exciting new addition to the Holy Redeemer Primary School Upper Division campus. Today, the school proudly unveiled a fantastic new playground, complete with a slide, monkey bars, and other fun amenities. Dinesh Bhojwani, President of the Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise, praised the team’s dedication and hard work in making this dream come true.
Dinesh Bhojwani
Dinesh Bhojwani, President, Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise
“I can tell you there’s blood, sweat, and some tears for sure. Literally. They’ve been working since Thursday coming out here out, drawing out the plans, where it’s all gonna go. The build started on Saturday. On Saturday and Sunday, all those individuals that I Mentioned were out here digging, taking stuff to wheelbarrows building that wood wall that you see over there. Everybody was outside their comfort zone, especially me, I can tell you that. I’m not a big push stuff, physical stuff guy around but we did it.”
In addition to the playground, the school also received a donation of sporting equipment for the over three hundred students attending the upper division to utilize.
“ We are over the moon because it is very vital for us to offer our children a well-rounded education. And while academia is something that we are known for, we are also pride ourselves in sports and so this is a great opportunity for the children to express themselves and get stronger too and play.”
One enthusiastic student has already picked out her favorite spot in the new playground. She can’t wait to dive into the fun and start playing.
Adaija Burke
Adaija Burke, Student, Holy Redeemer Primary School
“I am excited about the monkey bars because I really love to climb and it’s very fun.”
Britney Gordon
“How grateful are you to have received it”
Adaija Burke
“I am really grateful and I want to give a big thank you to everyone who made this happen for us and I really love it so much.”
Bhojwani explained that this initiative is a part of a larger project to upgrade amenities in schools across Belize City.
Dinesh Bhojwani
“ For several years now, the Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise focuses lot of their projects in education, so whether it’s our wash program where we do bathroom locks for various schools throughout Belize City. One of the other initiatives is the playgrounds and this is probably our fourth maybe fifth playground. And this one comes, as many of them have, through Hope Mission in Canada,”
The Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise teamed up with the Belize High School Interact Club and the Rotary and Interact Club of VegreVille in Canada for this project. Seventeen-year-old Mady Nichol expressed her pride in being part of such a meaningful experience.
Mady Nichol
Mady Nichol, President, VegreVille Interact Club
“It’s very exciting. We came out on Saturday morning and worked all day. We had so much help. It was so great, and through all the obstacles, because it is a used playground, we conquered through it and it was just, it’s very exciting to see now that all the kids playing on it. Very rewarding and I think as a group, it’s very inspiring to see what we can do as a club of eighteen to eighteen-year-olds.”
The Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise has been busy upgrading playgrounds at other schools in the city too, including Saint Joseph Primary School and Saint John’s Anglican Primary School. Their efforts are making a big difference for students all around.
Dinesh Bhojwani
“This is part of the commitment that the club has. The Rotarians from Vegreville, the interactors, that’s commitment to service above yourself. It’s taking yourself to put in the work, I mean look at that. These kids are having a great time. And that’s what it’s really about. That’s where, that’s the reward for all of us. To see kids get something, it’s a simple thing for all of us. It’s a simple thing. It’s a playground. It’s not that big in the grand scheme, but it really brings a lot of joy. It’s part of the development of the children.”
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is sounding the alarm about four dietary supplements making the rounds in Belize. The products in question are Arti King, Artibion, Artri Ajo King, and Vitafer-L. According to MOHW, these supplements contain hidden substances that could be harmful to your health. As a safety measure, the ministry is urging everyone to steer clear of these products. We spoke with Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa, the Director of Public Health and Wellness, to get more details.
Melissa Diaz-Musa
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director, Public Health and Wellness
“There are about four of them, Artri Bion, Artri Kin and Arti Ajo Kinga and Vitafer-L. The first three was marketed as supplements that would help with arthritis or ache or pains, a general multivitamin or supplements that help the body function. And the vVtafer was marketed as a supplement that helped to lift mood and give energy and help with your day to day living. The ingredients these supplements have listed does not have that it is tainted with another medication. These other medications need a prescription for the ingredient not listed here. So Artri King has glucosamin, Vitamin C. Omega 3, but it does not have that it has an additional ingredient that can cause signs and symptoms. The ministry placed this press rlease out to warn the population not to purchase medication from social media or unauthorized dealers of pharmacies.”
If you’re currently using any of the tainted supplements that the Ministry of Health and Wellness has flagged, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa urges you to stop right away. She emphasized that there could be serious long-term side effects. And for those selling these products, be warned—you could face fines.
Paul Lopez
“The Vitafer-L was being marketed as this energy or enhancement supplement, especially in the party scenes, among clubs and those who go out at night. What becomes of those persons pushing the Vitafer-L.”
Melissa Diaz-Musa
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director, Public Health and Wellness
“What happens at this point because the drug inspection unit did their surveillance and found that it is available in Belize, we have contacted these persons and removed all these medications and try to find the source as best as possible.”
Paul Lopez
“Could charges or fines be levied against individuals pushing these products?”
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa
“That is right, the ministry do have the Food and Drugs regulation that covers us. There are fines, minimal fines, that we have used before when we have persons with falsified products in the country.”
Paul Lopez
“What is the medical advise to individual that have consumed and been consuming these tainted supplements.”
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa
“The first three has one particular medication and Vitafer has a separate medication. In terms of the Vitafer the best advice is not to take it. It can have side effects that can be very severe. We say do not take it at all but there is nothing you can do at this point. The others can cause long term side effects. So we would advise stop taking it and report where you got it from, try to work withthe ministry of health to remove all from the vendors and shelves across the country.”
