On Monday, the Government of Belize held a press conference to answer the questions on the minds of every Belizean regarding the six-point-nine-million-dollar land purchased to build a University Hospital in Belmopan. The facility was initially supposed to be constructed on land belonging to the University of Belize, which would come at no cost to the government. Nonetheless, a technical team advised the Briceño administration otherwise. When we caught up with Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler, we asked for his take on the situation.
Reporter
“You spoke about, how much incidents that happened that affected the tourism industry. So with the Belmopan Hospital being built, and your thoughts on the location change, because I know they changed it because of the accessibility?”
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“What are you asking me?
Reporter
Your thoughts on moving it from where it was supposed to be, on the UB land, to the front of Belmopan.”
Anthony Mahler
“From what was presented to us in cabinet, it was a technical decision by The technical experts within the Ministry of Health and if they say that’s the most appropriate place for it to go then we have to listen but I support Minister Fonseca’s position as well that UB is always an option and we should continue to look at that seriously.”
While at the head table, Minister of Health Kevin Bernard allayed concerns of any legal action to be taken against the Government of Belize for its purchase of the land in question. C.E.O. Julio Sabido also reiterated that the University Hospital, despite it not being a teaching hospital, will be made available to medical students attending U.B.
Paul Lopez
“Do you foresee any sort of legal action coming against the government where this deal is concerned and how then do we move forward if that is the case?”
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness
“I’m not sure why you’re referring to legal action. Now, if we had really taken advantage of the owner of the land that’s where I would have presumed legal action. If we would have gone to what some people were saying compulsorily acquiring the land, then we could have ended up costing the Belizean people far more money. It was a genuine, like I said, there was no smoking gun. Clear procedures were followed, a clear assessment was made and we have now gotten the land for us to proceed with the work of constructing as soon as the other phase has been completed.”
Julio Sabido
Julio Sabido, C.E.O., Ministry of Health & Wellness
“There is going to be the access for that hospital, it will still be a teaching hospital as it relates to UB’s part. The primary purpose of this hospital that will be built is not to be a teaching hospital. The primary purpose is to deliver secondary and tertiary services to the population. The added value, the icing on the cake is that UB will now have a place where they can send their students to study and practice before they become medical practitioners.”
The name has been around in the carnival scene for many years. Belizean Jewels Mas Band has snagged titles in carnival competitions and then left the scene before returning. And this year, that mas band has over two hundred revelers who will dance their way along the carnival route. In this week’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday, News Five’s Marion Ali stops in for a visit with Belizean Jewels. Here’s that report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Belizean Jewels Mas Band has over two hundred revelers who will represent ten different segments of that carnival group on the big day. On Sunday, they were out in numbers at their Euphrates Avenue location for regular practice. And to make the occasion special, there was even live entertainment.
Shanice Garbutt
Shanice Garbutt, Program Officer, Belizean Jewels Mas Band
“The occasion is nothing. Belizean Jewels always come with a bang every time. It’s always a lot of surprises. As you can see, today was a random day of violinists and singers to various Soca songs and we can’t wait as well to show you all what you guys will be experiencing at our mass camp.”
Shanice Garbutt is the Program Officer for Belizean Jewels Mas Band. She says while the sessions are fun, they’re also important.
Shanice Garbutt
“We gather here every Sunday from three to 9:00 p.m., and being a competing band, we have to do choreographed moves. So we’re very strict on that when it comes to that. However, we do have our freestyle section, which anyone can come and join and they do their freestyle dance.”
Amber Saunders, one of the revelers, is already feeling the carnival hype and is ready to go.
Amber Saunders
Amber Saunders, Reveler, Belizean Jewels Mass Band
“We come with a bang. You know, just expect a lot of colors, a lot of energy, and you know, just a positive vibe, a positive feel of what Belizean Jewels really is. And how, as one family, we come together and we just do what we have to doand execute whatever.”
Marion Ali
Can you share anything about the team or no?
Amber Saunders
“All I can say is look out to see what we’re doing. So, our King and Queen will reveal what needs to get revealed.”
So what will the costumes for the Belizean Jewels look like? That’s still a closely guarded secret and so is the mas band’s special attraction in the actual road march.
Shanice Garbutt
“We’re finished with most of our costumes. We’re working on King and Queen, which is next week – almost finished with that as well. And we can’t wait to win that.”
Marion Ali
“So is there anything you’re coming with new this year? I mean, people say well carnival takes on a life on it of its own – the colors, music, dance moves and so forth.”
Shanice Garbutt
“I cannot say.”
Marion Ali
“You can’t?”
Shanice Garbutt
“No, I cannot say what to expect for the road march.”
Marion Ali
“You’ll have something new?”
Shanice Garbutt
“Yes, we have something very new for the entire audience and you’ll see that at our judging station and we can’t wait for you guys to see that.”
Carnival Day is set for September seventh. Marion Ali for News Five.
The Belize City Council announced earlier today that vending on Marine Parade, Newtown Barracks and Princess Margaret Drive will be strictly prohibited on Carnival Day. That is if you intend to set up stalls to sell food and drinks on the stretch of road to be used for the actual road march. The announcement, however, may not have been clear to many who believed it to mean that vendors are prohibited from selling along the carnival route altogether. Communications Manager Michelle Smith explains.
Michelle Smith
Michelle Smith, Communications Manager, CitCo
“After consulting with the Carnival Association, it was agreed that yes, no vending will be allowed on the street, on the carnival route, but you are allowed to vend on the shoulder of the street, meaning that you are allowed to vend on what we call the reserve space. Or, if for instance, there is a private property and you get permission from the owner to vend on the property, you are allowed to vend. But we are saying that you’re not allowed to vend on the street and the purpose behind that is just for safety reasons. In the event that the police need to come out, we want to leave the street open so they have access to come out. So basically, it’s not that you’re not allowed to vend, but not on the street of the carnival route.”
Isani Cayetano
“Does the street, just for the purpose of clarity, include both sidewalks?”
Michelle Smith
“Yes, both sides of the street. Yes, we know the carnival is coming from Memorial Park to Marion Jones Stadium, so we have to leave the other half open for safety precaution. and I just want to add that we have vendors who are vending on Rock Park. You have the Sandlighter’s Promenade by Moe’s Pizza where you have people vending and it’s bars and people who are selling food. When it comes to DigiPark, as you may know, we have an agreement with the DigiPark vendors whereby only the vendors in DigiPark can vend. This is nothing new, and so, if we allow vendors to go in the park, it will impact the vendors that are in there and we only find it fair that only the vendors at DigiPark can vend.”
Late last month, thousands of Belizeans from across the country travelled to San Pedro to support the Belize International Music and Food Festival. 2024 marks three years since the event was established to boost tourism in the country, and while the turnout was the largest the festival has ever witnessed, it still struggles to turn over a profit. When we caught up with Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler, he provided some insight on the successes and failures of one Belize’s biggest events of the year.
Anthony Mahler
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“I don’t think that the festival will ever break even. We didn’t look at it as that. I’ve said this from day one, and we don’t consider it as a loss. It’s a budget for it. We consider it as an investment, but it’s getting bigger, and the spillover effect is happening in Caye Caulker as well. A lot of the rooms were booked in Caye Caulker. In fact, entrepreneurs started to offer shuttle services from Caye Caulker to San Pedro and back. The restaurants in Caye Caulker were filled. The same thing in San Pedro. It was buzzing. And so we’re heading in the right direction in only three years. Now, we have to ask ourselves. When we came up there with the idea of the music festival is it was coming out of covid And on emancipation day where we wanted to celebrate being free but the elements the weather Isn’t very cooperative. And so the last three years we’ve had major downpours and so maybe the only thing would change it is a time of year and maybe one of the drier months still in the going into a slower part of the season or where you have a little downturn, maybe in May.”
Reporter
“The leader of the opposition recently called to personally asking for an audit of the festival’s financials. Can I get your take on that?”
Anthony Mahler
“We’ve produced the report on our website and we’ll do so again. In fact, he called me to state that he wanted to join me out there and show a bipartisan approach. I waited for him. He never showed up. But he apologized because his party is in turmoil and I think that’s more pressing than him going to meet Vybes Kartel or being at the music festival.”
For decades, Belizeans have supported Mexico’s tourism industry through frequent trips across the border. As Belize’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, the government has been discussing ways to promote Mexicans to return the favor. Minister of Tourism, Anthony Mahler spoke with us about the efforts to introduce Mexican tourist to Belize.
Anthony Mahler. Minister of Tourism
“We’ve had the Mexican market and We’ve been in our cross for some time now. And we can tell you that just for the first half of this year, the Mexican market grew by, I think about 100 percent almost and somewhere around there, and we believe that we can garner bigger part of that market. As we continue to put more initiatives towards marketing in Mexico. We’re also working on a direct flight out of Mexico still. And we believe that there are opportunities there just like other parts of South America. We believe strongly that we can grow the markets there in those areas.”
After one week in Belize, a Honduran national has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison on a charge of Illegal entry. He is thirty-one-year-old, Francisco Maldonado Hernandez, a Honduran national who was brought in by police on Saturday for allegedly entering Belize through the banks of the Mopan River in Benque Viejo del Carmen. He appeared in court on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to the offense and was imposed a non-custodial sentence of a fine of one thousand dollars, plus a court fine of five dollars. Hernandez was unable to meet the fine and was imposed a six-month prison sentence in default. The Belize Immigration Department has made an application for Hernandez to be removed from the country either upon paying his fine or after serving his prison term which was granted.
Today, a woman was taken to court by her own mother for allegedly throwing a glass bottle at her face. She is thirty-five-year-old Kimberly Jones, a Belize City cook who was arraigned on a single charge of harm upon her own mother, sixty-six-year-old, Glenda Jones. The mother and daughter live near each other, with their homes being about three feet apart. Glenda Jones claims that the amount of dirty clothes and trash left by her daughter in the area is a reoccurring issue. Reports are that on August twenty-third, Glenda returned home to find dirty clothes piled under her house on an unused toilet. She allegedly demanded the removal of the clothes, claiming that they attract rodents and roaches to the area. This is when Glenda alleges that her daughter threw a brown pint bottle at her from about two feet away, hitting her in the face. Jones filed a report against her daughter and was taken to the K.H.M.H. for treatment. Kimberly Jones appeared unrepresented in court today, where she pleaded not guilty to the crime. She was offered bail of one thousand, five hundred dollars, plus one surety of the same amount with conditions which she met. Jones next court date is set for October twenty-eight, 2024.
When the Coastal Plain Highway was inundated by floodwaters back in June, concerns over deforestation within the area were heightened. The Maya Forest Corridor Trust, a group of NGOs committed to preserving the forest along that area, sounded the alarm. They called on the Government of Belize to seriously investigate reports of deforestation within the Manatee Forest Reserve. News Five visited the area several weeks ago and found out that concern is shared among residents and businesses along the highway. Today, we spoke with Orlando Habet, the Minister of Sustainable Development, who informed us that his ministry has been doing its investigation. He revealed that several parcels of land within the reserve have been privatized. The ministry also found squatters within the reserve.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“The Prime Minister has advised us to form a subcommittee, the same committee with agriculture, natural resources and sustainable development. We had met with the people from Maya Forest Corridor Trust, but also from other NGO communities who are concerned because of some of the deforestation happening. In this case it was particularly because of the problems we had on the coastal road, some of the eroding, which shouldn’t have happened. So, part of the blame was being put on deforestation in the Manatee. So we were to investigate what that deforestation entailed. We got our technical teams together. They went to do the survey along with the NGOs and private sector. They discovered that there are some lands that are given out from past administration and they are titled, surveyed and everything in place. There are lands being squatted upon which we will have to address, which will have to come out. Then there are some illegal logging which is a perpetual problem that we will have to try to continue address. So we are asking even the NGO community, the private sector community that in these cases they also have to assist us because we don’t have the personnel to be in every corner of the country, all the mountain sides at the same time. So it is difficult. So the police might have to assist. The NGO can assist the community can assist to say we heard a motor saw in this area come and do the investigation. So, the committee has met two times. We are meeting a third time. I saw an email this morning from the Forest Department asking for a third meeting. Then we will come up with a report that will be sent to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.”
One hundred solar energy kits have been donated to pig farmers across Belize. The donation is part of an effort to promote renewable energy solutions and reduce the reliance on traditional, less sustainable energy sources. The donation of the pico solar kits comes from the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics and E-governance as part of the Lait [Light] Up Belize Technical Assistance Project with funding from the European Union. These compact solar systems can assist farmers in rural areas by reducing energy costs and providing lights in areas for increased security. The ministry collaborated with the Pig Council Association and the Belize Livestock Producers Association to ensure the effective distribution of the kits and provide technical support.
