The National Trade Union Congress of Belize has written to the International Monetary Fund informing economist Jaime Guajardo that the umbrella organization is effectively boycotting all further consultations with the I.M.F. The decision by the N.T.U.C.B. follows the actions of the I.M.F. in which it has been treated, “as a checkbox. As a concerned global citizen who represents laborers, we are deeply troubled by the negative recommendations towards hard-working public sector workers, teachers, police, doctors, nurses, firemen, etc. The negative impact that the I.M.F.’s interventions have had on the working class, economies, and people of developing countries within the Caribbean and Latin American Region is of serious concern”. The letter to Guajardo goes on to say that the N.T.U.C.B., “aligns itself with the criticisms that the I.M.F.’s structural adjustment programs that impose harsh austerity measures on debtor nations, lead to widespread poverty, unemployment, and social unrest”.
Glenfield Dennison, the vice chair of the People’s Constitution Committee, has been elected to replace Senator Elena Smith in the upper house. On Saturday, the membership of the National Trade Union Congress met in Belmopan where two candidates, including longtime unionist Marvin Mora and Glenfield Dennison, faced each other for the soon-to-be vacant seat. It was a close race but in the end Dennison emerged victorious over his opponent by a single vote. On Friday, we announced that Elena Smith has submitted a letter of resignation from parliament, to come into effect on April first.
Twenty-two-year-old Steven Diaz is tonight in police custody after handing in himself in the presence of an attorney. On Tuesday, we reported that the Orange Walk resident was wanted in connection with the murder of nineteen-year-old Joshua Ku which occurred in the predawn hours of February eleventh. Ku, a baker of Orange Walk Town, was at an establishment on Saturday night when he reportedly left in the company of several individuals, including Diaz. It was not until the following night that family and friends grew concerned when Ku did not return home from the nightclub. A search party was immediately dispatched in an attempt to find him alive. It was not until Monday afternoon that Ku’s lifeless body was found near a dirt road in the vicinity of Rhaburn Ridge. He had been fatally stabbed and dumped in a secluded area. Steven Diaz has since been arrested and charged for Ku’s murder.
On Wednesday evening, reports began circulating of the termination of Belize High School’s long-standing principal, Jamie Usher. This announcement was confirmed by the Belize Elementary and Belize High School Board which released a statement confirming her parting from the institution, reading, “we thank Mrs. Usher for her thirteen years of service as our High School Principal and for her contribution to the development of our school. We wish her success in her future professional career”. The statement did not specify a reason for the parting of ways; the announcement has had a polarizing effect, particularly on the United Women’s Group which recently released a statement declaring its solidarity with Usher. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with the story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Jamie Usher has served as the principal of Belize High School for nearly fourteen years, since the school’s inception in 2010. Since then, Usher has gained international acclaim for championing Belize’s progress in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM).
Jamie Usher
Jamie Usher, Former Principal, B.H.S. (File: October 11th, 2019)
“We are motivated by the fact that we are part of the evolution of technology and science in Belize. So first, we used to teach IT as a subject, then we started using IT by bringing in projectors and then we started using technology with our class. So we would have Google Classroom, Google Drive, different elements, but now behind me, you just witnessed where our students are taking technology and engineering and creating which is really a fantastic transformation when you think about we are no longer teaching what is a mouse, what is a CPU, what is a keyboard. We’re actually telling them use everything that has been built up since elementary school and create something that can solve a problem.”
The departure came as a shock to many, as Usher recently led the Belize High School team to victory at the Annual Global Challenge in Switzerland and had stated further plans to elevate the school’s team.
Jamie Usher, Former Principal, B.H.S. (File: October 18th, 2022)
“We already have plans to ramp up ourselves so we are looking for help to get two bigger robots at the hundred and twenty-five pound-level. Because we want them to know that we’re not afraid of remaining competitive and we’re not afraid to level up.”
In a public statement on the matter, Usher stated “I am humbled to have been able to share my talents, gifts, and ideas for just under fourteen years as a RAM. The service to the future of education in Belize has been my passion, and my energies will continue to serve the students of Belize, especially in leadership and robotics. I look forward to the next chapter. I stand proudly behind my commitment to the BHS RAMS Community. Thanks to my husband, children, family, and friends for always motivating me to strive for excellence in everything I do. Thank you to all the parents, of BHS who have messaged to share their words of kindness. Always Team Belize, always a Robotics Enthusiast, and always a STEAM educator. Jamie Usher”.
The United Women’s Group of Belize also spoke up, declaring its stance. A statement released by the group read quote, the news of Usher’s termination deeply saddened and angered the members of the United Women’s Group, who recognize the systemic barriers and biases that often hinder women’s advancement in leadership positions. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to breaking down these barriers and advocating for gender equality in all spheres of society, end quote. The Statement further went on to call upon BHS administration to provide transparency on the matter in order to ensure that fair and equitable treatment of all employees regardless of their gender. No further comment has been given from Usher or the BHS administration at this time. Britney Gordon for News Five.
The opposition is chiding the Briceño administration after Cabinet denied a request from the Senate Special Select Committee. In its request, the committee sought documents pertaining to the Portico Definitive Agreement that were tabled in Cabinet. News Five is in possession of a copy of one response from Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie to the Senate Committee. It says “I have been obliged to seek legal advice on the matter. That advice was sought from the Attorney General’s Ministry. Based on the legal advice received, I regret that I am unable to accede to the request”. As a rule, every member of Cabinet takes an oath to keep Cabinet deliberations confidential. Furthermore, section twenty-three of the Freedom of Information Act prohibits the release of Cabinet documents to the public. Notwithstanding these conditions, a copy of the Portico Definitive Agreement was leaked to the public back in May 2023.But a body like the Senate Special Select Committee that is undertaking such a serious task may not be able to rely on a leaked document for official deliberation. Today, Michael Peyrefitte, the Chairman of the United Democratic Party weighed in on Cabinet’s refusal to release those files.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.
“The committee asked him for the documents that they considered, they looked at, to help the committee do its work and they have just flat-out said no. And, I don’t know what the committee will do from here. Technically it is like this, you have a committee formed to produce and agreement and the government doesn’t even want to produce the agreement. So, how, what does that tell you and the terms of reference were clear, the terms of reference were clear, we want to know what were the circumstances that lead to the signing of that agreement and we want to know what was the circumstances that led to the Prime Minister tabling that set of papers in Cabinet, asking Cabinet to approve a document with accompanying legislation, even after one of the best lawyers in the world told him that that agreement was essentially trash.”
Paul Lopez
“Is it your view then that a request from the senate committee trumps the constitutional convention which indicates that Cabinet papers are considered confidential?”
Michael Peyrefitte
“Show me in the constitution where documents in Cabinet can never be released to the public, show me that.”
Paul Lopez
“Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act states that Cabinets documents are exempted from disclosure.”
Michael Peyrefitte
“When we were debating the bill, none of the six PUP senators, not even the leader of government business who many like to think is the greatest lawyer since Terry Mason, not even he objected to this because Cabinet papers are confidential and cannot be released to the public based on this particular law. Nobody said that until now, where you get that from? The committee in its request did not ask for a tape recording of the Cabinet. It said, listen the documents that were sent to Cabinet, what are those?”
But, is the Chairman of the United Democratic Party being sanctimonious in his criticisms against the Briceño Administration? On Wednesday when the former Lands Commissioner, Wilbert Vallejos, was called before the Senate Special Select Committee, he was reluctant to answer any of the questions posed to him. Vallejos served under the U.D.P. administration as lands commissioner for eleven years. He appeared before the committee with Senior Counsel Dean Barrow, former Prime Minister and U.D.P. Leader. Hugo Patt, the Deputy Leader of the U.D.P. and former Minister of Natural Resources, has also indicated to the Senate Committee that he does not intend to answer any questions his legal counsel deems irrelevant to the investigation.
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.
“There is a reason why you have terms of reference and you must stick within the terms of reference and the committee yesterday, in my view, was trying to go outside its terms of reference. And, this is the thing. If you don’t like the terms of reference then change it. We were in a Senate meeting last week. Mr. Barrow was right in telling Mr. Cal that it is a shame you nuh adjust your terms of reference to indicate where you want to go with your investigation.”
Reporter
“You can’t have it both ways. You cannot be criticizing the PUP for a lack of transparency when all the UDP personalities involved in the land transaction or adjacent to the land transaction have been willfully obfuscatory. Now, the former prime minister has appeared to block any ventilation of this Portico adjacent issue.”
Michael Peyrefitte
“That nuh mek no sense. You have the terms of reference. If it is so important to the Portico investigation, if it is so critical, so central, such a thing that it cannot exist without it, well put it in your terms of reference. If it is not in the terms of reference of an investigation you cannot go into it. That is a simple thing. And I don’t care what anybody says, it is not having it both ways, it is one way. We have terms of reference. When they called me to testify I went. They could call me back if they want. But what I am saying you cannot go outside the terms of reference and if you want that to be in the inquiry then put that in the terms of reference.”
Outside the considerations of the Senate Special Select Committee, Peyrefitte was asked if he believes that the seventeen questionable government land transactions that occurred only weeks before the 2020 general elections warrant an investigation. As we reported, some eight hundred and fifty acres of public land were sold and seventeen titles were issued for them, all on November fourth 2020. These parcels are located in close proximity to the proposed site for the Portico cruise ship project. Here is how Peyrefitte responded.
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.
“If you are a private individual, and attorney representing your client or whatever and you are engaged in transactions that has to be approved by the government, say for example, I buy a piece of land from you and I have to take that to the Natural Resources Ministry to get the transaction approved in terms of stamp duty or whatever. Or if I am buying land from the government and the government has to approve the sale of it, it was enunciated very well in a court appeals case recently, the responsibility lies on the government or the public official. You and I can do whatever we want to do, the government still has to approve it. So, you and I can get into a million ideas of what we want to do with government land or the transfer of land. All of that has to be stamped and approved by the government. So, if two private individuals gets into land transactions and it is approved by the government, then how can you blame those private individuals. In a case like that you will have to question the minister and those who approve it, yes. But that is not for this terms of reference with Portico, that is a separate thing all together. Whatever questions they want to ask Mr. Vallejos or the honorable Hugo Patt, just check the records. Go to the ministry of Natural Resources and ask them to produce the records of all transactions and the committee can have it.”
U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte, also told reporters that if the U.D.P. was in office they would honor the request of the Senate Special Select Committee for Cabinet confidential papers. In fact, Peyrefitte pledged that the next U.D.P. government will provide any Cabinet paper requested. Here is how he responded when reporters asked him about a decision by the Briceño Cabinet to release confidential documents would set bad precedents.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P.
“This is not a precedents setting government. This is not a government you want to copy or refer to at any time for the rest of the history of the country. This is a five years that the country will want to forget. They will set no kind of precedents. The next United Democratic Party government that the people will elect in will give you whatever Cabinet paper you want, you know why, because there is no secret to it. People come with proposals to the Cabinet for deliberations. If people want those documents and want to know what agreement the government came to or they want to find a definitive agreement that the government signed or any sort of agreement, it is for the people. There is no such thing as a private, public document. That is all public unless you are talking about issues that have to do with national security.”
A man was shot dead early this morning in Ladyville. He has been identified as twenty-one-year-old Cameron Hemsley, a known street figure of the same community. Hemsley was released from the Belize Central Prison on February second, for a robbery that is still before the Magistrate’s Court. He was shot in the Kwam Street area and ran into a yard where he collapsed and died. His body was discovered this, morning beside a house, where he apparently ran to escape the gunfire; however, he had already been mortally injured. News Five’s Marion Ali was in Ladyville today and put together the following report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
This is the location behind this residence at the corner of Seagull and Kwam streets in Ladyville, where twenty-one-year-old Cameron Hemsley drew his last breath this morning, before one o’clock. He had apparently sought refuge here when eight gunshots rang out. Hemsley ran into the yard and collapsed. The occupant of the house told News Five that he heard the gunshots, and a few seconds later he heard laboured breathing for a short while outside his house near a window. The man said that he thought that it was an opossum because not long ago, stray dogs had mauled one of these animals and it was breathing heavily before it died.
This morning, after the shots were fired, residents said that dogs were barking incessantly. But no one went to investigate what had really happened and it was not until the occupant of the house opened his window and looked outside that he saw Hemsley’s body beside his house. While no one in the immediate area was willing to talk on record, this incident has left them spooked. Two of Hemsley’s acquaintances did share with us off-camera, different perspectives of the same person. One of his friends, a woman who did not wish to share her name, was shocked by the incident.
Voice of: Friend of Cameron Hemsley
Voice of: Friend of Cameron Hemsley
“I surprised when I hear this morning that they kill her, you know, it was very surprising because I never believe they want to kill her, cause he well known a lady villain, everybody hang with her, soh ih very surprising. He did crimes, but not concerning people, nuh like that. He mi cool, da wa cool young man.”
But Hemsley’s other friend who also spoke with us off-camera, said the killing came as no surprise to him.
Voice of: Friend of Cameron Hemsley
“He choose a life deh. That da neva pahn we.”
Marion Ali
”What kind of life yoh di talk bout?”
Voice of: Friend of Cameron Hemsley
“Street, and you know the street is gonna eat you up after a while. There’s a lot of things. A lotta people mi want get the man. One time he was good; we tried to help him, but we can’t help him no more. We told him that when he come from jail last time.”
According to court reports, Cameron Hemsley was in fact, facing a trial for robbery. He was out on bail which he had secured just twelve days ago while awaiting the trial to begin, when he was shot dead. In 2019, he was charged with two counts of robbery with a firearm and one count of aggravated assault for pulling a gun on a police officer. Police are investigating the incident. Marion Ali for News Five.
In 2023, twenty-eight-year-old Howard Reyes was charged for attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm, aggravated assault with a firearm and wounding, following a shooting incident in Saint Paul’s Bank. Today, the Burrell Boom car dealer is a free man after his last two charges were dropped by the virtual complainant, James Perry, who requested that no further court action be taken against Reyes. According to Reports, Perry had been walking home when a gray Chevrolet Equinox drove up beside him and someone inside the vehicle fired several shots, injuring Perry. Due to the nature of the offenses, Reyes was denied bail at the time and was remanded to the Belize Central Prison. However, Reyes was later granted bail in late 2023 by the High Court and now, in light of the complainant’s request, the remaining charges of wounding and deadly means of harm were dropped and Reyes was set free.
