The Financial Services Commission has issued a notice advising Belizeans to exercise extreme caution when engaging with a land consultant under the name ER’s Land Consultancy in Orange Walk. In a warning issued today, the FSC stated that Eric Reyes of ER’s Land Consultancy is, “not licensed under the FSC Act to provide, carry on, transact, or hold itself out as providing, carrying on, or transacting any of the financial services as set out in the Schedule of the FSC Act”. Act number eight of the Financial Services Commissions Act 2023 states no person shall provide the business of financial service provider, registered agent or managing services in or from within Belize unless that person holds a valid license granted by the Commission under the Act. We spoke with Reyes who claims that Land Consultancy does not require a license under the FSC Act and affirmed that the issue will be dealt with soon. The FSC advises members of the public who transact business with this entity do so at their own risk.
Category: Orange Walk District
Missing OW Teen Found Dead in Rhaburn Ridge
Joshua Ku enjoyed socializing with his friends in Orange Walk Town. The nineteen-year-old lived with his sibling and grandfather and worked at a bakery along with his mother. The mother and son would often talk and spend time with each other at work and Saturday was no different. But when it was later discovered that Ku did not make it home after a night of partying at a popular nightclub, his family grew concerned about his safety. That concern quickly became a fear that something bad had happened to Josh. This afternoon, that fear became a reality. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was in Orange Walk Town earlier today and followed the story to its tragic end. Here’s that report.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
A mother’s worst fear was realized earlier today with the discovery of a male body, later identified as that of nineteen-year-old Joshua Ku, in a remote area of Rhaburn Ridge. The shocking encounter by loved ones who set out in search of the Orange Walk resident this morning, brought to an end a desperate attempt at finding Ku alive. The last time Nadia Ku saw her son was on Saturday evening while she was leaving work at La Popular Bakery.
Nadia Ku, Mother of Deceased
“I came out from work like. I was going up the hill, going home, when I saw him fly past with his friends and he took out his head from the window and he shouted. “Ma!” I smiled at him and waved. From then I haven’t seen him, [or] heard from him. All I know is that he went to Hi 5 with close friends and he come out of Hi 5 with other people that he’s not acquainted with.”
It is believed that Josh exited the establishment in the company of his ex-girlfriend’s brother. According to his mother, that individual was never fond of her son.
Nadia Ku
The guy that took Josh, honestly, he doesn’t even like my son, so I don’t know why he pressured Josh to go with him or maybe just for the ride to bring him home. Everyone told me Josh left Hi 5 about three or four [o’clock] that morning, but Josh never made it home. So Sunday, which was yesterday, like nine or before nine [o’clock] in the night, my other son called me and he said, “Mom, Josh hasn’t reached home as yet.”
Immediately, a missing person’s report was filed at the Orange Walk Police Station and the family set out in search of Joshua. This morning, Jose Witzil, a close friend of the family, joined the search party along with his son.
Jose Witzil, Family Friend
“This morning, my son called me and he told me the news, so he came down. Now, presently, as I am speaking, he is out there looking for him. It was a surprise to me. It’s still a shock to me to know that we can’t find his body, we can’t find him. Each time the minute, the hour goes by, we get more desperate because time is being consumed. Even the sun right now is hitting and we don’t know where he is.”
By one o’clock this afternoon, when the police department convened its weekly presser, Assistant Commissioner Hilberto Romero was able to provide additional details, albeit grim.
ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division
“Information received was that Josh Ku was along with some male persons at a nightclub in Orange Walk and he got into a car around 3:20 a.m. on the said Sunday, February eleventh. An investigation was carried out and searches were conducted and this afternoon, his body was found at an area near Rhaburn Ridge with stab wound injuries. The scene is being processed at this time.”
According to Ku’s family, he was lured into the company of several persons who later killed him and disposed of his body. While investigators say that they are yet to ascertain a motive, Josh’s mom explained to us that his former brother-in-law did not like him after Josh separated with his sister.
”His friends went to do a missing report last night, I went as well and we stayed there like an hour. I went out to find him, came home like 3:30 in the morning and Josh was nowhere to be found. The police called me like four o‘clock and he said that the guy Josh was with went to the station, gave up himself and he told them everything that he did to Josh.”
Isani Cayetano
“Nadia, you mentioned earlier that the individual who reportedly left with Josh from Hi 5 did not like him. Can you explain that, is it someone that they both knew each other but they weren‘t friends or they didn‘t have a liking for each other.”
Nadia Ku
“Well Josh dated his little sister, like two years ago and I guess ever since then he did not like Josh and I don‘t know because Josh said, “Mom, he doesn‘t like me.” He said, “You see him, he doesn‘t like me.” I don‘t know him physically, I haven‘t seen him, have never seen him, but Josh and everyone knows that he doesn’t like my son.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Minister Fonseca: No Student Should Be Sent Home for Not Paying School Fees
Another IT-VET issue that surfaced last week was that thirty students attending the Orange Walk ITVET were reportedly sent home for owing several months of school fees. But the Minister of Education has said that no student should be kept from the classroom because of outstanding fees. Today, he reiterated that position and said that a payment plan can be put in place to solve the issue.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“In the case of the Orange Walk ITVET, discussions and with the manager of the Orange Walk IT-Vet and the briefing that I got, he said that the students were not sent home. They were asked to bring their parents to school to discuss a payment plan for the remaining outstanding fees that they owed. That was done and my understanding is that issue has been resolved. All the students have been back in school since last week, sometime Wednesday, Thursday and they have worked out a payment plan with the parents for the remaining outstanding fees. We made it very clear to them that students should not be out of the classroom because they have not paid their fees. And there has to be something worked out.”
How Electricity is Generated and Distributed Across the Country
In our final episode of Bringing Energy to Life, we look at electricity generation and how it makes its way to the national grid from independent power providers who supply the country with a significant amount of energy. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The process of converting any form of energy into electric power is called electricity generation. One of the most common ways to generate electricity is by using a turbine, a device that spins a rotor shaft connected to a generator. That turbine can be driven by the kinetic energy of flowing water. The Mollejon Dam is one of three hydroelectric facilities operated by Fortis Belize on the Macal River.
Tedford Pate, Operations Manager, Fortis Belize
“As you notice in the background, we have our dam across the river. That is what creates the main storage in a hydroelectric facility, without the water it’s impossible for us to produce power. So as long as we have adequate storage within the dam then we have the ability to transfer that water through the penstock from the dam into the power plant.”
Built in 1995, the Mollejon Dam, which currently generates in excess of twenty-five megawatts, is the country’s first commercial hydroelectric facility. The reservoir saves and collects 1.71 million cubic meters of water.
“So as the water enters into the power plant, it passes through a series of controls for safety purposes. So we have what we call a main turbine shutoff valve and then we have wicket gates that allow the water to pass into the turbine. That then spins the turbine that is connected to the generator by a shaft, and as that spins, the generator itself produces the power, the water continues down the river to its normal flow.”
The electricity generated is then transmitted to a substation and distributed through a network of wires and transformers called an electric grid.
“The power now that comes out from the generator is transmitted to the substation, as you can see in the background at a voltage of six thousand, nine hundred volts and then it’s stepped up by that transformer in the substation to the transmission grid voltage which is a hundred and fifteen thousand volts. So once the power is on the grid, then BEL is then responsible for distributing that power to wherever the need is across the country.”
Twenty-five megawatts of power is generated by Fortis Belize at Mollejon, seven point three megawatts at Chalillo and nineteen megawatts at the Vaca facility. Hydroelectricity is one hundred percent renewable energy.
Omereyon Fregene, Manager, Energy Supply, B.E.L.
“In Belize, as you know, BEL is the sole transmission and distribution company for electricity. Our main sources comprise of the Fortis Belize Ltd, hydro dams: Chalillo, Mollejon and Vaca. We have a small hydro dam down south called Hydro Maya Ltd. We also have the biomass plants which is BELCOGEN, ASR/BSI at the northern part of the country and Santander Sugar Industries at the western side.”
Cayetano Acosta, Electrical Manager, Santander Sugar Group
“We mill six thousand tons of cane a day, of which thirty percent is bagasse which we use to generate approximately sixteen megawatts of energy. Eight megawatts is destined for internal consumption and eight megawatts is destined for the grid. We are harvesting sugarcane to produce sugar, however, the process to convert cane to sugar requires a lot of energy. It requires steam and electrical energy to power driver and motors. The most sustainable way to meet our energy needs is by using the same byproduct that we are getting from the extraction of juice from the sugarcane.”
“BEL is, of course, well aware of the trends in generation sources and the move from traditional fossil fuel plants to renewables. So BEL did conduct a study looking at a twenty-year horizon and that study took into consideration generation, transmission and substation assets that we would need to have in place looking at what the electricity requirements are for the country within that twenty-year period. That study did also take into consideration that Belize, as a country has committed through the national determined contributions to reach seventy-five percent renewable energy for all electrical energy consumed within the country.”
Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Ministry of Education Explains OW ITVET Situation
Earlier this week, thirty students attending the Orange Walk ITVET were reportedly sent home after several months of being unable to pay their school fees. It is a decision that is frowned upon by the Ministry of Education and today, C.E.O. Dian Maheia explained that the students were not suspended from school, but were in fact asked to return with their parents to discuss a payment plan.
Dian Maheia, C.E.O., Ministry of Education
“My understanding was that the ITVET Orange Walk had concerns because they had students with outstanding fees, parents who had not kept up with the payment arrangements and so they chose to ask the students to go to get the parents to come and confirm how they are going to handle their payment arrangements.”
Marion Ali
“So those students are for nonpayment of school fees.”
Dian Maheia
“My understanding is that they are not out of school, that they were asked just to get the parents so that they could have a conversation regarding outstanding school fees.”
Marion Ali
“For the students whose families absolutely can‘t afford it, will they be asked to stay at home until they can?”
Dian Maheia
“No…They won‘t…”
BSCFA Chairman and Agriculture Minister Address Caneros
Earlier today, BSCFA Chairman Elvis Reyes addressed the gathering and so did Orange Walk South Area Representative and Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai.
Caneros Block Philip Goldson Highway Amid Tensions in Sugar Belt
Prime Minister John Briceno is presently out of the country and the situation in Orange Walk remains volatile where the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and its membership met with government officials, including Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai, Chief Executive Officer Servulo Baeza and Minister of National Defense Florencio Marin Junior, earlier today. The meeting on the compound at the Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute, SIRDI, preceded the blocking of the highway that traverses Orange Walk Town. Since the annual sugar crop commenced on December twenty-eighth, the BSCFA is yet to deliver cane to the mill, as the association remains at odds with Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. over the signing of a commercial agreement. The BSCFA and the Government of Belize have been locked in a series of meetings since last Thursday and the discussions continued through the weekend. But tonight it is apparent that the parties may be no closer to arriving at an amicable solution to the standing impasse. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has been on the ground in Orange Walk since this morning and while there is no report of violence, the Belize Police Department has maintained a visible presence since the start of the crop last week. We begin with footage of what has been taking place at the SIRDI compound today that resulted in the blocking of that stretch of the Philip Goldson Highway.