While the Cycling Federation of Belize has addressed these pressing concerns, there’s a bigger conversation happening about the future of female cyclists in Belize. With only ten registered female cyclists in the country, the federation is working to boost that number in the coming years. One of their strategies is to provide bikes for junior riders who are serious about both cycling and their studies. Here’s more from the federation.
Glenn Flowers
Glenn Flowers, President, Cycling Federation of Belize
“We are trying to see how we can best enhance the female cycling for the next year. Presently we have about ten or so bikes that we are trying to get the females to come on board and start riding. The bikes are only to be given tofemales that are attending school and what to participate in the classics.”
Leticia Westby
Leticia Westby, Secretary General, Cycling Federation of Belize
“Our goal is to try to partner with the Ministry of Sports to get them to support usand through primary and high school to integrate cycling as a sport in similar fashion to basketball and volleyball, football competition, to incorporate cycling. This is one of the sport that has been around for ninety-seven years and we are heading to an hundred and it is not integrated in schools. It is one of the more demanding sport that keeps kids engaged.”
Former Women’s Cross-Country Champion Kaya Cattouse was a no-show for the thirty-fourth race on Sunday. She was expected to compete, but a few days before the race, she raised concerns that might have led to her withdrawal. On Facebook, Cattouse claimed that the Cycling Federation approved junior women riders to race on Sunday, not to support their development, but to meet a sponsorship quota. She argued that the federation was taking the easy way out by putting these young riders in a competition that’s not suitable for their age, instead of doing the hard work to develop female cyclists. The federation responded, saying the decision had nothing to do with sponsorship. We spoke with President Glenn Flowers and General Secretary Leticia Westby.
Glenn Flowers
Glenn Flowers, President, Cycling Federation of Belize
“There is a lot of challenges coming towards it and we made a decision. We contacted the CCU and our counterparts outside. We asked the question and they said it is ok as long as we monitor it and have a timeframe that you can cut off. Clearly it speaks for itself that the kids are ready and they did well.”
Paul Lopez
“Was any sort of winds taken from your sails given that former cross country champ Kaya did not participate yesterday?”
Leticia Westby
Leticia Westby, Secretary General, Cycling Federation of Belize
“I would say that she has been the role model for female cycling in Belize. Her not participating yesterday, I perceive the competition yesterday covered that. It was a good competition. Yes her being there would have added and could have produced a Belizean win. But the young girls she was stating was not ready for the competition, we saw differently. It was not us asking them, it was them asking us if they can participate. Of course we know we had an event for them specifically because that is how we are trying to develop women cycling.”
Glenn Flowers
“What the junior cyclist came to me and said is that in their preparation for their championship they were practicing a hundred miles and they were not doing the exact miles. They were convincing me that they were ready because they were not only training for their race. They were doing a hundred miles so they know they could compete and do well.”
There’s a new basketball league coming to town. The Belize Premier Basketball League will start its season in four weeks. The seven teams in the inaugural season will be introduced on opening night at the Belize City Civic Center. Among them are four familiar organizations and three new ones. The BPBL has named Claudio Leal as its league commissioner. We spoke with Leal earlier today.
Claudio Leal
Claudio Leal, Commissioner, Belize Premier Basketball League
“Very significant is that within this league there are three championship cups. We are doing it just like the NBA format. We are going to have what we call one cup in the north, the north and the south, the Maya Cup. Then we have a cup in the east and west, we call that the toucan cup. These two will play and the winners of that cup will get five thousand each and then those two will play for the finals of the championship cup or what we call the Jaguar Cup. The winner will walk away with fifteen thousand dollars, with twenty gold rings and all the niceties. So it is twelve players, each team comprised of twelve players, on foreign player from any part of the world, one Belizean American and ten players. Out of those ten players, one has to be under twenty-one. That is the new format that we have introduced and that is what we are going with. The commissioner’s office also have two deputy commissioners, the first deputy and second deputy, Mr. Francis Arzu and Mr. Amir Garcia, Arzu first and Garcia second. Those two young men brings a lot to the table. I am very comfortable with the by-laws and the regulations we have in place. What makes this league different is the structure,, not only of the management, the executive but all the other committees that have pledged their commitment to serve as a part of this league. So success, the probability of success for this league is huge. It is paramount to understand that this league is not like any other league. This league will raise the level of basketball in Belize.”
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. The Thirty-Fourth Annual Women’s Cross Country Cycling Classic was held on Sunday. Nine riders took their positions at the starting line in San Ignacio for the seventy-mile race to the Digi Park in Belize City. Here is an overview of the race with the help of the Cycling Federation of Belize.
In Georgeville, eight riders were racing together, with only one lagging behind. Leading the pack was American elite rider Jade Stevens. The federation also allowed two junior riders and one youth rider to join the big race. That group of eight dwindled down to four riders in Roaring Creek Village. Francine Gigli broke away in front of Garbutt’s Puma Gas Station with sixteen-year-old junior rider Irene Baki on the chase. Gigli ultimately secured a twelve-hundred-dollar station prize at the Belmopan roundabout. The race took on a new dynamic outside of Mahogany Heights when Baki broke away from a group of five lead riders. Baki continued to pry open a gap as the sole lead rider until American Jade Stevens rode across the gap alone and caught up with her eight minutes later.
Stevens and Baki shared the lead, with a six-minute gap between the chase group, all the way up to the entrance to Belize City. Stevens launched an attack against Baki at that point and rode away from the junior rider. Folks, Stevens rode across the finish line at the Digi Park all alone with more than a minute to spare before fans caught sight of Baki turning the corner towards the finish line. Stevens is now the Thirty-Fourth Women’s Cross Country Champion, with Irene Baki finishing in second place. The race for third was a thrilling sprint to the finish between Francine Gigli and Junior Rider Lianni Choto, with Gigli clinching the third spot. Interestingly, Baki, Choto, and Chelsey Gillett all competed in last week’s Junior Cross Country Cycling Classic, where Baki came out on top. We heard from both Stevens and Baki after Sunday’s race.
Jade Stevens
Jade Stevens, Champion, 34th Women’s Cross Country
“Very competitive, very strategic in the beginning. I thought we could work together, but I could see that sometimes it was either people trying to slow me down or come behind me or try to make me do more work. That is how it goes, strategy, trying to make me do some work. That was very strategic, shout out to Lovell team for putting on the pressure.”
Irene Baki
Irene Baki, Sub-Champion, 34th Women’s Cross Country
“To be honest I feel great, because I could not believe that I actually come in second and I actually manage to come in with the foreigner, until she let me go. But that is fine, because I feel like I did a lot and achieve a lot. So I feel very happy about this. And I just did a cross country last week and I came in first and now this one I came in second, I am really proud.”
Proud, as she should feel, congratulations to all the ladies that competed in this one. It was nothing short of a thrilling race. The final showdown of the cycling season takes place on Saturday. Yes, I am talking about the Ninety-Fifth Holy Saturday Cross Country Cycling Classic. Glenn Flowers, the President of the Cycling Federation of Belize and Secretary General Leticia Westby gave us some insight into what can be expected of the highly anticipated showdown.
Glenn Flowers
Glenn Flowers, President, C.F.B.
“I am anticipating that this is going to be one of the biggest, best cross country coming up. We have our local guys and a few foreigners that will be contesting us, but I am looking for a fantastic race coming up this Holy Saturday.”
Leticia Westby
Leticia Westby, General Secretary, C.F.B.
“We have on a norm we have about seventy to eighty riders that will be participating. This is where we have the influx of Belizean Americans that will be enjoying the sea and sun and we have already approved twenty-five foreign riders, talking about Canada, U.S.A, all the way down to Venezuela, Honduras.”
And now, let’s switch gears from cycling to football! The Belize District First Division Football Closing Season is heating up, with Ceasar Ridge FC on a winning streak. They faced off against Old Road Defenders and dominated the match, finishing with a 2-0 victory. The first goal was scored early in the second half by Jacon Joseph. His shot towards the goal was a second attempt by his team after the goalkeeper deflected the first shot towards the goal. The second goal came late in the second half. And it was a very costly one. A hard tackle by Old Road’s goalkeeper sent Ajani Vaughn to the ground. The ball still went into the goal, but Vaughn suffered a serious foot injury. He was attended to by medics and taken off the field on a stretcher with what appeared to be a displaced knee.
That is how this one ended. We also captured highlights from the match between Kelly Street and Hattieville United. Kelly Street defeated Hattieville United by three goals to zero. The first goal was scored by Delroy Andrews in the twenty second minute. Steven Baizar came from behind in the fifty-first minute to put his team up by two goals. Francis Andrews sealed the game for his team with the third goal one minute before the end of regular time. Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. I am Paul Lopez.
Earlier today, Justice Tawanda Hondora dismissed a case brought by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Bart Jones. The case, filed in 2023, aimed to review a decision by the Security Services Commission that recommended the Governor General retroactively promote Doctor Richard Rosado. Doctor Rosado, represented by attorney Wayne Piper, joined the case as an interested party. DCP Jones challenged the promotion, questioning seniority and whether there was an available position in the Belize Police Department for Doctor Rosado’s promotion.
Wayne Piper
Wayne Piper, Attorney-at-law
“The claim by Bart Jones was to seek the court to quash the decision to appoint Dr. Rosado, to promote Dr. Rosado on a certain date. The issue that was taken was that the date was earlier than the promotion date of Mr. Jones, which was seen as giving him seniority, giving Dr. Rosado seniority over Mr. Jones. The decision of the court was, I would say, we can summarize it threefold. One: that the promotion to the effective date, the court found a little difficulty with the challenge to that decision because Mr. Jones, himself, was a recipient of a retroactive promotion and there wasn’t enough evidence. The court’s position was that there wasn’t enough evidence led by the claimant to substantiate why the earlier date of Dr. Rosado should be circumvented. The other issue was the issue of seniority and in that position the court took the view there was a difference between the Public Service Regulations and the police force manual. Where the police force manual would have referred to Mr. Jones as junior, the Public Service Regulations has a provision that once the promotion is within six months of the other date, then they’re both at the same level. The court found in favor of the Public Service Regulations having superior effect over the police force manual.”
Doctor Richard Rosado has been named the new Commissioner of Police, taking over from Chester Williams as the leader of the Belize Police Department. The claim by Deputy Commissioner Bart Jones, which came before Rosado’s appointment, was an effort to overturn the Security Service Commission’s decision and pave the way for Jones to become the next Commissioner.
Wayne Piper, Attorney-at-law
“Dr. Rosado has indicated to us, we have communicated this decision to him and he has indicated to us that it was never anything personal between him and Mr. Jones. It was a matter of… it’s a professional matter and I think the court, in the decision, also explained or expanded on it to say that both Dr. Rosado and Mr. Jones have been caught up on sort of an unfortunate circumstance because of these discrepancies between the force’s manual and the regulations where they’ve both found themselves in court, in litigation. But from what we’ve spoken to Dr. Rosado is that there is still a very professional, cordial relationship between them and he’s also expressed to me that the force’s manual that has been shown to have some deficiencies as he moves into his new role, he intends to work very hard on having that updated.”
Before the Commissioner of Police announced his departure, Deputy Commissioner Bart Jones had already legally challenged the retroactive promotion of Doctor Richard Rosado to Deputy Commissioner. Today, Commissioner Williams stated that he is not involved in deciding his successor.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I have not really read the ruling as yet, so I can comment at this time. The appointment of a Commissioner of Police is not within my purview as Commissioner of Police. That lies clearly on the prerogative of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Home Affairs. They decide who they want to be the commissioner of police, and if they choose to appoint Mr. Rosado as commissioner of police, then I have nothing to say about that. I just support whatever decision has been made in respect of that matter and moving forward, I’m supporting Mr. Rosado fully as we go through the transition period. At the end of the day, I want that when he takes over this department that he can be successful in whatever he intends to do to make this country safer.”
A tragic accident claimed the life of a man from Toledo on Thursday afternoon. Around two p.m., twenty-nine-year-old Elgar Chen was riding his motorcycle from Punta Gorda towards the outskirts of town when he collided head-on with a white pick-up truck. The father of three suffered severe injuries and died at the scene. driver of the truck, Marcos Choc stated that he was unable to avoid the collision despite his best attempt. Police are still investigating the accident and have not yet released any details.
In the heart of Belize, a remarkable initiative is taking root—the Mangrove Friendly Development Challenge. This inspiring competition is not just about winning awards; it’s about celebrating local heroes who are championing the conservation of mangroves. These vital ecosystems are nature’s unsung protectors, shielding our coastlines, nurturing diverse marine life, and playing a crucial role in the fight against climate change. As Belize faces the pressing need to preserve its natural treasures, the Mangrove Friendly Development Challenge shines a spotlight on innovative projects that blend development with sustainability, ensuring a resilient future for our coastal communities. On Thursday night, here in Belize City, an award ceremony was held to recognize the winners of the annual challenge. Here’s Isani Cayetano with that story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
Belize’s mangrove forests are incredibly important for the country’s diverse wildlife and the health of the Belize Barrier Reef. These trees act like natural shields against storm surges, waves, and coastal erosion, with thick roots helping to keep shorelines stable and prevent land loss during extreme weather. Mangroves are also home to many marine and land species, serving as nurseries for young fish, crabs, and mollusks, giving them a safe place to grow. Unfortunately, there’s been a troubling decline in mangrove covers in key coastal areas.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“The first global mangrove assessment shows that more than fifty percent of mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse. In the absence of additional conservation efforts, by 2050, seven thousand, sixty-five square kilometers or five percent more mangroves will be lost and twenty-three thousand, six hundred and seventy-two square kilometers, or sixteen percent more will be submerged.”
To tackle this issue, the WWF teamed up with leading environmental and government agencies to launch a national competition. This contest is all about celebrating and rewarding individuals and groups who are pioneering mangrove-friendly projects on private lands.
Nadia Bood
Nadia Bood, Country Representative, WWF
“The reason we did this is because we realized that mangroves are under a lot of stress. We are seeing increasing loss of mangroves from development, you know, many people are driven to develop along the coast. We have hotels, resorts, expansion of communities, of municipalities, and so we said that we need to find a way that we can engage the public, we can try to engage the development sector, the government, the planners, in an initiative that can bring people together to effect change.”
Healthy mangrove ecosystems draw tourists and promote sustainable fishing. Keeping these ecosystems intact is crucial for the well-being and longevity of coastal communities. Mangroves are nature’s all-stars, offering protection, supporting diverse wildlife. Mangroves are amazing at soaking up and storing carbon dioxide, playing a big role in fighting climate change. They can capture up to four times more carbon per square meter than rainforests.
Beverly Wade
Beverly Wade, C.E.O., Blue Economy & Marine Conservation
“We have challenges that we have no control over, like climate change, as mentioned earlier, but we have challenges that are man-made challenges. We have development challenges which we are challenged to find that balance and for us to not see mangrove areas as an area that we need to mow down full and look pretty, but that it can be aesthetically pleasing and at the same time allowed to maintain its functionality which has so many other co-benefits.”
The Belize Tourism Board launched the Tourism Gold Standard Recognition Program to tackle the health and safety challenges brought by Covid-19. This program introduced better guidelines and protocols for hotels and restaurants, ensuring guest experiences remain top-notch. It has significantly raised the bar for hotel operations across Belize. El Ben has not only met these high standards but surpassed them, and on Thursday night, they proudly took home the prestigious award from the Mangrove Friendly Development Challenge 2024.
Saira Mahabir
Saira Mahabir, Manager, El Ben Cabanas
“I was really shocked and really, really happy, humbled that we were recognized. From the beginning when they were doing the development, the owner, Mr. McWaters, Brian McWaters, he saved a lot of the mangroves and used it to beautify the property, and he saved all the mangroves in the front of the sea so he can actually use it as a shield to the property. If you look at the seaside, you will see all the mangroves, you wouldn’t see the resort at all.”
The Mangrove Friendly Development Challenge tells an inspiring story of local efforts to boost environmental sustainability and resilience in Belize. Isani Cayetano for News Five.
Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) has announced why it’s asking to raise electricity prices starting January first, 2026. In a detailed ninety-one-page report to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), BEL is requesting an average increase of three cents per kilowatt hour, from forty cents to forty-three cents. If approved, this new rate will be in effect until June thirtieth, 2028. BEL explains that the price hike is necessary due to the rapidly growing demand for electricity, which increasingly relies on more expensive sources. Additionally, the company needs to recover past energy supply costs that exceeded the revenues collected. BEL assures that its proposal is backed by comprehensive documentation and data. The PUC is currently reviewing the request and will issue its initial decision within thirty days of the submission date, which was April fourth. News Five’s Marion Ali takes another look at the submission.
Marion Ali, Reporting
In its submission to the Public Utilities Commission, the Belize Electricity Limited has applied for an average of three cent per kilowatt hour increase for the period January first, 2026, to June thirtieth, 2028. The increase, however, if approved, would mean that there will be categories of customers who will pay more than the three-cent per kilowatt hour. Depending on how many kilowatt hours customers use, their light bill would include prices charged. Under the old rate structure, residential customers using more than two hundred kilowatt hours per month paid forty-three cents per kilowatt hour. But with the new tariff structure, customers using between fifty-one and two hundred kilowatt hours would pay forty-one cents. Those using between two hundred and three hundred kilowatt hours would pay forty-six cents, and if you use over three hundred kilowatt hours, you’d pay forty-eight cents.
BEL has indicated that its power supply resources, including the Mollejon facility, the Chalillo Dam and the Vaca facility. B.E.L. owns a power station comprising mobile diesel-powered generating units in Caye Caulker and two diesel-powered gas turbines, one at the Westlake Gas Turbine Facility at Mile Eight on the George Price Highway and the facility near the southern tip of Ambergris Caye. The cost associated with B.E.L.-owned generation is specified by a monthly capacity charge.
Minister of Public Utilities, Michel Chebat told News Five today that no load shedding is expected to occur this year because of supply and demand shortages. He indicated that there are mainly two aspects of providing power technically: the generation and the distribution aspects. In terms of power generation, the minister said that BEL is peaking at a hundred and fifteen megawatts and that there is sufficient in-country generation to cover that demand with the two plants that are in effect.
Where hiccups may occur, as they have over the past couple weeks in San Pedro has to do with line maintenance. As we enter the dry season, dust and debris accumulate on the lines and transmitters and can interrupt power flow. However, during these times, B.E.L. dispatches work crews to clean up the equipment to alleviate this problem. He added that there is also an invitation by the government to whomever is interested to set up an eighty-kilowatt solar plant. This should be in place within the next two years. Marion Ali for News Five.
