The Department of the Environment is opening an office in San Pedro this Friday. The office opens avenues for development and change on Ambergris Caye, as the D.O.E. is responsible for managing natural resources, preserving and protecting the environment and controlling pollution. We asked the Minister of Blue Economy, Andre Perez, what this means for the island. Here is his response.
Reporter
“The D.O.E. office recently opened up in San Pedro. As Area Rep, can you talk to me about what this means for the development of the island?”
Andre Perez
Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy
“Certainly I’m an excited person as the Area Rep and as it relates to the Department of Environment and Forestry, an extremely important department in San Pedro and Caye Caulker, officially to be open, I believe it’s the twenty-first, I did get the invitation. I’m very thankful to Minister Habet and his Ministry for that opening of the permanent office. I can tell you that they have been working. They are at their station and they have done some work doing inspections in different places there. It’s a win for Belize Rural South.”
If you visit San Pedro and need to get around during the lunch hour, you’d probably reach your destination quicker if you walk. The traffic in San Pedro has gotten so congested with an overabundance of vehicles and golf carts that the San Pedro Twon Council and the area representative have sought the assistance of the Ministry of Transport to solve the problem. Today, Minister Ferguson said the Transport Department will come up with a plan to address that issue.
Rodwell Ferguson
Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport
“I was in San Pedro last week, likewise Caye Caulker, and I see the chaos in San Pedro with the amount of traffic, and so we are trying to come up with a plan to present to Cabinet how we can mitigate and reduce the amount of traffic in San Pedro because if I was a tourist, I’d never visit San Pedro because it’s too much traffic. So I’m hopeful that once it works, then you’ll see the results.”
Reporter
“But it’s a problem. I understand it’s a traffic problem, but it’s also a volume problem. They have too many, too much heavy equipment, too much golf carts, too much vans, too much, too many vehicles.”
Rodwell Ferguson
“Soon we will ask for a moratorium on golf carts. So you can only maybe replace the one that you have. We have to bring any additional group because it’s too consistent.”
In another case of gun violence this weekend, a young woman is recovering from gunshot wounds after she was approached by three persons and fired upon in San Pedro. On Saturday night, around eight-thirty p.m., twenty-two-year-old Zulmy Camara, her common-law husband, and three other men were socializing in her apartment complex in the San Pedrito area when they were approached by three masked individuals who opened fire on them. Although Camara was the only person to sustain injuries, police do not believe that she was the intended target. Here’s A.C.P. Hilberto Romero with more information.
“On Saturday, the first day of June 2024, police responded to a shooting incident of San Pedro town, upon the arrival they found Zulmy Camara with gunshot injuries. She was taken to the San Pedro polyclinic for treatment and is in a stable condition. Investigation is that she was at an apartment complex in San Pedro hanging out with several other persons. When three persons approached then two who were armed with firearms, they fired several shots causing the injuries to Zulmy Camara with gunshot. No one else was injured and we are seeking the three suspects in regards to the shooting.“
Reporter
“Was she the intended target?”
Hilberto Romero
“We do not suspect she was the intended target. e believe other persons who were at the ER were the intended target.”
Reporter
“Does she recognize the people who shot her?”
Hilberto Romero
“An investigation is being carried out. That is all I will say.”
Reporter
“Are you able to say whether this yard is known for drug peddling?”
Hilberto Romero
“Yes, it is known as a drug peddling area, it is always searched by the police.”
Reporter
“Then do police believe that it may be sparked from some war over
Hilberto Romero
“Again, we have not established a clear motive, but we have two rival groups that we are looking at and so they will be interviewed.”
Today, both ministers Perez and Habet were asked to speak on major developments that are happening in Belize, primarily in San Pedro, that involve extractive activity or infrastructural developments over the sea. Habet, who was asked to weigh in on these types of projects after Belize has signed a blue bond that supports marine environments, did so candidly. He said that much of Belize is still under protection and that the country needs development but that it is doing so as responsibly as it can. Perez, who was asked about heavy-duty machinery that was recently shipped to San Pedro for development, assured that the protocols are being followed before any kind of activity takes place.
Andre Perez
Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South
“I did find out that it’s a machine for excavating the quarry there, and that quarry that you’re talking about there, they are very compliant. They have everything in place with all – compliant for doing the mining. It’s just a bigger machine to produce the material that is white marl, which is crucial for the streets. Remember that the town of San Pedro, we have an aim of paving nine miles, but to pave those nine miles, we need to prepare those streets with white marl. If we were to talk about cost, bringing nine loads of white mall on a barge from Belize City to Ambergris Caye would cost somewhere around $15,000. That’s what it costs. Now with this natural resource available, and we’re doing it the right way, correctly, in compliance, this is what is created for the Town Council and for the town to prepare these streets for paving, we’ve saved millions of dollars. So that’s the bright side we need to look at. While it’s true that it’s looking like a huge machinery, the development of Ambergris Caye is growing so fast that we have to prepare. But everything so far shows that it’s being done in compliance.”
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“For national development there are certain risks that we take. Progress, as they say, brings problems, but let’s take it from the standpoint. Belize has a vast amount of land and sea in conservation. We need national development. Some projects that are entertained by one, applying for an environmental impact assessment goes to at least 15 professionals on the N.E.A.C. after a summary of the report comes to them from the Department of the Environment. We go based on their recommendations. I think that we have, as 60 percent of our country is still in forest cover, we have about 39 percent in protected areas, a large part of the logging comes from sustainable logging concessions, and we really have very little mining being done that will affect the forest. Our environment – certainly when a mangrove is torn down, people see it negatively. What we have to start to do now is to also ensure that these companies and these investors can also do some restoration activities. And to work along with us to see how we can still have those development projects, but also be as conservative as possible.”
And for those property owners in San Pedro and Caye Caulker who have gone ahead to build seawalls, creating either obstructions to others or concerns about the environment, Perez explained that they are being dealt with in accordance with the law. Today he informed that stop orders have been issued to all those property owners who have insisted on continuing with their construction. He added that having Forestry and the Department of the Environment now represented on the island is already making a positive difference.
Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South
“I think they’re looking at stop orders already. And I did speak with the different departments this morning because it’s not only that wall, to be honest with you, that’s being brought to light, because one thing, I thank the Caye Caulker people for bringing it to light. There are many concerns up in Ambergris Caye as well, and I’ve been reaching out. So I’m thankful now that the Department of Environment and Forestry has an office, and know they are doing the work, and we’ve expressed the support as well from the council that’s providing any kind of support that we can do with them, as well as the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. So all is coming into place, and let them know, especially those people are developing up there, we’re not calling any names – foreigners that come in there. We simply just want to make it clear to them that we are a country of standards. There is a way development can happen, but there are ways and means how to do it. There’s a legal process and a lot of that has gone unchecked because it’s a huge place. The municipality is overwhelmed, but having the right departments in permanent place is going to make a difference and it’s making a difference already.”
A teacher in San Pedro was arraigned on Thursday in the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court on three counts of sexual assault. The incidents allegedly occurred between January and March of this year with three students who are enrolled at the same school where he teaches. One of the victims is fourteen and the other two are fifteen years old. He appeared in court with his attorney, Ronnell Gonzalez, and was offered bail of nine thousand dollars which he met. He is to surrender his travel documents, not to apply for new travel documents, not to leave Belize without permission of the court, not to contact complainants and not to be within a hundred yards of the complainant. He is to report back to court July seventeenth.
Three weeks ago, San Pedro Mayor, Wally Nunez made his intention to run against the Belize Rural South’s Area Representative, Andre Perez, public. Nunez took to his Facebook page to inform the constituents that he would be applying to the P.U.P. Executive to enter his name as a contender for an election convention. But today we learned that Nunez’s hopes were dashed when the executive’s response was that he was not going to get that permission to challenge Perez. In a Facebook post on the matter today, Nunez wrote in part, “Guided by the voice of the people I decided to continue leading them as their area representative. I have now been made to understand that this will not be possible. I respect the decision of our party and hold dear the mandate given to me by the people. I, Wally Nunez, will continue to work and walk with the people of Belize Rural South. I will continue to serve the people. I will continue to lead them forward! Adelante!,”. News Five tried to reach Nunez to get his reaction to the P.U.P. executive’s decision, but our attempts were unsuccessful.
Forty-one-year-old Maynor Ancona is out on bail after being arraigned on five criminal charges. Ancona is accused of causing the death of his partner, forty-six-year-old American National Jennifer Griffith, on Ambergris Caye. As we reported on April sixth, Ancona got into an altercation with another male individual at a bar on the island. During the altercation, Ancona allegedly picked up a conch shell and threw it at the person, but it caught Griffith in the head. That injury later led to her death. As a result, he was charged with manslaughter by negligence, disorderly conduct, two counts of harm and one count of wounding. He appeared before a magistrate in Belize City in the presence of his attorney, Orson “OJ” Elrington. In court, no plea was taken from Ancona for four of the five counts, apart from disorderly conduct for which he pleaded not guilty. There were no objections to bail being granted to Ancona by the Prosecutor who only asked for stringent conditions to be laid as the police investigation is ongoing at this time. With that, the sitting Senior Magistrate offered bail to Ancona in the sum of ten thousand dollars plus one surety of the same or two sureties of five thousand each, which he met. Elrington spoke with us following the arrangement.
Orson Elrington
Orson Elrington, Attorney
“The allegation by the police is that there was a fight and that my client, there were coconut shells thrown and one of the shells hit the deceased and she died after that. My client denies that that is the facts and what happened. But of course, manslaughter by negligence is one of those cases that is not tried summarily. It has to be tried in the Supreme court and so no plea was taken for those charges and a number of charges that the DPP has to determine if those charges will be heard summarily or whether or not they will be heard by the high court. He has been in police custody for two plus days now and when I met with him he is still grieving because he lost his common law wife and he wanted to get out to make the necessary preparations for her funeral or to transport her body. That is his primary concern right now and still in the mourning process. Losing someone is never easy and especially under these circumstances where the authority has charged him for the death, and he feels unfairly so and it is obviously a very tough situation for him.”
Elmer Castro, the individual Ancona got into an altercation with at the bar was also charged for disorderly conduct and two counts of wounding.
The electorate also sent a resounding message in La Isla Bonita on Election Day, as the blue machine proved to be far more effective. Wally Nunez and his slate of six councilors were returned to serve on the town council for a second consecutive term in a town that was, prior to that, predominantly U.D.P. territory. Voters began to stream in steadily soon after the polls opened and then waned a bit around the lunch hour, but picked up again towards the close of the polls. All in all, the voting went peacefully, with both major political parties shuttling their supporters to the polls and the only independent candidate meeting people just before they entered the polling stations. At the end of it all, the P.U.P. team led by Wally Nunez blew away the competition by a rough ratio of three to one. For the P.U.P. team, they collected votes in the three thousand series, while the U.D.P. slate received votes in the one thousand series. Independent Mayoral Candidate, Abner Bacab got sixty-three votes. News Five’s Marion Ali did the honours on Election Day coverage in San Pedro and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Things got off to a fairly busy start when the polls opened in San Pedro and remained that way for a few hours, with voters forming decent lines at the two polling stations. And from as early as then, the three mayoral candidates were out trying to win those votes.
Wilfredo Alamilla
Wilfredo Alamilla, U.D.P. Mayoral Candidate, San Pedro
“We have been listening to the people. We have been campaigning since, October and what we’re doing, we’ve been doing some canvassing. We have been getting their basic information, and we asked them that we really want to hear from them, because we take it as a plan of work with listening to their concerns.”
Wally Nunez
Wally Nunez, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate, San Pedro
“It was quite good. It’s energetic. I can say it was quite a lot of work today, but it was good because to me, I believe we will become successful at the end of the day the people who came out, there’s loud and clear, you can see it from all over town that they support this sort of movement.”
Abner Bacab
Abner Bacab, Independent Candidate, San Pedro
“Actually, I didn’t do any campaign. But, on the last two months, last week, I’ve been doing my campaign, like I said, since I brought my ambulance three to four years ago. So, all the people I help, they know what I do, they know what I’ve been doing here in San Pedro.”
Marion Ali
“You don’t have a council team. Why is that?”
Abner Bacab
“That is a very important question. I like your questions. I’m gonna answer it, and I hope I can answer it. Here, it’s been in the pipeline for many years, me running for council. This time, I was – I hadn’t decided. It was more people asking me to run.”
Throughout the day, the voters kept the process peaceful, but the police presence was evident. Assistant Commissioner, Howell Gillett was dispatched to San Pedro to oversee the management of the police presence.
Howell Gillett
ACP Howell Gillett, Officer in Charge, San Pedro Elections
“There’s no report to us that anything has gone wrong, but our officers, as you have seen, are in place. We – the community itself is abiding. Today is a special day in terms of it’s an election, but also there are some restrictions for liquor premises and everybody in our view is abiding by it. And if not, if we are alerted to it, then we address it right away.”
Indeed by the end of the day, there were no crime-related incidents and the polls closed without a hitch. The U.D.P’s former legal advisor, Orson Elrington was on the island as legal counsel for the U.D.P San Pedro slate. He explained to us what his role was for the day.
Orson “OJ” Elrington
Orson “OJ” Elrington, Legal Advisor, U.D.P. Municipal Slate, San Pedro
“Legal counsel becomes most important at counting time, wherever there are any legal issues that arise. Legal issues arise every so often, but most of the time legal issues normally arise at the time of counting as you would know.
Marion Ali
“Pertaining to how ballots are cast.”
Orson OJ Elrington
“Correct, absolutely, whether or not a ballot can be considered valid or not, whether or not a ballot is a spoilt ballot or not, if there’s any infraction of the Election Rules, anything of that sort, right on the process is supposed to be conducted.”
As the residents and the candidates waited to hear the results, the aspirants from the major political parties were confident.
Wilfredo Alamilla
“I feel so positive. I feel so good because I have accomplished something that I really wanted to do in my life. And then I’m here today. It’s done and we just have to wait for the results. And I feel happy. I’m very positive, and whatever it is, I respect the position of the people.”
Wally Nunez
“The figures the way we’re seeing it, we are, we’re leading the way.”
Marion Ali
“In terms of the voter turnout?
Wally Nunez
“Voter turnout, it was roughly around the same, or a little less than the last. Less than 69%? Less than 69%. And I understand there was a lot of people who couldn’t make it because of work, some people couldn’t travel. But we’re confident that we have the support we were looking for.”
In the end, Nunez was victorious, as announced by the Returning Officer, Gian Cho.
Gian Cho
Gian Cho, Returning Officer, San Pedro Elections
“Wally Nunez, Mayor, 3,651 total votes, 3,651. Dianelli Aranda, Councilor, 3,730 votes. Adali Ayuso, Councilor, 3,668 votes. Ernesto Bardales, Councilor, 3,527 votes, Jose Castellanos, Councilor, 3,535 votes, Johnnia Duarte, Councilor, 3,573 votes and Marina Graniel Kay, Councilor, 3, 611 votes. I therefore hereby declare the winner of the San Pedro elections as the P.U P. slate.”
Returning mayor Wally Nunez is ready to go back to work.
Marion Ali
“Mr. Mayor, how soon will you, return to office? And what will be the first thing that you will do?”
Wally Nunez
“We’re planning tomorrow to get back to work. And we’re planning to do the swearing in so that we can continue the work for the island.”
Marion Ali for News Five.
The total number of voters who turned out in San Pedro was five thousand four hundred and four out of a total of eight thousand seven hundred and four.
