2024-02-13 - Channel 5 Belize

Joseph Budna is Arrested and Charged for Cyber Bullying

Orange Walk Police have arrested and charged Joseph Budna for the crime of cyber bullying. As we reported on Friday, Budna, a well-known figure who has had several brushes with the law, was wanted in connection with a complaint made against him. It is alleged that he used a social media platform to torment Orange Walk North Area Representative Ramon ‘Monchi’ Cervantes. Budna was arraigned in the Orange Walk Magistrate’s Court on Monday and was granted bail in the sum of one thousand dollars. He has once again taken to social media in an attempt to clear his name.

Joseph Budna, Charged for Cyber Bullying

“I’ve been through a lot, believe it or not. I‘ve been locked down in Belize City after eating a barbecue by the GI3 unit‘s personnel who deal with gang members, as if I was a gang member. I was taken to the Queen Street Police Station by the GI3 unit that deals with gangs and then I was locked down at the Raccoon Street Police Station. I told them, you know what, I went into Belmopan Cyber Crime Unit to report this guy, Anthony Tillett. I did report him and I have an official statement that I gave to them about it and they have taken my statement and they are working on that with their Guatemalan counterparts. I left the station and one of them tried to grab me and I did not allow them to do so until I consulted my attorney and that officer did not place me under arrest. So he could not say that I escaped from lawful custody. No, I did not. So I contacted many persons and after I contacted many persons, this happened on Friday, folks. Let me give you exactly what happened. On Friday, I visited Belmopan and I went to Cyber Crime Unit and I gave a statement against Anthony Tillett and I also managed to take a picture of that statement which later on I might be sharing if anything. But I took a picture of that and also what happened is that thereafter I left the station and these two police officers from Cyber Crime were acting very suspiciously and I don‘t know exactly what they were up to. So I left them and they didn‘t say you are under arrest or we place you under arrest. I left and I went and thereafter, I heard that they wanted to talk to me. So I called and I got the inspector’s number Inspector Juan Garcia from Cyber Crime. I contacted him and he said mein, we neva mi wahn arrest you, we just mih wahn talk to you concerning the report that the chairman of Chan Pine Ridge Village made against you that you accused di man that ih assault unu, you and the reporter for Estereo Amor.”

FSC Issues Warning Against Unlicensed Land Consultant

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.

Public Service Union Reminds Members Of Their Rights

The Public Service Union says that it will not be disrespected or fall victim of harassment any longer. On Monday, the Public Service Union issued a circular to its members reminding them of the proper protocols regarding public officers transferring within ministries. According to the circular, there have been multiple instances in which the C.E.O. of a ministry has either attempted to transfer officers themselves or attempt to refuse the transfer of an officer. It further states that these transfers can only be issued by the Public Services Commission or by the C.E.O. of the Ministry of Public Service as delegated by the commission. As transfers will be occurring between now and March thirty-first, the union felt obligated to issue a reminder to its member that they must report these instances to union if they occur. We spoke with President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers for more information.

Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U.

“Currently we’re dealing with some grievances in which public officers now, are claiming compensation for responsibility allowance, as well as acting allowances, for having been posted or transferred without the permission or without the knowledge of the CEO in the Ministry of Public Service or the commission. And in these cases, while we do enjoy success in being able to prove that these people were in fact performing in a capacity that they are not to have been. And in most cases we do get the compensation that they’re seeking. But we’re saying that we cannot continue always trying to prove these unauthorized transfers because it is important that the commission or the CEO in the Ministry of Public Service calls his colleagues and these heads of departments accountable who continue to usurp the authority by posting and transferring people without any OUT 7:47 vested authority. It doesn’t matter how much we report some of the irregularities that CEOs both past and present may be engaged in. We are yet to see under the previous administration or past administrations or under the current administration where CEOs who have not acted in the best interest of the public service have been recommended. We have not seen that and I am unable to say to you what would be those repercussions because all that the government sees when they come into office is blue and red and each and every administration that comes into government know exactly who are decent CEOs and upright CEOs and who are terrible whether from a human resource management standpoint or whether from an integrity standpoint, they know them and they know them well.”

Exploring Garifuna Cuisine in Hopkins Village

In tonight’s installment of Kolcha Tuesday, we take you down to Hopkins Village. It is one of Belize’s prime tourist destinations. The village is predominantly occupied by the Garifuna people and it is one of the few places in Belize where cultural cuisine and tourism marry as a match made in culinary heaven. News’s Five’s Paul Lopez explored a few of the key ingredients that can be found in a Garifuna kitchen, the importance of local Garifuna restaurants to tourism in Hopkins Village, and why tourists keep coming back for the food and cultural experiences. Here is that report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Hopkins Village is a prime tourist destination in southern Belize.

Brian Smith, Tourist

“Thursday’s my fiftieth so we just decided; we kinda threw a dart out there. That’d what the girls did and now here we are.”

At the heart of this locale are Garifuna restaurants that are situated along two main streets in the village. These restaurants provide guests with a wide selection of Garifuna cuisine and cultural music. Some restaurants only have their traditional options on certain days of the week, while other establishments like Ella’s Cool Spot serves guests hudut daily. Brian Smith and his family travelled to Hopkins from the U.S.to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Today, they tried hudut for the first time, at Ella’s Cool Spot.

Brian Smith

“Culturally, it is fantastic. Some guys were chopping down a coconut tree and they offered me a coconut. I was like I am about to have some drinks and food over here and do some taste testing and try all the different foods along the day and it’s just been great.”

Paul Lopez

“Do you remember the name of the food you tried moments ago?”

Brian Smith

“The name of the food we tried moments ago was the fried fish, and the hudit, hudat, hudat, is that right? Hudat? We like fried catfish back home. This is just a soft, flaky bite fish, incredible, just tasty. And then, plantains. I have a friend of mine from Colombia that grew plantains. So we ate it all the time and then there is the dish of coconut milk, it is amazing so.”

From Ella’s Cool Spot we moved over to J and J’s Cool Spot, a family owned restaurant located on the north side of the island. Natasha Guy, the manager, is involved in the day to day operation of the business. She serves her guests and ensures that the food is to their liking. They provide a menu of daily food options, including cultural meals that are prepared upon request.

Natasha Guy, Manager, J and J’s Cool Spot

“We do cultural meals on request and we also do other dishes like hudut, the bundiga, the tapou. If it is not on the menu you can always advice us that you want to indulge in that and we will have it right away.”

One of the benefits of life along the Caribbean Sea coast is the ability to serve freshly caught fish every day. Seafood has been part of the Garifuna diet for generations. Today, fifty pounds of fresh snappers are being prepared for the kitchen to serve. Guy explains that this is one of three main ingredients in a traditional hudut dish.

Natasha Guy

“To be honest with you I would say that goes deeply with the falamou which is the coconut milk and then that goes with the organically grown plantain and banana, the freshly catch fish from the Caribbean Sea, these folks back in the days, that was their staple or main dishes, so that is a good way to incorporate it. That is a part of what makes the Garifuna dishes ital. It is very healthy as well. There is no rice and starch, other than the cassava and so forth, but keep in mind that it may look a little on your plate, but when it hits your stomach, that is it, you fall asleep.”

Just across from J and J’s Cool Spot is another family-owned, Garifuna restaurant, Queen Bean Restaurant. Today, they are closed for service to customers. Owner Felisha Augustine and her siblings have been in the kitchen toiling since early morning preparing food to celebrate the life of a relative who recently passed away. On days they are opened, Queen Bean serves a variety of traditional dishes and provides local entertainment. Augustine took some time out to tell us about the importance of the Garifuna cuisine to the local tourism industry.

Felisha Augustine, Owner, Queen Bean

“It is very important and at the same time I am happy for everybody who have their businesses, because this is what we need for the tourist to get to the culture, let them learn to get to know the people and get everything and one thing they will never forget is Hopkins and villagers.”

Paul Lopez

“I find that you guys take pride in being kind, in offer a smile with your service and being kind. Is that an important part of the service you offer?”

Felisha Augustine

“It is, and then one things, we dah Garifuna people. Our culture, we are nice people and we welcome anybody no matter what. Fuh we ancestors they are good to us and that is why we always embrace everything about for we food and we language and we culture.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

Mayor Wagner, “Street Works and New Vehicles are not Electioneering”

Everyone who lives in Belize City and ventures out would know that there’s a whole lot of infrastructural work taking place over the past weeks. Some have said that it’s indicative of the election season, based on past trends when major street projects are carried out just prior to Election Day. Today, Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner showed off a new fleet of heavy-duty equipment and electric cars that the Belize City Council was able to acquire. When the question was posed, whether these efforts are indeed political, Wagner said the projects are (quote), “everything is aligning for a big victory,” (unquote).

Marion Ali

“Mayor, how do you respond to comments or the criticism that all of this that’s happening now is just merely electioneering – very nice e-taxis and then all the street works.- your critics have been saying that.”

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“If you look at the concept papers, these were written – [for] the buses were written in 2017, 2018, 2018, when we came in. This program started under COVID. We have been talking so long. Da how long ah di talk bout bus and how long ah di talk bout e-taxis? Dan uh just this year when election.”

Marion Ali

“They’re happening now though.

Bernard Wagner

“But the project takes a long while. You know how these projects are. The buses for instance is an EU-funded grant fund – close to $3.8 million Euros. That’s a big project, and so it took a while. Even me got frustrated sometimes, but, it is here. It’s not electioneering. It’s just that everything is aligning. It’s aligning for a big victory. (Laughs)”

Mayor Wagner, “Parking Meters Are Here to Stay”

Last week when Hofius Store announced that it was going to close down later this year, the word was that the parking meter system in the downtown area was a factor in the company’s declining business. And a number of other businesses in the downtown area have also said off-record that they, too, feel as if the parking meters are a deterrent to business. But today when we met with him, Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner explained why the concept behind the meters was never to hinder business activity. In fact, he said that the metering is to allow all city residents a chance to access the parking area.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“Parking meters are here to stay. It’s a part of the ecosystem of a smart city. You travel anywhere in the world, municipalities control on-street parking. We can’t control off street parking, but the city has a responsibility to ensure that the spaces that are on street are regulated and that me and you and my brother here have equal opportunity to use that space. The shop – the people who were parking there were not going into those stores to shop. They were people who were working in the downtown area and parked there all day. Even if we don’t have parking meters, people will still not be able to access based on what you are implying. Parking meters were placed there not to earn any substantive funds or anything. It was to regulate the space and that is working. If you go to Brodies, I challenge you to go to Brodies, any one of those areas that have businesses in that area, they would say that people drive right up there. I met a lady during Christmas and she said, I’ve never been in the downtown area, but now I’m able to go there and drive right up, pay my dollar, go in the shop, come out back.”

CitCo to Introduce Electric Vehicles to Taxi Association

Today the Belize City Council put on display a fleet of heavy-duty equipment and two brand new electric vehicles that it will assign to the taxi stand in front of the Battlefield Park. According to Belize City Mayor, Bernard Wagner, the council has been able to increase its vehicle fleet from one pickup truck in 2018 when it first took office to twelve in 2024. Today, the mayor invited the media to show us three pieces of equipment and the electric vehicles that were purchased at a total cost of over nine hundred thousand dollars. Part of the display was a brand new compactor truck – first of two donated by Japan. News Five’s Marion Ali brings you this report on the new acquisition.

Marion Ali, Reporting

To improve the quality of work it does, the Belize City Council has purchased a fleet of heavy-duty equipment and electric cars. Mayor Bernard Wagner invited the media to have a look at the vehicles.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“We wanted to continue to add to the fleet. And as you can see here, we have backhoes, we have graders, and we want to continue to build along that line.

These equipment are have been purchased by the city. It’s Gili brand. It’s a Chinese made brand. I think each one of them cost about $50,000.”

The compactor truck was the first of two, valued at over half a million Belize dollars, that the government of Japan has gifted to the council, after contracts were signed in 2022. According Kaya Cattouse, the councillor responsible for sanitation, the vehicles will help the municipal government, in improving its efficiency in collecting garbage.

Kaya Cattouse, Councillor for Sanitation, Belize City Council

“The impact of this new equipment at the sanitation department cannot be overstated. With enhanced capabilities and efficiency, we will be able to accomplish more of our mission to keep the City clean. These compactors will enable us to streamline our waste collection processes, improve our response times, and enhance the overall cleanliness of our streets and neighborhoods.”

These two white EUVs, as they are called, will be assigned, in this first instance, to the Battlefield Park Taxi Association. The mayor explained that the taxi drivers and the council will have lease agreements with their members to run the vehicles as taxis that they can someday own. Wagner said that eventually, all taxi associations in Belize City will be introduced to this eco-friendly means of transportation.

Bernard Wagner

“The taxi owners associations all across the city will really benefit from this initiative because our agreement is a lease-to-own eventually. Certainly we look at how we depreciate the vehicle. We want to ensure that we have the financial model, to ensure that we are able to meet the investment that we got for the e-taxis, we want to ensure that we have a maintenance component in it. We also want to ensure that we are able to pay the drivers out of that. And also the city has to get back its little return on investment, obviously. And at the end of the term, we are able to say to the taxi driver, here is this taxi, it’s now yours. The taxis will be run on the type of system that you have in the United States, similar to Uber.”

Wagner explained that the reason for the investment in electric taxis is to promote a cleaner and more sustainable environment.

Bernard Wagner

“We wanted to do this as an investment, right, to ensuring that we drive The e-mobility we build the ecosystem here in Belize City. We are not driving any of the taxi owners. And it’s starting the ecosystem of e mobility of really transforming the, local public transportation in the city.”

Marion Ali for News Five.

Benny’s Belize Hurricanes Defeats OW Running Rebels in BEBL Match

Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. A category five hurricane blew through the Belize City Civic Center on Friday night. The highly anticipated basketball match between the Bennys’s Belize Hurricanes and the Orange Walk Running Rebels brought out fans from both teams for this thriller.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

BEBL’s Rookie, the African Giant, Sidibe Bourama dropped fifteen points for the Hurricanes, with a seventy-five percent shooting average for the night, and six rebounds. Hurricane’s Jamal Harris followed closely behind with fourteen points at the end of the game. He is a clutch three-point shooter and big under the rim, finishing with ten rebounds Captain Victor “Vito” Evans led his team in scoring, ending the game with sixteen points. He is a play maker and an executer with a high IQ on and off the ball. Running Rebel’s Mathew Young put on a valiant effort for his team, completely dominating under the rim, racking up twelve rebounds, with an efficient fifty-five percent shooting average from the field for the night, ending the game with twenty-one points.

2023 Season MVP contender James Stanback is off to a slow start in the season, banking only four of his nineteen attempts from the field. Notwithstanding his sluggishness from the field, Stanback was a hundred percent from the free-throw line. But, ultimately the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes secured its second straight win with eighty-nine points to the Rebel’s seventy-one points. The name of the game here was defense, and overall the Hurricanes was more structured on the defensive end and took advantage of the Rebel’s poor defensive display. We spoke with a few players from the winning team after the game.

Sidibe Bourama, Benny’s Belize Hurricanes

“One of my focus is to play harder, to bring the toughness for my team, protect the rims and make sure I run the floor. Whatever jump shot I got around, to make sure I make that and bring the time together that is my focus most of the time.”

Victor “Vito” Evans, Benny’s Belize Hurricanes

“I have been blessed in the last like eight years to be mentored by some really good guys in Meta World Peace and Cory Maggette . They though me a lot about the game as far as just, I should never go down the court and predetermine what I will do. I should always see the floor and know where everybody is at and then go on my instinct from there.”

Paul Lopez

“For the season, do you guys feel like you are getting comfortable and hitting that sweet spot?”

Clency Lopez, Benny’s Belize Hurricanes

“Yes, we don’t want to feel like that, because if we feel like that, because if we feel like that teams wah come and beat we and we just want to continue pushing it. 1:39

Let’s move over to some football action. The Central Secondary School Sports Association hosted its regional championship games on Saturday inside the Marion Jones Sporting Complex. Here is more from those games. The match for third place between Sadie Vernon High School and Saint John’s College male teams ended in a penalty shoot-out after thirty minutes of overtime. Up by one, after scoring their first kick and blocking SJC’s first shot, Sadie Vernon’s goal keeper executed another massive block.

Number fourteen for Sadie Vernon came behind with a kick that completely missed the goal. Ultimately, two massive stops from SJC’s goalkeeper would secure the bronze medal for his team. In the female finals, Wesley College took on Gwen Lizarraga High School. Gwen Liz came into the last of this best-of-two matchup with two goals, leaving their opponents with no other options than to score more than three goals and stop Gwen Liz from scoring. Five minutes into the match, Wesley’s Zairah Gentle launched this superb free kick from beyond the penalty box that flew right pass Gwen Lizarraga’s goal keeper.

Gentle lit a fire in her teammates that would ultimately burnout under the sweltering heat of the day and ninety-minutes of play time. Gwen Lizarraga High School finished the game on top and secured their spot in the upcoming National Championship. In the male finals, the very same schools went up against each other. And, as fate would have it, Wesley College’s male team was also down two goals coming into the second and final game. Twenty-seven minutes into the game, Wesley’s Jacob Joseph was awarded a penalty kick after a nasty foul from number seventeen for Gwen Lizarraga. Joseph scored the penalty shot. Early in the second half, the referee blew a whistle against Wesley for a hard tackle, giving Calvin Thurton an opportunity to extend the lead. And, Thurton did just that. With only eight minutes left in the game, a hand ball was called against Wesley inside the penalty box. Christon Linares secured the gold medal for Gwen Lizarraga with that penalty kick. Gwen Lizarraga High School male team is also moving on to the Nationals.

Well Folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday.

Catch you in the next one.