2024-04-04 - Channel 5 Belize

Two New Bridges Coming to Corozal

Residents of the Corozal District are saying goodbye to the Laguna Seca and Pueblo Nuevo ferries and hello to two new bridges. Just before the Easter break, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing opened the Laguna Seca Bridge, which is expected to provide easier access to Sarteneja, Chunox, and other villages in the area. Some minor works are still pending before the bridge is fully completed. The Pueblo Nuevo Bridge is expected to be completed later this year. We spoke with Project Engineer, Michelan Gilharry.

Michelan Gilharry, Project Engineer
“So I got to open the Laguna Seca bridge last week, Wednesday level of meaning that it only has the first layer of DBSD. It takes two. But like I said, the idea was to have it open before the Easter break, right? So we managed to accomplish that. So the commuters have a easier flow of traffic rather than waiting on the ferry. That bridge in length is a hundred meters, excluding the thirty-meter approaches which was done with MSE panels. The height of that bridge is about twelve meters in height. So that’s the description that I would like to give on the bridge. It’s about ninety to ninety-five percent completed. We still remain to do the guardrails and some erosion control features, line marking on the bridge itself. But it’s substantially complete. The second bridge is called Pueblo Nuevo. That’s still under construction at this time. We intend to have that completed by no later than September of this year. Because this project is a design and build project, technically, it has taken like over two and a half years. Because what was focused at the onset of this project was building of a portion of the road that was initially designed. Because of the scope or the nature of this contract, the contractor wasn’t technically obliged to start the bridge at the same time. It was until the design was completed. The design is approved, then they were able to start this bridge and that’s the reason we have a slight delay with respect to the other bridge, because It took us a long time to finalize, fine tune the details of the bridge and the cost, since the contract already had a numeration with it, and we now had to go back and design a bridge based on a figure that was already provided. So it was a challenge, but we anticipate that since the contract is not going to expire until July, the bridge is still done in a timely fashion. Now the one in Pueblo Nuevo, we may need to seek some additional time to have it completed by when I stated in September.”

A Bittersweet Goodbye To The Corozal Ferries

The installation of the Laguna Seca and Pueblo Nuevo bridges in Corozal allows for easier access to the surrounding areas, providing a more efficient route for more commuters. While the opening of the Laguna Seca Bridge was received positively by residents, some noted that the feeling was bittersweet as they said goodbye to the ferry that has served them for many years. Project Engineer Michelan Gilharry told us what now happens to the ferry.

Michelan Gilharry, Project Engineer

“So the area that the bridge is located is between the Chunox area of the Corozal district. The importance of it is because this acted as a bypass in the sense that you didn’t have to go around through the Progresso village to reach all the way to Sarteneja for the Corozal town area, it’s a shorter route. Yes, we know it’s a bit of a bittersweet moment in that sense with the ferry, but I’m sure that everybody is relieved in a sense that their time is being reduced with respect to the road. They have a free flow and that’s the intention of the project. What the ministry has intention with the ferry, I believe we will try to salvage it and reuse it in other lake locations that it may be needed. So that’s the intention. So we’re still putting it to use.”

Minister of Home Affairs in No Rush to See Gun Licences Issued

The Firearm and Ammunition Control Board has issued a public notice for persons interested in firearm safety instruction licences to send in their applications. It is among the first moves that the board has made since it was formed. Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa says he is in no rush to see the board move any more swiftly, while the gun dealers are asking that the moratorium on the issuance of gun licences be lifted.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“I am not eager or i am not behind this board to be acting any more swift than they actually are. They have been doing an excellent job in terms of necessary firearm reforms that are needed in this country. To me they are taking the right steps and moving in the right direction. So I am not like you looking forward to the day another license is issued. So, we are letting them do their work as they see fit and when that day comes it comes.”

Reporter

“How do you deal with the impatience of the gun dealers?”

Kareem Musa

“I don’t have to deal with that. I don’t care about that.”

New Growth Ministry Hires Nancy Marin as Consultant

Three years after being established, the Ministry of New Growth Industries finally has a budget. And one of the first moves of the ministry will be to hire businesswoman and former politician Nancy Marin as a consultant. As you may be aware, Marin has been spearheading the growth of an ostrich industry in the west. Minister Musa told us more about Marin’s hiring.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“The Ministry of New Growth Industries was initially set up as a sort of vehicle to set up new structures, different types of legislation that may be needed, hand in hand with other ministries like the Ministry of Economic Development, BELTRADE in advancing new industries. This year we have a budget and so we are currently speaking with Ms Nancy Marin to enter into a consultancy to see how it is that we can go from here in setting up the structure. As you know, she is very passionate and very innovative with her ideas. She is an individual who has come up with many types of new industries. So we look forward to working with Ms. Marin as we move forward.”

Investigation into Clay Uter Murder Ongoing

We also asked the Commissioner of Police for an update on the investigation into Clay Uter’s murder on Good Friday in Lake Independence. According to ComPol Chester Williams, investigators are following several leads and hope to soon make an arrest.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“We are following some leads. WE have an idea who the persons are that are responsible and we are hoping we will be able to get the evidence. Again there are certain things we are looking at where evidence is concerned and we just have to work at it more.”

Former Speaker, C.B. Hyde Laid to Rest

One of Belize’s former Speaker of the House of Representatives and former Postmaster General, Charles Bartlett Hyde was laid to rest on Wednesday following a funeral service. The late Hyde, who was also at one time the chairman of the Public Service Commission and the father of Evan X Hyde, the publisher of the Amandala newspaper, passed away on March twenty-third. The former longstanding public officer was bestowed the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1977 on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Hyde was one hundred years old. News Five’s Marion Ali brings us a report on the funeral service that was held in his memory.

Marion Ali, Reporting

Draped with the Belizean flag, and carried by six members of the Belize Defence Force, the casket of Charles Bartlett Hyde filed past officials of the parliament at the Lord’s Ridge Cemetery, where the remains of the former Speaker of the House were interred. In death, Hyde was remembered as the person he was in life, a dutiful son of the soil. Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, delivered the official remembrance at the funeral service at the Divine Mercy Church.

Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House

“C B. Hyde received his formal education at Holy Redeemer School and St. John’s College, where he graduated in 1940. He recounted getting his first job, however, at the tender age of 12 years, with Sergeant Maurice Fuller, who lived in an adjoining lot, where he would chop firewood and run errands for 25 cents a week. After graduating from St. John’s College, he got another job as office boy, as the term was back then at Mr. Turton’s office, with a weekly salary, now of 1. Interestingly, at one point, C. B. Hyde was at a crossroads in terms of his true calling in life. Should he become a machinist, an engineer, and seaman like his father? Or should he aspire for something different, which his mother encouraged due to his Cambridge school certificate. However, it was Providence that intervened in the form of the late Mr. Lindsey Jeffries. Treasury Superintendent, who suggested to his friend, Jim Hyde, that C. B. apply for the vacant post of messenger in the Colonial Civil Service, with a salary now of 15 a month. That was the genesis of his civil service career, and a lifetime of public service, which followed.”

One of Hyde’s sons, Dr. Ronald Hyde, delivered the eulogy.

Dr. Ronald Hyde, Son of Deceased

“One thing was unquestioned throughout his life. He loved and respected his children and displayed an open mind to all of us. Never dictating to us, but encouraging the expression of ideas and arguments. Yes, those expressions, arguments were sometimes vehement, but never with animosity. It was an era when children were to be seen and not heard. And certainly when his friends came over to play cards, we adhere to the rules of the era. But otherwise it was a home where he was curious about our thought process and everyone had a valued opinion. Maybe that is why we Hydes seem to like engaging with people who have different opinions than us. As much as he relished intellectual pursuits and complex mathematical problems, Dad was a man who looked for the sporting side of life. Work was to be done promptly and well. Ideally, such labors would employ boy power, as he called it. Despite the family machine shop mantra that one bwai da bwai, two bwai da half a bwai, and three bwai da no bwai at all. But after work, it was fun and games. And he took those games seriously, always studying the methods and tactics of every discipline. And he was good at most of them as you’ve heard.”

The Belizean National Flag, which draped Hyde’s casket, was folded up by the six soldiers who bore the casket. During the interment, wreaths were laid by Acting Governor-General, Stewart Leslie, Prime Minister John Briceño, and Speaker Woods. Prime Minister Briceño presented Hyde’s eldest son, Evan X Hyde, with the flag that draped his casket. Fittingly, the Belizean National Anthem sung by the attendees to the live accompaniment of the B.D.F. Band, closed off the funeral service. Marion Ali for News Five.

Charles Hyde presided over the House of Representatives as the Speaker from November thirtieth, 1979 to November ninth, 1984. He was bestowed with the titles of Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1977 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1998. Born in 1923 to Eunice, née Lake, and James Bartlett Hyde in then British Honduras, Hyde served Belize for many years in the public service. He was Assistant Postmaster from 1960 to 1962 and when he retired in 1978, it was in the capacity of Postmaster General. For his outstanding contributions, the administrative building, formerly known as the Complex Building on Mahogany Street in Belize City, was named the Charles Bartlett Hyde Building in 2008 in his honour. Charles Hyde was a hundred years old.

San Pedro EMT Threatens to Take Traffic Council Committee To Court

Emergency Medical Technician Abner Bacab of the Island Emergency Services in San Pedro Town says he is being unfairly treated by the Ambergris Caye Traffic Council Committee. According to Bacab, the committee rejected his application to receive permits for two motorcycles, which he uses to provide medical care across the island. Bacab explained that his motorcycles are equipped with advanced first aid kits, consisting of items such as IVs, gauze, neck colours, splints, and bandages. Bacab maintains that by having these motorcycles in operation, medical professionals can arrive at the scene of medical emergencies faster and stabilize patients while the ambulance is on its way. He claims that he had already received authorization to use these motorcycles from the town’s mayor and was very surprised by the recent rejection of his application. Here’s how he explained it.

Abner Bacab, Emergency Medical Technician, IMS, San Pedro

“Last week, I went to the town council expecting that all my permits were already approved, and when I arrived there, they said they had been denied. So I was really surprised, I was really surprised of the outcome of their meeting and the board basically denying our permit when it’s just a much needed service in San Pedro which is going to uplift our community services and our services in for our tourism, our people that visit us. So there was no grounds in saying what was the reason for the denial rather than saying they don’t see the need for it, to me that was a really bad response on them on making that decision as denying our motorcycle permits. Bear in mind, I’ve been working my motorcycles for months in San Pedro under the authorization of the mayor. I know the mayor sits on the Ambergris Caye Traffic Council Committee, and so do many people that I know, so I don’t believe it is it was the right thing to do. Our company as an ambulance service as an emergency medical. Provider is actually challenging the Ambergris Caye Traffic Council Committee decision where we’re going to take them to court because it’s, it wasn’t the right thing to do. If we go to court, I can tell you, I’m really knowledgeable about all the laws about emergency medical service here in San Pedro. I’m an EMT, so I know what’s going on. What we need to get done to be able to save people’s lives. Now, I’ve told the Ambergris Caye Traffic Council Committee, I’ve been talking to the mayor, I’ve spoken to our area rep, Andre Perez, and they don’t seem to understand it. And I told them, I’ve went so far to let them know that if they go to court, they’re gonna lose, because they don’t have anybody in the Ambergris Caye Traffic Council Committee that knows anything about emergencies. It’s a losing case for you. I don’t have anything to lose. I’ve said it many times. I have so much to gain. I’ve tried to make communication with them to no prevail.”