Tag: 2024-06-12

According to Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde, whose portfolio includes the Ministry of Natural Resources, government was able to reverse a partially completed transaction that would have seen one individual fraudulently owning two thousand acres of crown land.

 

Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister

“You had a gentleman who was trying to pull a fast one on the Government of Belize for two thousand acres of land, you know, and we were able to get to the bottom of it and figured out that, you know what, you don‘t have a claim to this land.  This land is still national land, this land is for the people of Belize and so we were able to take that back and subdivide that and now we are in the process of giving hundreds of Belizeans their residential plots and giving hundreds of Belizeans farm plots out of those two thousand acres.  But then you wonder how they are able to pull such a fast one on a lot of unsuspecting people and I think that it’s just a cautionary tale for everyone out here that you really have to guard your money jealously like you have to treat your money like you treat your wife or your husband.  Like you cant afford to get that out of your eyesight easily.  Like you cannot be, you have to be careful and aware of agents and fake agents.  You cannot be engaging and giving your money to people who are so-called public officers or people pretending to be public officers for lands all over the country.  Listen, don’t try to bribe anybody and don’t let anybody bribe you.  You’ve already paid for this service.  Every time you pay taxes, every time we go to the store, we pay taxes and those taxes pay our salaries and so it is our jobs as public officers to provide that service to the public.  Yes, the process takes a little long, the process is frustrating many times, but you gotta work the process and try to stay honest in the process because when you get out of that a whole lot of things go wrong and you end up paying a ton load of money and you never get the property that you think you had, that you think you have a legitimate claim to and you don‘t.  So it‘s for people to really beware.  People have to really guard their money jealously and not be falling for these wicked fellas.”

Yesterday, we reported on an incident at Belize Central Prison involving attorney Leslie Mendez, who was asked to surrender documents for inspection upon entry. Mendez, citing attorney-client privilege, declined to hand over the confidential documents. After a discussion, a compromise was reached between Mendez and the prison security team. Today, we visited the prison to learn what the procedures of that protocol look like. Here’s Michael Gladden, Chief Security Officer at the Belize Central Prison with more information.

 

Michael Gladden, Chief Security Officer, Belize Central Prison

“When it comes to regular visit, after going through the process of finding out who you’re coming to see, then you would go, and that’s the visiting processing area, you would go to the baggage search or for attorneys, if they have any kind of documentation. When it comes to attaches, briefcases, or anything large like that’s not allowed in the prison, right? Being that it would be a lot for our officers to go through. So what we ask is that they bring a manila folder, any kind of writing pad, any kind of documents and things like that and then those items, as well as any visitors, must be perused. And the perusal is, especially when it comes to attorney and clients, it’s pretty much just skimming through it. It’s pretty much taking the document, and I’ll show you in a little while how we go through that procedure. And it’s not reading it, because we know the client privilege is very sensitive. So what it is just perusing and looking through that document, ensuring there’s no contraband within. And this goes for all visitors. And talk to me about how you navigate or avoid the people conducting the searches, stumbling or accidentally reading something that’s confidential. That would be hard to do because it’s not a point of where you actually go and stop and look at each document. It’s basically just flipping through the documents one by one with that person in front of you monitoring what you’re doing.”

 

Britney Gordon

“What exactly are you looking for within papers specifically?”

 

Michael Gladden

“It could be anything. We’ve had instances where we found cash within papers.  That’s not authorized. We have a procedure for that to happen. So we’re looking for cash. We’re looking for any kind of unauthorized item. It could be from anything. It could be from cash. It could be a personal note that’s not authorized. It could be maybe a letter from a family member that we have a procedure for that to go through as well.”

The Northern Fishermen Cooperative is, once again, in a financial crisis, and its members say they have finally had enough. As one of Belize’s largest fisheries cooperatives with around two thousand members, it is responsible to ensure that its members have access to the resources and funds needed to fulfil their duties as fishermen and pay them a fair wage for their goods. So what happens when its members do not get paid? That is what News Five’s Britney Gordon found out today.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Members of the Northern Fishermen Cooperative are speaking up against what they describe as ‘mistreatment’ they’ve been receiving for several years.

According to some members, the cooperative has struggled to manage its funds for over a decade. The fishermen who make up the co-op say they’ve borne the brunt of this for the majority of that time. Fisherman Hopeton Westby Jr. who has been a member of the cooperative for the past twenty-eight years shared his grievances to us about the situation.

 

Hopeton Westby Jr, Fisherman

“Well the cooperative have a problem with money. They don’t have money to pay us for a product sometimes. You come in, you have to wait a whole week for your money.  You can’t go back out and so on. Bad shape with financing, the co-op. You can’t get ice when you need the ice. The ice machines are always down. You need ice to take care of your product and you can’t go to the cayes without that. Mismanagement at the co-op is a big problem.”

 

 

 

Westby said that members often resort to borrowing money to survive when they fail to receive payment.

 

Fisherman Harry Hendy is a recent member of the co-op. He says that though his time there has been short, he has experienced the same frustration as his colleagues. Hendy says he is fortunate enough to be in a position where he can still afford to pay his employees.

 

 

 

Harry Hendy, Fisherman

“I’m fortunate enough that when they don’t have money my workers they need their money. So I just try to let them get paid and I wait just until they’re ready, but that’s always be the issue because when guys come in they want their money they work with me. So I got to make sure I get their money for them and I just wait until they’re ready to give me their to pay me. It’s just frustrating sometimes, but like I said, I just try to flow with it because there’s nothing else we could do. We just got to wait for them to do what they’re doing. And that’s all we could do.”

 

Britney Gordon

“Is it like a feeling of helplessness?”

 

Harry Hendy

“Helplessness, like not even appreciative that a member is supposed to feel appreciative. These are one keep the co-op going. So if we’re not feeling appreciative that’s not a good thing. It’s like the communication is not even there.”

 

We also spoke to members of the Belize Federation of Fishermen (B.F.F.) who told us that the concerns of the cooperative’s members are their concerns as well because of the large overlap in membership. B.F.F. Director, Nigel Martinez says that the team has been doing their best to assist the fishermen.

 

Nigel Martinex, Director, B.F.F.

“As of recent, it has gotten extremely worse over the years. So while we continue to see the decline of our products, we’re also seeing a decline in the cooperative structure. And it has been said through a recent report, not so recent that the cooperative system have been unsustainably financially structured. And because of that, we have seen gross mismanagement across the board. And it’s a major concern because as the guys have mentioned, they are unable to get the necessary support and resources that they need in order to go out and fish. The more challenging for them is that some of the incentives for being a member that were in place, example access to social security access to educational support, those things have all failed over time.”

 

Also speaking on the matter was the technical advisor of the B.F.F., George Myvette who referenced a report titled The Financial Performance and Sustainability of the Fishing Cooperatives of Belize by Ramon Alberto Carcamo Jr. In this report, Carcamo outlines the failings of the cooperative’s structure and predicts its eventual collapse.

 

 

 

 

 

George Myvette, Technical Advisor, B.F.F.

“Major work has been done in relation to analyzing the financial and management circumstances of these cooperatives, I am a retired public officer, former senior fisheries officer, and I will tell you that there has always been for a while challenged with the cooperatives generally but certainly with Northern. One of our officers , mister Ramon Carcamo, did a master’s thesis in relation to analysis circumstances in these cooperatives. That thesis was submitted and approved in I believe 2012.  Ans all the way back from 2012, a part of his analysis looked at risk analysis. And what the risk analysis was saying for Northern at the time was that there was an eighty-five percent probability that the cooperative would fold.”

 

Westby explained that the members rarely ever meet with the administration and are given little information as to what happens behind the scenes of the operations.

 

Hopeton Westby Jr

“We tried to speak, but we only speak to the chairman of the co-op and persons like that because we don’t really come together and go in. We haven’t had an annual meeting for the last, what, three to four years. They didn’t have an annual meeting that all the members come together and talk to them and see how the co-op is running. And last time we had one of those, about, what, 2018, I think, 2019. I think it was the last one.”

 

 

 

Myvette further explained that the future for fisheries cooperatives has always been grim, as so many species of fish are threatened and have limited production rates.

 

George Myvette

“What is the situation in Belize? And this is Based on the look, the latest information is approaching what I would refer to as dire.  The.  Science is telling us.  That much of the stocks are on a path of depletion.  Or they’re fully fished. Summit foundation looked at twenty species. And that included lobster, conch. And some of the fin fishes, snapper, grouper. Of the twenty species that they looked at, eighteen were in problems. That is not good. That is not good from a sustainable standpoint. It’s not good economy wise. It’s not good for the environment. And it’s not good socially..”

 

News Five reached out to the Northern Fishermen Cooperative for a comment, but we were informed that it would not be possible today due to all-day meetings. Britney Gordon for News Five.

The Northern Fishermen Cooperative is, once again, millions of dollars in debt. This time, with the Belize Bank to the sum of eleven million dollars. For a decade now, the cooperative has struggled with managing its finances and meeting loan payments and has been at risk of foreclosure on several occasions. While the situation is not favorable to the cooperative, the Holy Redeemer Credit Union recently offered to acquire its debt and restructure its financing plan. However, that action was blocked by the Central Bank of Belize because of the high risks involved. Today, Prime Minister John Briceño spoke to the media, saying that the government is trying to assist Belize’s largest fisheries cooperative with escaping the financial hole it has fallen into.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It is indeed historic, it is when you think about the development of this country and about fisheries, you always think about Northern Fishermen’s Cooperative. And as a government, we have the responsibility to be able to see how we can help them to keep the cooperative movement alive. What we have done, the Central Bank has expressed serious concerns as to the viability of that cooperative and its cash flow. And I want to publicly thank the H.R.C.U. who have said we are prepared to work with them because we believe that by reducing the interest rate and the terms making it longer terms that they believe that it can succeed so we had a meeting with them. I think was last week Monday with the credit unions with last Wednesday with the credit unions with the cooperative and the head of the cooperative department Central Bank, Belize Bank all of us are around the table and we’re working on a plan. And some of the plans have to do is that the registrar will also now sit on the board to ensure that they do not take certain decisions that can affect them such as lending to private investors because the members, outvote them. And the membership, not the board. And so they felt that they are under the gun to be able to have to approve this. But we are going to step in to be able to ensure that does not happen. That we restructure the management of the cooperative and do everything possible to keep that cooperative alive.”

 

Reporter

“So will the Central Bank of Belize allow H.R.C.U. to take over that quite impaired debt?”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It will allow depending on what are going to be the terms. We’ve already spoken to the Belize Bank. We’ve asked the Belize Bank; we’re asking them to write off their interest and their penalties so that so that we can save the institution. So, I think that the central bank will give an agreement provided that these things are met. And so once that is met, I think we’ll be able to do that.?

 

Reporter

“Will it be able to meet payroll tomorrow? You know it was it’s overdraft was cut.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“That’s a question you have to ask him. I don’t know to that level of details.”

Belize Electricity Limited Chairman Andrew Marshalleck says Belize remains in a precarious position regarding electricity generation. Although the country has experienced some rain since the start of the month, it has not been enough to refill the dams. With the demand for electricity still high, the likelihood of more power shedding remains a reality. Here is what Marshalleck told us.

 

Andrew Marshalleck, Chairman, Belize Electricity Limited

“I think we are in a precarious position through June July. We have to manage very closely but I think we have been managing. The available capacity is very close to what the system is demanding so the possibility of something going wrong and falling short is real. That is what I mean by precarious. The way you solve that is you need more capacity, because you need redundancy. You need, for when one system fails you turn the other one on and the supply isn’t disrupted. We don’t have that. We barely have enough to meet demand and that will be so until the reservoirs are flushed with water again and that will be maybe until September with the rains. Because we know the reservoirs are low we try not to use the dam for power. It is only when something shuts off then we will turn it on and we use the water. So we are trying to conserve how we use that.”

B.E.L. Chairman Andrew Marshalleck was asked about the viability of solar as Belize’s energy solution and why incentives aren’t provided for those opting for solar panels. He cited that the production cost of solar energy surpasses what consumers pay B.E.L. for electricity. Marshalleck emphasised that while some view solar energy romantically, its practical implementation faces significant challenges.

 

Andrew Marshalleck, Chairman, Belize Electricity Limited

“I have heard people express views that this is your solution. Solar cannot be your solution. It is not the solution to anything. It is a solution. It can contribute to an overall positive outcome but in and of itself it cannot solve anything. I can demonstrate this easily for you. Assume we have no grid, no generation capacity and all Belizeans would buy solar panels to put on their roofs to provide electricity. You have a hundred and twenty-five megawatts capacity in solar panels. Solar panels give a hundred watts each. That is about five hundred and fifty million dollars of solar panels you need. Not even wires, inverters that you need. That by the way is every last dollar saved by every last Belizean in this country in the banking system right now. So let us put it into perspective, even if you were to say everybody go ahead and put solar panels in right now. Everybody don’t have the capacity. They don’t have the capacity to do that. Some people have the capacity more than others. But assuming everybody does find that money and put those panels on their roof and we get electricity from these panels. I ignore for simplification that you need inverters, wires, forget those, you have your panels, solve your electricity problems. It solves it from when eh sun comes up to when the sun goes down at night. So what do you do at night time. So you need batteries in addition to your panels. So when you buy batteries in addition to your panels the cost of production of electricity exceeds what you are buying electricity right now from BEL. We estimate that price per kilowatt hour two dollars plus, not forty-six cents. Batteries ae not a solution for you.”

 

B.E.L. Chairman Andrew Marshalleck also addressed queries about potential electricity price hikes and the operational costs B.E.L. incurs in supplying electricity to consumers.

 

Andrew Marshalleck, Chairman, Belize Electricity Limited

“The entire five year plan and by the way we have maintained rates from pre-covid right through to today, there have been no rate increase. B.E.L. has been bearing those rate increases on behalf of the public where it has nearly depleted our cash resources. The amount that consumers owe B.E.L. for the electricity we have provided, this year alone is projected to be a hundred million dollars. B.E.L. has been bearing that for consumers. I see people talking about B.E.L. wanting to profit from consumers, well far from it. You have been using B.E.L. resources for the electricity you are currently using. The price for power from C.F.E. during all these cuts went as high as a dollar and five cents per kilowatt hour while we are charging you forty cents for it. Who you think is paying all the difference?”

 

Reporter

“We are going to pay it back later.”

 

Andrew Marshalleck

“For now, who has to pay it back now? Who has to find it now? Those bills have to be settled every month. I don’t get to wait, to tell C.F.E. wait until the consumer gives me. I have to pay it and then I get it down the road from you through a reasonable rate. But the entire business plan for B.E.L. was premise on keeping rates stable because we see that as critical in this environment. We want to help consumers. We are not working against consumers. We are championing the cause of consumers we want to keep rates stable and anchoring prices creates a downward pressure on inflation. But in order to achieve that there is only one way to do that in a financially sustainable way. We have been saying this for the past two years and it goes unnoticed apparently. We can only keep doing that if you introduce to the system cheaper power of generation. That means you need to give me power I can buy at less than that forty cents so that I can supply the forty cents. And then we take the difference between the two and I can start brining down all the excess I have had to bare. That is how it works.”