Lobster season begins in four days. Hundreds of traps and shades have been set out at sea ahead of July first, to meet the early demand for lobster tails. This open season demand is primarily driven by the annual lobster fests. Earlier this week, we took you to San Pedro and Caye Caulker for an inside look at what goes into planning their lobster fests and why fisherfolks are becoming more conscious about the importance of sustainable lobster fishing practices. Today, the Belize Tourism Board took a team of reporters to Placencia to speak with residents who have been making Placencia Lobster Fest a reality since 1998. We will have extensive coverage for you in Friday night’s newscast. Tonight, we hear from Village Chairman Warren Garbutt about the activities planned for July fifth to the seventh.
Warren Garbutt
Warren Garbutt, Chairman, Placencia Village
“Lobster Fest requires a lot of planning and we have been planning for a few months. Just after the last one started we started planning. It requires a lot of set up. The Lobster fest grounds where we are is transformed the week before Lobster fest weekend. There is a lot of effort that goes into it in terms of organizing along with the BTIA Placencia Chapter. However, vendors that come out they start preparing weeks before as well because it is a very well attended event and they have to be ready for a high demand of lobster that weekend.”
Unlike the lobster fests in Caye Caulker and San Pedro, Placencia’s lobster fest is the only one you can drive to because it’s one-of-a-kind festivity on the coast of mainland Belize. That alone attracts not only tourists, but thousands of Belizeans from across the country. The focus of the Placencia Lobster Fest has always been about increasing the bottom line for businesses in the village at the end of tourist season.
Warren Garbutt
Warren Garbutt, Chairman, Placencia Village
“When lobster fest started in 1998 the season for tourist was from November to May. The lobster season started then in June so it is a big boost for hotels, restaurants, other small gift shops because of the traffic it brings to the village. It definitely is a local boost for the businesses in the village besides being the biggest fundraiser in the community.
Reporter
“What do you think sets Placencia Lobster Fest apart from the other two?”
Warren Garbutt
“I will be honest I haven’t visited but I am glad we are having the events on different weekend so I may be able to visit the others. Placencia is a real laid back relaxing destination. It is the only fest you can actually drive to so it makes it easy for people who cannot afford to stay in hotels to drive down for the day, enjoy the festivities and drive back home.”
This year, eleven more Belizean youths will be able to further their education through the work of the Community Policing Unit and its partners. The Community Policing Unit held a ceremony to commemorate the achievements of the scholars and present them with their rewards. News Five’s Britney Gordon attended the ceremony to meet the students and the proud sponsors of their education.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The surge in crime over the past few months has been a primary concern for the Belize Police Department. On Tuesday, a state of emergency came into effect to combat the spike in gang activity. The Community Policing Unit is on a mission to curb gang activity using a proactive means of fighting crime. Eleven students from vulnerable communities across the country are the recipients of high school and college scholarships. ACP Howell Gillett, National Commander of the Community Policing Unit, told us about this approach.
Howell Gillett
A.C.P. Howell Gillett, National Commander, Community Policing
“So our main objective is to keep our young people in school. There was a study done some years ago by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. And one of the findings of that study asserts that if a child is allowed to stay in school up to age seventeen, the chances of that child becoming a criminal or involved in criminal activities reduces by fifty percent. And that is awesome, so we are guided by that study and many other studies that have been done to show that if young people get quality education, we’ll have less crime in our communities. So the longer term plan is to not allow young people to join these gangs, to join the existing criminals so that we use suppressive policing to stop what is occurring now, but we also look deeper into the future to help our young people to remain positive and successful to build Belize.”
The Community Policing Unit places officers in vulnerable communities to familiarize themselves with residents, promoting healthy relationships between officers and the people they serve. Sixteen-year-old Edgar Seguro, a scholarship recipient who will begin his studies at Saint John’s Junior College this year, is grateful for the opportunity.
Britney Gordon
“What do you plan to study?”
Edgar Segura
Edgar Segura, Scholarship Recipient
“Business administration with accounting.
Britney Gordon
“So when you were approached by the policing unit and told that you would be selected to be a part of this program, what was your reaction? How did you feel?”
Edgar Segura
“First of all, I was thankful and grateful because I know how rare it is for people to get an opportunity to further their studies. First reaction, I was thankful and grateful.”
The unit hopes that by encouraging students to seek higher education, it will open doors for them to contribute positively to society. Segura says that he is looking forward to that day.
Britney Gordon
“Have you always wanted to go to sixth form?“
Edgar Segura
“Yes, ma’am. It was a goal that I had in my head from high school. And so it’s a very good experience, a very extraordinary experience for me knowing that I can get to go.”
Britney Gordon
“And are you already thinking about what you want to be when you grow up?”
Edgar Segura
“All I know is I want to be somebody in the business force, but I’ve not made that decision as yet, as what specific I want to be.”
The scholarships are provided by several organizations. Andre Salgado, Manager of Quality Poultry, says that participating in the scholarship program is a new and rewarding endeavor for the company.
Andre Salgado
Andre Salgado, Manager, Quality Poultry
“This is the first time that we’ve ever considered doing a scholarship for any child. Quality poetry has throughout the almost fifty years of existence have given back to the community. We do donations to schools, different community events and activities. But when mister Howard approached us, we thought it was something That would be a change for us. It would be different. At the end of the day. Yes, it’s true. There is crime and we’re trying to figure out as well as a corporate customer. How we can help eliminate or try to help reduce the crime in Belize. So I do believe this is one way. Reaching out to kids that do need a scholarship.”
By developing connections within the community, the department is better informed and empowered to solve public safety issues. A.C.P. Gillett says that it is through this approach that the unit was able to select what students could benefit from the scholarships.
A.C.P. Howell Gillett
“Policing is not about just making an arrest in the community. If we don’t have to reach to the point of making an arrest. That’s a better part of it. Prevention is better than cure. So we want to help young people from that formative year, eight to fifteen, as suggested by most studies. We try to work with them from those years to see if we could keep them positive and let them graduate into successful adulthood. As you saw, there’s a parent who is an amputee. There are two of the children here receiving scholarships where the fathers were killed by gun violence. These children may not have the opportunity, otherwise, to go on with their studies. Our community policing officers went into the communities, went into the schools, to find the ones who would not have been given that opportunity to further their education. We are happy to be doing it.”
AccuWeather is reporting that early activity in the tropical Atlantic suggests the potential formation of a tropical storm or hurricane, posing a threat to the Caribbean. A narrow plume of moisture extending from the south-central Atlantic to the Caribbean Sea could aid in the system’s development and intensification.
AccuWeather began labeling this system as a tropical rainstorm on Thursday to heighten awareness of its potential hazards to life and property.
Forecasters anticipate the system to strengthen to at least tropical storm intensity as it nears the Windward Islands, likely bringing squally rains, gusty thunderstorms, and rough seas as early as Sunday. There’s a possibility it could reach Category 1 hurricane status (sustained winds of 74-95 mph) upon approaching the Windward Islands.
The next name on the 2024 tropical storm list is Beryl.
Depending on steering currents, the system may track westward across Central America next week or turn northwestward towards the western Gulf of Mexico by the following weekend, potentially threatening the United States.
In another part of the Atlantic, a separate tropical wave is approaching Central America, with a moderate chance of developing into a tropical depression before moving into east-central Mexico on Sunday.
If another system develops in the coming days or weeks, it would be named Chris, according to the 2024 tropical storm list.
Local organizations in the Toledo District have launched a relief and restoration initiative against the severe drought and rampant forest fires near the communities. As a result, communities in the Toledo District have suffered devastating losses. A statement issued on Wednesday by the Julian Cho Society, Toledo Alcaldes Association, and Maya Leaders Alliance stated, “Thousands of acres of forests and wildlife have been destroyed in this inferno. The devastation is insurmountable, beyond anything we have seen before.”
Despite efforts from communities and partners to contain fires, many were uncontrollable due to the severity of the conditions. According to the press statement, this prompted organizations like the Julian Cho Society, Toledo Alcaldes Association, Maya Leaders Alliance and its partners to “launch a forest fire relief, restoration, and prevention initiative.”
This initiative includes distributing food supplies to aid three hundred and seventy-two families from thirty-two villages and distributing seeds for replanting damaged crops. The initiative plans to continue supporting farmers in restoring their agroforestry farms and replanting forests.
On Wednesday, The Development Finance Corporation (DFC) held a ceremony in Belmopan to celebrate the signing of the Letter of Loan Offer with Royal Mayan Shrimp Farm Ltd. At the event, Raineldo Guerrero, chairman of the DFC, said “We’re celebrating because for the first time, the Development Finance Corporation has taken on equity financing as a major part of his portfolio. But what’s important is the significance of the steps that we have taken, both in the case of Royal Mayan Shrimp Farm and the development finance, that it wasn’t a simple process, it was a journey.”
Managing Director of Royal Mayan Shrimp Farm Ltd., Alvin Henderson said, “we’re very grateful for DFC’s partnership in this. I mean, we’re in a developing country. We’re not in a place where one accesses easily R&D. So many times the Research and Development is actually done with borrowed funds, and this is what makes it quite challenging. But in the case of DFC, they stood by us as we ran these important trials over the last two years in the field and that became very critical because the trials we have in the field, which is the basis of the investment that’s being made now, have been stellar.”
This partnership “comes out of the DFC’s new investment policy that we adopted or the board adopted as part of moving towards Green Climate accreditation. Green Climate Fund accreditation,” said General Manager of DFC, Henry Anderson.
The Opposition Members of the House have written a formal protest against the regular Sitting of the House scheduled for tomorrow. The Opposition says that tomorrow’s Sitting of the House deviates from the established protocol of providing five clear days’ notice.
In their letter to House Speaker, Valerie Woods, Opposition Members said, “Failure for this Honorable House to follow the 5-day notice protocol
disenfranchises the Opposition obstructing our ability to satisfy the required 5-day notice as per Standing Order 19(3) for the extremely crucial Questions to Ministers.”
The letter says that ” Questions to Ministers are one of the limited tools the Opposition has to compel the Government to answer to the people of Belize.”
The Opposition points out that there has been no emergency cited that justifies “such material breach of protocol that consequently infringes on the Opposition privileges in the House.” They assert that, in the event of an emergency, the Executive should have requested a Special Sitting of the House from the Speaker, thus avoiding any deprivation of the Opposition’s rights and responsibilities to hold the Government to account as provided by Standing Order 19(3).
The Opposition also criticises the Executive for repeatedly presenting bills and motions either the day before or on the day of House Sittings. They request that the House Sitting be rescheduled for July 5, 2024, in adherence to established protocols and Standing Orders, to enable the Opposition to fulfil its essential role in sustaining a strong democracy.
On Wednesday, June 26, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) set aside a Belize Court of Appeal decision to directly assess compensation for land that was compulsorily acquired by the Government of Belize (GoB) from Primrose Gabourel. As previously reported, on December 13, 2019, Gabourel filed a claim for damages due to the breach of her constitutional right against unlawful property deprivation in Belize. A High Court judge ordered full and fair compensation for the various claims. After mediation failed, the assessment continued in the High Court.
The High Court rejected Gabourel’s valuation, instead accepting the Government’s valuation of BZ$1,050,000 for the land. The judge awarded BZ$150,000 as nominal damages and BZ$300,000 for lost landfill, including interest and costs to the claimant.
Gabourel appealed to the Court of Appeal, which, by majority decision, overturned the High Court’s acceptance of the Government’s valuation and ordered a reassessment in the High Court. The Government subsequently appealed to the CCJ.
Justice Denys Barrow, delivering the judgment, stated that Gabourel should receive compensation for the compulsory acquisition of her land, reflecting its value at the acquisition date. The court highlighted that the lower courts had neglected the land’s development potential and its importance in credible land valuation.
Barrow further stated, “the appropriate remedy for a constitutional action for damages for compulsorily acquired land should be mandamus to the Minister to appoint a board of assessment. For the reasons given above, the appeal was dismissed. The decision of the Court of Appeal to order a remission to the High Court of the assessment of compensation was set aside and the respondent was awarded compensation in the sum of $4,545,325 with interest from 3 February 2007 at a rate of 6% per annum until the date of this judgment and thereafter at the statutory judgment rate of 6% per annum.”
High Court Justice Derick Sylvester found Earl Baptist guilty of the 2022 shooting murder of thirty-two-year-old Leslie Norman Gillett. Gillett, a businessman, was executed inside his establishment, Matilda’s Shop, in Burrell Boom Village on January 21, 2022.
The Crown presented video footage showing the murder and a police witness who identified one of the two shooters as Earl Baptist, despite his wearing a COVID-19 face mask and stockings over his head. The second shooter was never identified or charged, but during the trial, the police witness indicated a belief about the possible identity of the second shooter, who had recently been killed.
Baptist provided an alibi in an unsworn testimony from the dock, claiming he was with his father and common-law wife, but he did not call anyone to testify on his behalf. Justice Sylvester will hear a mitigation plea on July 15, 2024, before issuing a sentence.
Belize strongly condemns the recent coup attempt in Bolivia. “We call for full respect of democratic governance and rule of law. Belize stands in solidarity with the Government and people of Bolivia,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Bolivian general Juan Jose Zúñiga was arrested after leading an attempt to storm the presidential palace in La Paz. This action, which included military units and armoured vehicles, was swiftly confronted by President Luis Arce, who called for the general to stand down. Following Zúñiga’s arrest, President Arce declared the government’s restoration of full control over the military.
Bolivia’s historical political instability has been marked by numerous coup attempts. It occurs amid a severe economic crisis and public unrest, further complicating the country’s challenges. The Bolivian government, supported by international condemnation, has initiated a criminal investigation into the coup attempt and its participants.
Bolivian police hold the detained Juan Jose Zúñiga, former general commander of the army, in La Paz, Bolivia, on June 26, 2024. Juan Karita/AP
Prior to his detention, Zúñiga addressed reporters in the square, flanked by soldiers, saying, “We want to restore democracy,” as he spoke of the country’s economic woes. He had earlier been dismissed, reportedly for threatening to block a bid by Morales for reelection.
“The people have no future, and the army has the courage to look out for the future of our children, the well-being and progress of our people,” he said. He vowed “to free all political prisoners,” including former president Jeanine Anez, currently imprisoned for what the courts said was her role in deadly protests that erupted after her ascension to power in 2019.
