After a wave of public outcry, the two minors who were placed at the Belize Central Prison under the state of emergency were transferred to the New Beginnings Youth Development Center. Previously, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told the media that the department was hesitant to place the thirteen and fifteen-year-olds in the youth centre due to concern for the safety of the other minors and the possible influence that they might have on them. On Wednesday, Minister of Human Development Dolores Balderamos-Garcia acknowledged that holding the minors in prison may not have been the favoured course of action; however, she maintains that the government was deliberating how to balance the rights of the children with the safety of the public.
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia
Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development
“What was initially reported to myself and the Minister of Home Affairs, Honorable Kareem Musa, is that the young man came from an extremely troubled past and that sometimes the gang leaders and the criminals and the bad people in society, it is easier for them to recruit the very youthful young people as opposed to maybe seventeen, et cetera. And what was reported to us was that there was very serious concern about the not only about the criminal capability of the young person, but also about his risk of being on the street, having been accused of being involved in crime and violence. And so it’s not an apology I’m making today, ladies and gentlemen, but it is a sort of a, an acknowledgement. that we don’t always get it completely, completely right. You know what I felt at the time that perhaps it was better to hear the reports of the police and to make a proper investigation before moving the young person to the New Beginnings Youth Development Center.”
Belize is advancing its healthcare sector by investing in the education of future doctors. Today, the University of Belize officially launched the University of Belize School of Medicine, offering a five-year program leading to various Bachelor of Medicine degrees. News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the launch to gather more details about this significant development.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
For years, Belizeans have sought medical education abroad in countries like Cuba or Mexico. Now, Belize is stepping up by launching its own University of Belize School of Medicine. Doctor Lisa Johnson, the Dean of the new school, says this marks the beginning of a new chapter for both education and healthcare in the country.
Dr. Lisa Johnson
Dr. Lisa Johnson, Dean, School of Medicine
“It shows progress. It shows development. It shows enlightened planning, enlightened leadership. It’s an inflection point in our history nationally, institutionally. And it will be so for certain persons. So it’s, one can view this from a number of different angles, but one, the one that we must view it from is in terms of the country and what it means for the country, how it translates. into the daily lives of each Belizean, no matter where you are in the country, that at some point, we will be producing doctors that will touch all the lives within the country. It’s a tremendous responsibility, but it’s a sign of growth and maturity as a country.”
The five-year program starts at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars for the first year. To help ease the financial burden, the school will offer several scholarships to top performers in the entrance exam. Additionally, Minister of Health Kevin Bernard announced that the ministry will provide four scholarships for the program.
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Minister, MOHW
“What we looked at, because as we had mentioned that we were offering also scholarships, master’s degree in nursing. When we looked at the applicants that have applied, we will, we have the, we have found the resources that we are able to then provide for scholarships for the School of Medicine. And just as we do, and the Ministry of Education who have also supported us through the Ministry of Health. With other scholarships, I think it’s very important that we show our support by that as well, by offering four deserving Belizeans who would want to take on this challenge to become medical professionals in, in and to take up this approach at the School of Medicine here at the University of Belize.”
The launch of the School of Medicine marks a significant step towards building a well-educated and thriving Belizean society. UB President Vincent Palacio emphasised that the program is currently undergoing a rigorous accreditation process to ensure that its curriculum meets international standards.
Vincent Palacio
Vincent Palacio, President, UB
“I have heard some of them their doubts, their questions. That’s why we’re going the accreditation route with an accreditation with CAAM-HP. It will put us at that level, that quality level as our counterparts in the region. So I have no doubt that we could do this. The naysayers, they will join us eventually when they see the, that the University of Belize could run a medical school.”
Classes are scheduled to commence on September thirtieth of this year. Britney Gordon for News Five.
And while the residents out west will have a new public hospital, Belize City will not be left out. Today, Minister Bernard told reporters that the Cabinet has decided on a new tertiary-level hospital to replace the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The funding for the new facility will come from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, or CABEI for short. Whether the building will be a one-flat structure, or a high rise is a matter for the powers that be to decide on. Today, Health and Wellness Minister Kevin Bernard told the media that renovating the K.H.M.H. would be costlier than building a new hospital. The only next thing to sort out is the location, but there is already one that’s being looked at.
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health & Wellness
“K.H.M.H. has served its time, it has outlived its capacity. There is need for us to be a better facility for the Belize District. And so that has been the decision. The ministry supports that a new hospital be built. Whether we build it now at the current location where the old nursing school was, or we look at the new area that is being suggested next to Eleanor Hall building where there is a huge land space that you can build another tertiary hospital, we have to think different. We have to think big; we also have to look at the options, whether the design will be upper floors, or just as what K.H.M.H. is right now. Remember, when you look at other hospitals around the region, in Merida, there’s not only those flat surface buildings, there are high rise hospitals. You just have to put in the necessary amenities for the people with disabilities and special needs but however, we need to ensure that we start to think down the road. We have to start to think for the future that all the necessary service of a tertiary hospital be provided. Belmopan, of course, um, the reason for the tertiary facility here in Belmopan is not just only to, um, support K.H.M.H. currently, but also to ensure that we have a quality tertiary facility that supports the salt. The West and so forth. So, and then likewise, uh, the one in case they believe city will then focus on the North and the Belize district. So it’s a long term plan that we are looking at. Um, and we are hoping that now that the cabinet has made that decision, it goes back to today, who will then come back to us and say, right, this is what we believe the bank can afford to do for, for believes, uh, whether we go to the, to the revision, because from, uh, from my, from the report I got, if we were to you. Um, remodel or renovate K.H.M.H. As I said, it would have disrupted service. It would have even cost more than to build a new facility. So it’s best that we build a new facility while we’re not disrupting service and enhance and bring something better for the citizens of Tbilisi District.”
For months, key stakeholders involved in the forty-five-million-dollar University Hospital project have left the question of its construction site unanswered. Originally, the hospital was intended to be built on the University of Belize grounds to manage operations for the institution. However, government officials ultimately rejected that location. Today, Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard provided an update, announcing that a new site has been selected.
Kevin Bernard, Minister, MOHW
“I would not be able to speak on the cost of the land. That is, that is something that is, um, to the Ministry of Economic Development because that’s the way the decision for that was done. However, there was other challenges, the location of accessibility. Remember, it’s not only a teaching hospital, it’s going to be a tertiary facility where you need to have immediate access and so, they felt after the ministry and other technical team looked at it, they felt that they needed to be at a different location that is more accessible. But it will continue to serve, as Dean Johnson mentioned, not just the tertiary teaching hospital, but we also want to try and look at how we could implement our regional facilities to also become some level of teaching facilities where people can go in and learn clinical works and so forth. So, but yes, the decision was made to build a hospital at a different location. We are almost finished with the designs now, and I am hoping that we can break ground on that new facility by the end of this year.”
Reporter
“I know you said it’s the Ministry of Economic Development, they made a decision. But do you feel like that money that went into sourcing this land will take away from maybe the quality of the facility that’s being built since that money could have been used in the facility?”
Kevin Bernard
“No, that is totally separate from what the investment from the Saudis will be. I mean, the, the Saudis has committed to sixty thousand dollars…six, I don’t remember, I think it’s sixty thousand U.S. dollars. But at the end of the day, we have to make sure that. Six million. I believe it is. Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m confusing the numbers, but we have to make sure that there’s no change in the scope of that. That’s why there’s proper planning being done in terms of our policy unit or planning unit working closely with the university. We’re working closely with the hospital designs that are there to ensure that all the services that we a tertiary facility should have will be had will be there whether the land was purchased or so does not take away from what the construction of that facility will have when it’s over, when it’s finished.”
Belize has long faced the challenge of students leaving the country for higher education and not returning after completing their studies. To address this issue, the University of Belize today launched the nation’s first School of Medicine, allowing students to pursue medical education locally. While the program is still in the process of accreditation to meet international standards, it represents a crucial step forward. We spoke with Minister of Health and Wellness, Kevin Bernard, to discuss how the ministry is working to combat brain drain in Belize.
Kevin Bernard, Minister, MOHW
“This is always a challenge similarly to any scholarship program we are looking at we will have to look at bonding some of our persons that, that are getting this opportunity. Sometimes it is said that it’s how you enforce the bond. But I think it’s also from you, the individual who gets the scholarship, knowing that an investment has been made on your behalf that you come back and serve your community. And I think that while we can have these bonds in place, It’s also a personal responsibility that one has to take to say, you know what, I have gotten the benefit from the whatever institution, whether it’s a private or government scholarship, that you come back and serve your community. And I think that we just have to look at the measures that we will put in place to ensure that we could keep these people here for as long as we can so that they continue to serve the community.”
In June, when the newly constructed Coastal Plain Highway experienced significant flooding, it was attributed to deforestation. According to official data from the Forestry Department, within the last decade, eighty-eight thousand hectares or three hundred and thirty-nine square miles of forest land across Belize have been deforested. We were unable to get actual data on how much forest have been cleared along the Coastal Plain Highway, but it is enough for conservationists to raise an alarm. Experts believe that deforestation is not only leading to more significant flooding events in the area, but also posing a threat to wildlife that traverse this rich jungle ecosystem, like jaguars and tapirs. Logging and unsustainable agricultural development have been identified as the primary causes. In tonight’s episode of Belize on Reel, News Five’s Paul Lopez takes a closer look at the deforestation within the Maya Forest Corridor and the Manatee Forest Reserve, along the Coastal Plain Highway. Here is that report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The simplest definition of deforestation is intentional clearing of forested land. One of its negative effects is the reduction of the soil’s ability to hold water. As a result, water from heavy rainfall flows over the surface and causes flooding. Back in June, when the newly built Coastal Plain Highway saw significant flooding, and damage as a result, experts within the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing pointed to deforestation as the primary reason.
Voice of: Julius Espat
Voice of: Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
“What we have been experiencing is a part of our own making. Deforestation has become a major issue. You have to understand that trees and all of these things help with minimizing the erosion. It directs the flow of water to a specific area. Once you take that out and then it’s, a free flow.”
Voice of: Evondale Moody
Voice of: Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Infrastructure Development
“Other entities created that problem for us by deforestation up stream. And based on my observation this morning we have a lot of areas where a lot of forest is cleared now where people are developing their new businesses, their new parks opening.”
The thirty-six-mile highway is surrounded by vast flatlands and lush forest. Fifteen miles in sits the entrance to an eco-adventure park that opened back in March of this year. The Excalibur Adventure Park sits on one thousand acres of forested land that borders the Manatee Forest Reserve to the north. So, is this eco-adventure park contributing to the deforestation that the Ministry of Infrastructure Development says has become a major issue? The company refutes any such claim. We spoke with Francis Cucul, the Manager of Excalibur Adventure Park.
Francis Cucul
Francis Cucul, Manager, Excalibur Adventure Park
“All along the watershed we have planted, and if you look in our logo, it has the number five thousand, we have planted over five thousand key stone trees such as the Mahagony, Cedar and other fruit trees to encourage wildlife along the water shed.”
Paul Lopez
“What was considered in the development process to maintain in the development process to maintain the integrity of the rich forest in this area?”
Francis Cucul
“So one of the things that was considered was the landscaping, the drainage of the area and reforesting in this area.”
Paul Lopez
“How are you all different than developers that come and want to clear land and make money off it as some would assume?”
Francis Cucul
“We work with the environment and again I will emphasize on planting rather than cutting down trees. We leave trees that are already there, so we do selective clearing and if we have Mahogany tree or Sapodilla trees or any tree that has significance, we leave it there and work around it.”
The proprietors of the eco-park have also established two conservation groups. For further context, the lands that run parallel to the highway have been deemed as a crucially important forest corridor by conservationists. It connects the Maya Mountain Massif in the south to the northern portion of Selva Maya. The Manatee Forest Reserve also forms a large part of this important forest link that jaguars and the endangered Baird’s tapirs, among other wildlife species, use to traverse the country. Satellite imagery from over the last decade reveals significant land clearing along the southern border of the Manatee Forest Reserve and even more within the area designated as the Maya Forest Corridor.
“It has come to a point where we really need to band together to save this area. Belize is world renowned for its protected area systems, but one of the gaps is the protection between those connected areas. What wildlife would this corridor be especially important for? Jaguars are wide ranging species that need large areas to sustain them. This corridor has been shrinking.”
So, it is not only the flood waters that are cause for concern along the Coastal Plain Highway. Deforestation is posing significant threats to the movement of wildlife species. The Maya Forest Corridor Trust used the June 2024 flooding as an opportunity to write to the government to highlight issues such as illegal logging and the arbitrary issuance of permits for land surveying and clearing in the area. And, while satellite imagery may not reveal significant signs of deforestation within the Manatee Forest Reserve itself, Jason Alschaft, the Chairman of Gales Point Manatee, a small Creole community along the Coastal Plain Highway, says illegal logging is taking place at an alarming rate within the reserve.
Jason Alschaft
Jason Alschaft, Chairman, Gales Point Manatee
“There is a lot of logging going on, some we have questioned, and it turned out it was illegal. Forest service (Forestry Department) came in and extracted what they have already cut and made the roads impassable again, so it was much more difficult to access the area. Sometimes we get trails where people may find a beautiful tree that they know they can make money on and harvest it. We see trucks coming and going all the time with logs, it is something I don’t know. A lot of times I see small pine trees coming out and it seems like they are getting smaller and smaller, and it seems like a lot of times what they take is a little bit more like we will just take it.”
Paul Lopez
“Would you classify the cause of the recent flooding as a result of deforestation within the Manatee Forest Reserve?”
Jason Alschaft
“I think it could be to some degree. I think recently the change in the road and the pushing of water in different directions has really been what caused some of the flooding that we experienced. In that area that flooded and lifted the road, that is an area that floods but it’s rare. But now with all the water that is being pushed to that same river I think that is what is causing it to get close to flooding every time it rains.”
We reached out to the Forestry Department for an interview. They informed us that they were unable to comment at this time due to ongoing discussions with conservationist groups on how best to address deforestation within the reserve. In 2021, the Maya Forest Corridor Trust purchased thirty-thousand acres of land that was under threat of deforestation. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
PM Meets with Red Cross President
The Belize Red Cross Society has been in Belize since 1950 and has worked closely with the government in distributing aid to people in need during or immediately after a disaster. That close collaboration is expected to continue to benefit individuals in need, and this week, the leaders of both organisations met to solidify that plan. Prime Minister John Briceño said that he met with the new President of the Red Cross, Jacqueline Marshalleck, to see how they can continue to team up for Belizeans in need.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Jackie Marshalleck came to see us and to appraise us on the work that they’ve been doing, thanking the government for assisting them in building a new headquarters, which we integrated. I think it was earlier this year and to continue to see how we can continue to work closely. She’s very happy with the cooperation that they’re getting with the NEMO and with the new director, Captain Mendez, and to see how we can continue to support them and they in effect, support Belize. The Red Cross is one of the organizations that has great value and great respect and especially from the international organizations that whenever we have a crisis in Belize or hurricanes and fires. They want to work with the Red Cross because they know that the Red Cross will ensure that every cent is accounted for and it is spent on the people that needs it. And we need to give them credit and to respect that and to continue to support the Red Cross.”
A team of Belizean powerlifters is in the U.S. competing in the North American Regional Powerlifting Competitions. The competition began on Monday, and late into the week, team Belize racked up numerous medals. Today we spoke with three of those medalists, including Amorette Banman, who competed in the sixty-three-kilo sub junior female category; Leo Matura, who competed in the seventy-four kilo open division; and Shakira Oxley Tsai, who competed in the master two category. In total, these three athletes have racked up eleven medals.
Amorette Banman
Amorette Banman, Belizean Powerlifter
“So I got three gold medals and one silver. I got gold in the squat event. I got silver in the bench press. I got gold in the deadlift, and I got gold overall.”
Paul Lopez
“How does it feel for you after all the preparation and hard work?”
Amorette Banman
“It feels really good. Last year I had a pretty bad competition. It didn’t go as planned. I failed. So I promised myself I would work harder throughout the year and then I came back and got my redemption. It feels really good.”
Leo Matura
Leo Matura, Belizean Powerlifter
“Bittersweet to be honest. I am very happy about what we achieved at this meeting here. We medal and hit placement in certain categories out of the three disciplines. Personally, I wanted to have a greater total that would have put me in contention for the bronze in the overall. But, we take it one day at a time. This sport is not a sprint, it is a marathon. It is something that you can’t be fixated on in just a moment. It is just a consistent thing, and your primary goal is always improving. The totals for those for the bench press was three hundred and forty pounds and deadlift was five eighty-five. We could have got six hundred and five but I lost grip, and it was not a strength issue, my hand literally had ripped there.”
Shakira Oxley Tsai
Shakira Oxley Tsai, Belizean Powerlifter
“I was able out of all the athletes that competed in my division, I had the third highest overall total. I also got medal bronze medal for squat, bronze medal for bench and a bronze medal for deadlift.”
Paul Lopez
“How do you feel about that?”
Shakira Oxley Tsai
“Pretty good. I am entering into my fifth decade of life, so being able to compete in the sport that I truly enjoy, really gives me another sense of accomplishment and I am happy to be able to do that under the Belize flag banner too.”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) donated equipment worth over $151,000 to the Ministry of Health and Wellness. This contribution is part of the “Building Climate Change Resilience and Social Integration of Displaced People in Settlements of Western Belize” project. The project aligns with Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Compact for Migration Objectives and is set to conclude by December 2024.
In an official statement issued on August 8, 2024, it said that the project was launched in February 2022 as a “joint initiative between IOM and the Government of Belize—funded by the European Union with a grant of BZ$4,600,000.”
The donation includes 23 types of equipment, such as EKG machines, diagnostic sets, scales, crash carts, and defibrillators, marking the completion of IOM’s deliverables.
The initiative aims to improve resilience in five communities: Santa Familia, Billy White, Los Tambos, Duck Run 1, and Duck Run 3. “The polyclinic, being constructed by the government, is expected to be completed in October 2024 and will serve over 5,000 residents,” the statement said. The project will finish with the construction of a hurricane shelter and community centre in Duck Run 1 and the rehabilitation of Los Tambos Primary School.
The Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, publicly supported the abolition of the death penalty in Belize. In an interview, Williams said, “The truth is, as much as many may not believe, I am opposed to the death penalty. I don’t believe in it. That’s my personal opinion.”
Williams cited the Pratt and Morgan case in Jamaica, noting that prolonged legal appeals make executions “cruel and inhumane” after five years. He stated, “I don’t foresee Belize executing death sentences, as legal appeals would surpass the five-year mark.”
Despite his personal opposition to the death penalty, Williams said that the final decision rests with parliamentarians. “My opinion is I don’t believe in it, and it’s a matter for Parliament to decide if they want to take it off,” he said.
His endorsement aligns with arguments from Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith and British attorney Parvais Jabbar, who noted that there have been no executions in 40 years and no death sentences in the past 20 years.
