The Alliance for Democracy, led by four members of the United Democratic Party who were deemed to have resigned, called a press conference today to categorically state that they have not and will not resign as members of the embattled party. Those four politicians are Albert Area Representative, Tracy Taegar-Panton, Collet Area Representative, Patrick Faber, Beverly Williams and John Saldivar. They presented a white paper that puts forward a proposal on how they intend to implement reform within the party. Notably, late this evening, the U.D.P. headquarters issued a press release, stating that the members of the Alliance are no longer U.D.P. and that the application period to fill vacancies for standard bearers in the areas they represent closes on September sixth. Taegar-Panton, who is supported by the Alliance as the party leader of choice, opened the briefing by explaining that they have not and will not resign from the U.D.P., regardless of what the leadership of the party says.
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“We want to be very clear to all those who are listening. The members who were constructively resigned by fifteen members of the Central Executive Committee would like to say categorically that we have not resigned from the United Democratic Party. We have not resigned. We will not resign, and we will be running for our respective constituencies in the next general election. We also want to reject this narrative that members of this alliance representing sixteen constituencies is on a mission to destroy the party, that we are on a mission to destroy the current party leader of the United Democratic Party. What this alliance seeks to do is to preserve the democracy of the United Democratic Party And by extension, the democracy of Belize.”
Taegar-Panton went on to explain that a special convention will be held on October sixth to recall the leadership of the party and that it will be done based on the support of delegates whose signatures they have garnered.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“We therefore wish to denounce the fraudulent and unconstitutional rejection of 232 signatures of duly elected delegates who are the trustees of the United Democratic Party and decision makers. saying that their signatures are not valid for the convening of a national convention. You know the story, but I think it is important that we make it implicitly clear that on the 12th of August, a letter was sent to the chairman with the requisite signatures For an NPC meeting to be convened to discuss, among other things, the breaches and blatant disregard to the party’s constitution. Now let me say that the constitution is the most important institutional tool that we have available to us as members of the United Democratic Party. And should be treated in that regard. This letter of August 12th was the second request we shared with the chairman for an NPC meeting. And these requests have gone unanswered and obviously have fallen on deaf ears. The members of our alliance agreed to engage in a mediation process so we could air our concerns and determine collectively how to move forward in the best interests of the United Democratic Party. A meeting of the mediation team was convened by the national campaign manager on Friday, the 23rd of August. We discussed the issues as it related to the breaching of the party’s constitution, included, but not limited to, the removal of the standard bearer for Port Loyola, the unconstitutional removal of the standard bearer for Caribbean Shores, and the unconstitutional removal of the standard bearer for Port Loyola. For Belize rural south. The Alliance for Democracy has, is making a call, will be making a public call for a special unity UDP convention to be held on October 6th of 2024. This allows us the 30 day notice. That is required by the constitution. The special convention will seek to do a few things. One, to look at the executive appointments to the party. Two to pass a motion on the floor to recall the party leader and also to seek to, to, to, a second motion that will seek to appoint an interim leader of the United Democratic Party until these matters can be straightened out at the subsequent convention to be held.”
Collet Area Representative, Patrick Faber said that while the Alliance members want unity in the U.D.P., they want to restore democracy to the party as well. He explained that that is what the white paper proposes to do. He used the scenario of former U.D.P. elected member, Marcel Cardona, who spoke against his party’s budget in the House and was deemed as constructively resigned from the U.D.P. That scenario he said, differs greatly from the present situation.
Patrick Faber
Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet
“It is a comprehensive strategy for reforming the UDP at a time when our party faces unprecedented internal challenges. Challenges that threaten our ability to effectively represent the people of Belize. The Alliance for Democracy recognizes the urgent need for this change, and this document outlines our vision for that change, and it will focus on three main areas. The first is restoring our democratic processes. You’ve listened as the Honorable Panton outlined a number of infractions that have been dealt to members but the wider party as well by the current leader and leadership in general of the party. We’ve heard about the practices having to do with just haphazard decision making. They take something to the central executive. And they put the question, and they determine how they are going to put that question first of all, whether it is in the positive or negative. And then they decide whether they are going to count the people who support or don’t support, or they count those who participate or don’t participate. But it is a total flawed process. We have seen where they have carried decisions at this level. And if we are lucky, we get a shot at it at the National Party Council level, as is the case with the four of us now. That didn’t go anywhere. And for context, I want to, while we talk about these processes, revisit for the benefit of those who may not have known. I noticed that in the letter, the communication that was passed, having to do with the, as they deem it, the constructive resignation of the four of us. They used as precedent the situation with Marcel Cardona. Well, let’s look at that. And, of course, they called my name in that, in that I was the chairman of the party at the time. Well, let’s look at that situation for a minute. Marcel Cardona’s case, first of all, was a decision made by the cabinet. Marcel was a part of the cabinet, and that decision was first discussed and approved by the cabinet. Not that it is national government business, but it is the cabinet’s business. It went to the central executive of the party, and it was carried.”
Faber shared a few instances where he thought the party’s mechanism for communicating with its members is less than effective. He referred to WhatsApp chat groups that serve to communicate among them where members are removed if they do not participate within a certain time frame.
Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet
“They cannot constructively resign me, and I believe that that is the process, that is the position of my colleagues as well. These committees need to know their roles and their responsibilities, and we need to set clear guidelines as to what will constitute a decision, how many people have to vote on certain things. There are some decisions that are bigger than other decisions, and maybe we need to set thresholds for various different decisions that are needed to be made. Virtual meetings is another thing. We made accommodation for virtual meetings on Zoom and on other platforms for us to use chat groups when we were in COVID and all understand that there is a time when you might have to do a quick, in fact in the traditional business world, you call us are Round Robin. You send out an email and you ask people for their opinion and their views, but this party is run by chat group. And if they don’t like what you’re saying, they kick you out of the chat group.”
There was a drug bust in Corozal on Tuesday afternoon and a family of seven, including a corporal of police, was arrested and charged for possession of a little over nine kilograms of cocaine. A joint law enforcement operation carried out at the home of fifty-seven-year-old Alicia Montalvo led to the discovery of the tightly wrapped parcels that were individually labeled Dolce & Gabbana. The quantity of drugs was found inside a bedroom that is occupied by Nadiel Montalvo. Prior to the discovery, Montalvo was asked by the officers if he had anything illegal to declare. The twenty-two-year-old reportedly confessed to having eight parcels of cocaine. A search of a black wardrobe inside the bedroom initially revealed two rectangular parcels. The officers continued their search and subsequently came up with six additional parcels. During that process, Corporal Enair Montalvo arrived at the residence and told the officers that the house belongs to his mother, Alicia Montalvo. It was then explained to him that anything illegal found on the property would also include him as the owner of those items. The family was rounded up and brought in to observe the findings, before being informed that they were under arrest for possession of controlled drugs with the intent to supply another. Arrested and charge are Alicia Montalvo, Enair Montalvo, Nadiel Montalvo, Edney Montalvo, Aida Cabanas, Seidy Montalvo and Abiel Montalvo, and a seventeen-year-old female minor.
The Belize Police Department has made an arrest in the Sunday morning murder of Otoniel Mateo in Cotton Tree Village. Earlier today, twenty-six-year-old Armin Amado Bouchub, a stevedore of Cayo District, was arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death of Mateo. As we reported, Mateo was inside his apartment in the early hours of Sunday morning when a pair of men came knocking at his door. When Mateo opened the door, the men got into a physical altercation during which he was fatally shot. His attackers then fled the scene of the deadly shooting. On Monday, police began circulating a wanted poster of Bouchub, but did not specify the reason he was being sought. During an interview on Monday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero told reporters that the motive for the murder was an argument over a woman.
Twenty-nine-year-old Keinen Bermudez, a call center agent, is on remand after being arraigned for abetment to murder. This is in connection to the shooting death of Dimitrie Usher that took place here in Belize City on August twenty-fifth. While there has been no arrest for Usher’s murder, Bermudez is accused of aiding another individual in the execution-style murder last Sunday on Wood Street. Earlier today, Bermudez appeared unrepresented in the lower court where he was arraigned before a senior magistrate. It was explained to him that due to the nature of the offense, no bail can be offered to him. With that, he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until November twenty-seventh.
Motorcycle accidents are among the most common mishaps in Belize, prompting insurance companies to increase premiums for motorcycle owners. On Tuesday afternoon, a surveillance video on Barrack Road captured what could have easily been a deadly collision between a motorcycle and a vehicle. What’s worse is that the passenger, a six-year-old child, was not wearing a helmet and suffered head injuries when she was flung under the vehicle that they crashed into. Thankfully, six-year-old Emily Molina did not suffer any concussion when she was flung off the motorcycle. The Holy Redeemer student was being driven by her father, Silas Molina after he picked her up from school and they were heading on Barrack Road towards the clock. He apparently decided to overtake a vehicle in front of him, but changed his mind when he realized another car was coming in the opposite direction. By then it was too late. Molina’s motorcycle skidded on the street and the father and child were flung off the motorbike. Karen Vernon was at the location when the incident happened and rendered assistance.
Karen Vernon
Karen Vernon, First Responder “I was on the scene before it happened because I was parked on the side waiting for someone and I heard this loud bang. I’m bracing myself for an impact because I thought, you know, something was going to hit my vehicle. And when I looked in the mirror and start opening the door at the same time, I saw this man on the ground on his back. And I started to, you know, ask him, you know, what he needed and if he was in pain? And he said, my baby, my baby. And when I looked over, there was the car and the child was under the car, inches away from the front wheel. So, I don’t know where people came from, but everybody just came to help. And, you know, like, I’m on the ground trying to get the child out from under the vehicle. And some men came and lifted the vehicle. They actually, like, four, I don’t know. I didn’t see any faces. I just saw men, and they lifted the vehicle. And I got the child from under the vehicle. And she was crying to me, which was a good sign, because she’s crying, she’s conscious. And, you know, I’m asking her where it hurts. There was a gash in her head. She was bleeding from her mouth. And, And, um, she’s asking for her dad, like, where’s my dad, and I told her, your dad is okay, you know, we’ll take care of you, and then we’ll check on your dad.”
We have been hearing about the Millennium Challenge Corporation since the start of the year. The Government of Belize previously announced that the MCC is granting Belize one hundred and twenty-five million US dollars to address poverty through economic development. Well, that grant agreement was officially signed today at a ceremony in Belize City. Representatives from the MCC, including Chief Executive Officer Alice Albright, were present. So was Prime Minister John Briceño, as well as Opposition Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow. News Five’s Paul Lopez was also there and filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Today, the Government of Belize and the Millennium Challenge Corporation formally signed the Belize Compact Grant Agreement. The one-hundred-and-twenty-five-million-dollar grant is aimed at strengthening Belize’s education and energy sectors. The Toucan Room at the Biltmore was filled with government officials, U.S representatives and a special appearance by the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow. Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of MCC, explained that the Government of Belize will invest an additional forty million dollars to the project, bringing the total to one hundred and sixty-five million U.S dollars.
Alice Albright
Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer, MCC
“Your dedication to reform and your commitment to improving the lives of your people serves as a beacon to what is possible when it comes to reducing poverty through economic growth. So it is a big number and a big number we should all be proud of given the tradeoff involved in making those kinds of investments.”
Seventy-four million U.S dollars of those funds will be invested in the education project. The primary objective is to increase training for teachers to combat low-quality education. And what about the need for additional teachers in institutions where there are reported shortages?
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“It is a very important issue but I think what this grant intends to do is to really take a comprehensive look at our education system. We will look at all the legislation involving he education system, all the structures that have in place for decades, to see how we can make the education system more effective. A critical component of that is how we improve opportunities for our teachers. How do we enhance our teachers capacity to contribute to education in Belize. How do we improve in terms of incentives for our teachers.”
Twenty-one million dollars of the funds will be invested in the energy sector to reduce the cost of electricity for Belizeans.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Our research has focused on finding sustainable ways to reduce the cost of energy for the people of Belize. Through this grant, we will facilitate new power purchase agreements for low-cost renewable energy, modernize our grid to efficiently manage an influx of various power generation and support the organizations that oversee our electricity infrastructure. This grant is a testament to the strength of our partnership with the MCC an independent U.S. Government international agency whose mission to reduce poverty by fostering economic growth is fully aligned with the priorities of this government.”
In total, ninety-five million dollars is being allocated to the education and energy projects. The additional funds will be used to meet administrative costs associated with staffing. As it pertains to oversight, Prime Minister Briceño noted that the entire process has been and will continue to be transparent.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“The whole process for the signing of this compact has been open and transparent. Everybody has been on board on how this has been set up. This is nothing new that has been done in Belize. I think it follows from different templates that has been done in other countries. There is no hidden agenda. We are bound by this agreement to be able to be open and transparent. So I don’t think there should be any concern.”
Alice Albright
“The oversight and implementation will be very much a joint effort and a joint partnership between our folks in Washington and then the entity we set up here.”
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan, U.S Ambassador to Belize
“This is a very momentous occasion. I know it has been two and a half years in the making. This is the eighties compact of MCC and it is the celebratory occasion, and it is also the beginning of a lot of work. A hundred and twenty-five million dollars focused on education which will be eight percent and twenty percent on energy. I think as the prime minister has said in the past, this impact will be transformational for this country. It will impact a hundred and forty thousand Belizean student across the country and every single Belizean will feel the lower cost of electricity when they get their bills at the end of the month.”
In July, the opposition cautioned the Briceño administration concerning the one hundred and twenty-five-million-U.S.-dollar grant. Patrick Faber questioned the U.S organization’s true intent. Well, today, we asked Alice Albright, the Chief Executive Officer at MCC. For reference, we revisit that clip from Faber inside the House of Representatives.
Patrick Faber
Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet
“Let’s go down that road for a minute and please nobody doesn’t go misquote me or say anything contrary. I am not anti-united states, but whenever you see the U.S doing something it is a part of a larger plan. And so everything that the United States does is geared towards an agenda for the United States.”
Paul Lopez
“What does the U.S get from this, in terms of returns? What is expected of Belize. There were certain suggestions that the population would be bugled down to be forced to sign on to certain treaties, certain conventions, forced to support the U.S. in certain internation issues as a result to the size of this grant. How do you respond to the question of what is expected of Belize moving forward?”
Alice Albright
Alice Albright, C.E.O, MCC
“Let me answer it on two levels. We have an eligibility framework at MCC that guides us in the decisions of which countries we choose to work with. Leading up to December 2021, Belize was considered eligible to work with MCC and our board of directors decided to work with MCC on that basis. So that weas the origin of the decision. WE have signed an agreement, and it includes a number of details about the nature of the work we will be in parentship with GOB on. Part of it is education, part of it is on energy and there are mutual expectations of both partners, but they are really surrounding the project that is at hand.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“There is no hidden agenda with this agreement. It is open, transparent and we have not signed any secret agreement to get this compact. It is just that we have qualified for it.”
