Finally, we asked Peyrefitte if he thinks the Prime Minister called the general election too early, especially since the redistricting wasn’t finished. Peyrefitte said it’s the Prime Minister’s prerogative, and the people need a chance to decide at the polls.
Michael Peyrefitte
Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, U.D.P
“It is his prerogative. The law allows him to advice the Governor General to dissolve the parliament and set date for the election. That is his prerogative within the law. He didn’t do anything illegal by doing that. All I asked was , why if you are claiming you have been running such a wonderful economy that on the last day of parliament you have to borrow two hundred million dollars. At the end of financial year and why you need to at the cost of forty-two million dollars to the public you have to beg Taiwan to push back a hundred and eighty million dollars in loans that they UDP never did in twelve years. We never asked for any excuse on those loans. They come in, claim they are running a humming economy, but when you look at what they do, their report card is an F.”
Paul Lopez
“Do you believe that much like the 2020 election, this one is illegal because redistricting has not taken place and the electoral constituencies are illegal.”
Michael Peyrefitte
“I have not looked into that, but I think I like the fact that the election is Marchtwelfth. The people need to be given a decision to decide how they rate this current government form 2020, to now.”
The People’s United Party, in its Plan Belize manifesto, presented a policy paper that would advance the Education Agenda in Belize. One of the initiatives was to implement a new curriculum, a module that the Ministry of Education introduced at the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Under its structure, students are assessed based on how well they grasp the contents. In this week’s edition of the Five Point Breakdown, we explore how the education system at the high school level has performed since 2020. The Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, said while there have been quite a few achievements realized, there’s a lot more to complete. We got the perspectives of two high school principals who manage high schools that are on the north and south sides of Belize City on how the revamping of the curriculum has resulted in the students’ performance. Interestingly, while students at both schools have commonalities in weak areas, the COVID-19 pandemic is the reason for those weaknesses at one of the institutions, while attendance issues among its student population, mainly due to social challenges, was the reason for its students’ academic challenges. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
It’s a typical school day at Sadie Vernon High School, but only a fraction of the two hundred and two enrolled students is present. Students here receive free tuition, uniforms, daily meals, transportation, and learning devices. Despite this support, many students at the four Belize City schools in the Southside Upliftment Project still struggle with attendance.
Social Issues & School Attendance
Deborah Martin
Deborah Martin, Principal, Sadie Vernon High School
“Being absent, just because they want to be absent and you can see them on the street when you walk down the lane and so on. It tells a picture to you that, you know, I’m in school but I’m not necessarily in school. Sometimes parents may say, I need my child to come and help me pick up the younger brother or younger sister. You know, I need to send my child to pick up money from social and, you know, these are things that cause them to be out of school.”
Sadie Vernon, Gwen Liz, Maud Williams, and Excelsior High School were chosen by the Ministry of Education for the project. This initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance education quality in Belize, launched after the PUP came to power in 2020.
Francis Fonseca
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
“The Education Upliftment Project has been very successful, really transforming lives across the country. We now have over twenty-one high schools across the country that are a part of that free education program. So, with that we’re about fifty percent of where we want to be.”
Marion Ali
“While the Ministry of Education has made efforts to improve the quality of education in Belize, one factor has hampered its effect. As Principal of E.P. Yorke High School, Karen Canto shares, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the performance of its students, particularly in math. As a result, the school has had to offer additional classes for them to catch up.”
COVID & Education
Karen Canto
Karen Canto, Principal, E.P. Yorke High School
“One of our challenges is deficiencies that COVID unfortunately brought on us because we have a lot of deficiencies in the basic skills that the kids need, as in English and math. We don’t even have to go beyond that. The basics as in multiplication, division, the basic skills, computation, a lot of them have lacking. They struggle to write; their penmanship is poor and reading cursive, for example – a teacher writes in cursive on the whiteboard, they can’t read it. Their handwriting, although they’re in first, second form, they’re writing like they’re in standard one. And we still have to have them ready for sixth form, right, so lately we have been trying to fill in the blanks. First and second forms do remedial in the evenings. Past students, E.P. Yorkers that are at U.B. or John’s, they come in four days of the week.”
We discovered that students struggle with similar subjects. According to Deborah Martin, the Principal of Sadie Vernon, math and literacy are particularly challenging for the students.
Problems with Math and English
Deborah Martin
“We have students with reading issues or they lack the foundational skills in reading and numeracy and even in the social aspect of it. And so, to fit that curriculum or localize it to our school, we can only take some of the things that they give us to put it into action here. And because we have to meet our students where they came and to help them incrementally improve, they may not be meeting the standards for certain levels at our high school.”
Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca stated that the goal of many Plan Belize initiatives is to raise education standards.
Francis Fonseca
“We unveiled for the nation our new competency-based curriculum. I’m very proud of that curriculum. Obviously, it’s still a work in progress in terms of getting adopted across our education system. Curriculum reform was another major commitment that we made, that we’re very proud of the fact that we were able to put in place this very progressive, very comprehensive, competency-based approach to learning and teaching. Another commitment we made was free education, and again there we’ve achieved what we started. We set up and established for the first time a science and technology unit as a part of the Ministry of Education acknowledgement and recognition of the importance of science and technology to education. We established the 501 Academy portal. We established the Teacher Learning Institute as a digital portal again for training our teachers.”
Fonseca also emphasized the ConnectEd Project, which offers free internet access to schools across Belize and an unprecedented number of scholarships for students to attend their chosen schools. We asked the two principals for their views on whether the quality of education has improved since these programs were introduced in recent years.
Has Education Quality Improved?
Deborah Martin
“We have incrementally improved, but we’re not where we’re supposed to be.”
Karen Canto
“ I came straight out of sixth form, no pedagogy, nothing. Today, almost everybody you interview is already a licensed teacher, and they already finished their diploma education, or their bachelors in education, so they are more qualified to deliver for sure.”
The minister highlighted areas needing urgent attention under Plan Belize 2.0, such as special education and vocational training.
Urgent Priority Areas
Francis Fonseca
“Stella Maris, we have planned, we’ve been working for two years on a plan to really rehabilitate, refurbish the Stella Maris School. One key area that I want to focus on moving forward is really more investment in TVET, more investment in technical, vocational education and training. If we are equipping our people, our young people in particular, with the skills and tools they need to find jobs.”
Fonseca announced that a hundred-and-twenty-five-million-dollar grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation will be used to reform the vocational education system and improve the legal framework for education. Marion Ali for News Five.
Police have arrested and charged 28-year-old Ozen Rhaburn for the murder of Simon Arana Junior Arana, a 23-year-old carpentry teacher from Hope Creek Village, was shot and killed outside his home on the night of February 10th. Initial reports suggest he was socializing when gunshots rang out, leading to his tragic death. Today, Rhaburn, a fisherman from the Belize District, was formally charged with abetment to commit murder and discharging a firearm in public.
This morning, chaos broke out at the Punta Gorda Magistrate’s Court when a prisoner allegedly attacked the Resident Magistrate, Sashawna Jody-Ann Thompson. The accused, Mason Kelly, who has a history of serious offenses, including burglary, assaulting a police officer, and attempted murder, reportedly lashed out during his court appearance. Kelly, who recently completed a fifteen-year sentence for attempted murder, was in court facing new charges. Magistrates have long voiced their worries about the lack of security at district courts, but they feel their concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Many believe that out-district magistrates are left to fend for themselves without proper security measures in place.
Today, Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) announced it is temporarily halting sugar production for the 2024-2025 season. This decision comes from key industry players who are trying to tackle the poor quality and low quantity of sugar cane arriving at the mill, largely due to excessive rainfall in Belize. B.S.I. also pointed out that the terrible condition of the sugar roads has made it even harder to get the cane to the mill. William Neal, B.S.I.’s Communication Director, shared more insights into the situation.
William Neal
William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I.
“We’ve been having rains since October, and that has made it extremely difficult in terms of the field conditions for farmers. First of all, trying to harvest in these conditions. We’ve had reports, of course, from the feeder roads going to the fields. So the fields, the roads have been in very terrible condition and the fields have been in terrible conditions. This is not a good time to be harvesting because obviously the amount of mud and the difficulty that farmers have to extract their cane makes it extremely difficult. So you spend far more energy, in terms of physical energy and also gas, et cetera, to actually bring cane to the factory. Once they’re at the factory, we had to really deal with more than double the amount of mud that the factory can afford to process at this juncture. So it’s really not a good time to actually continue with the cane season, simply because the challenges at the farm level and at the factory level are just extraordinary. The cost in terms of what we’re spending to try and extract sugar from cane that has very poor quality at this juncture, simply because the rains have been so consistent makes it just not viable for us to continue with the cane crop at this juncture.”
Starting today, Belize Sugar Industries (BSI) is hitting the brakes on sugar production at the mill. This move comes as farmers and producers struggle with the muddy mess caused by heavy rains. The pause in production will continue until the weather improves, but there’s no clear end in sight. We spoke with BSI Communications Director William Neal to find out how this will affect the local sugar supply. Here’s what he had to say.
William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I.
“Just based on what we’re looking at in terms of sugar production the domestic market is small. What we have concerns about is obviously, how we make, the sugars necessary for our contracts that we have. We, it’s still early in the crop. But what we have to do is make an assessment. We’ve talked about the cane price estimates, and we’ve looked at production shortfalls, but what we’re trying to do at this point is just decide what will be the best thing at this juncture to make sure that we’re not grinding just for grinding sake and that farmers are not trying to just pull out the cane to just say they delivered their cane if there’s no sugar in the cane, we’re wasting time, resources, money, and so are the farmers. So this is the best solution at this point we can’t project in the next six months, how much sugar we’ll have, what we’re hoping for is some improvement in the weather and we’ll continue to work on the mill side to try and extract as much sugar as we possibly can. More than sixty percent of the industry uses B79, which is a late maturing variety. So it might actually play to that in terms of the ripeness of cane and the optimum time to actually, have extraction. But if the weather continues to be like this, then it still won’t make much of a difference. If we have continuous rains, what we’re seeing as an industry is basically we cannot at this juncture continue to just hollow cane by any means necessary. It’s just not making any, since economically for anybody, because the amount of mud that comes, the quality of the cane is so poor that all around, it’s just a losing situation for everybody.”
The full impact of the sugar production halt on farmers and the local market is still unclear, but there are growing worries about how it might affect Belize’s energy supply. Sugar production creates bagasse, a byproduct that powers the BELCOGEN plants, providing energy across the country. We reached out to BSI’s Industrial Operations Manager, Stephen Usher, for his take on these concerns.
Stephen Usher
Stephen Usher, Industrial Operations Manager, B.S.I.
“ We need to maintain a certain grinding rate so that we can have surplus bagasse, which is our fuel. We have been eating that out. We decided to mutually have a stop until weather conditions improve. And as William mentioned, we don’t know exactly when that will be the start up so that when we start up, we get better. With the cane, we get cleaner cane, and once we start to mill, it should be at a higher grinding rate than the two hundred tons cane per hour. Normally, we would be closer to two hundred sixty, two hundred eighty tons cane per hour. And what that will do, that will enable us to start accumulating, accumulating surplus bagasse as well. So, to answer your question right now, we have do have sufficient baggage for another startup when we start milling again after this pause that we are experiencing right now.”
This morning, a group of retired public officers gathered in front of the Eleanor Hall Building in Belize City to protest. They are demanding payment for two years’ worth of increments that have been withheld since 1995. To make up for the frozen salaries, they were given shares in B.T.L. However, thirty years later, the retirees have yet to see any of the millions of dollars held in the trust. According to Lizbeth Castillo, Interim Vice President of the Association of Beneficiaries and Retired Public Officers, at least nine thousand public officers are owed money for this period. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more details.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
“We are dying out here, run the trust money.” That’s what Lizbeth Castillo’s sign read as she protested in front of the Eleanor Hall Building in Belize City today. As the interim Vice President of the Association of Beneficiaries and Retired Public Officers, she’s part of a group that has been waiting for government payments for thirty years.
Lizbeth Castillo
Lizbeth Castillo, Interim VP, Association of Beneficiaries & Retired Public Officers
“During the period 1995 to 1997, we were not given our yearly increments. And the government at the time said, instead of for reasons to themselves and I guess for financial reasons as well, what they did was to they invested in shares in B.T.L. So we have some retail shares and all these years, those shares have been accumulating dividends. So it’s a lot of money now. And we were promised that years ago when they were able, we were all going to sit at the table. The calculations would have been done, and people were going to get what is justly theirs.”
The members explain that because of the salary freeze, the retirees’ pensions have been miscalculated. Castillo says the money, now over eight million dollars, is just sitting in a trust managed by the Public Service Workers Trust. Their worry is that while the funds are being misused, the association’s members are slowly passing away from old age.
Lizbeth Castillo
“One of the things that saddens most of us is that a lot of our fellow beneficiaries keep dying each and every day. Because for government, we retire at fifty-five. We’re all people in our late sixties and older. So the youngest person would be in their sixties, that would benefit from this trust. And he made that promise and we have had a couple meetings with them. We’ve had very cordial meetings. I would want to assure everybody, because we have to say what is correct. And, but we think that you’re not moving as fast as they ought to do.”
In late 2023, Prime Minister John Briceño expressed his support for dissolving the trust. However, he explained that some retirees had taken the issue to the High Court, stopping the government from acting. Earlier this year, Briceño mentioned that the case is still unresolved.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño (File: January 23rd, 2025)
“There is a group of public officers that have taken out a case. This is the last I can remember. That is in the supreme court. Before we could dissolve that trust they need to take that out of the Supreme Court. We run the risk of, if we do that the courts could come at us and say we can’t do that because it is a live matter in the court. I have said let us get that out of court. I had a meeting with them the other day. They agreed to remove the case and then we are going to wind down that trust. They should get their money. I support that. They should get their money because they are getting older, dying or more than ever they need the help, they are not working, sick and so they have my full support.”
The association stated that if the Prime Minister commits in writing to dissolving the trust, they might be convinced to drop the claim. However, without action from the government, they remain uncertain if the issue will be resolved.
Lizbeth Castillo
“We are not giving up, we are not losing hope. We think that all is going to prevail and one day soon we are going to get our money. But if we just sit down idly, nothing will happen. We want to get the support of the public, the media, the other public officers, because we are not the only ones that will be affected.”
Campaign season is in full swing, bringing a burst of color and excitement to cities and towns nationwide. Lampposts are decked out in party colors, and banners stretch across streets, showcasing the vibrant spirit of the elections. Tonight, we’ll dive into the world of campaigning and explore how constituencies are transformed with the colors of your favorite parties and the faces of their candidates. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with more.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The People’s United Party flag proudly waves above a sea of supporters at the Belize Civic Center. This huge blue and white banner, made from several yards of fabric, is a familiar sight at PUP rallies and conventions, and today is no exception. Smaller flags decorate lampposts throughout Belize City and beyond. The red, white, and blue emblem of the United Democratic Party isn’t as widespread, but you can spot it in key areas. It’s campaign season and the materials needed to sew these flags are in high demand.
Teresita Garbutt
Teresita Garbutt, Employee, Mikado Store
“The demand for the political material, it started a bit earlier this year, before the election date was out because we started advertising this material since it’s election time. But the demand has been more than usual for the fabrics because it’s selling a lot, so both parties are buying the red, white and blue or the blue and white.”
Banners are a great way to get a candidate or party noticed. They make it easier for people to recognize who’s running and what they stand for. With catchy slogans and key promises, banners highlight the campaign’s main values and goals. As the general election approaches, both parties are stepping up their game, using banners to build excitement and rally support, inspiring more people to get involved.
Iris Flores
Iris Flores, Employee, Mikado Store
“Right now the material dehn di sell like for the political themes and it gives other people, like the seamstress and tailors jobs. They make the flags and then the person that buys the material they get the material back to hang it or do whatever they want to do with the material.”
Nowadays, fabrics are sold in large bundles. Customers flock to Mikado, placing big orders for cloth. When it’s not campaign season, buying these materials in bulk and storing them can be expensive and a real hassle.
Teresita Garbutt
“It stores at the warehouse. It’s nicely kept so it doesn’t catch dust, it doesn’t… no animal eats it, you know, fabrics. We move them around from one corner to the next so it can be nicely kept and stocked for the next election or whenever it’s needed.”
Inside the store, there are eye-catching displays showing off creative ways to use the material. Loyal supporters from both parties can choose skirts instead of banners. Mikado hopes this trend will catch on fast. Besides that, customers are buying fabrics in all sorts of sizes.
Iris Flores
“Some of them buy by yard, but right now most of them buy by the roll. So they get it by the roll, and then, well, we offer other stuff too, like the umbrella. We have readymade flags and the tassels.”
Isani Cayetano
“Makes a lot of money selling political cloth?”
Teresita Garbutt “Well only this time of year, yes.”
Sixteen Belize Police Department officers are now at the forefront of modernising law enforcement and public service as they successfully completed training on the new Online Criminal Records Registry (CRR). The training was held on Friday, February 14, at the National Police Training Academy.
In a statement, it said that this new system will allow the public to apply, pay, and receive police records entirely online, enhancing convenience and transparency. It said, “This initiative focused on the effective use of the Online Criminal Records Registry (CRR) system, with sixteen participants successfully completing the training.”
Supported by both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Public Utilities, this initiative is expected to transform record-keeping and governance in Belize. The trained officers will be passing on their expertise to peers across the country.
