First BTL…Now BTL Park!

Following months of controversy on top of scandal centered on the monster in the UDP's midst, Mayor Zenaida Moya, there had been somewhat of a quiet spell in City Hall in recent weeks. Not that the Council had suddenly begun to perform – far from it – but at least there were no more startling revelations of missing money or further allegations of sticky finger syndrome leveled against the Mayor. But like with most things, the eerie quiet was just an indication of the storm which is now battering the UDP City Council and Zenaida Moya once again.

This new controversy surrounds the BTL Park and a multi-million dollar investment currently being constructed on Newtown Barracks in front of the park. A couple weeks ago reports surfaced that the Belize City

Interpreting the Village Council Elections

Two weeks into Village Council elections and already we see the signs of political gamesmanship rearing its head.

When the PUP changed the Village Council Act in 2000 the idea was to give more autonomy to the local communities, encourage greater participation and bring the people of them together so that they could make decisions about the future of their communities.

So how did we go from empowering a community based movement to press releases about who is winning and who is losing and who da PUP and who da UDP in these elections?  While the spirit of the Village Council Act hoped for greater participation and democracy, it is clear it was never meant for these elections to become politicized much less to become a litmus test for the government or the opposition.

By the time the whole process

The People have Spoken…

UDP Losing Ground!

This coming week will mark the third round of village council elections, in which communities gather to elect one chairman and six councilors to manage their affairs for a term of three years. Although the process has just gotten underway, the UDP's mediocre propagandists have been spinning their wheels playing political games and claiming that their party now controls a majority of the villages in which elections have been held so far. But rather than presenting a picture of the real truth, the desperation shown by the UDP in promoting an image of total control reveals that after only two years in office, something has gone totally awry.

Two week into the 2010 Village Council elections and already a trend is beginning to emerge.  With 48 villages already completed it is clear that despite the dominance that the United Democratic Party showed two years ago in the General Elections, the popularity of the elected officials

Without Fear or Favour

On Wednesday the Chairman of the Election and Boundaries Commission and well known UDP fanatic Alberto August was on the Love FM morning show talking about the Village Council Elections.  It is not a common practice that the Chairman of the Election and Boundaries Commission appear on morning talk shows to speak about the conduct of elections; after all the management of elections in Belize is left to the Election and Boundaries Department under the leadership of the Chief Elections Officer, so the appearance in the media of the Chairman of the Commission and not the Chief Elections Officer is a practice that should be strongly discouraged.

The management and operations of elections in Belize is the legal responsibility of the Election and Boundaries Department under the leadership of the Chief Elections Officer.  Since the change in the legislation that removed the management of village council elections from the ministry responsible for rural development to Elections and Boundaries, no Department, office or Board

Chancey Vega – Police Used to Brutalize Belizeans

As we go to press tonight, UDP supporters who attacked an elderly man in the village of Nuevo San Juan and then instigated a full scale brawl have still not been picked up by the Orange Walk Police, four days after the event. On Monday, the day after the incident, Orange Walk Police detained seven PUP supporters from Nuevo San Juan, including the elderly father of the new PUP Chairman, an elderly retired nurse and a female councilor. This move by the Police, a UDP source tell us, was prompted by instructions from Deputy Prime Minister and Orange Walk North Area Representative Gaspar Vega. That report has been corroborated by several independent sources within the Orange Walk Police Department, who spoke to us on condition of anonymity.

The behavior of the Orange Walk Police, including the Officer in Charge

New Leadership Critical

"Rogue cops!" screamed the news on Thursday 2nd April 2010.

The Prime Minister at a hurriedly called press conference claimed that they had irrefutable evidence that a "gang of rogue police officers" were committing a spate of crimes in different parts of the country including the robbery of Scotia Bank in Spanish Lookout, Cayo. The Prime Minister further claimed that other police officers were already arrested with more arrests to follow.

The following week on Tuesday April 4, 2010, Belizeans found out that the Prime Minister misspoke or as some would say, put his foot in his mouth! Detective Constable Mangar was taken to court and given a much lesser charge than that of a criminal mastermind – a charge which suggests only that he was involved in planning a crime which was never committed.

To confuse matters even more, a press release from the Police Department stated that "P.C. Mangar was a possible suspect" but when the Acting Press Officer

15% GST by JUNE?

The Belize Times received reliable reports late today that the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance is seriously contemplating raising the General Sales Tax another 2.5% for a total of 15%. That move, we understand, would come in the form of a Supplemental Budget presented sometime in June.

Sources we spoke to in the Ministry of Finance were tight-lipped, but we did receive confirmation that there is concern that the raise of 2.5% in General Sales Tax will not return Mr. Barrow's anticipated windfall in revenue. While those sources would neither confirm nor deny that a supplemental budget is in

Judge… Jury… Executioner

Was DC Jermaine Mangar Set Up?

As we go to press, public speculation is growing that Detective Constable Jermaine Mangar is just a casualty of an elaborate set up by fellow officers in a conspiracy which may lead all the way up to the top of the department. That speculation grew legs with the revelation this week that Mr. Barrow and his Commissioner of Police Mr. Jeffries may not have been exactly forthcoming at a press conference last week Thursday. At that media briefing, the leader of the nation played judge, jury and executioner when he announced that Mr. Mangar was the criminal mastermind behind every single robbery in recent memory, including the Scotiabank Spanish Lookout heist which left one man dead. Mr. Barrow assured business owners that they could sleep easy as there would be no more robberies because of the arrest of Mr. Mangar, and other disciplinary actions to come within the department.

Just days after, the Police Press Officer stated unequivocally that this

Judge… Jury… Executioner

Was DC Jermaine Mangar Set Up?

As we go to press, public speculation is growing that Detective Constable Jermaine Mangar is just a casualty of an elaborate set up by fellow officers in a conspiracy which may lead all the way up to the top of the department. That speculation grew legs with the revelation this week that Mr. Barrow and his Commissioner of Police Mr. Jeffries may not have been exactly forthcoming at a press conference last week Thursday. At that media briefing, the leader of the nation played judge, jury and executioner when he announced that Mr. Mangar was the criminal mastermind behind every single robbery in recent memory, including the Scotiabank Spanish Lookout heist which left one man dead. Mr. Barrow assured business owners that they could sleep easy as there would be no more robberies because of the arrest of Mr. Mangar, and other disciplinary actions to come within the department.

Just days after, the Police Press Officer stated unequivocally that this

Tuesday’s Hangover

So the budget was passed last Friday and when Belizeans return from the Easter weekend holiday, the new taxes will go into effect. What everyone needs to understand is that even with the new taxes, Belmopan is dealing with an estimated budget shortfall of about $80 million and it could get higher.  This could mean that if the budget isn't realigned as the economy shrinks or grows, government can be out of cash by November, maybe earlier.

Since the Prime Minister already passed the banking bills to increase Treasury bills and Treasury notes, it is likely that he will look to this to finance the gap.  The other alternative would be even more unpopular than the banking bills. It would also send alarm bells to more than just those in banking and finance.  Imagine how much more