From Lady Z to Lady ZERO

She rose to fame leading into the 2006 municipal elections when Belize City residents endorsed her as the favourite to run the old capital and then voted for her overwhelmingly at the polls.  But since Zenaida Moya Flowers got into office, City Hall has been besieged by allegations of sweetheart deals, bloated contracts, mismanagement of public funds, misappropriation of public funds, missing money, corruption and complete incompetence. In fact, she still faces 24 criminal charges before the courts.

And as if that weren’t enough, she has now been expelled from the same party that polished her and propped her on their political pedestal for the 2006 municipal elections.  She was the UDP’s golden girl who brought in the full slate.  But just months into her first term

From Lady Z to Lady ZERO

She rose to fame leading into the 2006 municipal elections when Belize City residents endorsed her as the favourite to run the old capital and then voted for her overwhelmingly at the polls.  But since Zenaida Moya Flowers got into office, City Hall has been besieged by allegations of sweetheart deals, bloated contracts, mismanagement of public funds, misappropriation of public funds, missing money, corruption and complete incompetence. In fact, she still faces 24 criminal charges before the courts.

And as if that weren’t enough, she has now been expelled from the same party that polished her and propped her on their political pedestal for the 2006 municipal elections.  She was the UDP’s golden girl who brought in the full slate.  But just months into her first term

From Lady Z to Lady ZERO

She rose to fame leading into the 2006 municipal elections when Belize City residents endorsed her as the favourite to run the old capital and then voted for her overwhelmingly at the polls.  But since Zenaida Moya Flowers got into office, City Hall has been besieged by allegations of sweetheart deals, bloated contracts, mismanagement of public funds, misappropriation of public funds, missing money, corruption and complete incompetence. In fact, she still faces 24 criminal charges before the courts.

And as if that weren’t enough, she has now been expelled from the same party that polished her and propped her on their political pedestal for the 2006 municipal elections.  She was the UDP’s golden girl who brought in the full slate.  But just months into her first term

BARROW’S LATEST CIRCUS

What type of humpty-dumpty, upside-down party politics is being played by Dean Barrow? Unable to stomach a little bit of criticism he finally got his party hacks to expel Mayor Zenaida Moya from the UDP.

Mayor Moya, just days after giving birth was dragged from her maternity bed and hauled before Magistrate Court  to answer several allegations of financial and accounting irregularities at the City Council. The lame duck Mayor is no stranger to a mind-boggling, never ending series of scandals and irregularities involving City Council funds.

Outraged at the personal way Barrow had orchestrated her arrest and Court charges

Is Jaguar Enough?

Last week Government launched a new operation geared at addressing what the Prime Minister now considers to be a crisis in crime. As fate would have it, the week of Operation Jaguar coincided was one of the rainiest weeks of 2010.  Whether it was weather or Operation Jaguar, Belize City was relatively quiet this past week.

How do you measure the effectiveness of these operations? Do these operations result in more convictions?  Do they cause a sustained lull in crime and violent activities?  What follow up measures will have to be put in place to stem this growing violence in our urban centres?

As our town and cities grow, there is increased crime and insecurity.  True, this is not unique to Belize; indeed urban crime and violence is a global concern. At the same time, attacks on businesses and individuals have a negative effect on the success

Operation Jaguar Kicks Off…

Carlos Kicked Out?

The Belize Times has received very credible reports that embattled and battered Minister of National Security Carlos Perdomo will be relieved of his portfolio in the very near future. Those reports have been made even more credible by the very conspicuous absence of Perdomo in Operation Jaguar, which was launched on Monday, May 17. An official release stated that the operation was launched at the direction of the Chairman of the National Security Council, Prime Minister Dean Barrow. There was no mention of Minister of National Security Minister Carlos Perdomo.

According to the release, “the Operation, which will be conducted for a sustained period of time, will target high crime areas in Belize City and is intended to provide safety and security for residents in these areas and restore public confidence in the Government’s anti-crime efforts. It is expected that this Operation will be successful in identifying and disrupting gang activity that is primarily responsible for the violence in the city.” Observers have stated, however, that such an operation cannot possible be maintained for any meaningful period of time, and since it does not carry with it any social component, will do little to deal with the causes of crime and will deter crime to

The Real People’s Banks…

I have never attended the Annual General Meeting of the Holy Redeemer Credit Union, so last month when Miss Jane invited me to attend, I readily accepted, even though I am a member of the La Inmaculada Credit Union.   The meeting was lively, the crowd in an upbeat mood, overall it was a good experience.

During the meeting shareholders, including children—Miss Jane informed me that since the children were also shareholders, the children were welcomed – listened closely to the report.   It was an impressive report, indicating that HRCU had total assets of $348.3 million; total loans of $218 million of which $77,768,477.99 were loaned out last year. This $77 million in loans were made up of loans ranging from housing to education and from medical to business.

Despite the slowing down of the Belizean economy, HRCU reported impressive profits,

Ashcroft’s Close Friend is New UK Foreign Secretary

One of the first appointments by the New British Prime Minister David Cameron was to name his Foreign Secretary.  The man picked for the job is close friend of Lord Michael Ashcroft, William Hague.

Mr. Hague no doubt will be well aware of the strained relationship between Belmopan and Lord Ashcroft.  Whether this will have an effect on Anglo Belize relationship is left to be seen; however it is no secret that the relationship between the Prime Minister and the Lord Ashcroft is no longer cordial.

Mr. Barrow, during a debate in the House of Representative stated that he had

The UDP is IMPOTENT on CRIME!

Briceno tells Barrow – ACT NOW!

The Opposition People's United Party today issued a strong release on crime, calling on the 'government to act immediately by replacing the Minister of National Security and to make drastic changes in the Command of the Police Department.' The PUP also called on the Prime Minister to immediately 'work out a comprehensive plan to reverse this situation.'

As the Belize Times goes to press, the son of Belmopan Mayor Simeon Lopez, prominent basket-baller Aubrey Lopez is the latest victim of the bloodshed, shot dead on Belize City streets on Wednesday night. Earlier this week, a seven year old girl was shot in the leg as she sat innocently on her sofa inside

What if?

In the Southern United States those involved in the fishing industry are seriously concerned about how the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will affect their livelihoods.  In fact many believe that this spill will probably have the effect of a massive hurricane moving through the area and wreaking destruction, so much so that it will take years for the Southern United States to recover.

While on the one hand, a reduction in the large amount of shrimp produced in the gulf coast states may drive up the price of shrimp and help out the struggling shrimp industry in Belize, the long term effect of this spill on the US is an important lesson for Belize.

First there is the matter of the destruction being caused by this massive spill. The quantity of fish and other marine life that is being killed or negatively affected is tremendous. Even

The UK’s New Prime Minister is…?

As we go to press tonight, the results of what can only be considered a historic election in Britain resulted in a hung parliament.  That means that no Party earned enough to have control of Parliament.

According to exit polls conducted by the BBC, The Conservative Party, also known as the Tory Party, is expected to win 305 seats, 21 seats less than what is needed to form the government.   In the United Kingdom, the House of Representatives, which is officially called the House of Commons, is made up of 650 elected representatives.  Much like Belize, for a party to form the Government and the Leader to become Prime Minister, that Party must win more than 50 percent of the total number of seats.  In this case 326 seats would be the

San Pedro’s Mr. Quitar

La Isla Bonita is thought to be part of Belize, but if you were to judge by the way land is being 'stronged' and redistributed on the island, you’d think San Pedro is a foreign country not associated in any way with Belize.

The latest controversy which the Area Representative Manuel Heredia finds himself in erupted just this week when angry residents showed up at Reef Radio with copies of their receipts showing that they have paid towards ownership of their land.  But those receipts appear to be worthless because the residents found out that their applications to purchase the land have been cancelled or put on hold.

Most of the land where the receipts were made out are in the Colonia San Diego area, about two miles out of town

Funny Business at Finca Solana…

The Belize Times has received documentation which proves beyond a doubt that Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega is using his authority and portfolio to benefit friends and family. Currently our news team has been given access to hundreds of documents of land transactions in which Minister Vega is dispensing the spoils to select UDP cronies, close friends and family. Some of the transactions are for parcels totaling hundreds of acres, some in reserves. In many cases, the land being gifted to the UDP select has been arbitrarily and illegally seized from previous landholders, sometimes without their knowledge.

The documents