March 2, 2016 issue of The Capital Weekly is online HERE

This Week's Stories:

  • BELIZE AND GUATEMALA, Sarstoon Expedition Sparks Mixed Reaction:
    On Saturday, February 27, 2016, a small delegation led by Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV) Leader Wil Maheia ventured on yet another expedition to Sarstoon Island, this time to commemorate the anniversary of a previous expedition which had resulted in a number of Belizeans being detained overnight by Guatemalan authorities. A heavy presence by the Guatemalan Military prevented the Belizean contingent from making its way to the Island which is firmly within Belize's territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs while doing its best in advance to discourage the expedition, nevertheless acknowledged that the Guatemalan Military appeared to have violated Belize's sovereignty by entering our territorial waters without permission, and expressed its intention to send a diplomatic note of protest to the Guatemalan Government and the OAS.
  • Prime Minister & Opposition Leader:
    sign of political maturity, Opposition Leader John Briceno met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow Wednesday morning, March 2, 2016 in the P M's Belize City Office. They discussed a number of national issues, including Belize-Guatemala relations, the Sarstoon situation, the Economy, De-risking/Correspondent Banking and Crime. Both leaders agreed in principle to work in national unity to address these issues for the good of the People and Nation of Belize.
  • Chester Williams Promoted, New Assistant Commissioner of Police:
    He has received many accolades of late for the leadership demonstrated as a senior member of the Belize Police Force. And now, Chester Williams has received a well-earned, much-deserved promotion from Senior Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner of Police. After years of police work, rising up through the ranks, he returned home in the middle of 2015 with a law degree and was placed in charge of Eastern Division South. With a heavy emphasis on community policing, he quickly made his mark as the crime situation in what was the most murderous part of the country improved remarkably within the last six months of 2015 under his command. Speaking of his promotion, Williams, remarked, "I am very pleased to have been promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police. I remain the Officer Commanding South-Side Belize City, and pledge to continue to do my best in preserving law and order on this side of the city, with a view to make the citizenry feel safe in their respective neighborhoods. I thank the Minister of National Security, Honourable John Saldivar, and the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Allen Whylie, for entrusting me with the responsibility I currently have, and for my long-deserved promotion."
  • Editorial: Who's Right - Who's Wrong:
    The latest Sarstoon expedition by the Belize Territorial Volunteers, the provocative response by the Guatemalan Military, and the mixed reaction from Belizean diplomats past and present, highlight once again the need for National Unity on the Belize-Guatemala Territorial Dispute and efforts to resolve it. In our view, the words and actions of Belizeans on all sides of this issue are wellmeaning and motivated by patriotism. Prime Minister Dean Barrow, while questioning the wisdom of the series of expeditions by the Belize Territorial Volunteers, acknowledged in a press conference on August 19, 2015, "Their decision arose from feelings of patriotism that are not just commendable but inspirational." Our acquaintance with Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington and our knowledge of his personal historical record on the Belize-Guatemala issue convinces us his mission of mutual friendship and peaceful resolution is derived from a degree of nationalism that is no less passionate.
  • Transformation, Isidoro Beaton Stadium:
    The Isidoro Beaton Football Stadium in Belmopan is nearing completion, and it is already a beauty to behold. The spectacular image above was captured at night and shared through social media by Honourable John Saldivar, Area Representative for Belmopan. It shows the stadium with its synthetic surface and professional lighting already installed. The upgrading of the Isidoro Football Stadium is one of several projects which form part of the Government's nationwide investment in Sports Infrastructure. The contract for this project was awarded back in February of 2015 to a Santa Elena based firm, Pedro R. Lizarraga & Sons, headed by General Contractor Mr. Pedro Lizarraga. Other projects nationwide include the construction in Belize City of an innovative, well equipped state-of-the-art Arena and Cultural Complex at the location of the Old Civic Center on Central American Boulevard, which will serve not just the residents of Belize City but the entire country; construction of a new Multi- Complex Auditorium and upgrading of Carl Ramos Football Stadium in Dangriga; and construction of a new Multi-Complex Building in Punta Gorda.
  • FIFA President Gianni Infantino Marks First Day In The Office With Star-Studded Match:
    New FIFA president Gianni Infantino has kick-started his reign with a friendly football match. Past World Cup stars and two current players, Kelly Smith of Arsenal Ladies and Julia Simic of Wolfsburg, were invited to join Infantino and FIFA staff on his first day in office for the informal kick around. The Swiss-Italian was elected on Friday, ahead of Bahraini Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, to become only the ninth president in FIFA's 112-year history. The 45 year-old, previously General Secretary of European football's governing body UEFA, inherited an organisation in disarray. However, Infantino had insisted that FIFA's reform package would close the door on a chapter of pain at world football's governing body and usher in an era of joy.
  • ukMontreal Impact Signs Belizean Michael Salazar:
    The Montreal Impact announced on Tuesday the signing of forward Michael Salazar, the club's second selection at the 2016 Super Draft (24th overall), upon receiving his International Transfer Certificate. "We are pleased to have signed Michael to our club," said Impact technical director Adam Braz. "He is someone who integrated well with the group during our preseason camp. He has impressed the staff with his performance on the field, as well as his strong work ethic and willingness to learn." Salazar, 23, distinguished himself in the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, earning the Cup's Lower Division Player of the Tournament honours and finishing tied for the lead with four assists while scoring three goals in four games.
  • New Riding Mower for San Ignacio:
    On February 16, 2016, Minister of State for Youth and Sports, Honourable Elodio Aragon was in San Ignacio, Cayo where he handed over a much-needed riding mower to the Sports Council in that western municipality. Speaking of the equipment handed over, Minister Aragon says, "This equipment, which is not cheap as we ensured we got the bigger engine, will go a long way in maintaining the facilities in San Ignacio. Just a month ago, they also received a motorcycle. Slowly we are working to make a difference in sports countrywide. Congrats to our new National Sports Director, Mr. Dominguez, and his staff that are working to make things happen. I'm confident things will only get better in sports, and I ask for the communities to get involved at all levels."
  • Aragon & Figueroa, Cayo Sports Working Tour:
    While in San Ignacio, Minister of State for Youth and Sports Hon. Elodio Aragon took the opportunity to visit sporting facilities in the area along with the Area Representative for Cayo North, Hon. Omar Figueroa and Director of the National Sports Council Ritchell Dominguez. They visited the Victor Galvez Stadium, where they discussed plans for the promotion and development of sports in the communities throughout the constituency. Honourable Elodio Aragon later commented, "We are a hundred percent behind him because only by working with the community can we get sports moving."
  • Rejuvenation at Youth Ministry, Hon. Elodio Aragon At The Helm:
    The new Minister of State with responsibility for Youth, Sports and Culture, Honourable Elodio Aragon, has really made his presence felt in the short three months and a half since he was appointed immediately following the November 4, 2016 general Elections. Highly motivated, the Minister of State and his team from the Ministry and the Departments which fall under his command have been moving around the country assessing the work being done and identifying what else needs to occur for the development of Youth and Sports throughout our communities .
  • CODICADER GAMES COMING TO BELIZE:
    Minister of State with responsibility for Youth and Sports, Honourable Elodio Aragon, recently attended the CODICADER (Consejo Del Istmo Centro-Americano de Deportes y Recreación) Reunion in Nicaragua along with representatives from Central America. There they discussed matters relating to the CODICADER Games which will be played in Belize in the month of July, 2016. Upon his return, Honourable Aragon remarked, "Things are shaping up and Belize will host football, basketball, volleyball and ping pong. A lot more has to be done with regards to fund raising, logistics and preparations. This event will see well over 1,000 participants in Belize for four days of competition."
  • A Walk Through Dangriga, Authored By Mayor Francis Humphreys & Ifasina Efunyemi:
    On Monday, February 15, 2016, the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) and the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) launched a publication entitled "A WALK THROUGH DANGRIGA". It is the third publication in the 'Walk Through' series which features key landmarks and heritage sites in the various municipalities of Belize. Mayor Francis Humphreys and Ifasina Efunyemi, two well-known educators in Dangriga, are co-authors of the manuscript. The book was edited and produced by the Institute for Social and Cultural Research (ISCR), a branch of NICH. 'A WALK THROUGH DANGRIGA' traces the development of historic locations and sites of memory within the town. The information was compiled using oral history, documentary sources, accompanied by photographs dating from the late 1890's to the present.
  • Jamaica Labour Party Wins Tight Race in Polls Marked by Low Voter Turnout:
    Andrew Holness returned the favour, handing Portia Simpson Miller's People's National Party (PNP) its first one-term government Thursday in the country's 17th general election that ended with the tightest majority in Jamaica's history - 33 - 30 seats. The polls will be memorable for the low voter turnout - barely more than one-third of the electorate. But they also sent a message to politicians that Holness acknowledged in his acceptance speech at Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) headquarters in Kingston last night. "I know from my travels around Jamaica that you wanted to change the Government, but I also picked up from going around the country that you want to change the way that Government works," Holness told cheering supporters. "And so, from this platform, I make the commitment to you that your new Government will not be Government as usual. We don't take it that we have won a prize. We have been given stewardship of the country, and we stand to be held to account for our stewardship," he said. "We know that the cost of victory is accountability. The cost of victory is the responsiveness of the Government that we will form. The cost of victory is to keep the commitments that we have made. "We are under no illusions as to the ability of the Jamaican people to hold their Government to account," he added.
  • IMPACT Justice Holds Media Workshop in Barbados:
    Members of the media and law students from across the Caribbean region, 68 of them, attended a two-day workshop in Bridge Town, Bardados, hosted by Improved Access to Justice in the Caribbean (IMPACT Justice), a project funded by the Canadian Government. The workshop, conducted on February 24 and 25, 2016 at the Radisson Aquatica Resort, Barbados, is part of the project's Public Legal Education Component. Topics covered included, the Rights of Journalists; Confidentiality of Sources; Defamation in the context of Media Law; Online Reporting; Parliamentary and Government reporting; and Reporting on Family Matters and Gender Issues.
  • CARICOM Secretary General Gets Second Term:
    CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque has been re-appointed to a second term of office. CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. Dean Barrow, made the announcement during the Closing Press Conference of the CARICOM Heads of Government Inter-sessional Meeting in Belize, Wednesday, February 17, 2016. The Secretary-General's initial five-year appointment ends in August, and Heads of Government decided to deal with the matter of his reappointment now because they felt the next meeting in July is too close to the August expiration date, the Chairman told the media.
  • Insight into Gang Culture in Belize:
    Well known Belizean Television and Radio Talk Show host, Nuri Muhammad has just launched a new book. Titled "Insights into Gang Culture in Belize", the book was inspired by Nuri's intimate knowledge and extensive experience working with at risk youths. In an interview with Channel Seven News, Nuri Muhammad explained, "The book is called 'Insights' and I think the word indicates that it is a reflective look at the challenge that we face with youth crime and violence in this country. We tried to look at it over a spectrum of 25 to 30 years, so that we could see its generational issue as opposed to simply reporting it as various incidents that take place on a nightly and weekly basis. So the book is called 'Insights into Gang Culture'.
  • When and How Do We Draw the Line?:
    The Belize-Guatemala Dispute and efforts to resolve it is an issue that transcends partisan politics and requires national unity. If there's one class of persons in our community that has the training, discipline and incentive to reach across political lines, it is our attorneys. On Friday February 19, 2016, attorneys of opposite persuasions, all persuasions and no persuasion came together at their Annual Law Conference, and the top issue on their agenda was the Belize-Guatemala Dispute. President of the Bar Association, Jacqueline Marshalleck, explained, "The Belize-Guatemala Dispute certainly has its diplomatic elements, but it also has its legal elements. I think that as the discussion becomes more public and the education exercise progresses, the Bar Association and attorneys at large will generally be expected to comment or assist people in understanding the process. There will be questions about the Court and what should happen, and I think there is an assumption that because we are attorneys that we know and that we have all the answers.
  • GREAT Program scores Great Success:
    The Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Program, funded by the United States, has become a key component of the overall strategy by the Belize Police Force in its fight against crime. It started off in Belize City and has now expanded to the districts. The latest group of police officers to receive training under the program includes 35 men and women, and they will be deployed countrywide to work with children and youths to help steer them away from a culture of gang violence and crime. The graduation ceremony was attended by United States Ambassador in Belize, Carlos Moreno, who commented, "The Great Program is a program that the embassy has been supporting for at least the last 5 years. We've trained over 130 officers to work in the schools. The officers are assigned to particular schools where they interact with the youths and encourage them to stay away from gangs.
  • New Strategy for Business Services Sector:
    Government and private sector officials from Belize converged at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City on Wednesday, February 17, 2016 to discuss a new strategy to improve the country's business services sector. The meeting, which was dubbed as the first BPO Summit in Belize, was the brain child of BelizeINVEST, a division of the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE). It provided participants the opportunity to examine the benefits of increasing the country's business services and identify priorities for policy and institutional reform. Participants also agreed to revive the Business Outsourcing Association of Belize (BOAB), establish a standards framework and to increase the development and promotion of IT Education in Belize. The strategy was developed in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat and had as its main objective to assess the potential for higher-value IT Enabled Services (ITES) and to establish the framework for an industry standard in preserving and continuing to develop the country's outsourcing industry. Through this partnership, OCO Global was contracted to develop key documents, such as a Comprehensive Outsourcing Strategy Action Plan and a BPO Standards Framework and Road-map for Implementation, which will serve as the mechanisms for the successful execution of the framework. The study was conducted through various visits to Belize in engaging key public and private stakeholders.
  • Swear-in of Ombudsman and Contractor General:
    In a brief ceremony held Monday, February 22, 2016 at Belize House in Belmopan, Mr. Lionel Arzu and Mr. Godwin Arzu were sworn in for their new terms as Ombudsman and Contractor General respectively, following the Prime Minister's announcement of their re-appointments at the Sitting of the House of Representatives on Friday January 22, 2016. Both men were joined by their families as they took the oath of allegiance before the Governor General, H.E. Sir Colville Young. This is Mr. Godwin Arzu's third term as Contractor General. It is Mr. Lionel Arzu's second term as Ombudsman, he having held that position since January 2013. The re-appointment of the Ombudsman had sparked some debate in the National Assembly upon the announcement by the Prime Minister on January 22, 2016.
  • Vital Statistics discusses Vital Issues:
    The Vital Statistics Unit, which is responsible for registering births, deaths and marriages, held a meeting on Thursday February 18, 2016 to emphasize the importance of birth registration and to evaluate the registration system in Belize. Registrar General Velda Flowers, explained, "This morning what is happening is the launching of this bottleneck analysis that was conducted by Miss Patricia Holness, a consultant from Jamaica. This effort came about as a result of the partnership we have with UNICEF and OAS in order to try and ascertain and address the issue of the 6% non-registration of persons born in Belize. Currently Belize has about 94-95% of all persons born in Belize registered and this effort was put in place to try and close that gap, that 6% gap that currently exists." The consultant from Jamaica, Patricia Holness, emphasized, "It is very important that birth registration be taken seriously in any country. And, a mother, as you just said, bonds with her child; but then that child has to be a citizen. That child has to live in the country and reap the rewards of being a citizen. So the government of that country needs to know that this is a citizen for whom we must care and also to ensure that all that goes with citizenship will go to that child."
  • CARICOM Development Fund in BELIZE:
    When CARICOM Heads of Government meet, as they did in Belize two weeks ago, those meetings are always supplemented and supported by a number of sessions involving the technical experts from the regional body and the various member countries. One of those persons who came to Belize for the Twenty-Seventh Intersessional Meeting was the executive head of the CARCOM Development Fund (CDF), which is funding a number of very important projects in Belize, including rehabilitation of the Phillip Goldson Highway and the Haulover Bridge. Chief Executive Officer of the CDF, Mr. Rodinald Soomer, in interview with the local media, elaborated, "Belize happens to be the first country that met the requirements to access resources under the fund. We signed the first country assistance program with Belize towards the end of 2010 and we started activities with Belize in early 2011. We are now towards the end of the program with Belize; we've approved a portfolio of projects totalling just over 6 Million US Dollars.
  • Helping 'Seenagers' to Live Longer:
    On Thursday, February 18, 2016, the National Council on Aging held a workshop in Belize City addressing issues affecting older persons throughout the country. Speaking with the media at the opening, Executive Director of the council, Ix-Chel Poot, explained, "Some of the specific areas we are looking at today, we've talked about normal aging, we are looking at how to collaborate and how to get all the organizations together working as one and moving forward in one voice. So there is a lot of planning that will be taking place. We will be looking at the situation of older persons across Belize. So that all the branches are up to date and abreast of what's happening with older persons and the population that they are serving. They are looking at things like the Older Persons' Act; how do we maintain the safety of our older persons and the care of our older persons. Last year, the National Council on Aging along with BTEC had a care-givers training here in Belize. We've been working with the YWCA, having care-givers' training in Belmopan. So we are looking at building a capacity, a resource of persons who are able to be in the community to work with older persons in such a way."
  • Preventing Crimes Against Women:
    The Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), provided data gathering equipment valued at approximately BZ$184,000.00 to relevant government departments, including the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Security. The official handing over of the equipment took place today, February 19, 2016 at the Raccoon Street Police Station in Belize City.The purpose of the equipment is to strengthen the capacity of those government units in charge of collecting and analysing data on violence against women and human trafficking and ensure improved access to reliable data for programme planning and decision-making in this area.
  • Belize Gets Down To Business, Minister Contreras Talks Trade Opportunities With SoFla entrepreneurs:
    BELTRAIDE Representative Hero Balani, OESBD Economic Development Specialist Paola Isaac Baraya and Belizean Minister of International Trade Erwin Contreras. Belize was at the top of the business agenda this week, as Belizean Minister of International Trade Erwin Contreras stopped by at the Lauderdale Lakes Educational and Cultural Center for the "Doing Business in Belize" workshop. During a special meet and greet session with workshop attendees, the Minister outlined the nation's many commercial and trading opportunities in renewable energy, agro-processing, tourism, and food and beverage production and packaging. The Minister also encouraged participants to attend the upcoming trade mission, hosted by the Miramar based Belize American Chamber of Commerce of Florida.
  • Elevating & Upgrading Bomba Access Road:
    As Area Representative for Belize Rural North and Minister of National Emergency Management, Hon. Edmond Castro has undertaken a flood mitigation project in the Maskall-Bomba area. The project entails the elevation of the access road from Maskall to Bomba village with a number of cement culverts across the 'Quashy Banner' Creek. The area had been plagued by seasonal flooding which severely affects accessibility to and from Bomba, thereby inconveniencing residents of the village and farmers in the general area. The project is being funded with monies secured by Hon. Edmond Castro through the Government of Belize. It is well underway and should be completed in a couple weeks. The residents and farmers of the area are happy for the project and are expressing tremendous gratitude to their Area Representative, Hon. Castro, and to Prime Minister Hon. Dean Barrow for making the funds available to improve and transform their community and lives. Honorable Edmond Castro says he and the government intend to carry out several similar projects throughout the constituency prior to the start of the next Hurricane Season on June 1, 2016 to mitigate flooding which occurs on an annual basis.