Release, President Elections (December 17, 2007, Belmopan) Representatives from the 6 District Associations of Village Councils (DAVCO) met at a Special Meeting on Saturday, December 15, 2007 to hold elections to fill the post of President of the National Board, that is, of the National Association of Village Councils (NAVCO). The new President of the NAVCO National Board is Ernest Banner, from the Cayo District Association of Village Councils, and from Camalote Village. Also, Officers of the National Board were designated as follows: Vice President – Oscar Pollard, Belize DAVCO 2nd Vice President – Pedro Pixabaj, Stann Creek DAVCO Treasurer – Orlando Dawson, Belize DAVCO Assistant Treasurer – Fidelmar Hernandez, Corozal DAVCO Secretary – Juan Moguel Assistant Secretary – Hilbert Lopez Members – Rojelio Oliva, Toledo DAVCO Feliciano Enero Bol, Toledo DAVCO Derwin Innis, Corozal DAVCO Orvin Rancharan, Corozal DAVCO Brian Yearwood, Stann Creek DAVCO The new National Board will serve for a three year period, until the next Village Council Elections take place, after which new National and District Associations are formed. The Ministry of National Development Representatives supervised and assisted with the elections process and the swearing in of the new President and the new officers of the NAVCO National Board President Elections (December 13, 2007, Belmopan) The National Association of Village Councils (NAVCO) takes pleasure to announce a Special Meeting being held on Saturday, December 15, 2007 to hold elections to fill the post of President of the National Board. A representation from the 6 District Associations is meeting at 10 AM on Saturday at the NAVCO office located at the National Agriculture Showgrounds in Belmopan, for this purpose. Following the sad demise of former President, Eleanor Sandlin, Vice-President Oscar Pollard has been performing as Interim President. The Election on Saturday will provide the National Board with its President for the next two and a half years. (Belmopan, 13 de diciembre del 2007) Este es un informe público de la Asociación Nacional de Concilios Aldeanos (NAVCO), anunciando que el sábado, 15 de diciembre del 2007 se llevará a cabo una Reunión Especial con el fin de realizar la elección del Presidente de la Junta Directiva Nacional. Para este evento, una representación de las asociaciones de los distritos se reunirá el sábado a las 10 de la mañana, en la oficina de la Asociación Nacional, en Belmopan. En la actualidad y debido al inesperado fallecimiento de la Presidenta Eleanor Sandlin, Oscar Pollard, Vicepresidente de la Junta Directiva, sirve en capacidad de Presidente interino. La Elección del sábado dará como resultado el nombramiento del Presidente de la Junta Directiva de la Asociación Nacional, para los próximos dos años y medio.
Memorial Services (Belmopan, September 14, 2007) The Executive Board of the National Association of Village Councils takes this opportunity to inform the general public of the Memorial Service which will be held in Monkey River Village, at 1 PM on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, in the memory of Eleanor Sandlin, President of the National Association of Village Councils. The Memorial Service is being organized by the family of the deceased, and the Association of Village Councils will be participating in same, in support of her family. The District Associations of Village Councils can be contacted by Village Council Members to get information about transportation arrangements being made by their DAVCO. Ms. Sandlin, a Justice of the Peace, member of the Toledo District Association of Village Councils, and Chairperson of the Monkey River Village Council, passed away unexpectedly on September 13th 2007 in Belmopan. Her presence and leadership will be greatly missed by family, friends, village council leaders and other community development partners.
President Elections (September 14, 2007, Belmopan) It is with deep regret and sorrow that the Executive Board and Staff of the National Association of Village Councils (NAVCO), informs the Nation of Belize of the sad death of Ms. Eleanor Sandlin, President of the National Association of Village Councils. Ms. Sandlin, a Justice of the Peace, member of the Toledo District Association of Village Councils, and Chairperson of the Monkey River Village Council, passed away unexpectedly and peacefully yesterday, September 13th 2007 in Belmopan. Ms. Eleanor Sandlin has been a member of the National Association since 2001. She became Board President in 2004 and served in that position until the time of her passing. The country has lost a strong and beloved advocate for the rights and privileges of rural communities of Belize. During her tenure, she worked tirelessly to strengthen and enforce the Village Council Act in order to gain respect for Village Councils. Her achievements in the area of strengthening local governance included: • Lobbying with the Government of Belize (GOB) for the collection of Liquor Licenses Fees for all villages councils.
• Lobbying for the passing of numerous by-laws, including littering, parks and playgrounds, animal restriction, and slaughter house by-laws. • Establishment of six District Association offices equipped with computer equipment and personnel. • Lobbying with GOB, Social Investment Fund (SIF), Belize Rural Development Programme (BRDP), Oak Foundation, Pact Belize, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for finances for the establishment of a NAVCO secretariat in the Capital City, Belmopan. • Lobbying with GOB for revenue sources for rural communities, including for the collection of trade licenses, residential land taxes, etc. • Enabling the operations of the NAVCO secretariat by securing staffing and equipment. Ms. Eleanor Sandlin also sits on numerous Boards and Committees which work toward the welfare of the rural communities, with organizations such as Friends of Nature, Independence High School & Junior College, Social Investment Fund, the Social Security Legal Reform, Petroleum Advisory Board, National Human Development Advisory Committee, among others. Ms. Sandlin, the LEADER, the ROLE MODEL, FRIEND, and COLLEAGUE, will be sorely missed by all those whose lives she had come in contact with. More information about arrangements related to this sad event will be communicated later on. Our deepest sympathies go out to all her family, friends, and colleagues on this sad loss. The NAVCO phone number is 8220253. VC Elections (April 30, 2007, Belmopan) The National Association of Village Councils (NAVCO) would like to thank all the voters of our rural areas who exercised their right to come out and vote in the recent countrywide Village Council Elections. We also would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who offered themselves as candidates, regardless of the outcomes. Now that the elections are over, we at NAVCO would like to ask all village residents and Community Leaders to put aside political differences and unite to work for the advancement of our rural communities. We, as Village Council leaders, need to focus on transparency and accountability, fairness and equality, honesty and good governance as we move forward. We have accomplished a great deal over the last three years, and as long as we commit to these priorities, keep our goals in focus, and work together we will advance the development of the rural communities and the country of Belize in general. NAVCO greatly looks forward to working with you. For more information, please contact Ms. Eleanor Sandlin, President, National Association of Village Councils P.O. Box 648 National Agriculture Trade and Show Grounds Belmopan, Cayo District Belize, Central America Phone: 501.822.0253 Fax: 501.822.0192 Website: www.geocities.com/navcobelize E-mail: NAVCOBelize@gmail.com NAVCO: "Strengthening Local Level Governance to Enhance National Development".
As part of the Annual General Meeting weekend, training in basic bookkeeping and financial sustainability will be provided to some 100 Village Council representatives. The training is being sponsored by the Social Investment Fund with funds from the Caribbean Development Bank. It is expected that this training will enable Village Councils to better perform their accounting responsibilities as outlined in the "Village Councils and Water Boards Accounting Regulations". Also on Friday, September 26th, Village leaders will be taken on a Capital City tour. The objective of this tour is for them to become familiar with the location of various key organizations in Belmopan, so that when they need to conduct Village Council business, they will know where the respective offices are. The Village Council representatives that are attending the activities being organized by NAVCO, can take the National Transport buses being arranged for transportation on the main highways, which will have a sign marked "NAVCO AGM". The Northern bus is departing from Corozal Town at 6:00 AM, from Punta Gorda Town at 5:45 AM, and from Benque Viejo del Carmen at 7:00 AM. Furthermore, a transport has been arranged to pick up Village Chairpersons from the Belize River Valley area. For further information, Village Council Chairpersons can call NAVCO at 822-0253 or their District Association President. MINISTER ESPAT GRANTS NEW POWERS TO NAVCO AND DAVCO (April 27, 2007, Belmopan) The Minister of National Development, Investment and Culture, Hon. Mark Espat, today signed two new regulations granting new powers to the National Association of Village Councils (NAVCO) and the District Association of Village Councils (DAVCO). The new regulations provide the legal framework for the proper functioning and management of NAVCO and DAVCO, and outline the working relationships between the NAVCO, DAVCO, their constituent village councils and the Ministry. The signing of the regulations was done during the regular monthly meeting that NAVCO held today with Minister of National Development, Hon. Mark Espat, and Chief Executive Officer, Hugh O’Brien. NAVCO was represented by President Eleanor Sandlin, Managing Director Marta Hendrikx and Treasurer Fidelmar Hernandez. Other highlights of today’s meeting were a discussion of the recently conducted village council elections, an update on the construction of NAVCO headquarters, the August Annual General Meeting of NAVCO, financial improvements, new NAVCO projects, and a proposed date for the opening of the new community internet café recently installed in Valley of Peace by the Belize Rural Development Programme (BRDP). NAVCO reported that it has advanced in providing computers to District Associations, using project support from the UNDP, and that it will continue expanding the information and communication network to rural communities. At today’s meeting, NAVCO thanked the Minister for his Ministry’s professional conduct of the recently concluded village council elections and for the productive relationship that NAVCO has with the Ministry. Also attending today’s meeting were representatives from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Social Investment Fund (SIF) and the Orange Walk District Association of Village Councils (DAVCO).