Belize Times March 2, 2014

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

2 MARCH 2014 | ISSUE NO: 4884

PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca

The Truth Shall Make You Free

Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin

www.belizetimes.bz | $1.00

Political ComPol, Allen Whylie?

Penner must face justice!

SIB

confirms Haad Times GDP growth “worse off than last year”

Belize City, February 27, 2014 It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that things have gotten rougher and tougher in Belize, economically speaking. But this week, the science practiced by the Statistical Institute of Belize confirmed the news for even the most doubtful cynics.

According to the SIB’s most recent data which analyzed Belize’s economy over the four

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225 Jobless in Corozal Casino & Papaya

Companies fire workers!!

BARROW OFFERS

Pg. 6

TEACHERS A PITTANCE

CALL THE ELECTIONS NOW!!

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2 02 OUT Taxi Operators at War in Corozal Town

!

Dear Editor, Please allow us space in your newspaper to share with the general public a grave injustice and disrespect being done to us, the Corozal United Taxi Operators, here in Corozal Town.

Two years ago, the C.U.T.O. was registered with a membership of 21 taxi operators and 7 other operators on the Executive Committee. A constitution was drafted for the C.U.T.O. with twenty eight rules and regulations for its member operators.

After enduring harsh competition for passengers by operators of Gilharry and other taxi drivers who were not formally registered, mainly to the Free Zone, the Corozal Town Council decided to bring these operators to form the C.U.T.O. This decision was also made to avoid racing for passengers on the streets in town, thereby easing the flow of traffic to and from the Free Zone and not putting the lives of commuters at risk. The Mayor of Corozal Town subsequently designated the site next to the Bus Terminal as our temporary parking station, at no cost, until a new terminal project is completed anytime in the near future.

But progress always brings problems. Two of our members soon began breaking the by-laws of the C.U.T.O. Their behavior became intolerable including crashing into the vehicle of a fellow taxi operator, failure to attend meetings, and openly throwing verbal attacks on the Executive Committee. After a number of verbal and written warnings, the C.U.T.O. voted unanimously to expel the two members. Their letters of dismissal were handed to them on 2nd December, 2013.

Shortly after, the two expelled mem-

28 Feb

bers began boasting that they would form their own Union because they had “pull strings” in Belmopan. Well, they indeed got their way and in January this year they began operating as the Corozal Rural and Town Taxi Union with 5 or so members.

What the C.U.T.O. finds utterly disrespectful and unfair is that this tiny group of operators has been operating right next to the Asia Taxi Union which has a license from 6pm to 6am. Wasn’t there a more safer location to accommodate this taxi union than allow them to park less than thirty feet from a street corner as the law requires, and, where a third taxi union operates right in front of the Bus Terminal?

Furthermore, this small group of operators drive all around town displaying signs of “$2.00 BORDER” in their vans, undermining the $2.50 fee that we charge due to the skyrocketing price of fuel. The C.U.T.O. has also been informed that this small group of operators are often harassing freelance taxi operators, mainly those who provide their service in the rural areas, to join their union or face the risk of losing their licenses!

To make matters worse for the C.U.T.O., the two former taxi members who were expelled have sued the C.U.T.O. for $3,500 each, claiming “loss of a month’s income”. The matter got its first adjournment in Court a few days ago.

While the C.R.T.T.U. are allowed to carry more than 6 passengers in their vehicle and operate beyond the hours they have been licensed, the same treatment is not extended to our C.U.T.O. For instance, one of our operators was recently ticketed $200

by Transport officials just for taking a seventh passenger home – a handicapped girl.

May we reiterate to the travelling public especially Corozalenos that a number of meetings with taxi operators has been held, and another meeting is planned with the presidents of all 4 taxi unions to get a resolution to the ongoing taxi crisis here in Corozal. Now that there has been a massive lay-off recently at the Free Zone, we wonder how much more

COLA says they want Penner arrested and charged Belize City, February 27, 2014 Prime Minister Dean Barrow may find himself hoisted with his own petard as the Citizens Organized for Liberty and Action (COLA) have taken him up on his suggestion to seek a private prosecution of errant Cayo area representative Elvin Penner for his role in the Citizen Kim Wong Hong passport scandal.

Time is short for them to lodge their suit in the Belmopan magistrate’s court, as the statute of limitations expires next Monday, March 3, but COLA’s out-spoken president, Giovanni Brackett, says they and the Belizean people cannot let Penner’s transgressions go unpunished, even if the Prime Minister and the Immigration Minister are satisfied with only giving him a slap on the wrist. Brackett likened the UDP’s ostracizing Penner to a corner of the back Bench in the House, to putting a rude child to sit in the corner facing the wall.

COLA accuses Penner of betraying the national dignity, by facilitating the issuance of a Belizean passport to a Korean fugitive from justice, Kim Wong Hong, who had never set foot in Belize, for whom the Belize passport would simply have been a flag of convenience for him to escape extradition back to South Korea.

patient can we remain as operators of the C.U.T.O.? We need the Town Council of Corozal and the Government to take our plight seriously and take every measure to avoid a possible confrontation or retaliation. We don’t need to go that way.

Yours sincerely, Taxi Operators Corozal United Taxi Operators (C.U.T.O)

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2014

COLA Di Come Fi Penner Too!

OPINION

LOCAL

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THE BELIZE TIMES

264 Mar Mar

COLA is charging Penner with first: signing a passport recommendation for Kim last September 9, in which he makes false statements, knowing fully well that Kim was not a suitable candidate for Belizean citizenship.

Secondly, COLA charges Penner with making a false declaration on the nationality certificate signed from Kim in which he alleges to have known Citizen Kim for three years, when Kim was already languishing in a Taiwanese prison.

All Barrow’s pigeons have come home to roost, and with a vengeance; as it become more and more clear for Belizean voters to see, that Barrow and his minions are clinging to power by their fingernails.

COLA calls on the Belizean courts to give the people justice, but Barrow too will get his come-uppance when the recall process allows the Belizean voters to remove his rogue ministers from office, which would also eliminate the UDP majority in the House and bring Barrow’s administration to an end. For whom the bell tolls? Hear it not, Barrow, it tolls for thee and the UDP!

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The Belize Times

Established 1957

14 APR 2013

|

The Truth Shall Make You Free

ISSUE NO: 4840

www.belizetimes.bz

|

$1.00

serving Belize since 1957 as the longest continuous newspaper.

Founder: Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price, People’s United Party Leader Emeritus EDITOR

Alberto Vellos LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams

OFFICE ASSISTANT

Roberto Peyrefitte Printed and Published By The Belize Times Press Ltd. Tel: 671-8385 #3 Queen Street P.O. BOX 506 Belize City, Belize

27 Mar Mar 6 5Feb

Email: belizetimesadvertisement@yahoo.com

editortimes@yahoo.com

Exchange rate of One Belize Dollar

United States (USD): $ 0.50

Barbados (BBD): $ 1.01

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Sterling Pound Guatemala Quetzal CANADIAN DOLLAR (GBP): $ 0.30 (GTQ): $ 3.94 (CAD): $ 0.56

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INDIAN RUPEE (INR): $ 31.14

2 MAR

2014

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Penner must face justice!

Belize City, Friday, February 26, 2014 This morning Hon. Francis Fonseca, the Leader of the People’s United Party, will be representing the people of Belize as he fights for justice against the Barrow Administration and corrupt UDP Area Representative Elvin Penner. The PUP will present compelling evidence in an effort to convince Supreme Court Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin to order a criminal investigation into Penner’s involvement in last year’s immigration scandal.

On Wednesday February 26th, CJ Benjamin granted permission to the Opposition Leader’s request for judicial review against the Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie who has refused to investigate Penner.

Standing before the Chief Justice today in an ex-parte hearing, attorneys for the Hon. Fonseca, former Solicitor General Senior Counsel Edwin Flowers, Legal advisor Anthony Sylvestre Jr. and Kareem Musa presented reasons why the Court should consider their request for a Writ of Mandamus on the ComPol. After hearing 20 minutes of argument by Senior Counsel Flowers, the Chief Justice saw convincing merit

and quickly granted permission for the application.

Senior Counsel Flowers had a second request; urging the Chief Justice to set an early date for the hearing. Flowers explained that Monday, March 3rd is the deadline for criminal prosecution to be commenced against Penner as set by the statute of limitations. If no action commences by then, Penner would be immune to criminal proceedings thereafter.

Recognising the urgency, the Chief Justice granted the request, setting the hearing for today Friday, February 28th.

The desired effect of the Court’s Writ of Mandamus is to force Commissioner Whylie to carry out his sworn duty to defend the law and the public good against illegal and wrongful acts.

Penner acted illegally and in contravention of the Nationality and Passport Acts when he illegally signed nationality and passport documents and personally facilitated their issuances for South Korean national Kim Won Hong who was at a prison in Taiwan awaiting extradition for embezzlement and fraud charges.

Leaked copies of the nationality and passport documents for Won Hong’s application show Penner’s signatures on them.

Penner has also confessed to his direct involvement in the passport application.

The UDP has continuously protected

Penner despite the mounting evidence of fraud and abuse of authority. An attempt by the PUP to get rid of Penner through the Recall mechanism was opposed and then sabotaged by the UDP party. Prime Minister Dean Barrow has publicly stated that he sees no criminal wrongdoing and has mocked the PUP’s efforts to seek the Court’s intervention.

On February 10th, Hon. Fonseca through his attorney Senior Continued on page 9

Anthony Sylvestre Jr.

Senior Counsel, Edwin Flowers

Kareem Musa

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THE BELIZE TIMES

on the TRUE SOCIAL JUSTICE

By Francis W. Fonseca The PUP is the Party of True Social Justice.

As our great Leader George Price said many years ago, Social Justice beats in our heart and flows in our blood!

Some have charged the PUP Administration of 19982008 with abandoning social justice but such a claim is not evidence based.

Indeed, PM Said Musa recognized that if his Government was to have any success in meaningfully uplifting the lives of the Belizean people, it would have to create jobs, attract investment, seek out new economic opportunities, and ultimately grow the economy.

So, one can responsibly argue that the Musa administration viewed economic growth as a priority and a pre-requisite for Social Justice.

At the same time we are reminded that it is that very same Musa administration which gave us : - NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE - FREE TEXT BOOKS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL - NEW ITVETS IN EVERY DISTRICT TOWN - 1200 NEW CLASSROOMS - UNIVERSITY OF BELIZE - REGIONAL HOSPITALS AND POLYCLINICS

- 10,000 HOUSES - NON-CONTRIBUTORY PENSION SCHEME FOR PERSONS OVER 65 - 60,000 LOTS AND PARCELS OF LAND - THOUSANDS OF NEW JOBS - INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM WAGE And I could go on…..

Mr. Barrow and the UDP beat their chest and say they “own” Social Justice.

Nonsense!

The UDP owns

2 MAR

2014 DEPENDENCY AND UNEMPLOYMENT! The UDP owns GROWING POVERTY AND HOPELESSNESS! The UDP owns FEAR AND VICTIMIZATION! BOOST and PANTRY are not Social Justice. These are programs of dependency exploiting the poor for political advantage.

We in the PUP know that there are those in our society who we must care for and protect, and no Party does that better than the PUP. But we also believe that our people want and deserve every opportunity to lead lives of dignity providing for themselves and their families.

My fellow Belizeans, there is only one Party in Belize committed to TRUE SOCIAL JUSTICE and that is the PUP. The next PUP Government will transform our Education, Health, Housing and Natural Resources Sectors to effectively service and benefit those most in need in our society.

THE UDP TALKS SOCIAL JUSTICE! THE PUP DELIVERS REAL SOCIAL JUSTICE!

2 MAR

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

05 5

EDITORIAL The beginning of the end for the UDP?

B

y the time this newspaper hits the streets, the fate of Elvin Penner will be known.

Will the court decide to lift the shield that Barrow has mounted to protect his crim-

inal colleague?

History will no doubt record that Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s fingerprints were everywhere in relation to the Penner saga. For Barrow, it all started from the day he made the ill-advised decision to bestow Penner with the authority to sign nationality certificates and passports. He did so despite knowing that Penner was fully responsible for irregularly issuing hundreds of passports in order to secure a victory in his Cayo Northeast constituency in the 2012 general elections.

Since then, like a wounded boxer cringed on the ropes, Barrow has tried to bob and weave his way out, but instead has been taking a packing at the hands of the media and public opinion. His cover up of the Penner debacle is now seen for what it is: a bare naked attempt at holding onto power. If Penner goes to jail, he will certainly not go down alone. And from all accounts, the list of the Ministers involved in the immigration scandal(s) is shocking.

In an interview with the press last week, Barrow made a very sick and perverse joke when he suggested that the PUP should embark on a private prosecution of Elvin Penner.

But more than just a sick joke, it was our Head of State delivering the final confirmation to the nation that we are indeed living in a failed state. A state where the police, because of political fear, will not carry out the duties they were sworn to do.

On Thursday morning the firebrand orga-

nization COLA announced its bold decision to accept the Prime Minister’s invitation to execute a private prosecution against Elvin Penner.

It will be interesting to see how far Mr. Brackett will get when he attempts to enter the halls of the Immigration Department to conduct interviews with the likes of Godwin, Maria Marin and John’s sister, Candelaria, who by the way, also recommended visas for Chinese nationals.

From their actions, or rather inactions, it is safe to say that the police will not be assisting COLA in their investigations. The police may actually be called upon by the UDPs to block Mr. Brackett from gaining access to the mountain of files in which Penner and the UDP have sold off our patrimony to criminals and terrorists.

The prosecution of Elvin Penner has very wide implications for the UDP. Ministers are literally shaking in their shoes (and boots) hoping and praying that the six month statute of limitation will expire before Penner is finally taken before the courts and to prison, where he rightfully belongs.

Today, Friday the 28th of February, 2014 will be a historic day for Belize. Will the Supreme Court offer Penner the protection that Barrow is hoping for? Or will the Court defend the will of the people and more important, the laws of our land, and call a spade a spade?

Regardless of the outcome, Belizeans at home and abroad have seen and heard enough from this Prime Minister. He has defended corruption at his own peril. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence”.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

225 Jobless in Corozal Casino & Papaya

Companies fire workers!!

Corozal District, February 27, 2014 A storm much more devastating than Hurricane Dean has struck the Corozal District. Within days apart, hundreds became jobless after the Golden Princess Casino located near the Santa Elena Border and the Fruta Bomba Papaya Company located just outside San Joaquin village laid off hundreds of workers.

The Golden Princess Casino issued a sudden memo to its staff on Friday, February 21st, informing them that the Casino would closing down and layoffs would commence immediately. Over 130 workers were then informed that they were being terminated.

The remaining 70 employees were warned that as the company winds out, they would also lose their jobs.

Reports as to why the Casino is closing are rampant. However, reliable sources say that the Casino has experienced diminishing business for some time now. The economy in the north has become very depressed. Additional reports are that various casino operations which have opened up in neighboring Mexico have also impacted the local business.

Another unconfirmed report is that the recently amended financial laws passed by the Barrow Administration, under pressure from foreign bodies, have scared away the investors. These laws include the Money Laundering

and Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Bill; the Financial Intelligence Unit (Amendment) Bill 2014; the Domestic Banks and Financial Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014.

Meanwhile, 95 workers employed were let go at the papaya exporters, Fruta Bomba Company.

The company has explained that the papaya industry sustained tremendous loss due to the heavy rains last year. In an interview with CTV-3 News, Gilberto Vivas, Fruta Bomba’s General Manager reported that they have reduced production and therefore needed less workers.

“The bad weather that we had in 2013 didn’t only affected Fruta Bomba but it affected the entire agricultural sector in Belize, so in order for us to survive we had to lay off some people. It decreases our production volume to about 50%. We used to export about 30 to 35 thousand boxes right now we are between 8 to 12 thousand boxes weekly,” said Vivas.

Vivas explained that they are cautiously forecasting a recovery of exporters, but until mi-2015 which is when they may rehire some of the workers.

Affected by the layoffs were field workers as well as fruit packers.

There has been no reaction by the Barrow Administration regarding this crisis in the northern district.

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2014

BARROW OFFERS

TEACHERS A PITTANCE Belize City, February 27, 2014 Prime Minister Dean Barrow has offered teachers and public officers a woeful salary increase of 1.6% per year over the next three years. This is a far, far cry from the 30% salary adjustment, for which teachers and public officers staged a massive demonstration last year followed by protests this year.

Teachers and public officers had initially demanded a 10% adjustment over the next three years, to match the negative effects which the skyrocketing increase in the cost of living over the same period has had on Belizeans’ purchasing power.

Teachers and public officers have not received a salary in-

crease since 2005, which was during a PUP Government.

Prime Minister Barrow has blamed the inability to meet the salary demands to the weak economic performance of his Government, but has refused to admit that it is his inability to spur an economic boom which is the root of the problem.

All sectors of Belize’s economy has been hemorrhaging constantly, with Government having to come up with band aid solutions to cover up the problems temporarily.

The Belize National Teacher’s Union has promised that the month of March will be about less than and more action.

Next week is the Budget presentation, and by then it is expected, that the BNTU will respond to the PM’s meagre offer.

2 MAR

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

BLUE MACHINE

07 7

Gears up in the WEST - UNITY & PURPOSE

PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca & Party Chairman Henry Usher Orlandy Habet

Deputy Leader Hon. Julius Espat

Moises Cal

Dr. Lesbia Guerra

Luke & Dan share a candid moment

PUP Francis Fonseca greeted by community leader David Gonzales

Hon. Joseph Mahmud, PUP Area Rep for Cayo North

Hon. Ramiro Ramirez addressing the Indian Church community residents

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THE BELIZE TIMES

2 MAR

2014

The full PUP Social Justice Agenda is available at www.pup.org.bz

2 MAR

2014 Liquor License NOTICES Notice is hereby given that LAURA THOMPSON is applying for a Restaurant Liquor License to be operated at “Wet Lizard”, situate at Terminal 3, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that XUE HONG TAN is applying for a Convenience Store Liquor License to be operated at “Taste’s Fast Food”, situate at 40 Mahogany Street, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that JOSUE AGUILAR is applying for a Publican Special Liquor License to be operated at “Riverside Lounge”, situate at 1 ½ Miles Phillip Goldson Highway, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

09 9 SIB confirms Haad Times THE BELIZE TIMES

Continued from page 1

financial quarters, the overall economic performance was much worse than last year’s.

“Putting all 4 quarters together, we get a growth rate of 0.7% for the entire year. We are a little worse off than we

Penner must face justice!

Continued from page 3 Counsel Edwin Flowers, wrote Commissioner Whylie advising that if no prosecution commenced within seven days (by February 18th), the Opposition would turn to the Supreme Court urgently for a Writ of Mandamus which would force him to carry out his duty. The ComPol did not respond or even acknowledged receipt of the letter.

As part of the application to the Supreme Court, the attorneys for Hon. Fonseca have named the Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl Lyn Vidal as an interested party. The DPP, who is responsible for the prosecution aspect, has publicly stated that she has seen enough evidence to trigger an investigation into the actions of crooked Elvin Penner.

GDP growth “worse off than last year” were last year,” said Glen Avilez, SIB Director.

Furthermore the data shows that 2014 was actually worse than the past five years.

At the start of the 2013-2014 fiscal year, Prime Minister Dean Barrow boasted that there would be tremendous GDP growth. He projected between 2.5% and 3%, but continued to practice the type of economic policies that kept the economic on a downward slope.

There was negative growth in all three quarters of 2013 and while the last quarter has seen some improvement, it has been at minimum, signaling that Belize con-

tinues to face a recession.

The downturn in the economy was attributed to the difficulties faced in the sugar, citrus, and banana industries.

The oil industry has also stumbled, as the reserves are predicted to continue reducing.

And while the economy collapses further, the population continues to grow, pointing to difficult circumstances for the country where more people have to sustain themselves and survive with much less.

NOTICE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC (RELOCATION OF LAW OFFICES) THE LAW OFFICE OF CARDONA & MONTALVO HEREBY INFORMS THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WITH EFFECT FROM TUESDAY, 11TH MARCH 2O14 ITS OFFICE WILL BE LOCATED AT 21 SIBUN STREET, BELMOPAN CITY, CAYO DISTRICT. ITS PHONE NUMBER, FAX NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS REMAINS THE SAME.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Conduct Unbecoming of a Pope

By Norris Hall Before he was sworn in for the first time as Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow, in one of his multi-personality episodes, when he imagined that he was the Pope, wrote a very powerful “encyclical”.

It was intended to woo the less astute among the “masses” and to convert them on their way to the ballot box.

This very powerful document was later to become the hallmark of Mr. Barrow’s policies of deception, manipulation and duplicity, in his self-serving agenda to attain power and to entrench himself by any means necessary, including force and violence and manipulative control of law enforcement.

This political document, that is now the Prime Minister’s private joke reads as follows: THE ENCYCLICAL “Any UDP government that I lead will never be engaged in corruption. As soon as it rears its ugly head, I personally will cut it off. And I will tell you I will sharpen a special machete, with blades on two sides, so that every time it springs up ‘right so’, I will chop it off. And if it means the government has to fall, then so be it. Let the consequences be damned, the people of this country deserves better and I am determined to give them better.”

The unseen fine print for the above reads: “The Prime Minister reserves the right to interpret this document in whole or in part, or any word or words contained therein to protect himself or any member of his Cabinet from any charges of corruption. The Prime Minister may also use any means necessary to cover up any personal indiscretion or official corruption or misconduct by any, or all of his Ministers, to save his discredited government”.

The Prime Minister has on too many occasions resorted to the use of the fine printed clause and is doing so with clever AND deliberate deceptions. He continues to make a mockery of good governance and of the people.

He has also defended criminal activities within his government and has craftily telegraphed the Director of Public Prosecution and the Commissioner of Police when they should circumvent the law.

They seem to be puppets.

DISTASTEFUL His entire mishandling of

the massive passport scandal and the growing list of “distasteful” irregularities and outright thievery by members of his Cabinet and other senior government officials, and his repeated attempts at cover ups and spinning himself dizzy with lies at his press conferences, are all now over-exposing his hypocrisy. His façade has finally begun to peel away as the media probes and exposes one nasty scandal after another.

The PM and his Minister of Immigration, Gowdin Hulse, have made a charade of disgraceful immigration scandals and the bucket sale of Belizean passports and visas, by mounting three parallel “investigations”, that will come to naught. This was to give them some wiggle room and to hoodwink the Opposition as the Statute of Limitation runs out. But the Opposition has been quick to bring pressure to bear on the inept Commissioner of Police to arrest the former Minister of Immigration for criminal behavior.

It is very clear that he criminally violation the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Prime Minister was dancing with time as the Statute of Limitation would have protected this crooked minister as the limits for prosecution expires in March.

Another scandal involves the Minister of Transportation, who it is alleged, earned more than $1/2 million from the sale of visas and is one of the poster boys for that scandal.

This time the Minister was using public funds from the Belize Airport Authority for his personal benefits including paying for an expensive funeral for his mother in addition to paying for his son’s high school tuition and sponsoring a cycling team.

THE “POOR” MINISTER The Minister’s defence to the House of Representatives was: “I am a poor man”. It was enough reason, it appears, for him to have taken (sorry, unwittingly given) money from the government’s budget allocation to the BAA, to be used for his personal and political expenses.

The Prime Minister was at it again playing defence lawyer and deliberately fooling the people, not so much to save the Minister (who was subsequently recorded by a Cabinet colleague in which the PM was ridiculed) but to save his government from collapse having lost the moral authority to govern and by making, as one newspaper commented, “a public fool of himself in doing so”.

The Prime Minister is putting his personal interests and the survival of his rotten government before the national interest.

WHEN CORRUPTION IS NOT

CORRUPTION - THE PM IS THE DECIDER But this is vintage Barrow who, while in Opposition, is known to have defended drug lords against the people and the national interest.

Being forced to defend this minister, the Prime Minister re-defined the meaning of corruption. He told the House of Representatives that taking or personally benefitting from the government coffers for one’s personal use “is not corruption.”

“This is not corruption” he said, adding: “The Airport Authority in the full exercise of their jurisdiction obviously assisted the minister on several different occasions. I will tell you right off that I find it utterly and completely distasteful and I think the Airport Authority and the minister are both wrong, so don’t think I am here making an apology for anybody, but call it what it is man, it is not corruption. He didn’t steal the money…….he didn’t get the money under false pretenses. He obviously was of the view that the Airport Authority could be asked to assist him and his constituency politically. I don’t say that it is right, but that practice is as ancient as the hills.”

Where Mr. Prime Minister? It may have been the practice of your government, which, with the growing intolerance from the people, is indeed beginning to look as ancient as the thieves in your administration.

CONTRADICTIONS The Prime Minister has stated a number of contradictions. So why did he fire the BAA Board of Directors? He lied and lied and lied and spun that the Minister received three cheques made out to him personally and not the seventy or more exposed by the media. You see in a very clever twist, the Prime Minister explained that the minister received only three cheques made out to him and that the other cheques were paid to various businesses (on behalf of the minister).

So why was not the minister fired for taking even one cheque?

The Prime Minister continues to be arrogant, rude and insulting and totally crass and crude in House debates when charges are made by the Opposition, with mounting evidence. These debates are broadcasted nationally into our homes and schools and business places.

The Prime Minister’s conduct and that of some of his ministers, and their use of un-parliamentary language, with the obvious endorse-

2 MAR

2014 ment of the House Speaker, who continues to ignore the Standing Orders, is disgraceful. This type of debasing conduct in our parliament is a national insult to the common decency of our citizens, and more so to our children, who may be interested in the role and functions of government and the political process and who listen to these broadcast.

The churches and educators should protest and demand censorship of this type of broadcast which at times gets as dirty as pornography.

RUDE AND CRUDE The Prime Minster, in one of his tirades in the Legislature, likened the Opposition as a dog using a lamppost, and not for its illumination. From there, as is now so often the case, his language began to degenerate.

But as the Prime Minister emerged from the Chambers of the Legislature, he again changed his persona. This time he appeared even contrite when he spoke into the microphones of the media.

One particular microphone from his favourite television station appeared to soften him up.

WORDS MEANING NOTHING When he spoke he said: “Every time I take action, as I tell you I am sworn to do and I am telling you I will continue to do, there are political repercussions because of the slimness of the majority. I bear that well in mind as I take the actions that I take. Ultimately, if I have to take more action and it results in two persons or perhaps three who are in the House resigning from the Party thus triggering by-elections or a general elections, I will simply have to do what my duty and conscience tell me and live with the consequences.”

The Prime Minister has done little cosmetic changes in contrast to the massive spate of corruption plaguing his administration. If we were to take seriously what he told the media after the House meeting, he should dissolve parliament.

This is further proof that this man has a multiple personality far removed from reality. He has lost control of his Cabinet. He is not governing and he continues to spew unreal platitudes about how much his government has done.

On the ground however, the road networks and other infrastructure are crumbling, the education system is collapsing, cost of living is rising and the economy, despite his denials, has flat-lined. Certainly he would never admit any of this in the same way he has denied corruption in his government. The Prime Minister is dishonest, arrogant and self-serving.

Mr. Barrow, da fool di taak but da no fool di lissen!

2 MAR

2014

11

THE BELIZE TIMES

Ralph Huang’s “Bag Man”

PUP NOTICE

Standard Bearer Endorsement Convention for Cayo West The People’s United Party announces an Endorsement Convention for Cayo West Standard Bearer on Sunday, March 2, 2014.

PUP NOTICE

Orange Walk North Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Orange Walk North Division is scheduled for June 15, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Friday April 4, 2014.

Belize City, February 20, 2014 The BELIZE TIMES couldn’t help but take note of the special bag man for Taiwanese national Ralph Huang in the UDP Cayo South convention.

In suspicious fashion, Mike Juan was seen carting convention voters off to a private area on the rear side of the school building that used as the polling station. The UDP Unitedville chairman carried a special pink pre-school bag in his hands which we must presume contained “goodies” for voters who claimed they support Huang. Maybe the bag contained late Christmas gifts, or maybe food pantry, or maybe some of the “goodies” Huang has been giving out ahead of his convention.

Even with bags of “goodies” and a ruffian like Mike Juan as his “bag man”, the likes of fishy politicians like Ralph Huang will never get a chance to represent the good and honest people of Cayo South.

call 650-8429

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THE BELIZE TIMES

2 MAR

2014

MAR 22 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES THE BELIZE

2014

TOPMODEL 13

ENTERTAINMENT

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14 SPORTS

2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES TIMES THE BELIZE

2014

Rigo & Cricel compete in 2014 Arnold Classic

Belize City, February 25, 2014 For the very first time two of Belize’s bodybuilding and fitness champions will participate in the prestigious Arnold Classsic, to be held in Columbus, Ohio, from February 27th to March 1st 2014.

Belize will be represented on the stage of this worldclass event by Ms. Belize-Fitness Cricel Castillo and Mr. Belize Rigo Vellos.

Cricel will compete in the Women’s Figure B Class among 40 competitors while Rigo will compete in the Light Heavyweight Men’s Bodybuilding Category among 22 competitors from all over the world. Both athletes must compete in a preliminary stage in order to advance to the finals which will be held on Saturday, March 1st.

Belize’s historic participation in the event is possible through the efforts of the Belize Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation, and in particular the support of fans and sponsors.

Rigo extends heartfelt appreciation to his sponsors which include his fans and supporters especially in Corozal Town, Scotty’s Bar and Grill, Channel Broadcasting Cable and Smart Belize.

Joel & Shalini win Cayo Hills race

Armenia, February 23, 2014 Team Telemedia’s Joel Borland won the Cayo Hills 70mile circuit race on the Hummingbird Highway on Sunday, afternoon, while Team Sagitun’s Shalini Zabaneh won the 45mile female race.

Delon Gentle won the Junior race a 45 mile, 2-lap course.

2nd place in the Female category was Alicia Thompson of Team Belize Bank Swoosh.

The Belize Cycling Federation organized the race to select the riders who will form a national team to represent Belize at 3 international events coming up later this year: the Pan American championships in Mexico, the Youth Olympics and the Central American and Caribbean championships.

The Federation will hold a time trial at 6:30 AM Saturday on the Burrell Boom bypass road and the next hills event is set for Sunday in Spanish Lookout.

Elites 2nd Ron Vasquez – Team Western Spirits 3rd Peter Choto - Team C-Ray Road Addikz 4th Giovanni Lovell – Team Telemedia 5th Byron Pope - Team Benny’s Megabytes 6th Marlon Castillo – Team Telemedia 7th Geovanni Choto - Team C-ray Road Addikz 8th Herman “Hijo” Requena - Team Benny’s Megabytes 9th Quinton “Baddest” Hamilton - Team Smart 10th Gregory Lovell – Team Telemedia Juniors 2nd Zamir Guerra - Team Cayo High Road 3rd Tarique Flowers - Team Benny’s Megabytes 4th Zahir Figueroa - Team BECOL Uprising 5th Delawn Abraham - Team Benny’s Megabytes 6th Philip Mencias - Mando’s Cycling Youths 1st Devin Azueta - Team Cayo High Road 2 Michael Grajalez - Mando’s Cycling 3rd Dennis Arnold - unattached 4th Darien Anderson - unattached

Cricel Castillo Rigo Vellos

Joel Borland

Shalini Zabaneh

MnM Steelers

win FFB national football champs

22 MAR MAR

2014 2014

THE BELIZE THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES

Galen Eagles

SPORTS 15

win ATLIB national basketball champs San Ignacio, February 21, 2014 The Galen Eagles successfully defended their title as champs when the Galen University hosted the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) national basketball tournament at the Sacred Heart College auditorium in San Ignacio on Friday.

Galen outplayed UB 55-47. Jarrel Velasquez scored 15 pts, Vince Garbutt had 13 pts, Edgar Mitchell hit 3 treys, Jordan Young Lamb tossed in 5 pts and Daniel Nolberto and Raul Roches each had 4pts.

3rd place went to SJCJC who won 51-33 over Wesley Junior College.

The champs won a team trophy and individual trophies while 2nd and 3rd place winners took home team trophies and individual medals.

Elvis Usher scored 13 pts

Akeem Trapp controls

SMART No Limit defeats OW Running Rebels

Edgar Mitchell scored 17 pts

Shantell Arnold hits

Lady Jaguars, Rebels & SQ Dragons win volleyball games

Jinelle Pott scored 16pts

UB girls win ATLIB

national basketball champs San Ignacio, February 21, 2014 The University of Belize girls upset the Stann Creek Ecumenical Junior College girls 24-21 when the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) national basketball tournament was held at the Sacred Heart College auditorium in San Ignacio on Friday.

The champs won a team trophy and individual trophies while 2nd and 3rd place winners took home team trophies and individual medals.

3rd place went to Belize Adventist Junior College who defeated Corozal Junior College.

Brian white shoots

Belize Bank canoe wins Boom to Riverside Tavern race

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THE BELIZE TIMES (vii)

216MAR FEB

2014

Penner admitted after the fact that the person for whom he signed the application for was not Won Hong Kim.

For reasons which follow, we are of the view that this email amounts to a confession statement which is admissible in a court of law by virtue of the Electronic Evidence Act and which can be used against the maker, Elvin Penner, at a criminal trial.

7th February, 2014 Mr. Allen Whylie Commissioner of Police Belmopan City Belize Dear Commissioner, Re: Investigation & Prosecution of Hon. Elvin Penner As you will know, for some time now, the nation’s eyes have been rivetted on the ongoing police investigation into the issuance of Belizean Nationality Certificate No. 28577/13 dated the 22nd April, 2013 to South Korean Won Hong Kim, and the issuance of Belize Passport P 0246777 issued to the said Won Hong Kim on the 9t11 day of September, 2013.

We have been instructed by the Leader of Opposition, Honourable Francis Fonseca to write to you on this matter of national importance. This measure is taken having regard to the fact that five months have passed and the investigation continues. This poses grave concern to our client, who has a constitutional responsibility to, among other things, ensure that the rule of law is upheld in this country. In this regard, we commend to you the pronouncements of the Privy Council in a case from Trinidad & Tobago, that: “The rule of law requires that, subject to any immunity or exemption provided by law, the criminal law of the land should apply to all alike. A person is not to be singled out for adverse treatment because he or she holds a high and dignified office of state, but nor can the holding of such an office excuse conduct which would lead to the prosecution of one not holding such an office. The maintenance of public confidence in the administration of justice requires that it be, and be seen to be, even-handed.”

Sharma v Brown (DPP), Virgil (Asst. Commissioner of Police) & Paul (Commissioner of Police) {2006} UKPC 57.

It is our considered view, which we detail hereunder, that there is more than prima facie evidence which presently exists and for which criminal charges at this stage, ought to be brought against Hon Elvin Penner for commission of an offence under the Passport Act. Because the offence under the Passports Act is a summary offence, it is important that the necessary steps be taken to initiate criminal proceedings before the expiry of the six months limitation period in March, 2014.

The Background Government Press Release As you will know as well, on the Thursday the 19th day of September, 2013, no less than the Office of the Prime Minister of Belize, by way of press release, announced that Hon. Elvin Penner was being forced to resign as a Minister of State in the current Administration as a result of Penner’s failure to “discharge his responsibilities with either the due judgment and balance, or the scrupulous regard for appearances, which the Prime Minister demands of all his Ministers.”

In the same press release, the Office of the Prime Minister informed that an investigation was to be conducted into the circumstances surrounding the issuance of a Belize passport to a South Korean national: for ease of reference kindly find press release enclosed.

Penner’s email to the media Hon. Elvin Penner, for his part, on the 27th day of September, 2013 sent an email to all media outlet.

We have been able to obtain a copy of the said email sent to the news director of channel 5 and enclose a copy herein for ease of reference.

In the said email, Hon. Penner sought to explain his role in the issuance of the passport to the South Korean national for which he was fired from Cabinet. Penner explained, in relevant parts, that: “What I do know is that a [sic) Asian person whom I have known through business trips, even before I entered politics, came to me for a signature so he could get his passport. He also mention that he needed it urgently since he was about to go on a trip and was more than willing to pay the regular one day service fee. The picture on the nationality document he presented to me, the Korean passport that he had with him and the passport size pictures that I also signed did not raise any suspicion since they were all of the same person, the person I knew as Mr. Kim. Wanting to help a business person I made sure that everything was in order on the application form and personally went with him to the passport office to see to it that he would get proper attention and would get his passport the same day.

Now having seen the picture who is said to be Wonhong Kim on the news, who has been detained in Taiwan for some time now, it has become clear to me that the person for whom I signed the application for could never have been Mr. Wonhong Kim.” The statement reveals several important facts: (i) That an Asian friend of Penner came to him wanting a passport recommendation [legally referred to as Form 3-B Declaration of Recommender for Belize Passport Application]; (ii) Penner accompanied this Asian friend to the Nationality and Immigration Department to assist him in getting the passport the same day; (iii) Penner states that he made sure everything was in order on the application form; (iv) The name of the applicant on the form was Won Hong Kim; (v) Penner signed the passport recommendation declaration form on the 3rd September, 2013 verifying that he knew the applicant for three years: see Form 3-B enclosed as well; (vi) Won Hong Kim was not the person who accompanied Penner at the Immigration & Nationality Department.

Prime Minister’s statement in the House Then at a House of Representatives Meeting on the same Friday the 27th September, 2013, the Prime Minister stated: “With respect to the Nationality Section of the department the situation is completely different.

It is the Minister who signs the nationality certificate. He doesn’t issue the passport but he signs the nationality certificate. In this case the nationality certificate that was involved in the whole chain of events that saw this South Korean national obtains the Belize passport. That nationality certificate was signed by Hon. Penner. Therefore, how are you going to look at the officers in the Nationality Section. They didn’t do anything except to provide the file in the normal course when the Minister calls for the file. They didn’t have to sign the nationality certificate. That is the reason why there is no focus on the Nationality Section in a way that can see the suspension of any of the officers there. In other words, who has had to fall on their sword with respect to nationality is the Minister of State and this administration will not in fact preside over a process where public officers are made to take the fall for the actions of politicians.”

“The distinction as I said with respect to the Passport Section is that absent anything that the Minister had to do. There were requirements that they needed to follow and it appears from the investigation so far that those requirement weren’t completely followed.”

“Hon. Penner signed this nationality certificate on the 9th of September. That certificate was dated 22nd of April. Hon. Penner said that he signed the certificate without dating it- something that I often do and so the question of who backed dated that certificate remains very much in issue.”

“There can be no question in my mind of charging the Minister or the ex-Minister in any criminal way because on the face of it all appeared to be in order with respect to the nationality certificate, absent this issue of the date. Whether you believe him or not that he didn’t put in the date of April 22nd you will never be able to establish that in fact he didn’t.”

“The thing is that what you can’t prove is very much in issue. What was eminently provable and what was obvious was enough for me to do what the duties of my office and what my commitment to the people of this country required me to do which is to get rid of Hon. Penner. I did so with a heavy heart. He is a colleague and there is no doubt that his actions have brought shame to this administration and he is paying the price. “ “What we would not do is try to cover over the actions of any minister.” ‘’Mr. Speaker, I will again apologize to the people of this country because one of my ministers has let down his colleagues, has let down the Cabinet and has let down the country.” [Extract taken from Channel 7 news of September 27th, 2013].

While the Prime Minister flatly rules out the possibility of criminal charges against Penner, he revealed that Penner signed the nationality certificate for Won Hong Kim on the 9th September, 2013, but the certificate was backed dated to the 22nd April, 2013. And it was this same nationality certificate that was used as the basis for the passport application of the person (purportedly impersonating Won Hong Kim) who accompanied Penner to the Immigration and Nationality Department.

Thus, if Penner, by his own admission, had checked to see all the documents were in order, he would have noted that the nationality certificate he signed on the 9th September, 2013 was back-dated (by someone with obvious criminal intent).

Interview given by Minister of Immigration to Jules Vasquez Then on the 2nd day of October, 2013, the Minister of Immigration, Senator Godwin Hulse gave an in depth interview with channel 7’s Jules Vasquez (a copy of which is enclosed) in which he revealed, most fundamentally, that Won Hong Kim never set foot in Belize.

The Law Having considered the above, we now consider whether any offences would have been committed under the Belize Nationality Act or the Passports Act. Commission of offence under the Belize Nationality Act? By section 22 of the Belize Nationality Act, it is an offence for “Any person who, for the purpose of procuring anything to be done or not to be done under this Act, makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular commits an offence and shall, on conviction after summary trial before a magistrate, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months.”

It is a condition precedent, as required by section 10 of the Belize Nationality Act, that a person (amongst other things) must have been ordinarily resident in Belize for a period of five years immediately before applying for Belize Nationality. But Minister of Immigration Hulse confirmed that Won Hong Kim never set foot in Belize. Accordingly, section 22 would have been contravened in respect of the issuance of Belizean Nationality Certificate No. 28577/13 dated the 22nd April, 2013 to South Korean Won Hong Kim. Admittedly, there will be difficulty in pursuing criminal charges against any person in respect of the commission of this offence since (it is understood), no Belize Nationality Application file and supporting documents can be found at the Nationality & Immigration Department.

Commission of offence under the Passports Act? Section 3(1)(h) of the Passports Act states that: “(1) Every person who, in respect of every passport(h) without having actual knowledge of the applicant for a passport, makes any declaration verifying the declaration of such applicant, or Continued on page 17

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vouching the fitness of such applicant to receive a passport or makes any such declaration merely on information obtained from the applicant or from any other person,” commits an offence under the Act.” By section 4:

“Every person who commits an offence against this Act shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for any term not exceeding one year, or to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or to both such fine and term of imprisonment.”

Thus, an offence under the Passports Act is also a summary conviction offence for which charges must be laid within six months from the when the matter of the complaint arose; that is, at the latest, 19th September, 2013 when the Prime Minister fired Penner.

Is there any evidence to support any charges?

The Electronic Evidence Act, Cap 95:01 of the Laws of Belize, R.E. 2003, which came into force on the 31st January, 2003, by section 3, states that “Nothing in the rules of evidence shall apply to deny the admissibility of an electronic record in evidence on the sole ground that it is an electronic record.”

Thus, as is made clear, electronic records are admissible in evidence in court proceedings, including criminal proceedings: see definition of “legal proceedings” in section 2 of the Act which refers to civil as well as criminal proceedings in a court.

Critically, an electronic record is “data that is recorded or stored on any medium in or by a computer system or other similar device and that can be read or perceived by a person or a computer system or other similar device and includes a display, print our or other output of that data.”

For present purposes therefore, an email is an electronic record that is admissible evidence in a court of law.

This is of considerable importance because the email sent by Penner to the various media outlet is admissible evidence in court proceedings. And more importantly, it is evidence provided by Penner against himself with respect to his role in the issuance of the passport of Won Hong Kim. For reasons which follow, the evidence provided in the email amounts to a confession which can be used in a trial of Penner.

As you will know, a confession is a statement (written or oral) which is wholly or partly adverse to the person who made it: para 15-341, Archbold 2001. A confession can be made to a person in authority such as a police or to someone who is not in authority. If the statement is given to a person in authority, then section 90 of the Evidence Act would apply. As Penner’s email to media is not to persons in authority, there will be no need to establish that the email was sent freely and voluntarily and was not induced to make it as a result of any promise of favour or advantage or by use of fear, threat or pressure All must be proved is that it was in fact Penner who sent the email.

In this regard, this email has been published by both channel 7 and channel 5 since September, 2013 and there have been repeated reference to same on both channel 7 and channel 5, and never has Penner reportedly denied the authenticity of the email’s and its source. This is evidence in accordance with section 5 of the Electronic Evidence Act to prove the email’s authenticity.

For these reasons, we are of the opinion that Penner’s email is admissible confession at a trial.

Based on Penner’s confession, he has committed an offence under section 3(1)(h) of the Passports Act. As discussed above, Penner’s email is admissible evidence in criminal proceedings and has the effect of a confession. Allied with Penner’s confession evidence, there will need to be formal evidence from Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse, or the Director of Immigration or other relevant Immigration official (by virtue of their office) that Won Hong Kim has never set foot in Belize and other pertinent information necessary for the laying of charges against Honourable Elvin Penner for reasons already enumerated.

Therefore, in our considered view, it seems prudent that: (i) A statement be recorded from the recipients of the email from Penner, such as the news director of channel 5 or channel 7. (ii) Statements be recorded from the Hon. Prime Minister, Minister of Immigration or Director of Immigration and Nationality with respect their first hand knowledge of the issuance of the passport to Kim by virtue of their offices as well as information provided to them by the Taiwanese authorities with respect to Won Hong Kim. What will be done if no action is taken?

We are instructed to advise that if no actions are taken by the Police Department within seven days hereof, we are to initiate judicial review proceedings against the Commissioner of Police, (similar to that initiated in Claim No. 698 of 2006- Egbert Gordon Sr. v Commissioner of Police) for a writ of mandamus directing the Commissioner to take relevant statements and lay charges against Hon. Elvin Penner.

We are cognizant that the remedy of mandamus is an exceptional one and a court is slow to grant such, but the circumstances set out above are indeed exceptional themselves and require the exceptional intervening hand of the court.

Yours faithfully,

cc: Mrs. Cherlyn Vidal, Director of Public Prosecutions

ARREST PENNER NOW!!

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2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES PUP NOTICE Queen Square Standard Bearer Convention

The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Queen Square Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday May 18, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Tuesday March 18, 2014.

PUP NOTICE Albert Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Albert Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday May 25, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Tuesday March 18, 2014.

PUP NOTICE Caribbean Shores Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Caribbean Shores Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday, June 1, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Friday March 28, 2014.

PUP NOTICE Lake Independence Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Lake Independence Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday, June 8, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Friday March 28, 2014.

2014 PUP NOTICE

Corozal Bay Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Corozal Bay Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday, March 30, 2014 from 8:00am to 5:00pm at St. Francis Xavier School.

PUP NOTICE Joint Endorsement Standard Bearers Convention for Orange Walk Central, Orange Walk East & Orange Walk South The People’s United Party announces a Joint Endorsement Standard Bearers Convention for Orange Walk Central, Orange Walk East & Orange Walk South constituencies on Saturday, March 8, 2014.

PUP NOTICE Mesopotamia Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Mesopotamia Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday May 18, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Thursday March 18, 2014.

PUP NOTICE Collet Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Collet Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday May 4, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Tuesday March 4, 2014.

2 MAR

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

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2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

Reid Dollar Politics

By G. Michael Reid “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” ~ 1 Timothy 6:10 A recent political convention in Cayo South has shown exactly what politics in Belize is all about. A couple of months ago, a relatively unknown Taiwanese businessman began spreading money around the thirteen villages that comprise Cayo South. Few people took notice and no one would have thought, that given the extreme bad taste that the still ebullient immigration scandal left in the mouths of Belizeans, that this just-come economic citizen would have even half of a chance. Who would have thought that any political party would have even dared to present another extraneous contender for standard bearer and possible parliamentarian? Boy did we ever misjudge the audacity of this crowd!

Belizeans are still grappling with the fact that the first Mennonite and the first Asian born persons elected to our government took extreme liberties with our hospitality and trust.

Reportedly working in tandem, a Belizean passport was secured in a record one day and delivered to a South Korean fugitive who was at the time, sitting in a Taiwanese prison.

There was an initial hullabaloo and many felt that somehow from somewhere, heads would roll. It has been almost six months, which by the way, is the statute of limitation for such a crime in Belize. Compare that to the statute of limitation for a

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and has been quite free with his money leading up to the convention.

Ralph’s money has been quite the motivator since people came out and voted him in by what has been described as a “handsome margin”. It seems that speeches and manifestos and character or personalities are no long issues in Cayo South; misdemeanor crime like theft for cash money is! And Ralph has example in some states. In Caliplenty of it. Belizeans should be fornia it is one year, in Florida it is concerned though, as to where three and in Texas, you can be arall this money is coming from rested and charged for up to five and what is the expected return. years after such a crime is comInternet warnings suggest that mitted. The UK has no statute of this current Lord will make Ashlimitations with regard to criminal croft look like a boy scout and offences. Why then is the statwhile Ashcroft’s money might ute of limitation so short for this have been real and backed by egregious offense that Penner et genuine investments and interal have committed. Something is est, Gibson’s money has quesobviously wrong. tionable strings attached.

Investigations are supposedThe elusive Ralph Huang was ly still on-going in our immigracornered by a reporter and asked tion calamity but many believe if he was indeed associated with Neil Gibson to which he replied, “Yes, I Penner is still living large off the public purse while Eric do know the man and he Chang has reportedly fled to safe sanctuary in his home is a very wonderful person and he is my friend and we country. His salary is still being deposited into his bank do have business together account.The patty wielding hapless mayor of abroad the country.” When Belize City is apparently clueless as to what to asked if the dubious Gibdo; or is he? Many will remember that Darrel son had indeed financed his campaign Haung reBradley himself accompanied Chang and Castro plied, “Yes, he contributon their shady and suspicious sojourn to Taiwan. ed.” He was then asked what he believed Gibson wanted in return and Haung reNeil Gibson and ended with the that they are merely stalling until plied, “Nothing; he just simply conclusion that “The only problem the whole issue blows over. They wants to help the people of Beis that Lord Gibson is a fraud, and must know by now however, that lize…” Right! And the devil wanthe is using the fantasy ideas to dethis ain’t going anywhere. The ed to help Jesus when he said velop a website with videos and arBelizean people are demanding unto him “All this I will give unto ticles to fool potential investors into justice and all their hemming and you….” Luke 4:6 swindling their money.” The website hawing and jawing and stalling Belizeans, “beware of Greeks and videos now hail Ralph Huang as has done little to quiet this cry for bearing gifts”. Not everyone who Gibson’s boy in Belize. The latest justice. While a few lowly pubsmiles with us is our friend. Not video states that “Ralph, with the lic officers have been dragged all money is good money. We canhelp of Lord Neil Gibson and LNBG over the coal and thrown under not continue to sell our birthright LLC, was already building roads the bus, the two culprits most for a few pieces of silver. We do and doing his part well before the responsible have escaped even not own this country we have only convention.” The problem is, no one questioning from authorities. borrowed it from our children, let in Cayo South knows where these Penner is still living large off the us take better care of it. May GOD roads are. What they can attest to is public purse while Eric Chang has bless Belize! that Ralph seems loaded with cash reportedly fled to safe sanctuary in his home country. His salary is still being deposited into his bank account. The patty wielding hapless mayor of Belize City is apparently clueless as to what to do; or is he? Many will remember that Darrel Bradley himself accompanied Chang and Castro on their shady and suspicious sojourn to Taiwan. Could it be that our bungling grafter knows more than he’s letting on?

But anyway, let us return to Cayo South, where our latest imported influence peddler has been able to purchase himself a standard bearer’s robe. The thing is that while “Ralph Dellonney Huang” has been under the radar of the rest of the country, it seems he has been rather active on behalf of a certain politician out west. His most ardent supporter is one Erwin Raphael Contreras, Minister of Trade in the cabinet of Dean Oliver Barrow. An old video circulating on facebook even introduces Ralph Huang as Deputy Minister of Trade, under Minister Erwin Contreras, substantive minister! This video is apparently several years old and was released long before Huang was elected standard bearer and by consequence caretaker for Cayo South. Could it be that Huang is in fact our thirteenth Senator?

Huang is sponsored by another foreigner, this one even more dubious and mysterious. One Lord Neil B. Gibson, who Huang describes as an international investor has emerged as his chief financier.

A cursory search of the internet reveals many stories about said Gibson but many of them suggest suspicions and warnings. Last July Channel 5 ran a short story on Lord

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2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

Teaching Children to Become Lifetime Readers

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” --Fredrick Douglas

By Angela Banner-Joseph As the school year continues, it is important for parents to encourage their children to read.

Introducing children to the love of reading is essential to school success as well as to reading for fun later in life.

Studies have shown that early reading is a major factor in academic success. The percentage of students who read for fun today is very low. Many children have said they do not read because the material is blah, the words are hard, they do not have time, or they are too busy. So, it is important that children learn great reading habits.

Each student has a different level of reading achievement.

They must learn early the various skills required to develop and maintain the appropriate grade reading level and above. Parents must work with their child’s teacher to choose the best-suited books so the child can advance independently.

Every teacher is aware that many students are reading at or below the required grade level.

Work with your child’s teacher.

If your child is not reading at the appropriate grade level or is not reading well, then both parent and child must work to make the necessary improvements. If the child is already a good reader, both parent and teacher must encourage the child to choose books above his or her achievement level.

Here are some solutions to help your children enjoy the love of reading. These are merely suggestions and are not in any particular order of importance. They are only a guide to help you with the process of how best to support your child’s love of reading.

Start the process early. Read aloud often to your child so the child has an understanding of the importance of learning. In the early years, children often pretend to read or recite a story

from memory. Let them. Remember to always choose age-appropriate books to get them started. Ask detailed questions while they are reading so they can develop their comprehension and critical thinking skills.

Read to your child. Kids will read more if they see you read with them. Learn to read together with them at least a half-hour to forty-five minutes daily. Create a reading routine so you have an opportunity to bond with your child. If you don’t read daily, make an effort to at least let your children see you read a magazine or book. To teach your children how you value and appreciate reading, let them see you read often.

Visit your local library. Take the time to introduce your children to your local library. By visiting the library, you can learn what category of books most excites your child to read. Have your children participate in activities at your library. This may be a read-along program, arts and crafts, or one-on-one reading.

I am sure any activity will include some form of reading. Remember, children often read more when they have enjoyable books to read.

Support your struggling child.

Get help if your child is struggling in school. Sometimes when a student struggles in school, it is because of visionary problems or a learning disability. You might want to see a healthcare professional to check his or her vision. You might also want to seek the help of your child’s teacher to see how the teacher can assist your child with a learning difference. Find books that relate back to what they are learning, so that the information becomes relevant.

The first step towards reading begins at home. Reading to children must be a continuous process long after the child begins to read for themselves. We have seen how early preparation and your efforts will pay off as they continue in school. The more children read the better academically prepared they will become and the more they can last overtime.

Teaching children to become lifetime readers is one of the greatest blessings we can bestow upon them. It is important that each child is aware that reading can be entertaining and fun. So, encourage your children to read for pleasure daily, and hopefully it will become habit forming into adulthood.

Dr. Angela Banner Joseph holds a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Change from the Fielding Graduate University

For Sale

By Order of the Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., a company duly registered under the Companies Act, Chapter 250 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition, 2000, and having its registered office at Cor. Albert and Bishop Streets, Belize City, Belize, hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Mortgagee under a Deed of Mortgage made the 2nd day of September, 2008 between BERTRAND FAUX of 11 Miles Northern Highway of the one part, and Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd., of the other part, and recorded at the Land Titles Unit in Deeds Book Vol. 34 of 2008 at Folios 125-192, the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd. will at the expiration of two months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the schedule hereto.

All offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing and full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained from the said Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

SCHEDULE All that piece of parcel of land situated along the new Northern Highway in the Belize District of Belize and containing 1.084 acres and being more particularly delineated and described as shown on Plan No. 103 of 2001 attached to Minister’s Fiat Grant No. 103 of 2001 and lodged at the office of the Commissioner of Lands and Surveys in the City of Belmopan in the Cayo District of Belize TOGETHER with all buildings and erections standing and being thereon.

DATED this 17th day of February, 2014.

MUSA & BALDERAMOS 91 North Front Street Belize City Attorneys-at-Law for

Scotiabank (Belize) Ltd.

2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

Home Economics Fuel Costs, Competitiveness & Productivity

By Richard Harrison Fuel, like water, is one of the principal “drivers” of cost in an economy.

Pretty much every production chain starts with fuel as its source of energy, without which nothing moves…and movement is what causes transformation, adding value along a product-market chain.

A product-market chain is only sustainably viable when all the segments along the production chain are providing a positive return-on-investment for the participants…unless, of course, if participants in a segment do what it does because it makes them feel good, for some charity purpose or for some other non-profit motive.

Consider the production chain for tomato ketchup. The land must first be cleared, prepared and planted….bulldozers, tractors, power saws, movement of workers to and from the job site, soil tillers, planters, irrigation pumps…then the tomato must be processed….transporting tomato to the processing site, movement of workers to and from the processing site, driving around to get foreign exchange and other permits, do banking transactions, payment of utilities and other services, sourcing and transporting the other ingredients from where they are available to the process site, preparing the tomato for processing, cooking the sauce, packaging the sauce, then the final product must be marketed, sold and distributed. Sourcing and implementing advertising and promotion products and services, salesmen traveling to pick up orders, transporting the final product to wholesalers, then to retailers, then to final users.

All of these activities utilize energy, usually dependent on fuel.

In Mexico, the price of fuel is around $7/gallon…..in Belize, the gallon of fuel is around $11. This is not the only important differential, but also the mileage yield…..Mexican fuel is known to be around 20% more fuel-efficient than the fuel Belize currently imports.

Which country do you believe will have a more competitive product-market chain for tomato ketchup? In what direction will tomato ketchup likely flow?

Now extrapolate this scenario across any other product-market chain you want….and answer the same question.

Does this have anything to do with why Belize imports close to $200 million from Mexico, yet it exports less than $15 million to Mexico?

Fuel is a basic commodity that is traded around the world at standard prices….and thus Mexico’s acquisition price for fuel might be a little

lower because of the volumes they purchase…but not much lower.

The principal cause of the price differential for fuel between Belize and Mexico is the Government of Belize policy regarding taxation, storage and distribution of fuel within Belize…..not the acquisition price.

The Mexican government policy is to expand their economy by increasing demand for the goods and services they produce, at home and abroad….and they, for many years, have actually subsidized the price of fuel in their economy, i.e., they sell it at a price lower than the acquisition cost. They also have controlled storage and distribution cost by having only ONE company (PEMEX – the state owned petroleum company) store and distribute fuel within Mexico, with laws that keep the storage and distribution costs to a minimum.

One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see the results that their policy has created for Mexico and Mexicans….and compare what our policy is doing for Belize and Belizeans.

If Belize would remove all taxes and levies on fuel, except for a 10% consumption tax (GST – which is reimbursed to all pre-consumption segments of the product-market chain)…. the price of fuel in Belize would be at around the same level as it is in Mexico….and every product-market chain in Belize would increase their competitiveness and productivity vis a vis our competitors in every other country.

The policy makers and economic

participants in Belize all know this very well.

However, Belize government chooses to take around $70 million in taxes and levies, approximately 35% of the $200 million that Belize imports in fuel. In addition, it has a very expensive three-player oligopoly that increases the cost of storage and distribution significantly, without providing any real advantage to users of fuel.

This is why select industries and economic actors with political clout have been able to convince our governments to make “SPECIAL PROVISIONS” for their industries.

For example, sugarcane farmers are reimbursed $1 or $2 per gallon of fuel, depending on their distance from the BSI factory. Those already benefiting from ZERO taxation under the Export Processing Zone laws, also get exemption from paying taxes and levies on fuel….so they are getting away “scot free”. Now there is talk of extending this olive branch to citrus growers as well. The richer companies that can afford to purchase a truck load of fuel, can buy fuel direct from PUMA (the only authorized importer of fuel) at around $3 less per gallon than the pump price that everybody else have to pay.

This policy (or lack thereof) causes major distortions in the competitiveness among industries within Belize because those who benefit from “duty-fee” fuel are more competitive, from the get-go, than the majority that don’t.

This high level of taxation on fuel is the principal driver behind the lucrative contraband trade for fuel… a trade that is growing every year… principally sourced from Mexico through our porous borders… and estimated to value around $50 million annually. Now consider what this cost-advantage from contraband fuel does in the distribution trade? Ever wonder why most goods flow from north to south… and not from south to north? This contraband

23 “cheaper fuel” gives competitive advantage to EVERY product-market chain of those who can access it…principally those that originate near the northern border.

Belize needs to take this page out of Mexico’s book… and make ALL its product-market chains more competitive and productive… and placed on a balanced competitive and productive field.... by removing ALL taxes and levies on fuel, except a 10% GST…..so that ALL goods and services can be produced in Belize at a level of competitiveness and productivity comparable to Mexico and the US.....our principal competitors (aka trading partners). Production investments of all kinds would start up, grow and flourish much more rapidly.

The cost of production, storage and distribution of every commodity would go down significantly…and this would allow the government to compensate for this “loss” in revenue from fuel, by lowering the GST from 12.5% to 10%, and charging it across the board (instead of the large amount of exceptions and exemptions that currently is another major cause of distortions in the market)….without increasing the price of basic commodities to consumers. This would be a “lower cost-of-living no matter what” strategy that would be much more realistic... compared to the strategy of lowering barriers to entry (import duties on finished products) for competing imported products that only serve to put domestic industries at a greater disadvantage than they already subjected to given our “slave mentality” fuel policy.

The ball and chain would be removed from every single product-market chain in Belize.

Set the slave free!!!

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2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

Recipe of the week

Vegan Cupcakes These delicious cupcakes will go down well with any sweet tooth. They are easy and quick to make‌ No one will know they are vegan. You can substitute different milks (e.g. almond or rice milk), oils (olive or canola) and extracts; just about any will work.

Ingredients (Recipe makes 18 cupcakes) 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 1/2 cups almond milk 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract * Baking powder may be substituted with 1-teaspoon cream of tartar Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease two 12-cup muffin pans or line with 18 paper baking cups.

Measure the apple cider vinegar into

a 2-cup measuring cup. Fill with almond milk to make 1 1/2 cups. Let stand until curdled, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk mixture, coconut oil and vanilla.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.

Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with desired frosting.

2 MAR

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

We are celebrating the 110th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss here at MKC! He was born on March 2, 1904! (Dr. Seuss 1904 – 1991)

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26 2014 Senior Citizens BRAIN TEASER Deserve Compassion, GOB! SUDOKU PUZZLE #55/2014 2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

By Gilroy Usher, Sr. Heart of steel, unconscionable, and ungrateful sums up the total neglect of senior citizens by the government.

When she had health and strength like thousands of other Belizeans, Miss Lillian “Sutherland” Lord, of a Pen Road address in Belize City, labored day after day to help build the Belize we all enjoy today.

Now in her golden years, at 80, with no income to care for herself, and literally no one at her side, the nation has turned its back on Miss Lillian. That’s just as it has done to hundreds of other senior citizens, who are experiencing the same fate.

Today Miss Lillian is in need of proper clothing, nutrition, medication, and somewhere suitable to rest her body especially at night. The majority of the ruling politicians and their cronies are busy filling their pockets with government funds and resources in endless major corruption scandals. Such persons have no time to worry about the terrible plight of senior citizens like Lillian Lord.

Only God saves Miss Lillian from being knocked down fatally by fast moving vehicles as she limps in the lane of traffic for almost two miles daily

Answers for last week’s puzzle SUDOKU PUZZLE SOLUTION #54/2014

to get a little food from a caring citizen.

Instead of helping senior citizens, who really need a little money from Social Security Board (S.S.B.) to survive with dignity, the record shows that over the last six years the administration has struck off over 1,500 senior citizens from the list of persons, who really need that financial help from S.S.B. The non-contributory pension was first introduced to Belize by the P.U.P. in the first Said Musa administration to render needed financial assistance to senior female citizens, who had no other source of income. At that time the assistance was $75.00 monthly for deserving persons. Under the leader of Hon. Francis Fonseca, the PUP has decided that it’s right and proper that senior male citizens of this country, who qualify also be included in the programme.

This essay focuses on the terrible fate of senior citizen Lillian Lord. Across the length and breadth of this country however, hundreds of senior citizens, who used their health and strength to help build this nation in every possible way, are enduring untold and unimaginable hardships quietly at home away from the press. That of course is happening because the government considers their basic needs unessential for use of funds from Social Security Board, which it nevertheless squanders in numerous bloated contracts for its political cronies. It is therefore good to know that a non-contributory pension for all Belizeans male and female 70 years of age and above with no other income is a key part of the Opposition’s social agenda.

See answers NEXT WEEK

Answers for last week’s puzzle

See answers NEXT WEEK

2 MAR

27

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

BELIZE TIMES WEEKLY

SCIENCE & TECH R

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Phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot acts as SOS beacon in disasters 26 February 2014 by Paul Marks An app that turns a smartphone into a wireless SOS beacon could one day help rescuers track down people who have been trapped in collapsed buildings after natural disasters or bombings.

Because such events often knock out phone and internet networks, trapped people cannot make calls, send texts or email for help.

“They are in an island of non-connectivity,” says Amro Al-Akkad, an engineer with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology in St Augustin, Germany.

Then his colleague, Leonardo Ramirez, noticed the mischievous messages his neighbours broadcast by changing the name of their home Wi-Fi networks, such as “no smoking on the balcony” and “turn the noise down”. He realised that you could use an app to insert a short SOS message into the name field of a phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot, too, which broadcasts a radio signal without requiring internet access. Rescuers can read the message with their own Wi-Fi app.

The team consulted emer-

Help! trapped in building under rubble (Image: EUROKINISSI/AFP/Getty) gency workers from the Haiti and Fukushima disasters and developed a “victim app” and a “seeker app”.

“They wanted it simple, unencrypted and smart,” says Al-Akkad.That meant avoiding known problems like low-power, low-range Bluetooth radio links, which often fail to connect – or “pair” – with each other amid the clutter of metallic debris in broken buildings. So they stuck to the

much more robust and receivable Wi-Fi radio.

Victim app With the victim app a trapped person can write a 27-character message such as “broken leg stuck in bank” or “need help fire on 4th floor” and a seeker app up to 100 metres away can pick it up. The app found two “trapped” people in a large-scale, simulated terrorist

attack at a seaside chemical plant in Stavanger, Norway – an exercise organised by the Norway-based research organisation Sintef.

The team will present the apps at a computer interaction conference in Toronto, Canada, in April – and they also hope to demonstrate them to rescue professionals at a crisis response conference in Pennsylvania in May. They want the victim app to be incorporated in Android or iOS operating systems, but they are also patenting a way to distribute the app virally at a disaster scene. “We need this as no one expects to be in a disaster and won’t download the app,” says Al-Akkad.

The fact that the system works on standard hardware impresses Per Ola Kristensson, an interactive systems engineer at the University of St Andrews in the UK: “It’s interesting how they have appropriated widely deployed smartphone hardware in a new and unexpected way. That’s the beauty of software.

It’s much easier than trying to push newly invented hardware into people’s hands.”

Virus that caused flu pandemic dominates again 26 February 2014 by Debora Mackenzie Young adults, beware. The swine flu responsible for the pandemic five years ago is once again the dominant strain in North America. This doesn’t mean we are in the midst of another swine flu pandemic, but it does mean that people of working age are once again hardest hit by the virus, which has been hanging around since 2009.

So far, more than 60 per cent of people in the US who have caught severe flu this season, or died of it, are between 18 and 64 years old. This is similar to rates during the pandemic but double the number of severe cases in this age group in the past three win-

ters, when the H3N2 virus – which is more likely to hit older people – was top dog in North America. Only about a third of severe cases in the US this year are in people over 65.

Tom Frieden, head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, last week, chalked this up to working-age adults being half as likely to get a flu shot as older ones. But this can’t be right: vaccination rates were similar last winter, when severe flu hit more than twice as many older adults as younger ones.

And the vaccine is only about 60 per cent effective, even less in over-65s, making it seem even less likely to account for the shift.

Flu against flu So what is going on? What we are seeing is a global battle for supremacy

among flu viruses, says Lone Simonsen of George Washington University in Washington DC. Uually a pandemic flu wipes out the competition and continues to circulate as the sole seasonal flu virus afterwards. While the pandemic, or H1N1, virus has persisted this time, so has H3N2, one of the seasonal viruses from before 2009. This means the two viruses are now fighting for supremacy.

In the US this year, 98 per cent of cases are due to the H1N1 virus, the rest, H3N2. Last year, 94 per cent were H3N2. In Europe, the pandemic virus and H3N2 are split 60:40 this year, but the pandemic virus has dominated every other winter since 2009, apart from the 2011-2012 season when H3N2 won out.

It means that no one is safe.

Older people can largely fend off the H1N1 flu virus because they have immunity from exposure before 1957, when a similar virus circulated – but for them, the H3N2 virus can be deadly. Conversely, younger adults have more resistance to H3N2, but are succumbing to H1N1.

So Frieden is right to say that people of any age with a risk factor for severe flu, such as diabetes, obesity or possible pregnancy, should consider a flu shot. This year’s flu seasons are starting to subside in Europe and North America, but as the last few years have shown, no one can predict which virus will dominate the next one.

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2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2014

Slipped

Little Siarsha needs your help!

Belize City, February 25, 2014 A Belize City family is pleading to the Belizean public for financial support to be able to afford medical treatment for their 3 year old daughter Siarsha Amri Alvarez.

Siarsha was diagnosed with a rare skin disease known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. This condition causes painful rashes that spreads and blisters on the skin, eventually causing the top layer of the skin to shed.

The condition causes severe pain and Siarsha has been rushed to Merida for treatment at a private hospital.

The child’s father, Simeon Alvarez Jr., who is employed at the Belize City Council as a sanitation supervisor, turned to the public to plead for financial donations to be able to afford the cost of treatment. He said if his daughter does not get help fast, she will die.

“She is in severe pain. Her

sickness is not mild, it’s not moderate, it’s severe. Right now her skin is peeling off, she is crying, she can’t pee how she wants, she can’t stool how she wants - everything pains her. Her eye brows are peeling off, her skin, top of the skull is peeling off - her hair, now she is in terrible condition. This syndrome normally affects people age 10 years to 30 years and my daughter is only 3 years old, so it’s a severe situation. We need urgent medical assistance. It’s life threatening because she has outbreaks on her skin - blisters and once all of her skin peels off she will eventually die, so we need to take her as quick as possible to a private hospital abroad,” pleaded Alvarez.

Persons willing to support the family can make donations to the Scotia Bank account number #8734347, or contact a family member at 665-7037, or 661-7626.

Dalina Reyes Wins Miss Diosa Maya International

Orange Walk, February 27, 2014 Orange Walk’s Dalina Reyes, who represented Belize in the 2014 Miss Diosa Maya Internacional Pageant held in Uman, Yucatan, Mexico, kept the crown home for a second consecutive year when she was announced the winner of the prestigious title.

Dalina competed against three other beau-

ty queens representing El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

The pageant consists of a dance presentation and a costume display.

Dalina’s costume featured a virgin who was offered for sacrifice to save her culture On hand to hand over the crown was 2013 winner Belizean Gricel Carballo.

By Dr. Francis Smith, Orthopedics

Disc

Slipped disc refers to a medical problem with the fibrocartilaginous cushion between the back bones in the spine. A disc consists of a tough outer ring called the annulus fibrosus and a softer inside, the nucleus pulposus, similar to the contents of a crab’s claw when broken open.

When there is wear and tear of the outer ring or when it tears, the soft nucleus on the inside bulges or protrudes out through the outer ring. This is called a herniated disc or slipped disk.

Symptoms: A herniated disc can occur without causing symptoms. It can be discovered incidentally on a CAT scan or MRI done on someone who has no back pain. Some disc protrusions or herniated disc can irritate the nerve roots causing pain, numbness and weakness. If the herniated disc occurs in the neck, it will cause symptoms in the arms.

If the diseased disc is in the lower back it will cause symptoms in the leg.

Some common symptoms: - Pain in the leg if the herniated disc is in the lumbar spine or lower back: There can be localized low back pain or pain radiating to the buttocks, thigh, leg, foot or toes. The pain may be described as shooting, stabbing or shocking pain provoked by sneezing, coughing or forceful or prolonged forward bending.

- Arm pain if the herniated disc is in the cervical spine (neck): The pain may be localized in the neck or radiating to an area above the shoulder blade, shoulder, arm, forearm and hand. This pain can also be described as shooting or like an electric shock.

- Numbness and tingling - Weakness: Muscles innervated by the nerves compressed by a herniated disc may become weak causing difficulty walking or standing and grip weakness resulting in objects falling from the hands.

- Low back pain may include disabling pain causing a crooked appearance (inability to straighten the back), painful restriction of side-ways, or forward bending.

Risk Factors: Herniated discs are more common in middle age, overweight people and persons with physically demanding jobs which involve repetitive or heavy lifting, pulling, and bending sideways or frontways.

Treatment: Usually localized mild neck or low back pains lasting no more than 72 hours may be treated at home with the usual painkillers and anti-inflammatories. If the pain is accompanied by pain shooting down the arms or legs, with weakness, numbness or tingling, bowel or urinary bladder problems, or constantly intense despite NSAID’s even while lying down, then one should consult a doctor.

Home treatment Involves regular over the counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID’s) such as Advil, Alleve and diclofenac. If there is muscle spasm, the doctor may prescribe additionally, a muscle relaxant. Stronger narcotic medications such as codeine, hydrocodone, Demerol and Morphine exist. Low doses of antidepressants such as amitriptyline may relieve chronic back pain, independent of their effect on depression.

Surgery Few people ever need surgery for back pain. If you have unrelenting pain associated with radiating leg pain or progressive muscle weakness caused by nerve compression, you may benefit from surgical intervention. Otherwise, surgery usually is reserved for pain related to structural anatomical problems that haven’t responded to intensive conservative therapy measures.

Alternative methods of treatment: - Chiropractic care: Back pain is one of the most common reasons that people see a chiropractor.

- Acupuncture. A practitioner of acupuncture inserts sterilized stainless steel needles into the skin at specific points on the body. Some people with low back pain report that acupuncture helps relieve their symptoms.

- Massage. If your back pain is caused by tense or overworked muscles, massage therapy may help.

- Yoga. There are several types of yoga, a broad discipline that involves practicing specific postures or poses, breathing exercises and relaxation techniques. Results of a few clinical trials suggest that yoga offers some benefit for people with back pain.

- Exercise. Regular low-impact aerobic activities — those that don’t strain or jolt your back — can increase strength and endurance in your back and allow your muscles to function better. Walking and swimming are good choices. Talk with your doctor about which activities are best for you.

- Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight puts strain on your back muscles. If you’re overweight, trimming down can prevent back pain.

22 MAR MAR

2014

THE BELIZE THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

25 Feb 2014 Turkey’s new law tightening the state’s grip on the Internet has gone into force after President Abdullah Gul approved the controversial legislation pushed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

The legislation changes Turkey’s original 2007 Internet

law, and has sparked street protests and various public campaigns against the new online controls.

The conservative government has rejected claims that the law will lead to censorship, arguing instead that it aims at protecting individual rights and privacy. “There is no censorship on the Internet.

Freedoms are not restricted. We are only taking precautions against blackmail and immorality,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said.

“If the Internet and computers are not used in a proper way under certain monitoring and order, they do not constitute benefi-

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Obama voices support for Tibetan human rights

New Internet law in Turkey sparks outrage Controversial web controls implemented after phone-recording leaks raise questions and stoke public anger.

NEWS

US President meets Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama despite China’s warnings that move will damage relations.

cial or educational tools anymore.

Instead, they turn into dangers with bitter results.”

Last year’s Gezi Park protests against the Turkish government were largely organised through social media, which Erdogan at the time called “the worst menace to society”.

Deadly car bomb hits Somali capital

United States President Barack Obama has offered “strong support” for the human rights of Tibetans in a meeting with the region’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

“The president reiterated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China,” a White House statement said on Friday following the meeting.

The talks between Obama and the Dalai Lama came despite China’s call for the US to scrap plans for the meeting, warning it would “seriously damage” ties between the two countries.

The White House said that Obama supported the Dalai Lama’s path of peaceful dialogue and encouraged China to resume long-stalled talks with the exiled leader or his representatives.

The statement rejected Beijing’s charges that the Dalai Lama had a separatist agenda and that the meeting was part of a plot to split China, stressing that the US did not support Tibet’s independence.

A suicide bomber drove his car into a tea shop near the intelligence service headquarters [AFP]

Al-Shabab claims it carried out suicide bomb blast in Mogadishu that killed at least 10 people.

27 Feb 2014 At least 10 people were killed in an explosion when a suicide bomber drove his car into a tea shop near the national security headquarters in Somalia’s capital, a senior police officer said to the Reuters news agency.

The al-Qaeda linked group, al-Shabab, said it carried out the attack on Thursday and threatened more.

“We are responsible for the car bomb blast,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters.

“We targeted the national security forces who were sitting

in the tea shop. Today’s blast was part of our operations in Mogadishu and we shall continue,” he added.

The blast is the second in almost a week after al-Shabab said it was behind an attack on the president’s palace on Friday.

“A bomber swerved his car bomb into a tea shop where national security men were sitting and blew up. So far we have confirmed 10 people dead including national security forces and civilians. The tea shop was completely destroyed,” Colonel Abdikadir Hussein, a senior police officer, told Reuters.

Abdullahi Hassan, the district commissioner of Mogadi-

shu’s Abdiasis district, said the target of the attack was a national security car passing the tea shop.

A Reuters witness counted eight bodies.

Al-Shabab ruled most of the southern region of Somalia from 2006 until 2011 when African Union forces drove them out of Mogadishu and then expelled them from most urban centres.

The group, which wants to impose a strict version of Islamic law, still holds swathes of rural territory in southern Somalia and some smaller towns, including the major coastal stronghold of Barawe.

Mexico’s most wanted drug lord arrested Joint Mexican and US forces arrest Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman in Sinaloa state, who had been on the run for 13 years.

23 Feb 2014 Mexico’s most wanted man, drug kingpin Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo or “Shorty”, has been captured in Mexico in what marks a major coup in a grisly fight against

drug gangs.

After 13 years on the run, Guzman was captured early on Saturday morning in a hotel in Mazatlan, a resort city located on the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa, by US and Mexican law enforcement officials, The US had offered a $5m reward for information leading to the arrest of Guzman, who is accused of being behind much of the drug violence that has plagued Mexico for years.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that the apprehension of Joaquin Guzman is a landmark achievement, and a victory for the citizens of both Mexico and the United States.

30

THINK ABOUT IT

PENNER HAVE FI GO In any proper democracy Elvin Penner would have done the right thing and resigned.

No Minister and elected member of the House of Representatives can do what Penner did and still hang around in the National Assembly.

Penner signed official documents which contained fraudulent information in order to give the citizenship of our country to a foreigner who at the time was in a foreign jail.

Penner misled, deceived and lied to public officials in the Immigration Department where he went and publicly pretended he was with Won Hong Kim and signed every paper he could to give away or sell our Belizean citizenship.

Penner signed the Belizean citizenship certificate granting citizenship to Kim and giving Kim a Belizean passport, which would have prevented Kim from being handed over from a Taiwan jail to a Korean jail to face criminal charges.

Belizeans aren’t fools. Big money passed.

The matter was exposed when Interpol – the International Police – requested the Belize government to explain how Kim has a passport, obtained on the dates he was in a Taiwan jail.

The Prime Minister felt he had to act before the news hit CNN and BBC and so he announced that Penner was asked to leave Cabinet, in September 2013.

That ain’t good enough for the people of Belize.

They smell a rat and they want justice.

The Prime Minister in one of the several low points of his reign went public to show he and his party will campaign and support Penner against any attempts to have him leave his seat.

Ergo the infamous Duck Run Village visit and the “I have millions upon millions of dollars” to bribe all voters in Penner’s constituency.

Penner, like City Councillor Eric Chang and Edmund Castro REMAIN a member of the UDP political machinery and Party to this day, 28th February, 2014.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow has squandered plenty political capital and has been the brunt of cynical jokes about not being able to do anything to Penner and Castro because he is enriching his family in the most shameless of fashion. Worst, the Amandala newspaper, Plus TV and Pastor Louis Wade have publicly stated on the record that Barrow has lost his moral compass. Morals are like virginity. Once you lose it you cannot get it back.

In the case of Penner, he has lost all sense of decency. His INFAMY name will live on as a classic example of dishonesty, corruption and hustling. Thanks to him no Mennonite or Chinese might ever be elected in this country for quite some time.

In any proper democracy Elvin Penner would have done the right thing and resigned.

The fact that he has not done so speaks volumes about his character or lack thereof.

the government will go.

There are voices in the wind, you hear them clear. When this government falls, and fall it will, Prime Minister Barrow will be arrested and tried for malfeasance, misfeasance, obstruction of justice, perversion of justice and multiple counts of criminality and abuse of taxpayers’ dollars.

A NEXT COURT CASE An application to the Supreme Court for several declarations is being drafted.

This latest law suit we are told is against Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Godwin Hulse, and Elvin Penner.

It is against PM Barrow, who in violation of the law and the Constitution appointed Penner and gave him power to sign nationality certificates, when it is only the Governor General who can appoint a Minister and give him a portfolio.

It is against Godwin Hulse who is the Minister of Immigration but who allowed Penner to be signing nationality certificates unlawfully and in violation of the Constitution when Penner had no such authority under the constitution.

A VACANCY There is a vacancy for the position of Assistant Director of the Forensic Laboratory. This vacancy was not advertised in the newspapers, on radio or television. It was done within the Ministry of the Police and other Ministries.

The vacancy requires a person with at least a University degree in one of the science subjects.

Political interference has of course been invoked and a UDP supporter who has no university training has been put on a short list and is to attend a bogus interview where he will be given the job.

For those who don’t know, the National Forensic Laboratory at Ladyville is a place where highly trained “scientists” do handwriting analysis, blood sampling, ballistic analysis, processing scenes of crimes, drug testing and alcohol testing and so forth to assist in police investigation and court cases.

The University-trained head of the department was disrespected and moved elsewhere so the government could place former Police Commissioner David Henderson in charge. This individual is a graduate of primary school with no experience or ability in any scientific field of analyzing anything at a forensic laboratory.

The integrity and reputation of the Forensic Laboratory is going to be irreparably destroyed.

The stupidity of the politicians in Belmopan is destroying this country.

Cow no business inna horse gallop.

KNOW YOUR HISTORY

AND THE COMPOL? How low the country has sunk. A Minister of government falsifies official documents and admits to it. He commits a crime and emails his confession to the media. And because the Prime Minister is fearful of elections he preempts the Police by shouting out – it is not illegal! It is not illegal! The poor Police Commissioner becomes fearful of doing his job.

So now for the first time in our history a Police Commissioner is being dragged before the Supreme Court to be ordered by a Judge to conduct an investigation. Wow! Look how low

2 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

In 1763 a treaty was signed between the British Government and the Spanish Government which gave the settlement of Belize some kind of status.

This treaty allowed the British the “occupation of cutting, loading and carrying away logwood”. It asserted Spanish sovereignty over the area.

The Spanish government again reasserted their sovereignty of Belize in subsequent treaties of 1783 and 1786.

In the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed by the British and Spanish govern-

ments, the concessions given by Spain to Britain to cut logwood were defined more precisely than in the Treaty of 1763. The Spanish made it very clear that the British were to cut logwood only between the Hondo River and the Belize River and the New River was to be the westerly boundary beyond where no wood was to be cut.

In 1786 another Treaty was signed, referred to as the Convention of London. The Spanish gave permission to the British to cut logwood and also Mahogany as far south as the Sibun River. It expressly forbade the British from building any fortification, setting up any formal government or doing any agricultural works, or any other productive economic activities apart from wood cutting.

The setters (Baymen) were allowed to gather “all the fruits or produce of the earth, purely natural and uncultivated”. But they were not to establish “any plantation of sugar, coffee, cocos, or other like articles.”

For further emphasizing Spain’s ownership over the settlement the Convention of London provided for Spain to send Commissioners to check-up and examine the settlement twice a year.

The Convention of London also specified that in return for the concessions Spain had made, the British was to give up all its other settlements in the region, notable the Mosquito Shore and the island of Roatan. As a result, the inhabitants of these areas had to be evacuated. The British brought them to Belize.

It is written that the evacuation of the settlers and slaves from the Mosquito Shores to Belize was an important event in the social history of the Belize settlement.

There was no longer war between Britain and Spain and they signed the peace Treaty of Versailles on 3 September 1783. After this, some five hundred to seven hundred persons came to settle in Belize including “several loyalists from the American (USA) States”.

In 1787, some 2,650 persons were evacuated from the Mosquito Shore of which 2,214 were brought to Belize. They outnumbered the residents in Belize by five to one. Over three quarters of those who were brought were slaves.

By the time of the attack on the settlement in 1779, there were 3,500 persons living in Belize, of which three thousand were slaves.

This was quite a contrast to 1735 when there were about five hundred “merchants and slaves.” Or to 1725 when the population had been reduced to a small quantity of people, “not exceeding above fifty white men and about a hundred and twenty negroes.”

PROSTITUTION Prostitution is not a nice word. It is not a good word. This is because it describes something which is not pretty but ugly and demeaning.

When a woman has to sell her body out of desperation to feed herself and her children it is a sad situation.

When there is an increase in prostitution it is because there is an increase in hard times.

There is an increase in prostitution in Belize.

The increase in prostitution is not only at the many organized brothels in Belize City and out-districts, but also among a growing section of younger girls.

Many of them can be seen walking the streets in very short, very tight little pants showing their “cheek-bones” and “camel-toes.” Of course not all girls and women wearing skimpy little tight pants are advertising.

With a little bit of street smartness you can figure out who is advertising and who

2014 just want to be in fashion and look sexy.

When very young girls are forced to be selling their bodies you know our society is in trouble.

HARD-TIMES It’s official. Government statistics show that the cost of living for 2013 jumped way up. Not that we need any percentages or figures to tell us what we know, what we see and what we are experiencing.

Life is hard out here for more than half of our population.

Only recently electricity, water and butane went up. Food prices and essentials seem to increase every month. Petrol has been a killer at eleven dollars a gallon.

And to add insult to our injuries the government is boasting how it has “millions upon million of dollars” which will be used to bribe voters in an attempt to win elections.

Why are the teachers, nurses, police, BDF, public officers and others not getting their raise of pay from April when the budget takes effect?

Why? MAGNIFICENT For those who wake early and look at the morning sky, the reward is splendid. After 5:30A.M. the moon is still low in the eastern sky. A few feet above the quarter moon is the brilliant planet of Venus.

Oh I could watch it for hours.

Oh I can’t wait for tomorrow morning to see how far the magnificent Venus will travel away from the shy quarter moon.

Can you imagine it is the moon that is coming out in the morning? With a new companion called Venus orbiting so close by.

And then within less than an hour Jah Jah’s mighty sun rises and takes over the sky.

And O, scientist announced on Wednesday that observation telescopes have discovered over seven hundred “new” planets beyond the solar system. Four of these planets are more than two times the size of earth.

ANOTHER FOREIGN JUDGE Belize has over one hundred attorneys at law. We cannot understand what’s going on with the continued appointment of foreigners as judges and magistrates in our country.

There are many experienced attorneys who would consider serving their beloved country as magistrates and judges. They will not get a chance because the government does not even advertise when there is a vacancy.

Latest report is that a foreign magistrate working in one of the districts is being made a judge over our people.

UDP RALPH As the UDP becomes more and more like the old PUP of by gone days they have gotten their own Ralph. But this one ain’t no economist and he ain’t no efficient getting things done.

And he started out on the wrong foot.

He was luring votes and spending wildly in Cayo to win the UDP constituency. Somebody told him the way the UDP intends to win upcoming elections is to throw money at poor people.

The UDP now has another Penner wild spender. His name is Ralph Huang. Not yet known if he related to Lee Mark Chang and Eric “silent suspect” Chang.

What a bangarang!

2 MAR

2014

THE BELIZE TIMES

Another fatal victim of gang violence

Gunman opens fire on residents in broad daylight ew of Supal Street “boss” Jason “Soup” Williams, was ambushed and killed by another gunman. This occurred while Cadle was visiting friends on George Street.

Williams is in Police custo-

Belize City, February 26, 2014 There is serious tension on the streets of Belize City as the rivalry between two well known “gangs” has claimed yet another life.

25 year old Ryan Arnold died thirteen hours after he was rushed to the hospital for gunshot injuries to his back and hand. Arnold was with six other male persons on Armadillo Street, when an unidentified gunman rode up to them on a bicycle and opened fire.

This occurred in broad daylight around 5:30 in the evening when residents, including children, were socializing in the area.

Arnold was shot multiple times while a 15 year old was shot on his leg.

According to the minor the gunman had his face covered so they could not identify him, but he was heard saying that he would return “once we noh dead”. The minor said the gunman also identified himself as being “from Supal”, in this case, meaning from the Supal Street turf which is engaged in a street war with the George Street group.

Already, there have been at least four shootings as a result of this rivalry, with two leading to murders.

Last week Wednesday, 25 year old Tarique “Paulie” Cadle, who is the neph-

PUP NOTICE Belize Rural South Standard Bearer Convention The People’s United Party Standard Bearer Convention for the Belize Rural South Electoral Division is scheduled for Sunday, June 22, 2014.

Application are available from the Constituency Committee Chairperson or the PUP Secretariat, Independence Hall, #3 Queen Street, Belize City.

Completed applications must be filled and returned to the Chairperson and the Secretary General. The non-refundable fee is to be submitted to the Secretariat along with the necessary documentation to complete the application package.

Deadline for submission is Thursday March 28, 2014.

Michael Hutchinson’s son accused of sexual assault

dy for a shooting that occurred on Tuesday of last week on George Street. In that incident, two men, Kariq Tzul, of West Street address and 27 year old Andrew Tate of George Street were injured and hospitalised.

New BAA Chairman named, fired GM shifted to Ministry of Education Belize City, February 26, 2014 It was the scandal in the Belize Airport Authority (BAA), exposed by the BELIZE TIMES, that brought to light the reprehensible abuse of public funds by Minister of State Edmond Castro in concert with the General Manager Kenworth (less) Tillett and members of the BAA Board.

Facing further shame and disgrace as a result of the exposure, Prime Minister Dean Barrow was forced to fire the entire Board members which was rift with UDP cronies including chairperson Barbara Miller, Armead Gabourel and Lindsay Garbutt.

The BELIZE TIMES has received reliable information that the new Chair of the Board is John Waight, a Belizean who recently returned from the United States. Waight, we understand, was formerly employed at the Belize Bank before leaving for the U.S. for some years.

Meanwhile, no good ex General Manager Tillett, we understand, has been awarded for his service and loyalty to Minister Castro with a position in the Ministry of Education.

Castro has not apologized for abusing his authority and using public funds for personal and political purposes. He has claimed, however, that he is a “poor man” who struggles to survive with a take-home pay of $2,900 monthly.

Shame on you Castro!

CARTOON

31

Belize City, Thurs. February 27, 2014 Andre Hutchinson, 27, the son of former UDP Minister of State and current UDP Belize Rural Central hopeful, Michael Hutchinson, was charged with aggravated assault of an indecent nature when he appeared today before the Chief Magistrate, Anne Marie Smith.

Hutchinson pleaded not guilty to the charge. Chief Magistrate Smith remanded him into custody until March 24 for psychiatric evaluation.

The alleged incident occurred around 8:30 am on Tuesday, February 25. The complainant, a 35 year old woman, reported to the Police that she was walking on Scissorstail Street in Ladyville, when Hutchinson rode up to her on a bicycle and slapped her on the right side of her buttocks with his right hand.

She said Hutchinson then laughed and rode away on his bicycle.

UDP politician Michael Hutchinson has made no official comment on his son’s arrest.

32

THE BELIZE TIMES

2 MAR

2014