Belize Times March 8, 2015

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The Belize Times

8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2015

Established 1957

The Truth Shall Make You Free

8 MARCH 2015 | ISSUE NO: 4935

www.belizetimes.bz | $1.00

PUP STAND STRONG! Pg. 3

PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca has committed to re-organising the Party to keep up the fight

PUP LEADER CONGRATULATES OW PUP WINNERS

Party Leader Francis & re-elected PUP Orange Walk Mayor Kevin Bernard, and re-elected Councillors Ian Cal, Josue Carballo, Rozel Arana and Ladrick “Mad Bull” Shepard

UDP ABUSES

GOB

UDP representative Hugo Patt’s Government vehicle used on election day

RESOURCES

Pg. 3

UDP representative Pablo Marin’s Government vehicle was als being used on election day

2015: Already more murderous than last year Belize City, March 5th, 2015 With four murders in just three days, between March 1st and March 4th, this week has been the most deadly since the year began. The trend should be very worrisome for Belizeans, who have witnessed the nation’s domestic security wither away, as criminals take siege while there is no effective response from the Government.

In 2014 the total number of homicides increased when compared to the previous year. There were 24 more murders.

But that’s not the shocking

Pg. 4

Michael Welch

Kingsley Morrison

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

OPINION

taxi drivers. To ride the Hopkins bus through the village is a roller coaster. It’s a ride from hell. Being thrown from side to side is a nightmare.

At the north end, especially

OUT Bad roads in Hopkins

Broken up Hopkins streets and roads

!

Dear Editor, Why is the North End of Hopkins always ignored when it comes to fixing the village roads? For 16 years I have been here and never have I seen the same measures of maintenance to improve the roads as the south side. I have heard reasons such as more money is generated for tourism at the south end.

But it is not fair to treat the north end differently. We are 1 village.

The roads are impossible to travel and cause major damage on all cars especially on the hard working

2015 the far North End where it is still almost all village populated so many older Garifuna ladies and men try their best to walk, ride bikes to the local stores, to the clinic, church, to see their friends.

The size of the huge pot holes is dangerous. The roads in Hopkins are like a minefield. One would believe with elections coming the Government would work to improve!! Please take care of our village roads for the sake of the people, the investors, and the tourists who come to Hopkins.

It is a bad reflection of the government, the Belize Tourist Board, not to put needed funds for road maintenance, especially since Hopkins is growing so fast, and is the Number 1 Destination. Please be fair to the North End! A Concerned Citizen Of Hopkins Tricia Wipfler

PUP LEADER FRANCIS FONSECA thanks all candidates who offered themselves in the 2015 Municipal Elections and all campaigners, workers & supporters who served the Party

THE BATTLE IS NOT OVER! LOCAL 6 Mar

8 Mar

The Belize Times

Established 1957

14 APR 2013

|

ISSUE NO: 4840

The Truth Shall Make You Free

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 TIMES NEWSPAPER LTD.

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8 MAR

2015

THE BELIZE TIMES

UDP ABUSES GOB RESOURCES Belize City, March 6th 2015 Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s prelude to the 2015 Municipal Election was a threat to all voters that unless they vote for his political party, they won’t see any kind of progress in their municipalities. Barrow has blurred the lines that should separate the Government and the ruling party in Government.

There appears to be no separation as the PM manipulates all branches of Government and every Government department to advance his political objectives.

On Wednesday, Election Day March 4th, in every municipality Government resources such as Ministers’ vehicles were seen transporting voters to polling stations. Inside those vehicles big monies were exchange for votes, with special notes by Ministers to voters.

Vote buying occurred in specially marked homes, where operatives of the UDP, hired in Government, were seen handing out payments for wearing red-colour shirts and voting.

The UDP’s dangerous electioneering distorts democracy.

It allows for one Party to have

unrestricted reach into what appears to be unlimited Government funds and resources to give themselves an advantage.

It is very illegal.

For many months the Government has been using and misusing Petro-Caribe to push a UDP agenda.

When the UDP found itself in total crisis in Cayo North East because of Elvin Penner, Barrow ran there to the rescue and promised to spend “millions and millions” because “we have it”, according to him. But it is not the UDP he was referring to, but the Government. Yet, he said “we” (the UDP) would spend Government millions, to secure support for the UDP. In the months that followed, haemorrhaging from Penner and with impending municipal elections, the Prime Minister spent Government monies like a wild man. But the spending was one-sided. Over $30 million in Belize City where they needed to secure a win, millions more in Belmopan and

San Ignacio/Santa Elena, some tens of thousands in Punta Gorda, Dangriga and Corozal.

In Orange Walk Town, where there was a PUP town council, the Government refused to offer any help, with hopes that their strategy of withholding funding for development would affect the PUP Council.

The UDP is bankrupt of sound ideas and vision to lead Belize in the 21st century. They are also incompetent and have sunk our nation deeper into debt, or perhaps death. Their strategy of beating down our people for some time then pretending to be saviours just before an election or near crises has worked for this elections, but with the municipals gone, Belizeans are very aware that the upcoming General Elections will be the real game changer.

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PUP STAND STRONG!

Belize City, March 5, 2015 People’s United Party Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca delivered a sober and encouraging message this afternoon, assuring supporters and Belizeans that the Party will carry out an “open and frank self-examination” to analyse the results of the March 4th Municipal Elections which saw 8 of 9 municipalities being won by the United Democratic Party.

Hon. Fonseca, who was flanked by Deputy Leaders Hon. Florencio Marin Jr. Deputy Leader Mike Espat, Deputy Leader Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Deputy Leader Julius Espat, Deputy Leader Carolyn Trench-Sandiford and former Leader Hon. John Briceno, expressed gratitude to the candidates who offered themselves under the PUP ticket and the voters who came out to participate in the elections.

The Party Leader added that while there was unprecedented spending by the UDP and clear and glaring evidence of abuses of Government resources, he will not whine about it, but get back to the drawing board to strengthen the Party and lead the kind of fight that will bring about victories in the general elections, or perhaps, early elections.

The Party will “regroup, unify and ready ourselves on every front for the likelihood for early elections”, he assured.

The overall results of the 2014 elections may falsely lead the UDP into thinking Belizeans are satisfied with their leadership. But the low voter turnout in every municipality, 47% polling, despite their extravagant spending before and on the day of elections, is a clear indication that their big spending and wild freebie programmes are being rejected by the people.

The turnout is also an indicator for the PUP, and Hon. Fonseca pointed out that the self-examination that will be carried out will take into account the readiness and performance of the PUP in the municipal elections. He said this exercise will be comprehensive, and immediate.

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2015

2015: Already more murderous than last year Continued from page 1 thing; what is, is that in the first two months of this year there have been more murders than in 2014.

In January and February, there have been 17 murders.

With the incidents of violent crime in the first few days in March, the total has increased to 21 murders.

This week alone has seen four killings, all involving gun violence.

While ballots were being counted throughout the country Wednesday night, bullets were flying in various parts of Belize.

In Belize City three men were shot; one fatally, after a lone armed man opened fire on a group of five men who were socialising inside a yard in an area dominated by the “Ghosttown gang”, on Mayflower Street.

According to the Police, Jervis Diamond Valencia was on a murder rampage when he opened fire on 36 year old Moses Ervin Gonguez, 23 year old Triston Darrel Gordon, and three other men who were inside the yard around 9:30 o’clock on Wednesday night. Gonguez and Gordon were shot.

Police say that Valencia attempted to escape by running towards Vernon Street, but he encountered a group of Police officers who had responded to the sound of shots. Authorities have reported that upon seeing them, Valencia pointed a black pistol in their direction, forcing them to fire at him.

The shots caught him on the neck and chest.

Inside the yard were Gonguez and Gordon. Gonguez received multiple shots and lay dead. Gordon received gunshots to his left leg and was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.

In San Pedro, where the murder rate escalated in 2014, the violence continued on Wednesday night with 31 year old Jaime Manzano being shot on his foot and arms. Manzano reported to the Police that he and his wife were at home in the San Pablo area of town, when an unidentified male person entered their home and bedroom and opened fire at them.

Manzano was rushed to the San Pedro Polyclinic and then the Karl Heusner Me-

morial Hospital for further treatment.

San Pedro residents, who have been mourning the sad and senseless shooting of 2 year old Charlie Daniel Espat, were shaken with the news of another murder on Tuesday night.

38 year old Pablo Barboza of the San Pedrito area and 36 year old Humberto Alcoser Jr. of San Pedro Town were shot during an armed robbery. Barboza was inside his store attending to Alcoser when a gunman wearing a black cap and a blue rag covering his face entered the shop and fired three shots. One of the gunshots injured Pablo on his head and chest. The customer then attempted to disarm the gunman and got caught in a struggle, but was shot on the neck. The armed man then ran out of the store.

Barboza and Alcoser were taken to the San Pedro Polyclinic for medical treatment, but Barboza was pronounced dead at 8:02pm. Alcoser was later transported to KHMH for further medical treatment.

Belize City almost had a quiet weekend, but that peace was shattered on Sunday night

around 7pm when 27 year old Japhet Martinez of an M and Y Street address in Belize City was shot while riding his bicycle on Alicia Street. Martinez was shot.

Earlier that day, a shooting on Periwinkle Street was fatal for 24 year old Michael Welch who was visiting his friend 24 year old Kingsly Morrison. Welch was shot several times and passed away while receiving treatment, while Morrison was hospitalised and is recovering.

In San Victor Village, in the

Baby Daniel & his mother Aleyda Sandoval

Jervis Valencia Corozal District, on Sunday also, Mexican National Sergio Martinez was found dead in his home. He had large cut wounds to his face and head, and had stabbing wounds to his neck and chest. Police do not have any suspects yet.

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2015

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EDITORIAL

The Way Forward

M

unicipal Elections have come and are now gone. Our older generations used to advise that every disappointment is for the better.

This disappointing result for the Opposition Party could well turn out to be a God-send. Had the PUP performed well, it could have become a disaster as it would have lulled them into cruising and not put in heavy work.

For the UDP bribery and corruption brought them this victory. Time will prove pyric it will become. Some two hundred million dollars of Petro-Caribe wasted and gone with the wind was used to induce the electorate to cast their votes for the ruling party. This same Party has unfolded no plans for the citizens, none for the country and none for the young people and the future. It was all about roll the Petro-Caribe. The UDP has become addicted to big money and bribery. Will it work the next time around or have they over-played their hands and will now see the back lash of the electorate. Time will tell.

As the Hon. Francis Fonseca had said to the nation in his press briefing, the PUP leadership will undertake a comprehensive review to determine strengths and weaknesses; what was not done and what could have been done. The talk of disunity in the Opposition will now come to an end. The work of out to the electorate and addressing the concerns must be renewed. The business of beating the pavement and presenting the Party’s vision becomes imperative. The issue of campaign financing cannot be taken lightly.

The Party Leader has also said publicly that all sectors of the Party machinery will come under scrutiny and review.

This includes the Leadership of the Party as he wishes all and sundry to know that he personally holds himself up to constructive criticism and suggestions for change and improvement.

If the Party Leader can do so, the same applies to the other areas of the party machinery and key positions and personalities.

The words are Unity and Hardwork.

These are not to be treated as slogans but as watch words and the vanguard of a renewed People’s United Party.

The Leadership quality of the Hon. Francis Fonseca was on display as he fielded questions from the well-known UDP news reporter from the UDP financed Channel 7. Mr. Vasquez could not hold back and came not with questions but with a UDP agenda. Fostering his master’s mischief. In the process even expressing support for the lie

that Petro-Caribe funds were not being misused for UDP political benefit.

The Party Leader was amused and patiently and painstakingly answered every silly comment and lengthy and unnecessary statements by Mr. Vasquez. What a contrast to those occasions when Mr. Vasquez attempts to pose questions to his master, Prime Minister Barrow. He is scolded and chastised publicly and has to put his tail between his legs.

Mr. Barrow’s monumental abuse of tax dollars and Petro-Caribe funds to the tune of hundreds of millions is a serious issue. The Belize City Mayor’s waste and possible corruption is blowing away forty million dollars presents a challenge to the media and specifically Channel 7 which has not pursued the lack of accountability for each cement street in Belize City.

The political sins and wrongdoing are not with the PUP. The fact that massive vote buying and electoral bribery unfolded in open view of Channel 7 is not negated by the municipal elections results.

In all the circumstances we are proud of the performances of the People’s United Party. We accept that change will have to be made and a new thrust and different approaches will have to be pursued.

We applaud the Party Leader who at his press briefing took time out to thank the voters and every worker and candidate who stuck with their party and its commitment to make Belize a better place. Such is the mettle of our Leader that he publicly congratulated the Prime Minister on his party’s performance.

That performance in Belize City is most interesting.

The average voter turnout in Belize City is the lowest of all the municipal bodies with 48 percent of registered voters.

The Prime Minister could only muster 50 percent turnout in his constituency. Port Loyola was the lowest with 43 percent turnout and Mesopotamia with 40 percent. Collet which the loudmouthed Faber presides over also had a low turnout.

Given the million upon millions spent by Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers on the southside of Belize City the turnout has to represent a rejection of the politics of bribery and corruption that is the hallmark of the Prime Minister.

For the PUP, a new chapter is before them. The loss in the Municipals must be the motivation that lights a new fire and a renewed desire to beat the pavement, visit every house and connect with every voter.

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

Belize Bondholders Face Losses as Oil Output Falls, Moody’s Says

Reprinted from Bloomberg February 23, 2015 Falling oil output and a weakening fiscal account in Belize may hurt growth and cause losses to bondholders two and a half years after it defaulted on about $550 million of bonds, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Oil production in the Central American nation wedged between Mexico and Guatemala declined 20 percent in January through August 2014 from a year earlier and will fall to less than 500,000 barrels this year after declining 23 percent in 2013, Moody’s said in a report distributed Tuesday. The country’s primary surplus, or budget balance before interest payments, will shift to a deficit in 2015, Moody’s said.

“The risk of losses to bondholders remains considerable,” Moody’s

wrote, adding that Belize may run out of oil by 2017. “Debt sustainability is fragile.

There are downside risks to fiscal performance over the next 2-3 years.”

The yield on the country’s 2038 bonds was unchanged at 9.19 percent as of 12:52 p.m. New York time.

The price has risen to 73.14 cents from about 68 cents a year earlier. Moody’s rates the country Caa2,

eight levels below investment grade and in the same category as Cuba.

Officials at Belize’s Finance Ministry didn’t immediately respond to messages left by Bloomberg News seeking comment on the report.

Belize’s $1.7 billion economy expanded 3 percent in 2014 and is pro-

2015 jected to grow 2.5 percent to 3 percent this year, Moody’s said. About 332,000 people live in the country, which is known for its barrier reef and Mayan ruins.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael McDonald in Guatemala City at mmcdonald87@bloomberg.net

Belize Union of Seventh-day Adventist Church to visit Belize Thursday, March 12, 2015

PRESS RELEASE

LIQUOR LICENSE NOTICES

Notice is hereby given that JOSEPH JAMES GARDINER is applying for a Beer Liquor License to be operated at “Checkered Box”, situated at #9 Mosul Street, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor License Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that KATHLEEN ASHLEY MCKESSEY is applying for a Night Club Liquor License to be operated at “Traffic Light Night Club”, situated at #46 Otro Benque Road, Orange Walk Town, Orange Walk District under the Intoxicating Liquor License Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Notice is hereby given that JASON AMENDOLIA is applying for a Restaurant Liquor License to be operated at “Belize Yogert”, situated at Terminal 4, Tourist Village, Fort Street, Belize City, Belize District under the Intoxicating Liquor License Ordinance Revised Edition 1980.

Coming soon the highest ranking Official of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Worldwide, Pastor Ted Wilson will be visiting our lovely jewel. He will be accompanied by other Church Leaders from the United States.

Dr. Dennis Slusher, President of the Belize Union of Seventh-day Adventist Churches, along with other Officials from the Church and Government will be meeting Pr. Ted Wilson as he steps on Belizean soil at the Phillip Goldson’s International Airport on Thursday, March 12, 2015.

Pr. Ted Wilson, will address more than 5,000 members and friends at the University of Belize Gymnasium in Belmopan on Thursday evening March 12 at 5:30pm.

He brings a message of hope for all Belizeans while the world is in panic at the unstable economic times and the crime situation we face every day, therefore he will exhort members to continue proclaiming the Gospel of Salvation to all mankind.

WELCOME TO Belize, Pr. Ted Wilson and other Leaders.

---------------------------------------WITNESSING FOR CHRIST UNTIL HE COMES

8 MAR

2015

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THE BELIZE TIMES

Hon. Dolores

campaigning in Gales Point Manatee

FOR SALE A 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom concrete Bungalow house 925 Sq. Ft is for sale. Located in the quiet Cohune Walk area of Belmopan, measuring in 812.8 Sq Yard, fenced and parking is available. Call owner at 6050859 or 663-1608. Serious Inquiries Only.

Belize Rural Central Area Representative Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia & supporters in Gales Point Manatee

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THE BELIZE TIMES

8 MAR

2015

88 MAR MAR

THE BELIZE THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES

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10 SPORTS

8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES TIMES THE BELIZE

2015

Belize wins 10 Medals

at Central American Karate Championships San Ignacio, February 28, 2015 The Belize Karate Team won 10 medals, including 2 Gold won by Sensei Leon Guild in Men’s kumite, at the XX “CARMELA DIAZ” Central American Karate Championships (CCONDEKA) hosted by the Belize Karate Federation at the Sacred Heart College auditorium in San Ignacio over the weekend.

Mrs. Carmela Diaz of Venezuela, the world karate advocate for whom the tournament was named, was in Belize to conduct a workshop along with Central America’s top karateka Selenia Campos on Thursday about the evolving role and opportunities for Women in Sport. Diaz has lobbied for decades for Karate to become an Olympic sport, and the IOC has finally conceded it will be at the 2020 Olympics.

Male Open Kumite 1st- Leon Guild- Belize 2nd- Nicaragua 3rd-Costa Rica Male Kumite under 84kgs 1st- Leon Guild- Belize 2nd- Luis Felipe Meza- Costa Rica 3rd- Ingrid Chan- Belize 3rd- Bayardo Aguirre- Nicaragua 4th - Melanny Perez- Guatemala 4th - Benjamin Reneau- Belize Female Kumite under 61kgs SILVER 1st- Deborah Villalobos- Costa Rica Team Kata Males 2nd- Stephanie Galicia- Guatemala 1st- Costa Rica 3rd- Justine Schmidlin- Costa Rica 2nd- Belize 4th - Anne Link- Belize BRONZE Male Team Kumite Male Kumite under 75kgs 1st- Costa Rica 1st- Jose Jimenez- Costa Rica 2nd- El Salvador 2nd- Leonardo Cibrian- El Salvador 3rd- Nicaragua 3rd- Luis Mayorga- Nicaragua 4th - Belize 4th - Anthony Lord-Belize Team Kata Females Female Kumite under 50kgs 1st- El Salvador 1st- Georgina Cruz- El Salvador 2nd- Costa Rica 2nd- Jacqueline Vilches- Costa Rica 3rd- Belize 3rd- Karina Orozco- Nicaragua Other categories 4th - Asha Pastor- Belize Female Individual Kate Female Kumite under 55kgs 1st- Natalie Barrera- Guatemala 1st- Evelin Caballero- El Salvador 2nd- Elena Rivera- El Salvador 2nd- Valeria Garcia- Costa Rica

San Pedro girls & Centro Escolar Mexico men win ATLIB football

Centro Escolar Mexico team

SPJC girls

San Joaquin, March 1, 2015 The San Pedro Junior College women and Centro Escolar Mexico Men won 1st place in the Association of Tertiary Level Institutions of Belize (ATLIB) northern football championships hosted by Belize Adventist Junior College at the Carolina football field on Sunday.

The Centro Escolar Mexico girls’ goalie Johanna Lopez frustrated the

island girls’ attacks, and in the 10 minute they boosted their offensive, allowing Yadira Teck score their 1st goal in the 10th minute.

In the 2nd half, San Pedro’s Emilie Cerpa switched jerseys and places with striker Shadine Franzua who took over in goal, while Cerpa attacked up the right flank and blasted off a shot that a CEM defender inadvertently deflected into the net

3rd- Jaqueline Vilches- Costa Rica 4th - Evelin Caballero- El Salvador Male Individual Kata 1st- Guido Abadalla- Guatemala 2nd- Roy Lee Gatjens- Costa Rica 3rd- Joel Sanchez- El Salvador 4th - Jose Roman- Costa Rica Female Kumite -68 1st- Ashley Binns- Costa Rica 2nd- Maria Rodriguez- Nicaragua 3rd- Leticia Montes- El Salvador Female Kumite +68 1st- Lidia Florian- Guatemala 2nd- Vanessa Sanchez- Costa Rica Male Kumite -60 1st- Jose Ramon- Costa Rica 2nd- Sergio Arevalo- El Salvador 3rd- Joel Sanchez- El Salvador 4th - Jefry Gonzalez-Nicaragua Male Kumite -67

for the equalizer: 1-1.

Both the San Pedro girls Centro Escolar Mexico girls finished with 4pts, the difference went to the island girls who had more a points with +6 in goal differential. The Centro Escolar Mexico girls’ goal differential was +1.

Both SPJC and Centro Escolar Mexico girls will advance to the nationals to be held at the Santa Clara field on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. Centro Escolar Mexico will meet the 1st place winners from the south, the University of Belize girls, while SPJC will meet the 2nd place winners from the south, the Stann Creek Ecumenical Junior College girls.

Meanwhile, the Centro Escolar men won 2-1 over the SJCJC men for 1st place.

Keeron Young scored SJCJC’s 1st goal on a corner kick in the 4th minute which a defender deflected into the goal, beating his own goalie Javier Teck. Emmanuel Hall equalized in the 6th minute for a 1-1 draw up to the half.

In the 2nd half, Eliazar Itza drilled home Centro Escolar men’s 2nd goal, but SJCJC’s goalie Kris Majarrez stopped Itza’s execution of a free kick and came up with some big saves to deny Centro Escolar men a bigger win.

Both CEM and SJCJC advance to the nationals, to be held at the Santa Clara field on Friday and Saturday, March 1314. CEM meets the 2nd place winners from the south, while SJCJC meets the 1st place winners from the south.

1st- Fernando Jurado- El Salvador 2nd- Rene Flores- El Salvador 3rd- Erick Gonzalez- Nicaragua 4th - Melvin Stynze- Nicaragua Male Kumite +84 1st- William Serrano- El Salvador 2nd- Alexander Vargas- Costa Rica 3rd- Williams Silva- Nicaragua 4th - Dilan Morales- Nicaragua Female Team Kumite 1st- Guatemala 2nd- El Salvador 3rd- Nicaragua 4th - Costa Rica Female Open Kumite 1st-Costa Rica 2nd- Guatemala 3rd-Nicaragua 4th -El Salvador

ACC girls lead softball playoffs

O Belize City, March 2, 2015 The undefeated Anglican Cathedral College girls are leading the high school softball playoffs at the Roger’s Stadium. ACC’s pitcher Ashley Alarcon led the ACC girls to their 4th win by mercy rule 19-6 over the Wesley College girls.

Last Thursday, Ashley Alarcon struck out four batters as she let the ACC girls to their 3rd win, 19-13, against the Gwen Lizarraga High School girls with Lynece Seguro, Alishia Torres and Vanessa Herrera scoring 3 runs apiece off the pitching of Gwen Liz’s Essenie Ciego.

On Saturday morning, the Ladyville Technical High School girls made the playoffs by posting their 3rd win in an 11-2 mercy rule upset in 3 innings of the up-to-then undefeated Wesley College girls. Ashley Robinson struck out 5 batters allowing only Wesley’s Kristy Terry and Shona Pook to score.

Te Edward P. Yorke High School girls also picked up their 3rd win by a forefeit when the Maud Williams High School girls were a no show, but they did not make the playoffs.

On Friday, the St. Catherine’s Academy girls made the playoffs, posting their 2nd win by default when the Gwen Lizarraga High School girls forfeited their game.

Last Thursday, Ashley Robinson had led the Ladyville Tech girls to their 2nd win: 13-7 against the Pallotti High School girls.

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THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES THE BELIZE

2015 2015

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Latrell Solis & Taye Parkinson win 2015 SMART Junior table tennis tournament Belize City, March 1, 2015 Latrell Solis of St. John’s Junior College won both the under-16 and under-19 categories, while young Taye Parkinson of St. Joseph’s RC Primary School won the under-13 category of the 2015 bi-annual SMART junior ranking table tennis tournament organized by the Belize Table Tennis Association (BTTA) at the Belize Elementary School auditorium over the weekend.

Some 120 junior players competed in this year’s tournament, which was played in a Round Robin Classification format with the top players advancing to a double elimination finals round.

In the Under 13 category, 14 groups started with winners of each group advancing to the Double Elimination finals. The winners were 1st - Taye Parkinson; 2nd - Terry Su; 3rd - Jared Mena and 4th - Jayden Sutherland.

In the Under-16 Category 22 groups started with the winners advancing to the Double Elimination Finals. The winners were: 1st - Latrell Solis; 2nd - Bjourne Gabourel; 3rd John Delcid and 4th - Amiri Hoare.

The Under 19 Category had 7 groups with the winners advancing to the Double Elimination final round.

BDF LEADS PLB FOOTBALL Belize City, February 28, 2015 The Belize Defense Force is back as No. 1 in the Premier League of Belize football standings, with 11pts from 3 wins and 2 draws after they posted their 3rd win: 2-1 over the Placencia Assassins at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium

on Saturday night.

Carlton “Fubu” Thomas struck the BDF’s 1st goal in the 4th minute but Luis “Barker” Torres equalized for the Placencia Assassins.

Leon “Lem” Jones scored the BDF’s 2nd winning goal in the 69th minute.

Other games: King’s Energy Freedom

Nazarene High boys lead softball playoffs

Nazarene boys Belize City, March 2, 2015 The undefeated Nazarene High School boys, the defending national champs, are leading the softball playoffs at the Roger’s Stadium on Monday evening.

Jerome Carr led the Nazarene boys to a 6-2 win over the St. John’s College boys on Monday, as the Nazarene boys walloped Dillan Snaggs’ pitching to score 6 runs, while Carr allowed SJC only 2 runs.

Last Friday, the SJC boys also posted their 3rd win 13-1 by mercy rule in 3 innings against the Edward P. Yorke High School boys. Snaggs struck out 4 batters and Tyrone Ferrell scored E.P. Yorke’s only run in the 3rd inning. SJC’s Brandon Teichroeb, Charles Stuart, Shevaughn Flowers and Arnold scored 2 runs apiece and Zydane Thompson, Javier Molina, Kellyon Pollard and Johnny Portillo came home once. SJC enjoyed their 2nd win: 13-8 against the Gwen Liz High School boys last Monday.

The Nazarene boys had also posted a 7-6 win against the Wesley College boys, eliminating them from the playoffs last Thursday.

Fighters vs. FC Belize - 4-0 Goals by Derrol Lambey, Dwayne Sampson (2), Jevon Aranda Belmopan Bandits vs.

Verdes FC - 1-0 Goal by Jerome “Jaro” James Wagiya vs. San Ignacio United - 7-0 Goals by Byron

Chavez, Deon Moguel, Brandon Cacho Upcoming games: Bandits vs. Texmar Assassins, Isidoro Beaton Stadium, Saturday night FC Belize vs. San Ignacio United, MCC Garden, Sunday night Freedom Fighters vs. Police United, Toledo Union Field, Punta Gorda Wagiya vs. BDF, Carl Ramos Stadium

The winners were: 1st - Latrell Solis, 2nd - Eric Liu, 3rd - Mishek Musa; 4th - John Delcid.

SMART’s Public Relations officer Mrs. Linette Canto awarded trophies to all 4 winners in each category; as SMART has been the official sponsor of this Bi-Annual event for the past 3 years.

Byron Chavez scored Wagiya’s 1st goal

Brandon Cattouse wins 7th C-Ray circuit race

Rebels’ Ian Carcamo scored 10pts

Orange Walk Running Rebels chill Hurricanes in NEBL basketball

SMART’s Rhetton Belisle scored 21 pts

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THE BELIZE TIMES

8 MAR

2015

8 MAR

2015

THE BELIZE TIMES

BARROW’S HALF MILLION DOLLAR HEADACHE

Belize City, February 26th, 2015 It is not the first time that Prime Minister Dean Barrow is facing serious allegations of abuse of public funds, and considering his history in Government, it won’t be the last. But this time, the allegations that are swirling him hit a nerve so bad that he even put the credibility of his Financial Secretary Joseph Waight on the line.

Last week, PLUS TV leaked a document entitled “Report on Proposed Cost-Saving Strategy for the Government of Belize”.

The study was commissioned by the Prime Minister in 2013 to appease Union leaders who at the time were agitating for a salary adjustment. The study was completed but never revealed to the public and now we know why.

One section dealt the Government spending or massage of the media and the revelation is an eye-opener. The document showed a table indicating the “Break-down of GOB’s Advertisement Costs for the Year 2013”

Guatemala’s former VP withdraws from bid to lead OAS

Guatemalan former Vice President Eduardo Stein on Wednesday announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy to head the Organization of American States due to health reasons.

On Tuesday Stein he informed Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina and Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for OAS chief.

“Very recent neuro-muscular difficulties - the symptoms of which certainly did not exist when we made the decision to compete (for the post) in June 2014 - led me to make that difficult decision,” he said.

Stein, who was vice president from 2004-2008, said that those health limitations, although for the present they are not serious, “are certainly Continued on page 14

and it listed “Wave” as having collected $568,453 of the total $887,486 spent on Radio Stations.

Wave is the UDP-owned radio station and television. Day in and day out all they do is spew propaganda and attacks on civic-minded Belizeans and members of the Opposition. For the Government to pump public funds into their political propaganda machine is outrageous and possibly criminal.

But here’s the part that made PM Dean Barrow very nervous. He is part owner and a major shareholder of “Wave Radio 105.9 FM LIMITED”. The other owners are Douglas Singh and Henry Young, two former UDP Ministers. The allegation that the Ministry of Finance, over which he presides, approved those scandalous payment amounts to Wave Radio is wrongful and would call his leadership of the nation into serious question.

This is why even after Financial Secretary Joseph Waight confirmed that the information was factual and that “they’re being taken very seriously”, the Government was forced to challenge and contradict his corroboration, claiming that the figures were not for one year but three.

Even so, the Government has not disclaimed that the Prime Minister’s private company, Wave, is the preferred media to benefit from public funds.

This is a very serious situation.

It basically is Wave Radio’s Government subvention. This is unacceptable.

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

2015

Belize:

Falling Apart Excerpts from Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs Belize’s trade suffered during the recession of 2008. Its exports before the recession were recorded at $464.7 million USD, but dropped to $395 million USD in 2009. Belize’s imports also decreased during the recession. Before 2008, its imports were reported to be $788.1 million USD, and in 2009 it was recorded to be $616 million USD.[iii] Belize’s economy has not bounced back from the 2008 recession, and since then, corruption has spread widely while drug trafficking and violence has increased significantly. The recession led to a revitalization of the marijuana production boom that occurred during the 1960s. Again, one can see that Belizean produce growers have turned back to marijuana production to make ends meet. With little economic opportunity, Belizean youth turn to drug trafficking.

The unemployment rate in Belize has increased to 12.1 percent, in 2014, from 11.7 percent, in 2013.

However, this is a noteworthy improvement from 2010, when Belize’s unemployment hit 23.3 percent.[iv] Employment levels have been improving in Belize, but it has yet to be as low as it was before the recession when unemployment was at 8.2 percent.[v] Crime has also become of increasing concern and, in 2012, Belize reported 40 homicides per 100,000 habitants.[vi] The U.S. Department of the State reports that the majority of the homicides in Belize occurred in the southern portion of Belize City which is an area that “has become increasingly violent due to ongoing gang warfare between local groups for control of lucrative narcotics smuggling routes and sales rights.”[vii] The Belizean government has responded to this drug trade-related violence by taking a stronger stance on the issue,

and building up its defense and police force.

Belize Facing the Drug Problem The U.S.-led ‘War on Drugs’ in Mexico and Guatemala has led to a ‘balloon effect’ because of the countries’ aggressive, militarized policy towards the drug traffickers. This ‘balloon effect’ has caused the illegal drug activities to migrate to Belize from Mexico and Guatemala. In 2011, the U.S. added Belize to its ‘blacklist’ of nations, consisting of countries that are believed to be major producers or transit routes for illegal drugs in Central America.[viii] Belize has become further enmeshed in the cocaine pipeline from South America up to Mexico and, in the U.S.’s opinion, Belize is not strong enough to guard itself from the threat of being pulled into the drug trade, exacerbating its concerns.

According to the Canada Free Press, “approximately 10 tons of cocaine, with an approximate street value of an excess of half a billion dollars, passes through Belize each year.”[ix] The increasing presence of drugs in Belize makes crime rates and corruption more visible in Belize. In 2012, Belize’s homicide rate was second in Central America, only surpassed by Honduras. Corruption was made visible when, in 2010, it was reported that a cocaine shipment valued at almost 10 percent of Belize’s GDP was intercepted. An investigation revealed that local police attempted to help the drug traffickers.[x] Criminal gangs have also increased their activities in Belize. The Mexican drug cartel Los Zetas, is involved in the cultivation of marijuana in Belize. Also, members of Guatemala’s El Mendozas and El Lorenzanas drug and contraband trafficking organizations are also reported to have spilled over into Belize.[xi]

Guatemala’s former VP withdraws from bid to lead OAS

Continued from page 13 sufficiently serious to place conditions on responsible performance and the complete availability required to deal with the heavy demands of leading the hemispheric entity and its reform that cannot be put off.”

The former vice president thanked Perez Molina and the foreign minister for the support they had provided for his candidacy.

He also expressed his gratitude to Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Guyana for having expressed their support for him.

Stein said that he will continue working on hemispheric issues to the best of his ability.

“The new OAS authorities may count on my support in that regard ... and they have at their disposal the prepared plans to take the institution on the road of much needed reform,” he said.

The OAS is scheduled to elect the successor to Chile’s Jose Miguel Insulza in March.

Stein’s withdrawal leaves Uruguay’s foreign minister, Luis Almagro, as the only declared candidate for the post.

ATTORNEY GENERAL’S MINISTRY

Second Floor, East Block, Independence Plaza, Belmopan, Belize, Central America Tel: (501) 822-0519/822-2504 Fax: (501) 822-3390 Email: Ministry.info@agm.gov.bz

TERMS OF REFERENCE Post Title: Assistant Solicitor General (Legislative Drafting) JOB PURPOSE: The primary role of Assistant Solicitor General (Legislative Drafting) is to draft clear, unambiguous and relevant legislation, primary and secondary, consistent with Government policy and in accordance with the established Legislative Programme.

SCOPE OF WORK:

1. Research, analyze and draft both primary and secondary Legislation pursuant to drafting instructions received.

2. Research and prepare opinions in relation to existing legislation or proposed legislation.

3. Supervise Crown Counsel (Legislative Drafting)

4. Represent the Government at meetings of interest groups and consultative bodies, providing information and explanation of existing and proposed legislation.

QUALIFICATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS:

1. Qualification: Qualifications as an Attorney-at-Law, Solicitor or Barrister Diploma or Masters of Law in Legislative Drafting:

2. Experience: 7 years post graduate experience which should be in a legislative drafting office.

3. Skills: (a) Ability to work accurately under pressure to tight deadlines. (b) Ability to assimilate complex matters and facts quickly and work independently. (c) Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work; (d) Excellent inter-personal skills, ability

to work in a consultative and collaborative manner (e) Strong communication, writing and IT skills. (f) Appreciation of confidentiality and political sensitivity. (g) Sound judgement.

Basic Salary:

BZD$70,308.00 (Belize Dollars) per annum

Allowances:

BZD$22,500.00 (Belize Dollars) per annum

Applications to be submitted to: The Solicitor General, Attorney General’s Ministry

Second Floor, East Block, Independence Plaza Belmopan, Belize

Tel: +501-822-0519 Fax: +501-822-3390 Email: Ministry.info@agm.gov.bz

Deadline for Submission:

30th March 2015

8 MAR

2015

Rape in Belize City…Robbery in Corozal Corozal Town, March 4, 2015 On 04.03.15 at about 7:35p.m., Corozal Police visited the Corozal Community Hospital where they saw three persons suffering from injuries to the head: 39-year-old LIMING LI Chinese/Belizean businesswoman of #11 Santa Rita Road, Corozal Town, 41-year-old WU HONG CHOA, Chinese /Belizean businessman of same address and 55-year-old VICTORIANO POOT, Belizean taxi driver of Port Saul Area, Corozal Town. Initial investigation revealed that at about 7:30p.m.

Wu Hong Choa and Liming Li were inside their business place -FRY STORE located at #11 Santa Rita Road, Corozal Town along with a customer Victoriano Poot when the store was robbed by three masked men, one of them armed with what appears to be a firearm. All three victims were hit with the butt of the firearm which caused their injuries. Police investigations continue.

On March 4th 2015, police visited a house situated at #18 Wood Street, Belize City, where a voice was heard coming from the upper flat, crying for help.

Upon entering the house, a woman exited one of the rooms crying. She was seen with cut

VACANCY: A vacancy exists for a Supervisor. Applicant must have an Associates or Bachelor’s Degree, 3 years Work Experience, Analytical and Solving Skills, Good Organization and Communication Skills. Send Resume to Marine Life Belize, St. George’s Caye, P.O. Box 1014, Belize City

FOR RENT: A house on 19 Lemon Street, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom in Belmopan. $800 monthly. Call 6057678.

LOST VESSEL: I, Luis Perez, owner of Motor Vehicle (Boat) named Sol y Sombra, bearing Registration #CZL 0310, has lost my Registration Certificate.

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THE BELIZE TIMES

wound and bleeding from her head, hands, and foot.

A male person was also seen in a corner of the house with a cut wound to the right side of his head. Initial investigation revealed that on 03.03.15 at about 10:30p.m. a 48-yearold woman of Belize City was on Albert Street when she met 54-year-old Everett Davis of #18 Wood Street, Belize City.

She and Everett had a conversation after which he invited her to his house for a drink. After having a drink she attempted to leave but was locked inside the bed room beaten and forced to have sex against her will.

Police have since detained 54-year-old Everett Lincoln Davis pending charges.

PUP Release on Municipal Elections Belize City, March 5, 2015 The people have spoken. The People’s United Party accepts the decision of the people in their choice of stewards for their municipalities for the period 20152018.

The PUP’s mayoral candidates and their teams waged an organized, valiant and spirited campaign but, it the end, the resources that the PUP was up against proved to be too much.

While the party has not yet had time to engage in any serious analysis of the results of the election, it is clear that the following had a major impact on our electoral chances: 1. The indiscriminate and wholesale use of Petrocaribe money, intended for development purposes, to fund the UDP Government’s vote-buying countrywide.

2. The open and shameless use of government vehicles, government offices, taxpayers’ money as well as some public officers in the UDP’s campaign countrywide.

3. The prevalent thinking among the electorate that it made no sense to elect PUP city and town councils in the face of a vindictive UDP Central Government.

The PUP is moving quickly, within the coming week, to: 1. Comprehensively analyze the election results; 2. Engage in open and frank self-examination; 3. Regroup, Unify and ready itself, on every front, for the likelihood of early general elections; 4. Develop and implement, without delay, a plan for campaign financing.

The PUP thanks its supporters countrywide who were steadfast in their commitment, and the security forces, all the elections officials and, most of all, the people of Belize for overwhelmingly upholding that proud tradition and value of peaceful elections in Belize.

Condolences Gloria Simpson

The People’s United Party expresses condolences to the family of Senator Anthony Sylvestre Jr., on the passing of his mother

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

VACANCY Vacancy exists at Chukka (Belize) for: Sales Assistants and Photographers. The successful candidates must:

- - - - -

Must possess at least a High School Diploma Must be computer literate Must possess good verbal and written communication skills Must be customer focused Must have at least two years experience

Submit applications along with resume to: Human Resources Representative PO Box #2131 Belize City Deadline for submitting applications: March 15, 2015

2015

Job Offered By: Company: Job Type: Position:

BelAgro Agriculture Big Creek Group of Companies Full-Time PRODUCT SPECIALIST - SALES AGRONOMIST - Crop Input Team

Education: Professional Degree in Agricultural Science Skill Set: Exceptional communications and analytical skills in both English and Spanish.

Ability to set and meet established goals.

Ability to build/maintain strong relationships Excellent working knowledge of chemical, seed,

fertilizer, and custom applications At least 3 years actively working in crop inputs Responsibility: Provide customers with current updated information on crop input products and best practices in the Industry, through the offering of accurate and label directed agronomic information to assist customers with weed, insect, and disease control options and fertilizer and seed options. Meet sales targets.

Submit a resume to: Sales Team E-mail: agro@bigcreekgroup.com Attention: Manager Belagro Agriculture Submission Deadline: March 17, 2015

Look like only Barrow fu eat!

NEPOTISM = CORRUPTION

Lois Young Barrow (Ex-Wife)

Anwar Barrow (Son)

Shyne Barrow (Son)

Kimano Barrow (Nephew) PUC Board Member/Granted Oil Exploration Licence

Naima Barrow (Niece) Appointed to Election and Boundaries Commission

Liesje Barrow (Niece) Appointed to Belize Advisory Council

United Nations Ambassador

Appointed to BTL Board

Cultural Ambassador

Denys Barrow (Brother)

Appointed to Court of Appeal/Private Attorney for GOB

Cheryl Krusen (formerly Barrow) Appointed to Solicitor General

DEAN BARROW IS BELIZE’S BIGGEST PROBLEM!!!

8 MAR

2015

THE BELIZE TIMES

Reid Egg on the face!

By G. Michael Reid If there was any surprise in the egging of disgraced UDP politician Elvin Penner which occurred last Friday, it was that it took so long to happen.

Back in September of 2013, Elvin Penner, in his capacity as Minister of Immigration, authorized the issue of an official passport to Kim Won Hong, a Korean fugitive who was at the time, imprisoned and awaiting extradition to his home country. Hong, later referred to as Citizen Kim, is alleged to have embezzled billions of dollars from one SK Shipping Company in South Korea.

He then fled to Taiwan to escape prosecution but was subsequently arrested and was scheduled to be extradited back to his home country to face charges. Hong produced a Belizean passport and requested to be deported to this country instead. Problem is that while the passport was dated as having been issued on September 9, 2013 it turned out that Hong had been in a prison in Taipei, Taiwan since July 13, 2013. Won Hong’s passport picture and application were both signed by Elvin Penner who swore an oath that he had known Won Hong for over five years. At least one immigration clerk verified that Penner had personally taken a person into the Immigration Department who he claimed to be Won Hong. It turned out that Hong had never even set foot in Belize and Penner later claimed that he was duped by another Chinese fellow who told him that he was Hong.

It obviously had to have been one of those, “they all look alike” moments for poor Penner.

City Councilor Eric Chang was also implicated in the crime and is alleged to have been the person who masterminded the entire scheme. It is suspected that he may have personally visited Won Hong while in the Taiwanese jail where he was detained.

Despite widespread outcry and persistent efforts by a citizens’ group neither Penner nor Chang has faced any type of prolonged legal scrutiny.

In early March of last year, the PUP sought and received a writ of mandamus from Chief Justice Ken-

neth Benjamin ordering Commissioner of Police, Allen Whylie to continue an investigation into Elvin Penner’s role in the Passport Scandal. An initial investigation had begun but the man in charge of that investigation, Assistant Superintendent of Police Julio Valdez had been ordered quite early in the proceedings to cease and desist. The orders had been sent in a confidential memo but it has never been revealed who actually sent the memo and who ordered the stop to the investigation. Despite a Supreme Court order to the effect, no evidence has emerged that said investigation was ever resumed.

Sometime in March of 2014, shortly after the writ of mandamus was granted, the Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action (COLA) filed for a private prosecution of Penner. Deliberate stonewalling and delaying tactics have left the group totally frustrated however and has left the general public with very little confidence in our justice system.

Penner was in court this past Friday to answer an appeal filed by COLA against the private prosecution against him being thrown out by Magistrate Aretha Ford last July. According to Kareem Musa, attorney for COLA, Magistrate Ford could have and should have exercised her discretion and summoned Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie to court to disclose whatever material evidence that he had in his possession. The decision by Magistrate Ford has been labeled by many as a clear and unfortunate travesty of justice. Just a few moments before being pelted with eggs, Penner had finally broken his silence and spoke

a few words to the media; his first since being implicated in the scandal.

Penner was unremorseful however and instead, advised the media to “go and chase something out there that is not a ghost”. He then ranted about “a person in Orange Walk that has been charged for an offence that is in (his) view by far greater than anything that has been alleged against (him)”.

Problem is Mr. Penner that said “person” has been arrested even though at this point, the charges against him are simply as a result of an allegation.

In your case dishonorable sir, the evidence is overwhelming and the real question has to be, “Why haven’t you been arrested”?

The young man who is alleged to have thrown the eggs at Elvin Penner should not have been arrested and treated as a criminal but should have instead, been hoisted and hailed as a hero. He only did what many others would have wanted to do and given the chance probably would have done and more. What Elvin Penner did was egregious and Belizeans should not rest until this matter is properly investigated and brought to court. No way should this man still be walking the streets freely and collecting taxpayers’ money as salary.

The act of throwing eggs at people has long been a popular and established form of protest. It might be that eggs are used because they break easily and causes no real harm to a person.

It does create some embarrassment but considering the type of embarrassment that Penner has caused for Belize as a country, a few raw eggs should be little enough to endure and ignore. The list of individuals who have been victim to egging is lengthy and includes British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In April of 2010, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament was egged by deputies inside of parliament as a protest against a natural gas agreement.

To arrest a young man for throwing an egg while refusing to arrest Penner for

17 selling a passport to a criminal in jail has got to be the ultimate irony. If anyone should be in jail, it would have to be Penner.

Contrast this incident with one that happened in July of 2011 when another politician was stoned but this one had committed no crime. At the time, Marcel Cardona was the duly elected representative of Orange Walk East constituency and a member of the House of Representatives.

His sin was to speak out against his own party in favor of the people of his constituency. A known UDP crony, later identified but never charged, stoned the Honorable Cardona in his head at close range with a wallet.

Cardona was hit on the side of the face and right shoulder. For his part, the assailant got off with what could only be described as a slight slap on the wrist. He was put out of the House for the rest of that meeting and was banned for two subsequent meetings. Instead of being arrested, he was put on the government’s payroll and has had a high paying job ever since. Guess the moral of the story here is that when you assault someone; be sure that they are not in favor with the government.

Elvin Penner goes back to court on Friday March 13th. At that time Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin will deliver a decision on whether or not Commissioner Whylie should be made to hand over whatever evidence is in his possession against Penner and thereby allowing the case to proceed. At this point, that should also includes the infamous passport, which after what seemed an eternity, has finally made its way to Belize.

The Belizean people have been very patient and on March 13th, we will learn whether justice delayed will in fact be justice denied. In a little over a week, we will know if March 13th will be a “black Friday” for Elvin Penner or a “black Friday” for the hope of justice in Belize. We will see what we shall see!

18

THE CURRENCY OF TRUST MISSPENT Contributed The fervour that is rampant in Belize’s political arena with the approach of the Municipal Election slated for March 4th, 2015. The streets are festooned with the colours of both political parties – PUP and UDP – lobbying for the majority votes of the jewel’s populace. The nominees have been signed on in frenetic fashion following the anticipated parade to the Charles Bartlett Hyde Complex building displaying their strengths with avid party supporters. Lingering in the minds of the Belizean populace is whether the general elections will be called early. This makes the outcome of the municipal election even more significant.

In both the 2008 and the 2012 general election, the Prime Minister and the United Democratic Party mandated to the electorate three vital elements for a responsible government in exchange for voter currency of trust. The UDP’s platform for Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance allowed them to become a two term government.

However the echoing of transparency, accountability and good governance was nothing but a hollow and empty promise.

Subsequent to being elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, the UDP government under the leadership of Dean Barrow has been plagued by numerous allegations of corruption, some of the more egregious acts were: 1. The cultural vandalism of our cultural heritage Noh Mul by UDP political candidate and crony Denny Grijalva to satisfy the cheap political work in the Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega’s constituency.

This cultural heritage site that was 2,600 years old was transformed literally into ground for construction. International news agencies CNN, Fox News, NBC and National Geographic all chided the Belizean people for losing respect for the kind of cultural heritage treated as treasures elsewhere.

To date no one has seriously been held accountable and the matter remains unquestioned.

2. The Rosewood scandal to which Minister Lisel Alamilla had lamented about corruption in her Ministry. Thereafter the very Rosewood was sold to a special exporter at a cheap sale price. This exporter turned out to be no other than Gaspar Vega’s brother.

3. The allegation of UDP elected Area Representative for Cayo, Elvin Penner, which involved the issuing of a nationality certificate to a South Korean criminal, Kim Won Hong. To date the matter remains under the cloak of darkness.

8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

4. The issuing of lands to friends and families admitted by Deputy Prime Minster Gaspar Vega created another callous and immoral scandal causing the Prime Minister Dean Barrow to say the famous “I believe that the lands department unfortunately is another hot bed of corruption…” However, to Gaspar Vega’s behaviour as one against better moral judgment, he firmly stated, “I am not a normal people in Belize”.

5. The misappropriation of money from Belize Airport Authority by Edmond Castro to whimsical sorts such as funding his cycling team.

Prior to the UDP’s victory in 1984, the mantra sounded loud “Rise up”, “From the Boardroom to the Bases”. Their mandate was to raise the lives of the ordinary Belizean leaving their high stool of office and mobilising the trenches of the bases today known as the hoods.

Today the United Democratic Party has begun the courtship of the Belizean populace with the municipal election rapidly approaching. The mantra of “believing in the Transformation is being trumpeted by the UDP. However, the currency of trust given to the UDP by the Belizean voters has been squandered and misspent, transformed into immoral acts of corruption relegating the aspirations for better in the jewel to but a dying dream.

Political leadership dictates that the leaders must return the trust he invites the populace to bestow on him come election time.

The UDP Administration has failed miserably in this respect. The dignity of the office of leadership under the UDP has surely been damaged.

However, hope of restoring the honor to true leadership comes from the office of the Leader of the Opposition Honorable Francis Fonseca. He has proffered social and economic reforms and more importantly political reform for the Integrity commission and the Public Accounts Committee, making them autonomous in their undertaking.

Transparency is the mechanism that utilizes available information in measuring the authorities’ performance and in safeguarding the abuse of power. Transparency is also the means to which people in authority are considered liable and brought to justice if any misfeasance occurs hence ensuring accountability. The tenets of transparency and accountability must be adhered to in the achievement of good governance transcending the powers, popularity and personalities of elected officials and other members of the public sector.

2015

BY ORDER OF CHARGEE NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SELL HOLY REDEEMER CREDIT UNION LIMITED a statutory body formed and registered under the Credit Union Act, Chapter 314 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000, and whose registered office is situated at No. 1 Hyde’s Lane, Belize City, Belize District hereby gives notice of its intention to exercise its power of sale as Chargee under and by virtue of a Charge registered at the Land Registry between ADRIAN LESLIE of the one part and HRCU of the other part.

HRCU will at the expiration of three months from the date of the first publication of this notice sell the property described in the Schedule below.

ALL offers to purchase the said property must be made in writing to Holy Redeemer Credit Union Limited from whom full particulars and conditions of sale may be obtained.

SCHEDULE ALL THAT piece or parcel of land comprising 328.818 S.M. being Parcel 3100, Block 16 in the Caribbean Shores/Belize Registration Section situate at the Corner of Albert Hoy Avenue and Supt. George Arthurs Street, Belize City, Belize District, the freehold property of ADRIAN LESLIE DATED this 25th day of February 2015 HOLY REDEEMER CREDIT UNION LIMITED 1 HYDE’S LANE, BELIZE CITY, BELIZE Phone: (501) 224-5644 Fax: (501) 223-0738

8 MAR

2015

19

THE BELIZE TIMES

As BIG as you think you are...

Building on Kut Avenue

Building in Belama Ph. 1

Building on Western Avenue

Building on Euphrates Avenue

Building on Fabers Road

Building on Fabers Road Boots Martinez

Building on C.A. Boulevard

you’re living in a SMALL world

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8 MAR

THE BELIZE TIMES

As BIG as you think you are...

House #1

2015

House #2 rented to a Judge, paid for by GOB

House #5

House #3

House #4 Juliet Thimbriel, UDP Senator

House #6 under co nstruction

2012 Infinity valued at $120K

you’re living in a SMALL world MORE TO COME...

MAR 88MAR

2014 2015

THE BELIZE TIMESTIMES THE BELIZE

REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

NEWS

21

A wildlife conservation group said that 100,000 elephants were killed in Africa between 2010 and 2012 [AP]

Boston Marathon bombing trial begins Suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyer tells jury he is guilty, but argues he was under influence of brother in 2013 attack

Kenya burns tonnes of ivory confiscated from poachers President sets fire to 15 tonnes of elephant tusks at event marking World Wildlife Day to discourage ivory trade In a move to discourage poaching and trade in ivory, Kenya’s president set fire to 15 tonnes of elephant tusks at a World Wildlife Day event.

Twenty-five years since ivory trade was banned, new demand from emerging markets threatens Africa’s elephants and rhinos, President Uhuru Kenyatta said at Tuesday’s ceremony at the Nairobi National Park in the capital city.

African countries are concerned about the scale and rate of the new threat to endangered wildlife species, he said.

“Many of these tusks belonged to elephants which were wantonly slaughtered by criminals. We want future generations of Kenyans, Africans and the entire world to experience the majesty

Brazil politicians face probe over Petrobras graft case

and beauty of these magnificent beasts. Poachers and their enablers will not have the last word,” Kenyatta said before setting ablaze a tall pile of elephant tusks doused with petrol.

Higher demand for ivory is fuelling elephant killings by poachers across Africa.

Save The Elephants, a London-based wildlife conservation group, said last year that 100,000 elephants were killed in Africa between 2010 and 2012.

Chinese ban China on Thursday imposed a one-year ban on ivory imports amid criticism that its citizens’ huge appetite for ivory threatens the existence of Africa’s elephants.

Ian Douglas Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, said research released by his organisation showed that the price of elephant ivory has tripled in China since 2010.

Hamilton said Kenya has a long way to go before it can be clear of the poaching menace. The elephant populations in Tanzania, Gabon, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Mozambique, Republic of Congo and Congo are the worst hit by poaching, he added.

The years 2011, 2012 and 2013 witnessed the highest levels of poaching since a poaching crisis in the 1980s, according to Kenya’s Wildlife Service.

Poaching declined last year with 164 elephants and 35 rhinos killed, down from 302 elephants and 59 rhinos killed in 2013.

Dzokhar Tsarnaev, suspected of carrying out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, has gone on trial in the biggest domestic terrorism case in the United States since the Oklahoma City bombing nearly 20 years ago.

Tsarnaev, 21, appeared before the US District Court in Boston on Wednesday and his lawyer immediately told the jury he was guilty of taking part in the bombing.

“It was him,” defence attorney Judy Clarke said of Tsarnaev.

Laying out an argument clearly aimed at saving Tsarnaev from the death penalty, Clarke said the defence will not try to “sidestep” his guilt for the “senseless, horribly misguided acts carried out by two brothers”.

“The evidence will not establish and we will not argue that Tamerlan put a gun to Dzhokhar’s head or that he forced him to join in the plan, but you will hear evidence about the kind of influence that this older brother had,” she said.

Tamerlan died in a shootout with police days after the bombings.

About two dozen victims, including some who lost limbs in the attack, took up the entire left side of the courtroom. Also in the group were Denise and Bill Richard, parents of eight-year-old Martin Richard, who died in the bombings.

Prosecutor seeks investigation of 28 politicians suspected of involvement in kickbacks worth $3.8bn at oil company.

A Brazilian prosecutor has asked the Supreme Court to investigate 54 people, including a clutch of politicians, over a deepening corruption case that has rocked Petrobras, the nation’s largest corporation.

The growing scandal, which investigators have dubbed Operation Car Wash, concerns kickbacks estimated at $3.8bn at Petrobras, a state-owned oil giant.

The crisis has become a major headache for President Dilma Rousseff - who chaired the Petrobras board from 2003 to 2010, during much of the period when the scheme allegedly operated - and her increasingly embattled government.

“There have been 28 requests for new investigation files ... which involve 54 people,” a spokesman for prosecutor general Rodrigo Janot told the AFP news agency.

The spokesman had initially indicated that all 54 were politicians - meaning they would have immunity - but later clarified only some were, while the rest had connections to politicians.

The names of those who will be placed under investigation if the court gives the go-ahead will not be revealed for the time being.

News site Globo quoted the Estado de S Paulo newspaper as saying several former ministers, current and former state governors and Congressmen were among the 28 politicians being investigated.

Those identified in the media over recent months have all denied wrongdoing.

Mexican forces capture Zetas cartel leader Omar Trevino Morales, head of major notorious gang, arrested just days after country’s most wanted man was captured.

Mexican security forces have captured the leader of Los Zetas, one of the country’s largest and most violent drug cartels, in an upper-class suburb of the northern city of Monterrey.

Omar Trevino Morales, known as “Z-42”, was detained

by federal police and soldiers in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon state on Wednesday, officials have said.

Trevino, 41, took the helm of the Zetas after his brother, Miguel Angel Trevino, or “Z40,” was captured by marines in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas in July 2013.

The US State Department

had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Omar Trevino’s arrest.

Mexican authorities offered a $2m bounty.

His arrest came just days after the government captured Mexico’s most wanted man, Knights Templar cartel leader Servando “La Tuta” Gomez on Friday.

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Oldest known member of human family found in Ethiopia 4 March 2015 by Jan Piotrowski It’s not the most charismatic fossil ever found, but it may reveal secrets of our earliest evolution. Unearthed in Ethiopia, the broken jaw with greying teeth suggests that the Homo lineage – of which modern humans are the only surviving member – existed up to 400,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The fragment dates from around 2.8 million years ago, and is by far the most ancient specimen to bear the Homo signature. The earliest such fossil was one thought to be up to 2.4 million years ages old.

Showing a mixture of traits, the new find pinpoints the time when humans began their transition from primitive, apelike Australopithecus to the big-brained conquerer of the world, says Brian Villmoare from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, whose student made the find.

Geological evidence from the same area, also reported this week in a study led by Erin DiMaggio from Pennsylvania State University, shows that the jaw’s owner lived just after a major climate shift in the region: forests and waterways rapidly gave way to arid savannah, leaving only the occasional crocodile-filled lake.

Except for the sabre-toothed big cat that once roamed these parts, the environment ended up looking much like it does today.

Delicate jaw It was probably the pressure to adapt

concrete evidence that this theory may be on the right track.

Pierre Chardin from France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research is not convinced, though.

He says that a single fossil can be misleading when it comes to identifying its species, and that a full skull is needed before we say for sure that the remains belonged Rewriting the human history book? (Image: Kaye Reed) to the Homo genus.

Villmoare maintains that having a more complete to this new world that jump-started our fossil does not guarantee better informaevolution into what we see looking back tion. He is confident the skull fragment at us in the mirror today, according to is the earliest fossil on the Homo lineage Villmoare. following the split from Australopithecus.

The emerging Homo species probScanner reconstruction ably began eating more meat and using Another study, by Fred Spoor tools – a change reflected in a more delifrom University College London and cate jaw that Villmoare’s team unearthed colleagues, published simultaneously, in 2013. After all, if you had a nice sharp appears to strengthen the fossil’s Homo stone to cut with, there was no need for credentials. Using a medical scanner to a mouth built for tearing food to shreds. reconstruct a badly preserved Homo haHe is not the first to pick out clibilis skull and jaw from 1.8 million years mate change in Africa as being a major ago, found in what is now Tanzania, the catalyst for the early evolution of Homo. team discovered striking similarities with However, the new fossil find provides

Villmoare’s fossil.

The skull shows more primitive features than another known as AL 666-1, which is 500,000 years older still and is thought to be an early H. habilis or its ancestor. This makes them conclude that the H. habilis lineage must have emerged more than 2.3 million years ago.

Villmoare team’s fossil fits the bill for being that ancestor that led to H. habilis and eventually our own species.

Taken together, the two results connect the dots across a huge swathe of human history, says Spoor. Starting with the divergence of Homo from its apelike cousins, there is now a clear evolutionary pathway to its relatives a million years down the road.

Given that this period, between 2 and 3 million years ago, has long been an archaeological blind spot, this insight is a big deal, he says. It also narrows down the search for the earliest evolution of our genus – and how we transitioned from Australopithecus to Homo – to around 2.8 to 3 million years ago.

But as Villmoare admits, his find throws up more questions than it answers. What did the early Homo look like? How did it behave? To probe these questions, he has the somewhat unlikely dream of uncovering more fossils from the same creature of a similar age on his next dig in Ethiopia.

“In archaeology there is no sure thing,” he says. “All you can do is hope.”

REAL FLU HITS JUST TWICE A DECADE 4 March 2015 by Andy Coghlan Atishoo! But is that sneeze evidence of flu or just a bad cold?

The symptoms of influenza infection can be hard to distinguish from those caused by other viruses that trigger the common cold.

Chances are that if you’re 30 or over, it may be a cold. That’s the message from research showing that people aged 30 or more can expect just two bouts of flu per decade for the rest of their lives. Children and adolescents are likely to succumb once every other year.

“We don’t know if that’s a result of adults’ immunity, or because we mix less with other

Flu? Or just a cold? (Image: Fotosearch/Getty)

people when we’re older,” says Steven Riley of Imperial College London, who was part of the team that carried out the work.

Riley and his colleagues screened blood samples from 151 people in Guangzhou, southern China, for antibodies to nine common H3N2 flu strains that circulated between 1968 and 2009. An algorithm then worked out the years in which each person had become ill.

From the profiles created, the researchers found that the number of infections decreased as people got older, as did the strength of their immune responses. “It could mean, for example, that people should have different influenza vaccines for different stages of life,” says Riley.

The results from China should be applicable elsewhere in the world, says Riley, as the flu strains studied are ones that circulate around the world every year. “H3N2 is very much a ‘jet-set’ virus that mixes globally very well,” he says.

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CORRUPT Penner Egged Corrupt UDP representative Elvin Penner was egged when he finally appeared before the Supreme Court in COLA’s appeal of the Magistrate’s Court decision to strike out their private prosecution.

Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin will deliver his decision on Friday March 13th.

THE BELIZE TIMES Courtesy Mike Rudon Ch 5

23 Marion Jones Sporting Complex already falling apart

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