2025 - Greater Belize Media

Belizean Nurses Await Benefits from Government

The Government of Belize has ambitious plans for the health sector over the next few years. At a recent meeting, the cabinet endorsed the Belize Health Sector Strategic Plan 2025 to 2034, which lays out a detailed roadmap for tackling key health system challenges. The cabinet also approved a retention package of allowances for public health nurses to help keep highly skilled nurses in Belize. We spoke with Andrew Baird, President of the K.H.M.H. Workers Union, to get his reaction to the news.

Andrew Baird, President, K.H.M.H. Workers Union

“I’m working as a nurse for the past twenty-five years and for the past twenty-five years, uniform allowance for nurses have been at three hundred annually. And if you look at the cost and living to today, three hundred can only buy us our scrubs. And but our uniform includes shoes. So the allotted amongst should be enough to buy shoes. What I know from it maybe raised from three hundred to five hundred also there is what we call a night. Allowance that is given to nurses. Then at this time it is fifty for every twenty night that you work, but you only get to work seven nights per month. So to reach twenty nights, you have to work at least three months or so before you could get that allowance. I believe that they want to raise that allowance to a hundred dollars or something like that, contrary to what the government might offer in our CBA, I believe we are asking for that a lot that night allowance to be monthly rather than based on the amount of nights that one work. So those are a couple of the allowances that I know that the government may have in their package. May so be that they may have a raise of salary for nurses, I don’t know, or a salary adjustment. But our last adjustment for nurses was in 2012 when we had that adjustment along with the nomenclature name changes throughout the nursing system. But I wait to see a document that the government is pledging to give as a package to nurses, to retain us. The retention of Belizean nurses is long overdue, but not only Belizean nurses, but nurses that works on Belizean a whole. What we have seen over the years is that because of the global demand for nurses, our Belizean nurses and nurses who work in Belize are being offered packages in the US, Canada, and the UK mainly. And those packages have signed bonuses, they find places for them to stay, and then the salary is very attractive. So the government has the match that if we’re going to retain our nurses to stay in Belize.”

Labor Shortage Amidst 2.1% Unemployment Rate

Employers nationwide, especially in the agro-sector, are facing a growing labor shortage. Despite the Briceño administration’s claim of a two-point-one percent unemployment rate, there are many unfilled vacancies. Some blame the Business Process Outsourcing sector for this issue. Today, we asked B.C.C.I. Vice President Jody Williams about it, and he mentioned there’s a significant shift happening in Belize’s labor market.

Jody Williams, Vice-President, B.C.C.I.

“There is a big paradigm shift when it comes to labor in Belize. There is that switch. Young, able persons are going to call centers. The thing is that call centers have become the norm in Belize. We have seen many openings up in many districts, even down south as well. It is becoming prevalent, but sometimes we are looking for farmers. We are looking for persons to go out in the field. There are so many different jobs but we cant find persons and we cant bring in persons form outside as well like before. So in our industry when it comes to agriculture, agro-processing, it is hard to find those persons who will go out to farm, to make crops we need and the able persons, with those skills they prefer to go to Ready Call. We see that trend happening.”

Government Commits to Completing Redistricting in One Year

The Government of Belize has reaffirmed its commitment to carrying out the redistricting of the country’s electoral divisions. In the latest cabinet meeting, it was decided that the 2023 proposal from the Elections and Boundaries Commission was unworkable and didn’t meet constitutional standards. Although the commission must now come up with a completely new plan, the government has promised to complete the redistricting by the end of 2025. News Five’s Britney Gordon has more details on this situation.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Another general election has come and gone without redistricting Belize’s electoral divisions. In 2023, the Elections and Boundaries Commission put forward a redistricting plan, but it faced immediate backlash from politicians and redistricting advocates. Earlier this week, the Cabinet reviewed the proposal again and decided it was unworkable and didn’t meet constitutional standards. Paul Morgan from the Belize Peace Movement believes the proposal should have been rejected well before the general elections.

Paul Morgan, Belize P.E.A.C.E. Movement

“I wouldn’t accept those proposals either. They’re total nonsense, right? When you hear, when you see a constituency that include Caye Caulker and Belize City. And when you see Belmopan stretching all the way out to the Guatemala and border, they cannot be serious. That was intended to, those proposals were intended to be rejected, right? Those weren’t serious proposals at all. And honourable men rarely should be challenged by the media. Take a look at the proposals and tell me if they make sense. They’re betting that we, the population of Belize, will not be reading those things and will not be analyzing them thinking that they’re total magic, but they’re total nonsense.”

The Cabinet has asked the minister in charge of elections and the Attorney General to work with the Elections and Boundaries Commission on any needed constitutional changes to finish the redistricting. They’ve also promised to complete the process within a year. Before his re-election, we asked Prime Minister John Briceño if the redistricting could have been done sooner.

Prime Minister John Briceño (File: January 13^th, 2025 )

“I believe that the Elections and Boundaries Commission could have worked faster or more diligently and probably have more consultations with the public and to see how best it can work. And so, at the end of the day, we are the government and I, as the head, have to take the responsibility. So, I will take responsibility for that and I can assure that we want, as soon as we get in, to make sure that we start working on it. I’m hoping that one or two years at the most, we should be able to already have that settled.”

Jeremy Enriquez, a strong supporter of redistricting, believes the proposal was flawed from the start. He argues that it didn’t tackle the problem of ensuring fair and balanced electoral divisions across the country.

Jeremy Enriquez, Concerned Belizean

“There was another flaw in the proposal is that it did not meet the required international standard of ten to fifteen percent of deviation from the average number of voters across electoral divisions. the proposed twenty-five to thirty-five, which is totally unacceptable. So. first, they did not address the issue across the country. Then they picked areas of Belize City. The methodology did not look at the number of persons eligible to vote. All of those things made it wrong.”

Enriquez also took aim at the Election and Boundaries Commission, saying it was too politicized to come up with an unbiased proposal. He suggests that other organizations should be involved in drafting the new plan.

Jeremy Enriquez

“I would recommend that an analysis of our electoral revising could be done through the policy section of the University of Belize. They have enough experts who could really objectively do that and then present the proposal to the Elections and Boundaries Commission, who would then present that to the government of their redivision. Secondly, there’s also the Statistical Institute of Belize, which has a lot of data. They have mapping equipment and all of that who could professionally do or undertake a study for a fair divisioning of our electoral divisions.”

Recently, the government has faced pressure from concerned citizens demanding a faster redistricting process. Last month, the Caribbean Court of Justice dismissed Jeremy Enriquez’s appeal against the Government of Belize. Enriquez had tried to delay the election due to the government’s failure to finish redistricting, but he was told that such a claim must be made outside the election period. Britney Gordon for News Five.

BPM Takes Government to Court for Lack of Redistricting

Next week, the Belize Peace Movement (BPM) is taking the Election and Boundaries Commission to court to argue that the overall voter’s list, known as schedule one, doesn’t meet constitutional requirements. It’s been several years since the Government of Belize promised to redistrict the country’s thirty-one constituencies to ensure each has a nearly equal number of voters, as outlined in the constitution. The BPM has been vocal in pushing for a faster redistricting process. We spoke with BPM member Paul Morgan for more details on the case.

Paul Morgan, Belize Peace Movement

“The court’s supposed to be the guardian of that constitution. They should guard that thing zealously and jealously, and that the court shouldn’t hesitate to accept our case and expedited as if it was their own. Although our system is adversarial, we as citizens came to the court to say, listen, check this out. And it wasn’t the first one we filed in 2019, similar, but not the same. Before in 2019, we were just trying to force proposals, which they did, in this what I call a nonsensical proposal. They put together. They did that knowing that they wanted to stall. The judge in that first case. When we went to the judge to enforce the requirements that it was not constitutional, the proposals were not constitutional, the judge said that your case, you’re asking for reliefs that does not fit under this one this case. So please, you should go ahead and file another case, a fresh case. This is what we did. The government has delayed that case from November 21st, 2024 to this date, talking about that we as citizens would have forfeited our rights by signing a consent order with the government that they must produce these proposals. Totally ridiculous. How can citizens forfeit their fundamental rights?”

Horse Abuse Cases Triggers Public Outrage

This next story doesn’t often make the news, but this week, it sparked enough outrage for people to demand action from the authorities. It started when a horse was found injured and starving in a drain, left to die. After a Facebook post about the animal went up on Wednesday, many Belize City residents called for stricter enforcement of animal cruelty and neglect laws. Since then, more reports have surfaced of horses being left tied in the sun for hours without food or water. Rescuers try to help but prefer to stay anonymous due to fear of being targeted. News Five’s Marion Ali spoke with two of them today and filed this report.

Marion Ali, Reporting

This heartbreaking picture of a horse left to die from injury and starvation in a Belize City drain has outraged many people, sparking a call for justice against those responsible. An animal rescuer we spoke with was furious when she found the horse, especially given the many stories of horses being abused by youths.

On the Phone: Animal Rescuer #1

“Wednesday afternoon, I was leaving my mom residence right around Benbow Street in the city and a vehicle blocked traffic. So, I was wondering what happened. So, I said, let me go and see when I looked, a horse was dead in the bush – in the drain, and I just lost it. I completely lost it. I lost it because I couldn’t believe that you always hear stories about kids riding the horses. You see them riding the horses. People complain on Facebook multiple times and like nothing is being done.”

But there’s hope. In this case, the animal rescuer called a police officer, who quickly sent a patrol to investigate. The Belize City Council also sent a dump truck to remove the carcass. Unfortunately, this was just one incident. The rescuer mentioned that there were three more cases of horse abuse and neglect the next day.

On the Phone: Animal Rescuer #1

“Thursday, which was yesterday, I got a call again on pictures from three different locations. One was in front of the education building. The other was at the corner of Cairo Street and Euphrates Avenue. And the other one was, I think, somewhere by Cemetery Road where horses are tied with no water.”

In another instance, a man found a horse tied to a lamp post in the scorching sun and took it upon himself to move the animal to a cooler spot under a tree. Another animal rescuer mentioned that abuse and neglect are so widespread in Belize that dogs are often the most common victims. She recounted a recent incident where a fellow rescuer was criticized for helping an abandoned dog.

On the phone: Animal Rescuer #2

“We had a situation where one of my volunteers kept passing this house and kept seeing this little poodle tied on a very very short leash, no shelter, no food, no water. She realized that she didn’t see any activity in the house so she started going in and feeding the poodle and give it water. Ih do that fi a week – still nobody in the house. She took the poodle out of the sun where it was suffering, no activity in the house, so she figured they just abandoned the poodle. She took the poodle home and the owner showed up about another week and a half later, and the blasted her on Facebook, and accused her of stealing ih dog.”

There are only a few animal rescuers in Belize, and they’re overwhelmed trying to balance work and rescues. They do it out of love for animals. They advise pet owners to take good care of their pets or not get one at all.

On the Phone: Animal Rescuer #1

“It’s just common sense. You know Belize, it’s hot. If we walk outside the street, outside it is hot, extremely hot. Simple thing as water – they just so simple water they could give the animal, put them in a shaded area. Many times, even with dogs, you pass on certain areas, even in the yard, fence yard at that too, they have a dog tied to a tree with no shelter, no house. Rain beat them, sun beat them. And like it’s just the basic norm, and that’s my issue. It is not normal because they have feelings just like any other animal. And just like us, just get a house and if you can’t afford to have an animal, just don’t have one.”

We’ll follow up with a story about the laws on animal abuse and neglect, and the penalties people can face if they’re convicted of these offenses. Marion Ali for News Five.

M.I.D.H Holds 2nd Women’s Month Sports Day

Today, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing held its second annual Women’s Month Sports Day. The amazing women who took part were honored for the unique challenges they face outside of work. Two inspiring speakers, Minister of Human Resources Thea Garcia-Ramirez and Belmopan Deputy Mayor Correta Banner, delivered encouraging messages at the event.

Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Minister of Human Development

“You juggle a professional career. A lot of you go to school on top of that and try to continue developing, professionally, personally. You raise families, you take care of children and husbands, and you take care sometimes of older members of your family. I know a lot of times you struggle like I do to have some personal time just for yourselves and you do it all with a smile. And sometimes, you smile on the inside because it’s hard to smile every day on the outside. I get that. I get you, but it’s a wonderful way to recognize you, to say, I see you and to celebrate you.”

Correta Banner, Deputy Mayor, Belmopan

“Your dreams are valid and no one can take away your potential. It’s important to support one another and lift each other up because when women stand together, the force becomes an unstoppable force. Never doubt your words and never forget that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Keep pushing forward and stay true to yourself and trust the process. Remember, as Maya Angel beautifully said, we may encounter many defeats, but we should never be defeated. But we must not, so we must not be defeated. Keep going because the world is waiting for you to shine. And always remember, never ever forget. You are all wonderfully and fearfully made.”

Shyne Slams ComPol Over Free Speech Concerns

Former Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow, is publicly questioning what he describes as an abuse of power by outgoing Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, after a police officer is being criminally prosecuted for allegedly making disparaging remarks about ComPol Chester Williams.

Barrow issued a statement on Thursday condemning what he views as selective enforcement of the law and a potential threat to free speech. “If another police officer calling the former ComPol Clyde Williams an expletive in a post rejoicing his departure is cause for criminal action then this presents serious questions as to how this law is applied and is this tantamount to an attack on freedom of speech?” Barrow wrote. Williams is still the Commissioner of Police until Dr. Richard Rosado officially takes over in the coming weeks.

He argued that criticism comes with the territory of public life and pointed out that he himself has faced worse. “I have been called worse and even threatened publicly yet when it was brought to @clyde Williams’ attention, he refused to take action.”

Barrow added, “First Chester had his brother Arthur Williams arrested and prosecuted for criticizing him on Facebook, then he had Nichole Mcdonald prosecuted for criticizing him, she informed me today she lost her job because of this, now an officer is being prosecuted for cyber bullying Chester?”

“This is frightening,” Barrow continued. “No public official elected or appointed should use their office to silence their critics with criminal prosecution!”

While acknowledging that free speech comes with responsibilities, Barrow said civil, not criminal, remedies are appropriate in cases of alleged defamation. “Where there is alleged defamation the civil courts provide relief… Where malicious false information is being spread, then the law should take its course applied equally to all—not just those that offend the great Chester!”

Barrow signed off with: “BANG & BYE.”

News Five contacted Williams for a response. He said he is not going to respond to anything from Barrow.

Belize Rolls Out Microinsurance Regulations

The government has introduced new microinsurance regulations under the 2023 Insurance Act. These regulations aim to expand access to affordable insurance solutions for low-income individuals and those in the productive sector, offering a safety net against life’s unexpected risks.

According to the Office of the Supervisor of Insurance and Private Pensions (OSIPP), the microinsurance regulations are designed with simplicity and accessibility in mind, featuring easy-to-understand policy language and affordable pricing while preserving essential coverage features.

It said this approach ensures that even the most vulnerable populations can benefit from financial protection without being overwhelmed by complex terms or high costs.

Key provisions of the new regulations include rules for product development, clear guidelines for information sharing before contracts are signed, and procedures for servicing policies, handling claims, and addressing complaints. The framework also encourages the use of innovative distribution channels, enabling the delivery of microinsurance products to residents in remote or underserved areas across the country.

Exporters to the U.S. Prepare for Economic Decline Amid New Tariffs

Belizean exporters are bracing for serious economic impacts following the Trump administration’s decision to impose a 10% reciprocal tariff on goods from Belize, set to take effect on April 5th.

In response, the Government of Belize convened a high-level meeting and promised to “use all available political and diplomatic channels” to address the situation.

The new policy has rattled private sector stakeholders, particularly companies like Marie Sharp’s Fine Foods Limited, which has been exporting duty-free to the U.S. since 1989. Jody Williams, the company’s Chief Sales and Marketing Director, called it “a big slap to Belize, to our developing nation,” and expressed deep concern about how the added cost will affect pricing and sales, noting, “more than likely, this will slow down sales, slow down momentum, and less foreign exchange coming into the country.”

He added that their importers in the U.S. are equally unprepared: “They say let us have a meeting, we can’t take on the ten percent… let us do fifty, fifty.”

U.S. Revokes Visa of Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias

Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias says the United States has revoked his visa, a decision he learnt about weeks after publicly criticising former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Arias said he received only a terse, unexplained email from U.S. authorities informing him of the cancellation, according to a report from The BBC.

The 84-year-old, who played a key role in negotiating peace during Central America’s civil wars in the 1980s, suggested the decision may be linked to his decision during his 2006–2010 presidency to establish diplomatic ties with China at the expense of Taiwan.

He also noted his recent criticism of Trump, likening the former U.S. president’s behaviour to that of a Roman emperor and calling out what he views as heavy-handed U.S. influence in Central America.

Arias has been vocal in his criticism of what he sees as an overly close relationship between Chaves and the U.S.