The United Democratic Party faction, led by Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton, has a fresh new secretariat on Euphrates Avenue. On Wednesday, the Alliance for Democracy, a movement within the divided UDP, welcomed party supporters to their new digs. Interestingly, the building is owned by businessman and former Senate President, Lee Mark Chang. We had a chat with Taegar-Panton earlier today, and she shared her vision and the necessity for a new headquarters under her leadership.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“The UDP felt, the secretariat felt that we need to have a proper space for us to do our work. As you are aware, our campaign has been initiated, we are in active campaign mode and there has to be a space where we can do our business properly. The building that we now occupy is owned by the vice chairman of the party, Mr. Lee Mark Chang, and he made that resource available to us. We accepted it, of course, resources are limited, but we need to have a command center, if you will. As you know, there are eighteen standard bearers and twenty constituencies that align themselves with the work that we are doing and so we need to be able to, for those standard bearers and members of the executive committees to be able to come in and speak to us, or if there’s a list that needs to be printed. Whatever it is that is required for our readiness and for preparedness whenever the elections are called.”
Is Lee Mark Chang gearing up to challenge Shyne Barrow in Mesopotamia? That’s the burning question on everyone’s mind, but the Alliance for Democracy is keeping mum for now. Mesopotamia has been a UDP fortress since the late Seventies, a small but significant constituency. In 2020, the reins were handed over from veteran politician Michael Finnegan to his nephew, Shyne Barrow. We caught up with Tracy Taegar-Panton to find out if Lee Mark is ready to dive back into the political fray.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“I think we have remained steadfast in our desire to defend our democracy internally, within the party, and externally and we will continue to do that. Whether we have leverage or we don’t have leverage will be determined by the people who will come out and vote on election day.”
Marion Ali
“Okay, and then the report that Mr. Chang is also running in Mesopotamia under your leadership, can you confirm?”
Tracy Taegar-Panton
“I can’t confirm at this time. There is a process outlined in the party’s constitution on how we address when standard bearers need to be removed or replaced. That’s usually initiated by the executive committee of that constituency. It’s not initiated by a party leader. What I will tell you is that we are following, as best as we can, the constitution of the party and we have always been very respectful of the processes outlined in the constitution and we will continue to do so.”
Who will United Democratic Party supporters back when they head to the polls on election day? Will it be the U.D.P. under Shyne Barrow’s leadership, or will Tracy Taegar-Panton take the helm? And perhaps the biggest question of all: can mediation resolve the leadership tussle before election day arrives? We posed these pressing questions to Taegar-Panton earlier today. Here’s what she had to say.
Marion Ali
“If I’m a UDP supporter but I’m a little confused as to who is the actual leader of the party and I see that on the ballot paper, when the election is called, there are two names under UDP, one under Mr. Barrow, and one under you. How do I decipher, as a UDP voter, who I vote for? Is one legitimate and the other not?”
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“I think that’s premature. I think that question is premature. We have agreed to a mediated process that will be facilitated by the court, and we do so with a very open mind as to how we are going to approach that mediation. We don’t know that we’re going to have more than thirty-one candidates running for the United Democratic Party. Certainly, as it relates to our movement, we maintain that the standard bearers of the party are the standard bearers of the party. They were either elected in a contested convention or they were approved or ratified in an endorsement convention, and you can’t just willy-nilly dismiss that. Like I said, the constitution outlines a process that needs to happen. And so, for us, there are thirty-one UDP candidates that will be running for the next elections.”
On Monday, Doctor Christopher Malcolm made an appearance on Open Your Eyes and later held a Zoom press conference with reporters. Representing Opposition Leader Shyne Barrow, the attorney claimed that Albert Area Rep Tracy Taegar-Panton, leader of the Alliance for Democracy, is in contempt of a High Court order regarding the disputed leadership of the United Democratic Party. Today, Taegar-Panton fired back, refuting Doctor Malcolm’s claims and clarifying that the interim injunction only pertained to access to the U.D.P. headquarters on Youth for the Future Drive.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“The statement was made by the attorney, repeatedly. It is the attorney for Barrow’s view, I believe that it is Mr. Barrow’s view that I am in contempt of court. We don’t share that view. The interim injunction that was provided by Judge Hondura dealt with one issue and one issue only and that had to with the access and the use of the party’s headquarters, access to the headquarters and the use of the party’s organs which is the use of Wave and the Guardian by the movement. And the judge says that for now, until the substantive matters can be heard and this matter can be addressed legally, it reverts to the status quo. The judge said nothing about the leadership of the party. He spoke strictly to the use of the building and the use of the party organs, meaning Wave and the Guardian Newspaper.”
Farmers in San Carlos Village, Orange Walk, are feeling the frustration as they struggle to sell their produce at a fair price. Several farmers have planted thousands of dollars’ worth of carrots, ready for harvest and sale. However, they claim that competition from other carrots on the market and a lack of interested buyers have left their crops rotting in the ground. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon visited some of these farmers to hear their pleas for government intervention.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
What you’re seeing is a carrot field on two hundred acres of farmland. It belongs to Ruben Perez, a farmer from San Carlos. In about two weeks, his carrots will start to rot. They’ve been ready for sale since December, but Perez says there haven’t been any buyers.
Ruben Perez
Ruben Perez, Carrot Farmer
“The problem we have right with carrots is that we cannot sell. We have problem with selling carrots. We don’t have buyers and we are ready from first week of December. That’s one month now. And the problem is that we call the buyers who import the Mexican carrots and now when we call them, some of them say, we can’t sell too much, we just could sell lee bit. And they are big importers of Mexican product and now when we have the local product, now they don’t want a lot and I don’t understand why.”
Farmers are saying their carrots aren’t selling because of competition from both imported and contraband carrots. However, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai clarified that Belize doesn’t import carrots when there’s enough local supply to meet demand. He insists that this issue is just a political ploy, a tactic used by several political figures in the past.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Carrots is a bad topic to use for political mileage. That’s primary school politics. Tracy tried it, she failed. Shyne tried it, and he also failed. This is a matter of supply and demand. The Ministry if Agriculture has never and will never issue importation of carrot permits when we are harvesting carrots, when our farmers are. That is a fundamental rule in the Ministry of Agriculture. That will not happen. As to contraband. The Ministry of Agriculture does not control contraband. We try to work with customs, immigration, military customs, quarantine, Baha. But we have porous borders, but up to now, we haven’t seen enough evidence of illegal importation of carrots because the quality is known.”
He also pointed out that part of the problem is the short shelf life of carrots, which makes it even harder to sell them quickly.
Jose Abelardo Mai,
“What we have is a problem we have every year with carrots. We have ninety acres planted in the country right now. Fifty acres is planted in the Cayo District, and twenty-five in Orange Walk. Another five or six acres in Corozal, another six acres in Stann Creek. Alright? The problem is that the carrots seem to come into maturity all at one time. Why? Because it’s seasonal. So everybody brought it at the same time. Secondly, carrots have zero shelf life.”
Cornelius Schmidt shared that it takes about one hundred and twenty days for carrots to be ready for harvest. If they stay in the ground any longer, they risk rotting.
Cornelius Schmidt
Cornelius Schmidt, Farmer
“What we have here once its beginning to brown like we have no then its ready to harvest.”
Perez is puzzled about why importers are hesitant to buy local carrots. He suspects that the wax coating on imported carrots makes them more attractive to buyers. With about fifteen thousand dollars invested in this year’s carrot crop, Perez fears this challenge could spell trouble for the future of his farming career.
Ruben Perez
“They need the pressure of the Minister of Agriculture because I could see how if they buy forty thousand pounds when they are importing they buy that weekly. That amount. And now that we have they can’t buy the same amount and that’s why I call the news that they could help us and we are here to tell the Minster of Agriculture, the Prime Minister too to make them help us. Because this is our job that we do and we depend in totality in this work.”
This is an issue that the Ministry of Agriculture acknowledges and has been attempted to rectify.
Jose Abelardo Mai
“We encourage them to buy from the local producer. So we said to them, if you want to continue importing, if you want to continue benefiting from your farmers, you need to buy our local products. Okay? So right now, yesterday I sat down with the government, issues, governments, and we’re reviewing analysis. And if they can’t prove to us that they are supporting our farmers, we will have to put the brakes on them. And I said that to them in no way, we will allow them to continue importing if they do not buy from our local farmers. I’m sorry.”
Just a short distance from Perez’s farm, another farmer is anxiously waiting to harvest about eight million dollars’ worth of potatoes. He’s worried that he might face the same challenges when it comes time to sell. Minister Mai has tried to reassure farmers, stating that there are no active licenses for potato imports. However, despite the Ministry’s assurances, local farmers say they haven’t received any government assistance and are uncertain about their next steps. UDP Standard Bearer for Orange Walk South claims that several farmers are hesitant to speak out, fearing persecution.
German Tillett
German Tillett, U.D.P. Standard Bearer, Orange Walk South
“I was speaking and I was telling them, convincing then to come up. To step up and give their interview about what is really happening with their crops and everything but they always say that they are afraid, so that whenever help comes, the little help that comes, they will not be able to get that. Because they come out and say what is happening. But what I usually tell them is that should not be afard because the help comes to everyone, to every farmer and if you get victimized by this government that means that something is really wrong..”
Minister Mai is optimistic that the demand for carrots will pick up within the next two weeks. Looking ahead, he revealed that the ministry has big plans to industrialize the sector over the next five years by setting up an agro-processing facility in Orange Walk. This move aims to add value to Belize’s local crops and boost the agricultural industry. Britney Gordon for News Five.
Sugar cane farmers across Belize are still anxiously waiting for the sugar roads to be repaired. Earlier this week, we reported that sugar cane deliveries have been crawling due to the terrible condition of the roads, which has severely impacted sugar production in the north. On Wednesday, Prime Minister John Briceno acknowledged the farmers’ struggles and assured the public that the roads will be fixed eventually. He explained that funds have already been allocated for the repairs, but the heavy rains Belize has been experiencing have delayed the process. Today, we asked the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, if there’s any timeline for these much-needed repairs. Here’s what he had to say.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“ I can’t give you a time frame of when the weather will fix right? Iit’s raining a lot. The Prime Minister this morning said, I think on a talk show, he said that he has okayed another million dollars for repair of sugar roads, but you cannot repair sugar roads when it’s raining. Right? We have done, we have given out contracts for contractors. If they continue work while it’s raining and roads are destroyed again, they will complain again. And if we do that, it is not wise for us to take taxpayer’s money, throw it on sugar roads, erase the following day and tax the taxpayer money gone. So we have to be timely. We have to choose the time when to do right for us to fix sugar roads.”
The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed a second case of screwworm in Belize. The first case of this highly destructive parasite was detected in late December in Crique Sarco Village, Toledo District. This Sunday, another case popped up in Toledo, this time in San Pedro, Columbia. We spoke with Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, who shared that this case likely originated in Guatemala as well.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Screwworm can only move in a number of ways. The first one is the flies. The fly flies. They are closest point to Guatemala. Guatemala’s case from our border was eleven miles. It could have easily been a fly that flew into the country, right? And laid eggs on a therefore we had the first case. Secondly, there is a strong connection between the farmers in Toledo and Guatemalan farmers, the exchange cattle it seems and so that could have been the second possibility. The animal may have arrived in masses, in vehicles. No, we do not put cattle for human consumption none at all. Those two possibilities are the only two that we have reviewed and the could be the source of entry into the country in the case right now in San Pedro Colombia, we are still not sure how it got there. We have investigated around the neighborhood. If any of them are important to the area, we can’t find evidence of it. We believe that it’s too far away from the deep jungle to say it is wildlife. And so we are not too certain. We haven’t ascertained yet what was the source but we have people on the ground. We have a dozen people on the ground or more that are doing a house to house campaign and a farm to farm campaign to ensure that there are no more cases on the ground.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has rolled out new restrictions on live animal imports from Belize, effective January third, 2025. This move follows Belize’s confirmation of its first case of New World Screwworm in late December. Under the new rules, ruminants like goats and cattle, as well as swine, are banned from entering the U.S. Dogs can still be imported, but they must have a health certificate confirming they’ve been inspected for screwworm. Horses will also need to undergo inspection and isolation upon arrival. Earlier today, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai reassured News Five that these restrictions are unlikely to have a significant impact on Belize’s trade sector.
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“We’re the last country in Central America to have contacted screwworm. Mexico had it first on us. When Mexico had the case, the U.S. did put some sanctions on them until they reviewed and made changes to the export protocol. So the Mexicans use the same protocol with us, Belize. We intend to use the same protocol with us, Belize. So we have screwworm now in the Belize, we have two cases confirmed, but Mexico has never stopped or closed the door on our exports for cattle. As a matter of fact, they are helping by reducing the number of quarantine deals from twenty-one to seven years. So that they could export a different protocol, easier and less expensive. All they want for us to do animal inspection and thorough treatment before we export. But it has not affected us. The U. S., put that on the website. We do not export any livestock to the U. S., so it does not affect us in any way.”
With the 2025 elections looming, politicians across Belize are gearing up for the big day. In the North, Orange Walk South Area Representative Jose Abelardo Mai is already getting ready. We caught up with him earlier today to see how he’s feeling as the fateful day approaches. Here’s what he had to say.
Britney Gordon
“What’s the elections preparations looking like for you as you gear up for this day that’s coming at any moment?”
On the Phone: Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“My preparations for elections? My preparations are geared to winning again. We are economizing our committees. We are already preparing our machinery. We’re already oiling up, we will be ready,”
Britney Gordon
“So you’re confident moving into the elections?”
Jose Abelardo Mai
“Absolutely. You’ve seen lately, the highway being paved at last, you’ve seen the electrification oiling up in San Carlos,, we’ve seen the improved livelihoods in the area because of employment. You’ve seen our poverty rates go down. So many things you can’t see.”
Fierce wildfires raging out of control in the Los Angeles area have tragically claimed five lives and forced nearly two hundred thousand people to flee their homes. Firefighters are battling to contain the blazes, which continue to spiral out of control. Thankfully, Belizeans in the area have remained safe, but they’re keeping a close watch on the situation. Today, two Belizeans living in the diaspora joined us on Open Your Eyes to share what they’re witnessing on the ground.
Belizean Living in LA #1
Belizean Living in LA #1
“Central LA and Los Angeles is close-knit when it comes to the Belizean community. We’re the largest Caribbean community here. So everybody’s attention is on this, you know. Everybody wishing the best for everybody because a lot of friends, family, loved ones affected directly with this. Never, never had this happened here before, you know.”
Belizean Living in LA #2
Belizean Living in LA #2
“I’m in the Gardenia area at the moment. I work at UCLA, which is in Westwood, which is closer to the Palisades area, and so because of that we just got word late last night that UCLA canceled classes for undergraduate students and for grad students, they’re going to go remote. For us, we’re going to be working remote also the next two days just for our safety. For anything can happen. It’s moving pretty quickly and so until they can contain it, that’s where we stand. And it’s very devastating. You know, I could speak from my experience with UCLA that students are displaced. I got word late last night and some images from one of my cousins. He was being picked up by his mom and the parking lot – this is after 11 pm – the parking lot was packed. And that’s because a lot of parents and families are picking up their kids, their loved ones and taking them home probably for the weekend just to be safe.”
