Reporters also asked the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association for their thoughts on the verbal agreement entered between the Prime Minister and stevedores who are members of the Christian Workers Union. Last night, we told you that the Prime Minister made a verbal commitment to compensate the stevedores a total of one point six million dollars in sugar redundancy payment. He noted that lawyers from both sides would meet and that an agreement may be signed by the end of today. Well, we are yet to receive an update on that signing as of news time. And, the B.S.C.F.A. says that while they hope for the best in this matter, they can no longer believe anything the prime minister has to say.
Javier Keme, Chairman, B.S.C.F.A. Finance Committee
“When you lose the trust of a person, what happens. They are just being taken as a liar. When we saw what transpired with our colleagues from the unions, the outcome of it we were just thinking that on that regard the experience that BSCFA has gone through, we don’t trust words. We don’t trust verbal agreements. That is why we have, if what we have in black and white is making trouble for it to be realized, imagine what will happen between a lawyer and a lawyer, because that is what I understand from the news where it is. So I hope for the best for our colleagues, but it was just a verbal commitment, that is what I heard from the news. We at least got this written and it is still difficult for it to be fulfilled.”
And finally, from today’s press conference in Orange Walk Town, the B.S.C.F.A. is now demanding that an independent entity be established to market Belize’s sugar. They further demanded that legislation be included that speaks to compensation for sugarcane farmers for their produce and that amendments be made to clarify that the sugar industry is not for B.S.I.
Javier Keme
Javier Keme, Chairman, B.S.C.F.A. Finance Committee
“We need an independent entity to market the sugar from Belize. Now, this call, and I will mention it categorically and choose my words carefully, the sugar industry Act needs to be amended in a way to clarify that this sugar industry is not for BSI. It is not for ASR. It has two owners, two stakeholders and that has to be put into law in the Sugar Industry Act. We are fifty percent owners of the industry because we have the production as producers. They are millers and that is wrong when you say that BSI is a private industry. That is wrong. They might be a private company, but we are two stakeholders in one industry and that needs to be reflected in the changes that the Sugar Industry Act needs. We need that the aspects of the payment of the cane to producers be put in law. You say it is going to be difficult, maybe the commission of inquiry will show enough evidence, enough information for you to do that. But if still your government is reluctant to act in that regard, there is an alternative for it. And it has also been ventilated in the past that there needs to be a mechanism to resolve disputes like the negotiations for a new commercial agreement.”
Jamie Young is still on the run after Saturday’s murder of thirty-year-old Damion Baptist in Ladyville, a deadly attack that has been blamed on jealousy. Young is wanted for questioning by police in connection with the incident, that unfolded in Maxboro where Baptist and his new girlfriend, Amber Dawson, were traveling enroute to his house in Burrell Boom. They never got there because after the couple stopped at Dawson’s grandmother who lives near her ex-boyfriend, they became his target. The couple was pursued all the way to Ladyville where Young allegedly shot and killed Baptist, who was trying to escape the attack in heavy traffic. According to his mother, Shelmadine Baptist, his siblings and three children are taking the loss very hard. She said he had planned to purchase a bus this year and would have applied for a bus run to Belize City. Meanwhile, Amber Dawson says that since the incident happened, it’s all that she can think of, and she has wanted to go to work to distract her mind. She can’t, however, because her estranged ex-boyfriend is still at large.
Voice of: Amber Young
Voice of: Amber Young, Girlfriend of Damion Baptist
“I wanted to go to work this morning, but I can’t keep staying in the house cause all I think about is what happened, and that’s not good. So, I want to be busy. It’s just – it’s not good. I’m stuck here. It’s hard. Deep inside, it’s just – I wish I could just get Baptist back.”
Voice of: Shelmadine Baptist
Voice of: Shelmadine Baptist, Mother of Damion Baptist
“My son deh very strong, but because da one ah dehn, dehn easily fall apart. They easily fall apart. Deh hurt. I know my son dehn really, hurt. I can’t explain the hurt weh dehn feel. So I said to my friend, I said, Jaimie nuh know what he did to my family. He just chance my son outta his life, take my son from his two daughters. He take my son from his two daughters. My son nuh get a break with his two daughters. He just chance my son outta his life, innocently.”
Shelmadine Baptist shared with the media that her son was an ex-B.D.F. soldier who wanted to be his own boss, so he left military life. His plan was to purchase a bus and to work on his own. But most of all, she said, Damion Baptist wanted to be with his children.
Voice of: Shelmadine Baptist
Voice of: Shelmadine Baptist, Mother of Deceased
“He was in the military. He left, I think like a year completely – a year and change. Yes, he left. He never did sign up back cause yoh know yoh have to sign up every so often, so he never did sign back because he wanted to have his own job. He said – the job, he wanted something different. The last time he talked to me and he said, Mommy, me and Robby wa buy wa bus. Dehn mi want buy the bus, but he mostly focus on the kids because he usually get them on holiday, so he was planning to get the kids for Easter, but I guess God had different plans, noh?”
Earlier today, former police officer Elmer Nah appeared unrepresented before the lower court, where he requested another copy of a digital video disc containing surveillance footage of the deadly shooting on New Year’s Eve 2022 that claimed the lives of Jon, David and Vivian Ramnarace. Nah claims that the footage on the initial DVD that was provided to him is of poor quality and he cannot make out any of the faces of the individuals seen in the video. Notwithstanding the absence of prosecutor Alifah Elrington, the Chief Magistrate addressed the matter, informing Nah that he cannot be given the original DVD. In respect of his attorney’s absence from court today, Nah was also told that his counsel would be the one to address the issue of the DVD on his next court appearance. Despite his issue with the material, the Chief Magistrate ordered that he be furnished with another copy of the footage on or before his subsequent court date which is scheduled for April tenth. Nah’s case for triple murder continues with a preliminary inquiry on that given date, as he has been provided with full disclosure on the matter.
On Monday, we reported on the unfortunate passing of twenty-six-year-old Liston Williams. The father of two was killed on March sixteenth, while he was just moments away from his home on Madam Liz Avenue. In an interview, police revealed that the murder was committed by an associate of Williams and that a suspect was in police custody. Today, we spoke with Williams’ family, who said that they hope no more violence will come out of the situation.
On the phone: Fade Williams
On the phone: Fade Williams, Sister of Victim
“So, yeah, we tek it hard, but we have to accept it for what it is. We have to accept it for what it is, and just move on and we just want to bury we brother inna peace. And whatever happens, when he dead, we just want that stay weh dat deh and we wah left everything to God.”
Britney Gordon
“Have you been in contact with the police or anything?”
Fade Williams
“No really get in contact with no police or nothing. We just wah whateva happen stay deh. We noh get nothing from the police, so we no know nothing about it. We noh know nothing much about it. All we know ney kill, ney shoot ah and that da mi it. Weh have, all weh we have da ih kids ney in memory.”
There was a vote earlier today to choose a deputy mayor from among members of the newly sworn in Belize City Council. Viewers would recall that Mayor Bernard Wagner went on record immediately following the municipal elections victory on March sixth to suggest that CitCo would do well with a female deputy mayor at his side. When the council met at City Hall today, a vote was taken and seven of the ten councilors voted in favor of Allan Pollard Jr. to return as second in command of the Belize City Council. Pollard went up against Kaya Cattouse who garnered three of the remaining votes. We understand that Mayor Wagner, who Pollard attempted to run against for head of the municipal government, abstained from the exercise.
Former Belize City Mayor, Zenaida Moya has reached out to clarify the information that was shared in a court report in Monday night’s newscast. It has to do with an incident that occurred at her residence near mile five on the Philip Goldson Highway. Moya says that contrary to the court report, her caretaker, twenty-eight-year-old Corliss McKenzie entered her apartment, and that she did not let him into her room. She also says that he did not beat her up. Instead, she says, he hit her on the side of her head, when she covered her face with her hands to avoid pepper spray. Corliss McKenzie had pepper-sprayed Moya when they got into an argument that evening. McKenzie also grabbed a bread knife, held her and placed it to her neck and threatened to kill her. Moya said she stomped on his feet and McKenzie destroyed her two phones. She alleges that he also took out four hundred dollars from her purse, but handed her back some of the money and her housekeeper found the rest while cleaning the house. Hence, she says she has asked the police to drop the charge of theft against McKenzie. McKenzie is facing a slew of charges and must re-appear in court on May fourteenth.
On Monday, Governor General Froyla Tzalam received letters of credence from five newly appointed ambassadors to Belize at the Belize House in Belmopan. The ambassadors were appointed from Portugal, Finland, Pakistan, Russia and the Holy See. Their appointments signal Belize’s desire to form relationships with these countries. This was supported by the ambassadors, who each expressed their hopes of forging stronger bonds with Belize during their tenure. Ambassador Santiago De Wit Guzman, of the Holy See, said “I have been very lucky today in presenting my credentials to the people, to the governor General, and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and everything has gone very well. They have shown completely attention and this vulnerability, and they were very kind to me and understanding very well the role a Catholic church plays in the country and their will to support and to encourage”.
Teachers from all over Belize are participating in a program sponsored by NASA. The three-day workshop is part of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment Program, or GLOBE, which seeks to connect teachers, students, scientists and citizen scientist all around the world to better understand, sustain and benefit the environment. We attended the workshop today to see what kind of activities were taking place there.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment, or GLOBE project, is an international program sponsored by NASA, the US Department of State, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Science Foundation to promote citizen science around the four spheres of Earth. The program currently exists in one hundred and twenty-nine countries globally and nineteen in the Latin American region. The goal for Belize is to train teachers and spread the program throughout the country and help teachers to implement this program within their classrooms and their students.
Juan Felipe Restrepo
Juan Felipe Restrepo, Mentor, GLOBE
“GLOBE is a program that is all around the world. This is sponsored by NASA, Department of the States of the United States, NOAA, and the National Science Foundation of the United States. What they promote is citizen science around the four spheres of a pedosphere, a hydrosphere and biosphere in each of those spheres. Scientists have designed have created protocols, very precise and rigorous protocols that are the citizens follow. So, our data is accurate enough to be used by them. That gives a very powerful tool for teachers because it’s called authenticity. They are going to tell the students that they are solving real problems with real tools. So, what we are doing in these three days is teaching them how to use those protocols, make the measurements, and we are trying to replicate in a way what we expect them to do in their classes.”
The program is still in its early stages in Belize, but ultimately seeks to provide educators with the tools needed to foster an environment for hands-on learning in the classroom that encourages students to participate in science throughout their daily lives. It’s accurate, reliable and suitable for investigation projects. Academic Coordinator at the Ministry of Education, Carlos Quiroz explained how the project is developing in Belize.
Carlos Quiroz
Carlos Quiroz, Academic Coordinator at the Ministry of Education
“So what is happening right now is that we’re in our first phase of getting teachers trained in implementing the GLOBE program. It’s not fully spread across all schools just yet. What we’re doing is we’re piloting it with some teachers from schools across Belize and we’re because one of the good things about globe is that you can tailor it to your local needs. And so, they will, working with them, they will give us insight into how it can fit within the Belizean context. So, taking a new curriculum and mapping it with the GLOBE content and the GLOBE’S activities and see which part of GLOBE can be implemented in which section of the curriculum.”
As a part of today’s activities, teachers were tasked with taking measurements of various components of the environment and comparing them to different areas every hour. Participants used the Global server app to track their observations in the NASA database in real time. Teachers also were given a profile on the Globe Program website to keep a record of their data. This training is concentrated on atmosphere and biosphere protocols designed by scientists that assure that the data that collected are accurate. We spoke with a participant from Cayo to hear what she has taken away from the program so far.
Lianne Herrera-Awe
Lianne Herrera-Awe, Education Officer
“So as an education officer, we are responsible to provide support and monitoring to teachers. And so, from that vantage point, I’m able to have teachers here with us. Interact with the environment and have students become active participants rather than passive observers. We’re walking away from chalk and talk in the classroom because that is not the way for our children to learn. They get a chance to interact with these things rather than just reading it from a textbook or just getting theoretical knowledge of what it is they should learn. We want for our students to be active participants and be of their learning. And so, this is not tailored to any one textbook or curriculum, but it is set up in such a way where anyone can take it up and own it and learn from it and there’s no right or wrong way to dig in the sand and gather data.”
The project coordinators said that GLOBE exists not only to educate, but to allow for people to care about their environment and give back to the community using the knowledge they acquire.
Mariana Savino
Mariana Savino, Regional Coordinator for the Latin American & Caribbean, GLOBE
“The goal for Belize is to train teachers and spread the program throughout the country and help teachers to implement this program within their classrooms and their students. And the GLO program is a science education program that connects teachers, students, scientists and citizen science all around the world to better understand, sustain and benefit the environment. So the goal is to know more about the environment and encourage people, students and teachers to protect the environment and be aware of the climate change and all the things that damage the earth.”
