The Credit Risk Abatement Facility aims to strengthen access to finance for small and medium enterprises by providing them with a greater range of financing options. One critical challenge for S.M.E.s is the lack of access to financing for investments in renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures. CRAF, as it is otherwise known, is the brainchild of the CARICOM Development Fund. This morning, an agreement was signed between the C.D.F. and the Belize Bank Limited.
Filippo Alario
Filippo Alario, Exec. Chairman, Belize Bank
“We are extremely excited about this facility. It’s been going, our negotiations have been going on for over a year [and] we felt that we needed to partner with someone like CRAF that has the experience, that has the know-how and that has the credit enhancements required to assist us to finance small and medium enterprises in the areas of energy and energy efficiency. As you know, traditional banks do traditional lending and so we need the expertise of other entities to get to finance what we consider more risky projects, not more risky for them because they understand the industry. So sometimes we think that getting together, government, traditional banks, multilaterals, development agencies, when we get together I think that the impact is much more impactful for the benefit of our clients.”
Rodinald Soomer
Rodinald Soomer, C.E.O., CARICOM Development Fund
“In this instance, we are dealing with sustainable energy sector. We have done a lot of development work in Belize, in agriculture and in SMEs, as well.
Reporter
“The Belize Bank is signing on, let’s talk a little bit about what now is made possible through this signing.”
Rodinald Soomer
“The way the Credit Risk Abatement Facility operates is that it tries to address a problem with SMEs that are trying to invest in renewable energy efficiency to improve the performance of their business and reduce their carbon footprint and the crux of that is to make affordable financing available to them for investment.”
The first Master Guarantee Agreement was signed by the CDF and the St. Lucia Development Bank in April 2021, to provide partial credit guarantee for investments in projects advancing the use of photovoltaic systems, efficient air conditioning and lighting systems.
Since 2019, the Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise has been assisting needy teenagers with secondary scholarships. Today, the organization did just that for the upcoming school year with the handing out of scholarships to twenty-one adolescents who are either entering high school or returning to complete their secondary education. News Five’s Marion Ali was at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel for the brief ceremony and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Twenty-one teenagers who will later on be a part of Belize’s workforce today secured the chance to begin their studies towards that goal when they received scholarships from the Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise. President of the club, Dinesh Bhojwani said the selection process was based on two criteria.
Dinesh Bhojwani
Dinesh Bhojwani, President, Rotary Club of Belize Sunrise
“One is financial need, and the other one, and most importantly, is the academic excellence. So, we look at merit, we look at, um, as I had mentioned earlier, the, for the primary students, it’s eighty percent and for high school students, it’s a three-point zero G.P.A. And in order to stay in the program, you generally, we ask that you maintain that G.P.A., or that eighty percent throughout the entire program for you to be able to be eligible because the idea of the program is not just a one-time thing, it’s the idea is to see them through the entire high school, their entire high school career.”
The three students we spoke with all applied because they have goals.
Jahniyah Ferguson
Jahniyah Ferguson, Scholarship Recipient
“I wanted to help my parents save money. And so, I feel like this thing will help me upgrade my education in different ways.”
Alina Blair
Alina Blair, Scholarship Recipient
“I ended up applying for the scholarship to get the opportunity because it really helps when you have opportunities like this in high school.”
Gabriela Ranguy
Gabriela Ranguy, Scholarship Recipient
“I love my education and I think it would help better for me.”
Bhojwani says the Rotary offers an additional program to support students who might fall behind the required average. Counseling and tutoring are also offered for those who need that kind of help.
Dinesh Bhojwani
“It’s not just the financial support, but there’s counseling if needed. We speak to them. There’s tutoring if necessary. So the idea behind [it] is before they get off – before they get to the next year, we kind of monitor them a little bit to see – well, we don’t, the school does. And then we are able to then say, you know, they’re kind of moving off the path of – and we bring them back in -so counseling, tutoring, all of that stuff is part of the process.”
The Caribbean Media Awards Ceremony is being held tonight in Placencia. Media workers from across the region will find out later if their submissions will receive an award. We begin with Monday night’s opening ceremony for the C.B.U.’s Annual General Meeting. The environment took center stage at the ceremony, with a keynote address from Prime Minister John Briceño. News Five’s Paul Lopez is in Placencia. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The Caribbean Broadcasting Union officially opened its Fifty-fifth Annual General Meeting on Monday Night at the Naia Resort in Placencia. The opening ceremony saw several presentations that captured the diverse ethnicities and cultures in Belize. But the environment took center stage, as the theme for this year’s A.G.M. is “Media and the Environment”.
Dr. Claire Grant
Dr. Claire Grant, President, C.B.U.
“There is so many parts of the country that are protected. You can’t just go around burning down trees and cutting down trees and that just struck me, but maybe people in Belize does not know but that is not everywhere in the Caribbean. It is not like that. The fact that you have by law protected your environment with policy is not something that tis common across the region and I am praying you do not take it for granted.”
Prime Minister John Briceño was the keynote speaker at the opening event. He highlighted several government policy initiatives undertaken by his administration to safeguard the country’s natural heritage.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“We here in Belize are deeply committed to environmental sustainability and preservation. I am pleased that you all decided to focus this year’s meeting on such a crucial issue, the media and the environment. Today I will share with you some of the work that is being done by my government, the work of preservation and conservation. As a government we are deeply committed to safeguarding our natural heritage and promoting sustainable practices that will ensure the long term health and viability of our environment. As a journalist I hope that you all did your research and you would know that Belize is home to a rich diversity of eco systems, including pristine rain forest, vibrant coral reef and abundant wildlife.”
The Caribbean is on the frontline of the negative effects of climate change. Unpredictable weather patterns brought about by fossil fuel emissions have caused significant damage to vital ecosystems. The media plays a key role in helping to inform the public, tell the stories of those affected, and hold authorities accountable.
Dr. Claire Grant
“If you have all of these mangoes and suddenly somebody starts sending mangoes into your country that are cheaper than your mangoes and they send lots of them, after a while people may not remember the taste of your local mangoes or they see it and it is hardly there and they begin to think about the mangoes they get form outside. That is the same thing that happens with content. To the extent there is so much important content that is proliferating the entire region. It challenges how local people are able to see themselves because they are now like, I want to be like that, I want to speak like that.”
Monday night’s opening ceremony also saw the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center receive the CBU’s President Award. Additionally, the late Oliver Clarke from Jamaica was inducted into the C.B.U.’s Hall of Fame.
Dr. Colin Young
Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, 5Cs
“You are an indispensable partner Dr. Grant. You and your team reaching almost five million people across the region there is no other entity that has the expertise, that has the reputation, the reach, the know-how, stories told by us for us, by the C.B.U. and linking arms with you over the last two years is paying rich dividends by encouraging our journalist, media professionals to showcase the plight of our people.”
Stewart Krohn
Stewart Krohn, C.B.U. Hall of Fame Awardee, 2011
“With your financial prowess and strong business instincts you turned around the fortunes of the Grand Dame and Caribbean print media the Gleaner Company, establishing it as a financially strong organizations now celebrating its one hundred and nineteenth anniversary boasting the accolade of being the longest continuing publication in the Americas. But most of all, you were known at home and abroad for your commitment to press freedom. In the late nineteenth seventies spurred by the government of the day to bring pressure on the gleaner to influence editorial policy or to close the company you launched a campaign to protect the free press which you regarded as an important pillar to democracy.”
As we said, the Caribbean Media Awards Ceremony is set to take place tonight in Placencia. The event will be aired live on Channel Five. Media workers will be recognized in fifty-five categories. More than four hundred submissions from across the Caribbean were made for this years’ awards competition. Great Belize Productions has been nominated in various categories. We spoke with Sonia Gill, the Secretary General of C.B.U., ahead of tonight’s event.
Sonia Gill, Secretary General, C.B.U.
“What we are going to be celebrating is really just a sampling of the content that regional people are able to enjoy because our regional professionals trained locally, most of them, are able to present about the lives, livelihoods and issues that really affect us. In addition, you are going to see a lot of content in different formats, not just news stories, digital content, podcasts, all kinds of creative celebrations of social media content that are speaking to us. We have a wide range of content. It is not just what is in the news cast or in front of the newspapers. But it is drama. It is comedy. It is focused on entertainment and very much it is about the actual people. So, there are several categories that look at those who are doing the directing, producing, in audio engineering for television or radio or even a social media creator. We wanted to organize the material and people that make up our media sector, which is critical in the Caribbean region.”
We begin tonight’s newscast with a report of a serious traffic accident that has left a man in a critical condition at the K.H.M.H. and another with a police charge. The accident happened sometime after seven on Friday night, near mile thirteen on the Phillip Goldson Highway. While the police have not yet released details, there’s plenty for us to share on the incident, including reports that the ambulance service was very late in responding because of mechanical failure. BERT Ambulance had no comment when we called them today, but a relative of the victim said that critical time was lost due to the delay in getting their loved one to the hospital. It took the efforts of an employee from Channel Five who is trained in First Aid, along with two doctors who happened to be at the scene, to stop the patient, Alfred Garbutt, from bleeding out at the scene. We’ll hear from his sister later, but we report first on the man charged in connection with the accident.
Dennis Lawrence Johnson
The allegation is that a sales manager, forty-three-year-old Dennis Lawrence Johnson, was driving a white Toyota Hilux pickup truck under the influence of alcohol when he collided into the back of Garbutt’s motorcycle, sending the fifty-five-year-old cyclist crashing violently onto the pavement. Today, Johnson appeared in the Magistrate’s Court and was bailed on a charge of negligent grievous harm, pending additional charges. No plea was taken, and the prosecution informed the court that the police are expected to charge Johnson with failure to provide specimen. Today, Garbutt’s sister, Carla Garbutt, told News Five that the family is now preparing fundraisers to cover her brother’s mounting hospital bills.
Voice of: Carla Garbutt
Voice of: Carla Garbutt, Sister of traffic accident victim
“He had his foot broken and he was breathing very fast. And the ambulance that we called broke down. Thanks to Dr. Elijio from [BDF] Camp and a young man from Channel 5, and a doctor, another doctor. I don’t know his name, and another lady that was dressed in orange. They assisted, but those three medical people stopped his bleeding because the ambulance broke down. And it was for maybe an hour, hour and a half. And so Mr. Elijio had to take those little stuff that he had to prepare him from there, the ambulance came, but the ambulance was very, very late. We di do some fundraising and things because the first night, he bill da mi one thousand then he’s in I.C.U, so it’s five hundred a night and we don’t have it. And every three days, we get wa bill fi fifteen hundred dollars. So, we are doing some bread and buns today and Saturday, we are going to do a barbecue sale.”
Anyone wishing to support the family can contact Carla Garbutt at cell number 611- 4883.
In crime news, a band of daring thieves, armed with guns, targeted Courts Belmopan branch early this morning. The burglars managed to carry out the plan undetected after they ambushed the company’s security guard and tied him up. Seven gun-toting thieves ambushed the guard before the crack of dawn and stole an assortment of valuables, including laptops, cell phones and money. The total value of the heist has still not been determined, and A.C.P. Romero says investigators are reviewing surveillance footage to help solve the crime.
“Around four-thirty a.m., police responded to a report of a burglary at Courts building in Belmopan. Upon arrival, the security guard reported that he was performing duties when he was approached by seven male persons armed with firearms. They held him up and tied him and proceeded to break into the building. They stole an assortment of cellular phones, laptops and some cash that was in a safe. Investigation into this report continues at this time. We’re working to get the value of all the items. They’re doing an inventory to see all what was stolen.”
Thieves were also busy up north, as a business at the Corozal Free Zone was broken into. The businessman told police that when he arrived at his store, he discovered that the bars securing the business were tampered with. Further checks confirmed his worst fears that the thief or thieves had forced open a safe that contained an undisclosed amount of cash. A.C.P. Romero says investigators are trying to determine who the perpetrators are.
“On Sunday, the eleventh day of August, 2024, police responded to a burglary report at the free zone in the Corozal District. Upon their arrival, Marwan Boinefield reported that he was alerted by someone that his business place was broken into. He made checks inside the burglar bar and the metal door of the building were damaged and entry had been gained. He made checks inside his business place where he found a safe containing a large amount of cash was broken into and all the cash in there was stolen. Investigation into this matter continues.”
Police are looking for two suspects in connection with an armed robbery in the Cayo District that has left two vegetable vendors wounded and without their van and cell phones. The incident happened just as the men arrived home in their van on Saturday. That was when the gunmen pounced on them, stole an amount of cash and their phones, before beating them and taking the van. Head of the Eastern Division, A.C.P. Hilberto Romero told reporters today that police are following several leads.
“On Saturday, the tenth day of August, 2024, police responded to a report in Teakettle Village in the Cayo District, where they met Saulo Mantar and Miguel Cowo, who were seen with injuries. Saulo Mantar reported that he was in his van in the Hillview Area of Santa Elena when he was approached by two male persons armed with firearms. They were taken back into a Ford van that they were in and thereafter the two persons drove off with them to an area. Mantar reported that they arrived at a particular area in Teakettle, where they were taken out of the van and they were severely beaten with metal pipes. Thereafter the male persons robbed both of them of cellphones, cash, and they also stole the van. Thereafter the male persons fled from the area in the van. They received treatment and are in a stable condition. We are seeking two suspects in regard to this robbery.”
The lifeless body of a man was found floating in the sea near Punta Gorda Town on Saturday. A postmortem examination is still pending, but police say no sign of foul play was visible on the body of Victor Bol. A.C.P. Romero said today that the twenty-three-year-old was seen socializing only the night before his body was discovered.
“On Saturday, the 10th day of August, 2024 Punta Gorda Police responded to a report of a body floating in the sea on Front Street. Upon arrival, they saw the lifeless body of a male person. The body was retrieved, taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Thereafter, the body was identified as that of Victor Bol, twenty-three years, Belizean of Punta Gorda Town. There were no signs of any injuries on the body.”
Marion Ali
Can you say when was the last time he was seen alive?
A.C.P Hilberto Romero
“He was seen the night before. He was consuming alcoholic beverages. Thereafter, his body was found.”
It may have happened in the past – a Boledo and lottery agent announces that there can be no more sale of a certain number for a particular draw. But for the first time since the Belize Government Lotteries Limited introduced a software system five months ago, a notice is given to all agents to end the sale of a number. That is, once enough pieces of that number have been sold for that draw. It happened on Sunday. It appeared that too many lottery buyers invested in the number eleven and when the threshold was reached, the system automatically generated a notice across the country. Today, the managing director of the Belize Government Lotteries Limited, Janel Espat said that it’s really nothing new, just the software system. But how many pieces of a number can be purchased before that number is struck off the list? A lot.
Janel Espat
Janel Espat, Managing Director, Belize Government Lotteries Ltd.
“Under the previous management of the Boledo, shop owners would simply inform players that a number was sold out and no longer available for purchase. But what we have done is that we have implemented a feature within our software program, and that feature provides an automatic notice when a number has reached its limit and is no longer available for purchase. So, it would not allow for the sale of that number to be made once it has reached the limit. So, it’s simply just a safeguard that we have put in place to minimize the risk of any very significant loss.”
Marion Ali
“How many pieces of any number is allowed to be sold before you can say it’s sold out?”
Janel Espat
“For the ordinary lottery, it’s about two hundred and five thousand pieces. So, it’s a very high threshold that would translate to winnings of close to two point two, two point five million dollars, somewhere around there.”
Marion Ali
“And you’re saying that the threshold on Sunday for the number eleven was reached for the number eleven?”
Janel Espat
“Yes. Yes. That’s exactly what happened. Over two hundred thousand pieces of the number eleven were sold on Sunday.”
