Over the past few months, tensions have been high between the Social Security Board and the National Trade Union Congress of Belize. In a letter sent to the board, the union members claimed they have been consistently excluded from important dialogues, such as the decision to hire a deputy C.E.O. for the board. The S.S.B. then issued a release, maintaining that all proper protocol had been adhered to. We asked C.E.O. Deborah Ruiz for an update on the discussions between the parties. Here’s what she had to say.
Deborah Ruiz
Debora Ruiz, C.E.O., S.S.B.
“In terms of a discussion, I know that would be at the board level. So I’m not aware that a meeting per se has been had, apart from our board meeting, where the board has been meeting. The N.T.U.C.B. is a member of our board, so discussions have been had at our board level. But in terms of resolving concerns, I think that would merit further conversation with our board, no? I can’t speak to that at this time.”
Britney Gordon
“One of the issues that they had brought up was a lack of transparency and communication between the S.S.B. and the N.T.U.C.B.”
Debora Ruiz
“The N.T.U.C.B. is a vital partner. They sit on our board. I’m not sure if the concern that you refer to refers to the N.T.U.C.B. proper or the persons who they nominate to sit on our board. The persons who are nominated to sit on the board, the way the process works is that if any matter comes up for a decision, we have prepared board agenda, we have decision matters, and we have other matters. If suggestions come up on the other matters, then as the nominee for the whatever whether it be the chamber or the N.T.U.C.B. or the government of Belize, they have a vote. And the vote is by majority. Those are the rules of the organization. Yes, that is as far as I could see. But normally, any substantial matter, we do try to give notice by presenting the papers early that they have a chance to review. The concern for me personally would be in terms of how that is done, because some matters are private to the directors of the company. It’s all depends on how they manage their fiduciary responsibility.”
InJuly, the United Democratic Party called for an independent audit of the Leadership Intervention Unit, citing credible allegations of malfeasance, misappropriation, and misuse of public funds. According to the opposition, checks are allegedly being issued to individuals who have left the country and are seeking asylum in the U.S., as well as to those incarcerated for gang-related activities. They also claim that the L.I.U. is being used to funnel public funds to political operatives. Today, reporters asked L.I.U. Chairperson Dominique Noralez to respond to these allegations. Here’s what she had to say.
Dominque Noralez
Dominque Noralez, Chairperson, L.I.U.
“First, I think it’s important to establish that I am not a politician and so I don’t respond to partisan propaganda. Secondly, always open to an audit, it is the government’s funds, and if it is something that the leader of opposition can galvanize support to request an audit, then by all means, my doors are open, my processes are transparent, and even more efficient now given our transition to Digi Wallet. In fact, all of my employees have been paid since eight fifteen this morning, as opposed to six o’clock in the evening when they get a check. So, I’m always open to an audit. I have no problem with that.”
Reporter
“One of the things that the leader of opposition had said was that there are people who are not even living in Belize. I don’t know where he got that information from, as well as people who may have been dead, who would have still been under the L.I.U. program.”
Dominique Noralez
“Well, in order to be on the leadership intervention unit program and receive any assistance from us, you have to bring in a social security card, which means those people have to be alive. And so, getting this thing about people being dead and getting paid, that is not the kind of ship I run. My list has been renewed about two or three weeks ago, which is why the transition to Digi Wallet is easier now. So, everybody has to have to hand in a social security. That is a part of the accountability mechanisms from the central bank to use these e-wallets. And so there, there is really, there are no complaints to be made. Everyone is alive and everyone is receiving their funds from the L.I.U.”
Reporter
“But before you came on board, what did you find?”
Dominique Noralez
“There were some issues with structure. That has been the first year of my tenure really. Fixing the structural issues and making sure my team is up to par with making sure that we can deliver the services that the cabinet paper that brought the L.I.U. to life in visage. So before there were some structural issues, we’ve since fixed those and we move to the future with renewed vigor.”
On Thursday night, we reported on the transfer of Corporal Anastacio Uh from San Pedro Town to Belize City on August first, following his involvement in an incident involving alleged police abuse. Corporal Uh took the statement of a fifteen-year-old minor on July seventh after Sergeant Devin Makin was filmed pistol-whipping twenty-two-year-old Ryan Mendez. Makin claimed he acted under the belief that Mendez was armed after allegedly chasing the minor with a firearm. However, the minor’s statement, which News Five has obtained, did not support Makin’s account. The boy stated he saw someone running toward him but couldn’t identify the person or confirm if they were armed. This contradicts Makin’s assertion that the minor reported being chased by an armed individual. The minor explained that he ran to safety at a nearby bar before Sergeant Makin arrived and questioned him. Without solid evidence or identification, police were unable to charge Mendez. We will continue to monitor this developing story.
Traffic lights are crucial for controlling traffic flow at busy intersections worldwide, including in Belize. However, many motorists in Belize City frequently bypass these regulations, often due to being in a rush or disregarding the rules. The Belize City Council employs traffic enforcement officers to detect and ticket offenders, but limited resources and equipment mean many violations go unnoticed. This not only undermines traffic safety but also results in lost revenue for the city from fines. News Five’s Paul Lopez investigated the frequency of these violations at the city’s main intersections.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Traffic lights are established to manage the flow of traffic, especially at busy intersections. A total of seven traffic lights are established across Belize City.
Mauricio Gonzalez
Mauricio Gonzalez, Enforcement Manager
“As you guys are seeing. We are moving towards stop lights, parking meters, we just launched the E-Bus. We are trying to establish a safe city. It is not only for motorists. It is for pedestrians for the safety of pedestrians.”
The rules motorists should adhere to at a traffic light are simple: Red light means ‘stop’; yellow light means ‘prepare to stop’; and green light means ‘go’. And then there is the arrow system that directs motorists wanting to make certain turns at an intersection.
Voice of: George Lucario
Voice of: George Lucario, Enforcement Coordinator
“It helps because whenever one section is in the red in the other section traffic can flow, so without the lights it would have been more chaos. So, the lights do help, share the traffic in all different directions.”
Mauricio Gonzalez
“The areas where we see strategy stop lights is because we have studies. We have been out there; we have seen traffic congestion, and this is why the city council paved the way to have stop lights at these junctions. A lot of people, a lot of residents don’t know that when the lights is on yellow, speeding is a violation.”
The penalty for disobeying a traffic sign or a traffic light is fifty-dollars. So, how many people in Belize City obey the rules of traffic lights? And how much money is the city missing out on daily as motorists violate traffic light regulations? We went out on a covert operation to investigate. We spent at least ten minutes at four different intersections to capture as many traffic lights infractions as possible within that time span.
Our first stop was the intersection between Freetown Road, Douglas Jones, and Wilson streets. Two minutes in, this vehicle speeds up at the yellow light instead of slowing down. That warrants a fine of fifty dollars. Three minutes in, these two pickup trucks do the same thing. That is an additional hundred dollars in fines. This red SUV daringly sped past a yellow light. The light turned red while the vehicle was in the middle of the intersection. That is another fifty dollars. Within ten minutes on this side of the intersection alone we recorded at least eight traffic light violations. That is a whopping four hundred dollars in fines for the city.
And those violations only became more egregious at the Central American Boulevard and Neal Penn Road intersection. Within three minutes of recording, this government vehicle sped up at a yellow light. An SUV followed behind and barely made it across before the light turned red. That is one hundred dollars in violation fines. Here, this car makes a left U-turn on a red light to go in the opposite direction, another ticket and fine.
At least, Belize’s first cyber truck adhered to the traffic light rules. But only moments later, this city bus runs a yellow light that quickly turns into a red light. The motorcycle behind it certainly ran a red light. That is two fifty-dollar fines. On the other side of the boulevard, these two SUVs completely ignored the red light as they drove across the intersection, resulting in another hundred dollars in fines. And the infractions only continued. With all that our cameras captured, fines that would be due to the city now stand at a thousand dollars. Unfortunately, no traffic officers were in sight to ticket these violators. And even though a police booth is situated at this intersection, its presence does little to stop these violations from occurring.
Another set of traffic lights is situated at the Central American Boulevard and Albert Hoy Avenue intersection. Only a minute into us being there, and already our cameras captured a pickup truck running a red light. The driver of this white car also did not appear bothered as the vehicle ran the right lights. Risking his life, this motorcycle runs a red light.
And, even at the intersection between Vernon Street and Chetumal Boulevard, traffic light infractions kept occurring. Within forty minutes at four different intersections, we documented at least thirty traffic light violations. That would amount to at least fifteen hundred dollars in fines that the city could receive. But, with limited human resources at the Belize City Council’s Traffic Department, catching the rule breakers is not as clear-cut.
Mauricio Gonzalez
“We do have operations at these lights. It is something we try to do at least three to four times a week. In the mornings we have officers at different lights ensuring that people are following the light system. At the moment we are not equipped to have officers at every stop light, but we try our best to have them at three out of the six, sometimes four out of the six in the morning.”
In July, the Ministry of Investment, through its Investment Policy and Compliance Unit, teamed up with the Taiwan Technical Mission and the National Women’s Commission to launch an animation bootcamp for women and teens. That initial opening was held in Belize City to provide the participants with in-person and online training. This is with a view to creating opportunities for them to learn basic digital skills in graphic art and animation to be able to produce short, animated movies and attract employment. The event moved to Orange Walk on Thursday, and News Five’s Marion Ali filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Thirty women in Orange Walk who have expressed interest in animation and art have an opportunity over the next few days to learn to hone their skills in this area with a view to create their own livelihood by putting their training to work. They are taking part in an animation boot camp at Orange Walk Technical High School. The project is part of the government’s effort to push for an orange economy, using creative assets to contribute to economic activity and growth. Spearheading the six-day training is Jeavon Sanker.
“There are huge opportunities for our country’s economic development. I also have friends in other countries that have animation studios, for example, Trinidad, Martinique, Jamaica, and they talk about projects being outsourced to them in the Caribbean from other countries, all the way from America. A lot of times people – and I have worked on a lot of projects as well from people abroad, and they like working with me. Guess why? It’s affordable to them. You see the exchange rate, they love the exchange rate and that doesn’t mean we’re not getting paid good. Yes, we’re getting paid good, but the thing is, we have the opportunity to tap into a market.”
If the event is successful, it could improve the unemployment rate for women who currently need jobs, as Prime Minister John Briceño alluded to.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“When you look at the statistics, it is over forty percent of women that are not working. So could you imagine that if you can harness, if you could unleash that power, that talent that you have, those that are staying home because of different reasons – they have to take care of their children, so there’s no daycare centers that you can take your children. But if you could imagine that we could unleash that talent that you have and put it and invest it in the economy, Belize can double its economy in less than ten years. And what you’re doing here with the orange economy and animation and using technology means that in many instances you do not have to leave the home to be able to have a job that can empower you economically. Presently with the call centers there are a number of people that are working from home. Animation could be one of them.”
The project’s implementation came with financial support from the Taiwanese government, and Ambassador Lily Li-Wen Hsu says that already, it has made some positive impact.
Lily Li-Wen Hsu
Lily Li-Wen Hsu, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize
“I understand this is this series of program has been held in other places of the nation, and it’s already a boom for many, many young women and that interested in animation. So I’m very excited that this program today comes to Orange Walk. This collaborative initiative is between the Taiwan I.C.D.F., the Office of the Prime Minister, and Ministry of Investment, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, and the National Women’s Commission. And it is part of our ongoing bilateral Taiwan Belize Women’s Empowerment Project that has been running for more than two and a half years.”
Today, the Social Security Board hosted its annual S.S.B. Connect-Public Forum in Belize City, where stakeholders and members of the board gather to discuss issues and plans for improvement. This year, the S.S.B. is working to strengthen bonds with stakeholders and improve operations to better fit its demographic. News Five’s Britney Gordon has the details.
Deborah Ruiz
Deborah Ruiz, C.E.O., S.S.B.
“Our annual Social Security Connect, which is a public forum where we report on the operations activities and the actuarial assessment and review done by the actuary. I think it’s important for transparency because it gives the opportunity for our stakeholders to be aware of what are the challenges, what are the successes, and what are the innovative strategies that would be taken by the board moving forward to further develop a program content and hear from our stakeholders what changes they want to see done to the social security program.”
Britney Gordon, Reporting
The S.S.B. Connect Forum provides an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss any concerns they may have regarding the operations of the Board, but it is also a platform for the SSB to highlight the successes and progress made over the past year. We spoke to the S.S.B.’s outgoing C.E.O., Deborah Ruiz.
Deborah Ruiz
“In terms of operations, we will be looking more at, as you indicated, what our online platform is. It’s not going as fast as we would like, because, we’re dealing with a vast forty-two years of data that we have to clean up and make sure that when it’s online, because shortly customers will be able to see their contribution payments. And then we are working on deploying the benefits module. The sickness benefit will be the first one coming online shortly. So persons have the opportunity to file their medical claims online. We will have an employee in the medical portal where the medical providers are able to do the medical certificates online. Full transparency in terms of the process of how long your claim will take from the time you submit it to the time the payment is in your bank account. So that, that is a big change for us from where we started with a manual process.”
The attendance of stakeholders is key to the success of the forum. Director of Education at the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, Trisha Perez, says that the N.T.U.C.B.’s participation underscored the union’s desire to represent and protect workers in Belize.
Trisha Perez
Trisha Perez, Education Director, N.T.U.C.B.
“We were invited to join in the S.S.B. Connect today. What we’ve been doing over the last few years, we’ve been participating with the social protection floor and to see how best we could increase social protection coverage for all workers in Belize along with the rest of the society.”
Attending for the first time this year is the president of the Christian Workers Union, Leonora Flowers. She said that the union recognises the progress and achievements of S.S.B., and the union continues to work in tandem for the betterment of the country.
Leonora Flowers
Leonora Flowers, President, C.W.U.
“My presence today is to celebrate, of course, the good reviews that S.S.B. is getting. Being from the union, it doesn’t mean that we don’t know that there are very good things happening there. And so we are here. I am here particularly first time at the S.S.B. Connect to celebrate the good reviews that’s happening.”
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has received a donation of medical equipment from the International Organization for Migration. The equipment worth over one hundred and fifty-one thousand dollars is part of the project called “Building Climate Change Resilience and Social Integration of Displaced People in Settlements of Western Belize,” introduced in February 2022. The project is funded by the European Union with a grant of four point six million dollars that aims to enhance resilience in five Western communities. It included the construction of five community center that can be used as hurricane shelters as well as a polyclinic, upgrades to water systems in three communities, and the installation of culverts and drainage in two communities. It also provides a water bowser, firefighting equipment, and training. Now that the communities of Santa Familia, Billy White, Los Tambos, Duck Run One, and Duck Run Three have begun to see the infrastructural upgrades, I.O.M. has decided to invest the leftover monies in medical equipment. Head of the I.O.M. Office in Belize, Diana Locke, explains what the funds were used to purchase.
Diana Locke
Diana Locke, Head, I.O.M. Office, Belize
“We are partnering with the government to do a project in Western Belize, five communities, and we thought that this was important. The polyclinic was slated to be one of the buildings constructed that’s been constructed by the government side, and we had some extra funds that were left. We were doing training, and we had some extra funds that were left, and we said, look, we wanted to see how we could support the polyclinic. In the funds we had little funds budgeted for that. Unfortunately, due to construction costs, it ate away some more of the money. And so we ended up with a hundred and fifty-one thousand dollars and we were able to, with the Ministry of Health, speak with them to find out what were the more critical items that they needed in the polyclinic. that they would have to purchase. And so, we came up with the list. There’s a computer and printer. We have waiting room chairs, refrigerators. That is very important for keeping the vaccines and the different things that they will need to administer in the community. We have diagnostic sets, tuning forks, Doppler sono-tracks. We have scales. We have pediatric scales as well as adult scales, the blood pressure apparatuses, EKG machine, we have patient trolley, crash carts, cardio monitor. We have the opal chair, the autoclave, the backboard, and spinal board, and we have cervical colors. So this is just a few of the items that they need that they will have access to in the polyclinic. By no means is it all, but this is a significant contribution to the operation of the polyclinic. So we’re very happy that we were able to use these funds to do that and which will benefit over – from the information – we have over five thousand people that live in those communities.”
Three men accused of carrying out a daring armed robbery on Freetown Road earlier this week have been remanded to the Belize Central Prison. The suspects are twenty-four-year-old call center agent Malique Chavez, nineteen-year-old Leroy Garoy, and forty-five-year-old taxi driver Harvey Sambula, who allegedly drove the getaway vehicle. Chavez and Garoy face charges of aggravated burglary and abetment to commit aggravated burglary. Sambula, in his defense, claimed he was simply doing his job as a taxi driver and is not involved in criminal activities. However, the court denied him bail, and he was remanded along with the others until their next court appearance on September twenty-third. The robbery took a deadly turn when a fourth suspect, Leroy Smith, was shot and killed during the incident. According to reports, Smith, Chavez, and Garoy used a handgun to force thirty-three-year-old businessman Michael Cambranes, owner of Casa Churros and Mini Café, into his establishment just before noon on Tuesday. As Cambranes was opening his business, the men demanded money. When Cambranes stated he had none, Smith, allegedly holding the gun, forced him upstairs. A struggle ensued, and Cambranes managed to disarm Smith. Fearing for his life, Cambranes fired several shots at his assailant. Meanwhile, Garoy and Chavez made off with a gold bracelet and a Samsung Galaxy cellphone, worth nearly four thousand dollars. Both men pleaded not guilty, but were denied bail under the Firearms Act. Sambula, who claimed he was merely providing taxi services, has been charged with abetment to burglary for allegedly aiding in the crime. Despite Sambula’s argument that he was simply running errands for the Vital Statistics Department, the magistrate emphasized the seriousness of the charges and denied him bail. All three men will return to court on September twenty-third.
Thirty-seven-year-old police officer Albert Sutherland has been charged with wounding another officer at the police barracks on Vernon Street. Sutherland, who pleaded not guilty, is accused of wounding thirty-four-year-old Dangriga police officer Arnaldo Ical during a confrontation. Following the incident, Sutherland has been placed on interdiction and released on bail of one thousand dollars. The alleged assault occurred on July twelfth, around 1 a.m., when Sutherland reportedly attacked Ical on the veranda of the barracks. Ical sustained a swollen left cheek and an injured lower lip. He reported that a fellow officer, whom he did not know by name at the time, had been pacing and cursing on the phone before suddenly walking up and punching him. Sutherland is scheduled to appear in court again on October seventh.
The issue of low staff has been a growing concern in the health sector for years. And now, with the government’s plan to construct hospitals across the country, the question of who will staff these hospitals arises. Minister of Health and Wellness, Kevin Bernard, says that the ministry is working towards creating environments that will attract Belizean medical professionals to work in the country.
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Minister, MOWH
“As usual, there’s always staffing needs. We continuously look at advertising for posts. They, whenever the new hospitals are built in these areas, those are the first that will be staffed. The other hospitals, for example, Western Region, where it is, those will continue to provide primary care service. But gradually, we have to ensure That the tertiary facilities are the ones that will be the priority areas that we’ll have to. Now, it’s a known fact that it’s across the region, across the world, even in the big United States of America, where there’s a shortage of about sixty thousand nurses in, in the United States. In big United States, what happened to our small country? So when they are short, they poach the nurses. from our countries in the region. And so we have to continuously put in measures in place to retain our staff. And that’s one of the reason why, when you look at the compendium of allowances for nurses and our health professionals, we’re trying to ensure that we create a package that will see them staying in our country to provide service, as opposed to leaving the country for other better packages that they offer, because they offer some of these people fancy packages. And I understand for example, in the U.K., they offer them house, they offer them scholarships, they offer them all sorts of things for the entire family. We can’t afford all of that, but we have to make sure that there is that. And I know that for the most of the persons who stay in this country, because they are committed to this country, they want to see our country better, they want to see better healthcare and they have given their life in support of service for this country in terms of the healthcare profession. And so we continue to look at those things. And there’s always, there will always be these challenges, but we have to make sure that there’s always planning in place to ensure that we have the adequate staff, at least, to provide the services that are required for Belizean people.”
