As we’ve reported, there is a move afoot by a group of four, including area representatives Patrick Faber and Tracy Panton, to unseat Shyne Barrow as party leader. A call was made on Monday for a national convention to be held within the next ninety days. That request was later denied by U.D.P. Chairman Mike Peyrefitte, who wrote to Second Deputy Party Leader Beverly Williams informing her of his reasons for doing so. According to Barrow, at last year’s national convention, a motion was passed indicating that the leadership of the party will not be challenged until after the 2025 general elections. That agreement, he says, was clearly stated to all delegates who attended the convention.
Shyne Barrow
Shyne Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.
“Five hundred and twenty-one delegates, which is the highest authority of the United Democratic Party, re-elected me and the other leaders to serve not just for the typical two-year term, but to serve until the next general elections. And it was made explicit, it was not just a normal election, there was the election in due order and then there was another motion to the floor of the national convention which again is the highest authority, that state explicitly that there will be no more national conventions, there will be no leadership challenge until after the next general elections. Those who voted for that, that now want to rescind that, should have thought about it when they made that decision because with that decision, they relinquished their rights. That decision, by implication, suspended the parts of the constitution that deal with leadership. If not, then what would have been the point of passing a motion to say that there would be no more national convention as it relates to leadership elections until after the next general elections. The intention of that was to protect against exactly what we see happening now. The only people that are benefiting from what is happening now is the People’s United Party and those that are working with them for thirty silver coins.”
On Saturday, Albert Area Representative Tracy Panton, the face of the I Am with Her campaign, told reporters that the signatures garnered from as many as two hundred and thirty-two delegates would be used as part of a petition to request a national convention. When asked about the flippant attitude of the party chairman towards the group of four, Panton said that neither the chairman nor the party leader controls the voices of the U.D.P. supporters.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“We are certainly going to table this petition formally on Monday for a national convention.”
Reporter
“You’ll table it with the chairman, one presumes.”
Tracy Panton
“With the chairman.”
Reporter
“The chairman has shown that, by his behavior, he noh wahn hyah nothing from Tracy. He snaps back at all of you, and you all have tried, and you all tried to table something today and he rejected it and walked away. At the end of the day, Shyne Barrow and Michael Peyrefitte control the mechanism that are the U.D.P. formally. How will you get past that?”
Tracy Panton
“They do not control the voices of the delegates. They do not own this party. They have completely disregarded and violated the constitution of this party and they will not stop the N.P.C. from doing what it ought to do.”
During a press conference earlier today, Party Leader Barrow basically explained why the request for a national convention was dead on arrival.
Shyne Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.
“When I talked to my colleagues and we talked about moving the party forward, and unifying the party, and having stability, and having certitude going forward, this is what we discussed. And initially, the matter was raised by the N.P.C. and there are certain colleagues who sit at the head table now, against me, who said, “No, the N.P.C. cannot make this determination because if the N.P.C. makes this determination, then the N.P.C. could come right back and change it. This needs to go to the national convention, it needs to be voted on and once that vote is taken nothing can reverse that.” So it is not that the party chairman has discretion or no discretion. Petitioners do not have the right to petition a national convention because we, the national convention, five hundred and twenty-one of the delegates, from all thirty-one constituencies decided that we would not do that. Those are the cold hard facts and it’s interesting that they were disseminating information that it was against me. This petition is to move the entire leadership executive, to move Hugo, to move the party chairman, to move Alberto August. So nobody thought on August 13th, 2023, that any such move would be in the best interest of the party. And in order to show how serious we were about protecting the institution from anarchy and tyranny we went further and put a motion to say, “Listen, no more national conventions, no more leadership questions until after the next general elections and that’s all the party chairman is doing.”
In its attempt to strengthen governance, management and monitoring of Belize’s coastal and marine resources, the Government of Belize is developing a National Enforcement and Conservation Strategy. To this end, the Blue Bond Unit within the Office of the Prime Minister is hosting a two-day workshop where stakeholders are getting an opportunity to have their say in the process. The goal is to identify the gaps, needs and opportunities to enhance fisheries enforcement and conservation monitoring. News Five’s Paul Lopez stopped in at day the Princess Hotel for day one of the workshop. He filed the following report.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The Government of Belize is working to develop a national enforcement and conservation monitoring strategy for the country’s blue spaces. The current enforcement and conservation strategy was put in place for a period of five years, starting in 2013. That strategy is long outdated, so fisheries stakeholders have been meeting in Belize City to discuss existing threats to Belize’s marine ecosystem and ways to address those threats. We spoke with Kennedy Carillo, the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Blue Economy.
Kennedy Carillo
Kennedy Carillo, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Blue Economy
“I think many times one of the misinformation that is out there is that our country is in danger, our fisheries stock is in danger. If you speak to any of these stakeholders, they will tell you that they understand that this is definitely not true, but in addition to that they understand the important role of the Fisheries Department in ensuring there is proper management of the stock. This Blue Bond Agreement provides the country with an opportunity to continue to conserve, continue to be champions of conservation of our marine diversity but also an opportunity to provide that balance, that balance of yes we want to conserve but we also want to ensure we are prioritizing the livelihood of the communities that are dependent on our resources for many years and to look at how a new ministry such as the Blue Economy can do this in a manner that is sustainable, responsible but also inclusive.”
We also heard from Rigoborto Quintana, the Acting Fisheries Administrator in the Fisheries Department. Quintana explained that one of Belize’s commitments under the Blue Bond is to expand biodiversity protection areas. But, with expanded conservation areas comes the need for greater enforcement presence.
“One of the primary areas under the conservation commitment under the Blue Bond, we have been expanding to have more biodiversity protection areas and we need to have more enforcement presence in those areas and that is why we are partnering with the Belize Coast Guard, for example, they are getting more enforcement capabilities in terms of aerial surveillance and that is one of the areas that will be integrated in the strategy to look at modern technology for enforcement.”
Paul Lopez
“As it currently stands, what is the greatest threat to fisheries in Belize at this point?”
Rigoborto Quinta
“I think you have to look at coastal development activities, climate change impact and to some extent the illegal movement of products to our neighboring countries.”
On the enforcement front, the Belize Coast Guard works closely with the Fisheries Department. Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, the Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, says that coast guard officers are equipped to identify fisheries infractions and make detentions. Today, the Belize Coast Guard announced that they are set to receive four military classified drones to increase their aerial enforcement capacity.
“One of those gaps is the air domain. We have always been challenged with the areas of surveillance in our sea spaces, particular our areas of interest for the most part is along the border regions, Belize/Guatemala, Belize/Honduras, Belize/Mexico where enforcement is difficult for us. We have identified the need to develop air capability and that is what we are doing through the Blue Bond program, through the government’s strategic allocation. We have acquired funds to acquire unmanned air vehicles so that will be able to deliver a lot of these capabilities to manage our blue spaces to the best of our ability. We are acquiring those thrones, two should be in country next week and two should be in country later this year. That should give us some very interesting capabilities. WE are looking at UAV that can do up to five hours of flight time, thirteen thousand feet and it can do up to one-hundred-kilometer range.”
And, if there are any questions as to whether the contributions made by stakeholders during these workshops will materialize into a practical national enforcement and conservation strategy, Belizario Carballo, a technical officer within the Blue Bond Unit, says the directives to undertake this process came from Prime Minister, John Briceno.
Belizario Carballo
Belizario Carballo, Technical Officer, Blue Bond Unit
“This is a two-day workshop, and it will provide the context for this national strategy and action plan. As we mentioned we want to make sure it is actionable and once we get out of this we work directly with our partners, those that are legally mandated to enforce this and along with other support from our agencies. We have support from the Belize Fund and the Nature Conservancy. They provide technical and financial support. We are looking at strengthening the effectiveness of fisheries support and monitoring that will benefit a beneficial ocean for nature and people. Key to this is not only protection but to secure the livelihoods of all Belizeans. There is very much support at the highest level of government so I can assure you that we will follow through with this plan.”
The Belize Coast Guard launched a search party over the weekend to locate a Belize City resident who they believe fell off a barge. Reports are that the individual was along with a group of men transporting items from Belize City to Caye Chapel on Sunday. When they arrived at their location on Sunday night, they discovered that the missing man was nowhere to be found. Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, the Commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, says they do not suspect any foul play.
“On Sunday night we received information that one person went missing while transiting from Belize City out to Caye Chapel. He was on board a barge and somewhere Port of Stock, that would be about an hour outside of Belize City on a barge where he was last seen, believed to have fell off the barge. The members of the barge were not aware until they arrived at Caye Chapel and noticed that he was missing. We interviewed the crew and to support our search and rescue operations. We have been conducting operations since Sunday night, as of now we are still doing searches in between that area from Port of Stock towards Caye Chapel. So far, we have not been able to locate him.”
Paul Lopez
“Are there any suspicions of any sort of malicious intent in this case?”
Rear Admiral Elton Bennett
“Not that we are aware of. We are treating it as a genuine case of perhaps someone fell off a barge.”
A family is grieving the loss of their son after an incident involving a tractor claimed the ten-year-old’s life on Friday. Reports are that on August second, the child was operating the family’s tractor when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to fall onto him. The child was rushed to the Corozal Community Hospital for treatment but would later succumb to his injuries. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams says police are deliberating on how to levy charges for the incident.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“It is something we have to look at. I guess this happened in Little Belize. The ten-year-old was driving a tractor and a tractor overturned on the ten year old causing the ten year old’s life. Certainly, there’s some degree of neglect on the part of the parents, but again, we know the Mennonite tradition, there’s a history or there’s a tradition with the Mennonite that they are trained from an early age to, to work on the farm. So we have to look at it very carefully to see if there is any way we can take any criminal charges against the parents, I know that it might be difficult. One might say the parent is already suffering enough having to endure the loss of their child. So it’s a matter we must say policing with empathy. So we have to look at it from that standpoint.”
The family of the late Imari Galvez is still holding out hope that justice will be served for her murder. In May 2023, the nineteen-year-old was found lifeless on the side of the Hummingbird Highway, having apparently been choked to death. Investigators have been unable to make an arrest due to a lack of evidence. ComPol Williams says that progress in the case is slow, but the department has not given up their efforts.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“I met with the family members, the mother and the father. I appointed a new investigator that is now being looked at by the special team that I put together following the S.O.E. and we are making very slow progress and I’m hoping that we’ll be able to reach a stage where we get sufficient evidence to be able to charge someone. We have a basic idea in terms of where we’re going, what we’re looking for. So again, like I said before, we are looking at a number of these investigations that have been closed. We’re opening them and we’re making arrests and I’m hoping that the Imari Galvez case is going to be one of those that we can make an arrest very shortly.”
Reporter
“Is it true that the previous investigator refused to interview an eyewitness?”
It’s an event that a lot of Belizeans look forward to as part of the September celebrations. The Carnival parade usually offers a visual potpourri of colours, sights and sounds. Revelers are often up from the crack of dawn to take part in J’ouvert before the big dance – that is, the carnival road march. The event this year will be huge, going by what carnival officials are saying, with as many of fourteen bands. New to the 2024 parade is the participation of bands hailing from as far away as Corozal and Punta Gorda. But there is a need for more assistance, especially from a junior band that suffered a major setback this week. News Five’s Marion Ali serves you this week’s edition of Kolcha Tuesday with what carnival is shaping up to be in this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
It may still be a month away, but the planners, organizers, designers and officials of Carnival 2024 are having their busiest time making sure that whatever necessary adjustments are made in time. Owner of senior band, Mother Nature Creations, Carla Flowers, says she has already gotten most of her spaces filled.
Carla Flowers
Carla Flowers, Owner, Mother Nature Creations Carnival Band
“This year looks great for me, so I’m not going through any challenge right now, like I have a platinum sponsor, which is Belize Tourist Board.”
Marion Ali
“Oh, great. Okay, so how many members do you have?”
Carla Flowers
“Well, I’m catering for like one hundred and fifty. I already have one-forty. So maybe only 10 more we are going for.”
Marion Ali
“Three segments? How many?”
Carla Flowers
“Seven segments.”
The overall parade in Belize City is also shaping up to be a great display this year, according to President of the Belize Carnival Association, Patrick Thompson, who said there will be a couple new aspects to the tradition.
Patrick Thompson
Patrick Thompson, President, Belize Carnival Association
“We have been visiting the bands. And we see where the bands have improved a lot. So I must say, yes, the route has changed, yes, but that again is a new thing for Carnival this year. So I can assure you that the hype, regardless of the route, will be the same come September 7th. We have five junior bands and five senior bands this year. Also, we should be seeing a band coming out of Punta Gorda. And we are in dialogue with a band from Corozal and Orange Walk. What we want to do is to make carnival a national carnival, where we want these different municipalities to have their own, and then all the winners from different municipalities come to a national carnival.”
While the general momentum is positive, one junior band suffered a significant misfortune this week. Marina Welcome, who owns Jump Street Posse, told us today that things were also looking good for them, until someone paid an unwelcome visit to their camp.
Marina Welcome
Marina Welcome, Owner, Jump Street Posse
“It was going good until they sabotaged my camp. The other night in the hard rain, I think it was like about three o’clock in the morning, they tried to get in on sabotage. I don’t know if they took pictures or what, but right now they have me – I was doing good. Right now they have me one step behind because I had to do a lot of repairs.”
Marion Ali
“So they damaged some of your stuff?”
Marina Welcome
“Yes, a lot of them. Almost all the head pieces, so I had to take a day and a half and did all that all over again and repair.”
Marion Ali
“How many pieces?”
Marina Welcome
“Sixty.”
Marion Ali
“And the band is made up of how many members?”
Marina Welcome
“I’m catering for sixty.”
Marion Ali
“It’s all of them, and it’s really bad because you know already, sponsorship is bad. How are you coping now, having to repair that and it’s costing more?”
Marina Welcome
“(Sighs) Right now, I’m begging for somebody to at least sponsor my queen costume for me. The total cost of that is only one thousand five hundred dollars. So somebody please, my number is 671-2639. Please help and sponsor and get the kids off the street. “
The Association President also appeals for the assistance from the business community towards an event that a lot of people enjoy watching.
Patrick Thompson
“Without Carnival, there’s no September. So, like I would say to everybody, please come out, support these bands, all the little grocery stores in the different areas that these bands practice. Give them that little support, because like, in Creole we say, “one, one okra full basket” and all the support that these bands get will be gratefully appreciated.”
The countdown for the 2024 National Song Competition has begun and with that comes an announcement of the seven finalists who will be facing off on stage with an original song. The competition is held to celebrate Belize, but all participants are open to submit a song about any theme or topic. Competitors are also able to choose from a variety of genres and this year’s show will feature songs with soca, punta rock, traditional and contemporary brukdown sounds. We spoke with Kim Vasquez, Director of the Institute of Arts for the long-awaited reveal of the finalists.
Kim Vasquez
Kim Vasquez, Director, I.C.A.
“In no particular order, the finalists for the 2024 National Song Competition, Wilson Grinage: Until Forever, Jackie Castillo: Song for Belize, Shadow: In Your Blood, Echo: Remember Them Days, Allan Castillo: We Need Love, Lenox Awardo: Gimme All Belize, and Hubee: Explore Belize.”
Reporter
“So what happens now?”
Kim Vasquez
“So now we the competition is judged in two parts. The adjudicators, they look at the song and they’re looking for again, it’s a very technical competition. They’re looking for things like originality, production, arrangement, the originality of the lyrics, the meaningfulness behind the lyrics and that is judged in the first part of the competition. And then on the sixteenth of August, we come here live at the bliss center at eight p.m. for the performance segment now of the competition and again, very different, very unique format. When they come on stage here, they get an opportunity to warm up. They’re going to perform a song of their choice. It can be something that one of their previous hits, or it can be any cover of any song that is to just warm them up and introduce them to the audience. And then they will come with their song into the song competition.”
Britney Gordon
“And you said there’s a very good reason to come out and support this competition.”
Kim Vasquez
“There is again, what we’re trying to do is this is a way for us to, yes, have new music come out to support artists, to encourage them to improve their craft, but it’s also has to do with now where emancipation day has just taken place. And now we’re going full speed ahead into the September celebrations. And we were working hard this year to bring the competition in the month of August. So that all the songs could be out and they could be played and shared. And this is what we want the public to do, support them.”
Every year, Belizeans across the country look forward to the annual Queen of the Bay pageants. However, this year, residents of San Ignacio and Santa Elena expressed disappointment after the event was cancelled and a queen was appointed with little fanfare. Earl Trapp, Mayor of San Ignacio and Santa Elena, says that he understands the public’s disappointment and anticipates next year’s event.
Earl Trapp, Mayor, San Ignacio & Santa Elena
“The Queen of the West, we had a committee placed from November of last year. Somewhere between November and a month ago after elections in March, everything just eroded. Like I said on the station this morning, I’m not the person that will micromanage. But the candidates decided to fall out and I cannot force people to do what they don’t want. So I expressed my I mean my apologies for that but I can tell you that next year around I have a vibrant committee that will make ensure that we have enough delegates to have the Queen of the West pageant.”
