Poll Shows Majority of Belizeans Skip One & a Million Jackpot Ticket

The highly anticipated One & A Million Jackpot drawing is on Saturday at ten a.m. A recent poll on News Five’s Facebook page has shed light on the sentiments of Belizeans when it comes to playing the lottery. A total of one thousand eight hundred and sixteen users participated in the poll, where they were asked whether they purchased a ticket for the drawing. Of the respondents, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four, or sixty-nine percent, said they did not buy a ticket, while five hundred and sixty-two, or thirty-one percent, said that they did. Among the users who did purchase tickets, many shared personal reasons for their decision. One user stated, “I need to change my house from board to cement.” Another said he opted out of purchasing a ticket, saying, “I will buy food with my money instead.”  However, a recurring question was where to purchase tickets. Numerous users expressed confusion about where they could obtain a ticket.

 

 

While We Celebrate Christmas, Coast Guards Operations Continue

While most people will be celebrating Christmas with family and friends, the dedicated members of the Belize Coast Guard will be on patrol, ensuring the safety of Belize’s waters. Today, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett assured that coastguardsmen will be on duty across the country throughout the weekend and the Christmas holidays.

 

              Elton Bennett

Rear Admiral, Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“ There are members of the Belize Coast Guard forward deployed, forward deployed as far north as Concejo. Ensuring that our economy is protected through counter contraband efforts as far south as Haunted Key. Ensuring territorial integrity and ensuring sovereignty of rescue spaces. Somewhere along the atolls where the Belize Coast Guard forward operating base would be providing a search and rescue unit to ensure that. Mariners are safe throughout this Christmas season. Uh, we continue operations in Crooked tree, providing that transportation for those involved up there. So, throughout the Christmas season, members of the British Coast Guard are forward deployed, um, and performing the best that they can in support of their national mission.”

Bay Leaf Palm Estate Is New Site in Armenia

Over the past few months, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development have been busy pushing through road infrastructure in a new part of Armenia Village named the Bay Leaf Palm Estate. It is a project that will equip first-time land and homeowners with their own property, courtesy the Government of Belize through the Ministry of Infrastructure Development. And while lease documents for parcels of land has been a quintessential campaign for the Ministry of Housing for Belizeans, several constituents of the Cayo South constituency today received their documents from their Area Representative, Julius Espat, who is also the Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing. Minister of Natural Resources, Cordel Hyde was on hand to sign the land documents. News Five’s Marion Ali filed this report on this occasion.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

Today was a big day for first-time landowners and homeowners in the Cayo South constituency as they received their property documents from the Ministry of Natural Resources. In Armenia Village, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development has been hard at work, improving road infrastructure for these soon-to-be homeowners. Cayo South Area Representative, Julius Espat, who also serves as the Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, shared that the recipients come from various communities within Cayo South.

 

Julius Espat

Julius Espat, Area Representative, Cayo South

“Today you have residents from Armenia in the large majority that will receive lots, but we also have from my other villages that I love dearly. We have guys and ladies from Roaring Creek, which is my home village. We have people from Franks, Eddie. We have people from St. Matthews, we have people from Ontario, we have from Blackman, we have from Cotton Tree, where else? We have Valley of Peace, most we have tried to touch a little bit of every village. I will continue to work as hard as I can to make sure that you receive the benefits that you deserve. It’s not a favor. I’m not doing anybody a favor.  I am just assuming the responsibility that you gave me and doing it to the best of my ability.”

 

Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde, who leads the Ministry of Natural Resources, assured the recipients that he’s fighting for them every step of the way.

 

Cordel Hyde

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources

“The minister has prioritized land ownership and homeownership for his people among the many other things he has prioritized. He works hard for you each and every day. He quarrels for you each and every day. Fight for you each and every day. Sometimes you get in an emotional quarrel because he feels so passionately about what he wants for his people. So oftentimes I would tell him, you want the same thing, man. We are get this done. But he works with a feverish passion; works as if though there is no tomorrow. And it’s a model that we should emulate all through the government.”

 

Drawing from his own life experiences, Hyde shared with the new landowners how owning a home can truly transform lives. He emphasized that this is exactly what the government aims to achieve for its people.

 

Cordel Hyde

“ At 12 years old, my mother got a lease cement bungalow from the government  40 years ago. And that changed my life, changed how I thought about myself, changed my perception of life. Change my direction in life. And that is what we are doing right now. When we give someone a land, when we give someone a house, we are changing lives, changing lives for the better.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.

Who is Footing Government’s Legal Expenses in Stake Bank Dispute?

Developer Michael Feinstein’s claim against the Government of Belize over the compulsory acquisition of about twenty-three acres on Stake Bank is set to be heard in the High Court on Thursday. The Briceño administration has defended the takeover, but Prime Minister Briceño also mentioned that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is interested in buying the island to finish the tourism development project. When reporters spoke with the PM this afternoon, they asked who is paying for the high-priced lawyers representing the government.

 

Reporter

“While the acquisition doesn’t cost the taxpayers, who is paying for the legal bills for the two foreign attorneys and Magali Marin?”

 

       Prime Minister John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Well they are suing the government, they are taking the government to court for an action that we think is within our right or our ability to do as a government.  So obviously, we will have to defend our position, so then the government will have to pay for that.”

 

Reporter

“Which means that the taxpayers will pay.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Obviously.”

 

Reporter

“But if the acquisition goes through then the taxpayers are paying for an attorney for land that will eventually belong to a private [land]holder.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño
“No. I think what you need to do is to start speaking to Mr. Feinstein because he continues to take out lawsuits for everything and we have a responsibility to defend.  If we do not put anybody and then we lose the case then what?  One: it will set a bad precedence.  Secondly: I don’t think he’s right, but he just continues to prolong.  So we have to ensure that we put the best possible minds to ensure that we do not set a precedent, that the government can make these decisions to acquire land on the national interest.”

PM Briceño on GST-free Shopping, “It’s a win”  

Get ready for another tax-free shopping spree this weekend, just in time for the Christmas holidays! The first GST-free weekend, held a few days ago, provided some valuable lessons for Belize Tax Services. Shoppers raised concerns about noncompliance, such as store owners backdating receipts or telling customers that credit card transactions didn’t qualify for the twelve-point-five percent discount. So, what does Prime Minister Briceño think about this tax holiday? Let’s find out!

 

        Prime Minister John Briceño

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I think that this GST-free weekend, I think has had some other unexpected, I’m trying to find the word, win, for the Belize Tax Department because it allowed them to see who are the ones that are, that it’s questionable, what it is that they are doing with their reporting of the GST.  I know some stores they closed down, they didn’t want to participate and you need to ask why.  Some of them came with all sorts of excuses, “Oh, it’s already in the price but yet they do not discount it in the invoices.  So what that has done is that it has alerted the BTS, they need to go and visit these businesses to see how they are managing their operations, probably do some audits to see if what they are collecting is being reported back.  I am not suggesting that they are doing anything wrong, but it makes us question.  So from that end, I think it’s something positive came out from it. But most of all, the citizens were excited, that they are saying well, in effect, we’ve gotten a 12.5% discount or if you want to be mathematical and take it from the dollar, take it down from that…the point is they’re getting a huge discount.”

Tour Operators Association Supports New Fuel Depot in Caye Caulker

On Tuesday, two Caye Caulker residents wrote to the police to voice their objections to a proposed fuel depot in their area. However, today, a group of tour operators on the island took the opposite stance. The Caye Caulker Tour Operators Association publicly supported the project, led by Petrol Alliance Group Holding Company Limited. The association, which includes several tour companies on the island, issued a brief “No-objection letter.” In it, they stated, “we understand that the company plans to build a fuel station on parcel 957, Block 12, in the Caye Caulker Registration Section, on the northern side of the village. We have no objections to the proposed construction, as it will benefit all residents in the area”.

BDF Hosts Annual Christmas Luncheon at Price Barracks

The Belize Defense Force celebrated its annual Christmas luncheon today at Price Barracks in Ladyville. Prime Minister John Briceño and Minister of National Defence Florencio Marin Junior were there to serve the dedicated men and women of the B.D.F. Earlier, we caught up with B.D.F. Commander Azariel Loria and PM Briceño to talk about this cherished tradition.

 

                       Azariel Loria

Brig. Gen. Azariel Loria, B.D.F. Commander

“From the time I know myself, when I was a cadet, this was what was done every year and they are a Christmas luncheon and it has survived the time.  I’m here going for thirty years and we still do it every year.  It’s a wonderful tradition that we want to continue to improve. Before, we didn’t have the prime minister.  Sometimes, occasionally, we used to have the ministers of defense, but now the tradition is getting better and better.  Every year it’s getting better.  We’ve had here Prime Minister Briceno for the third or fourth consecutive time.  It speaks volumes.  At least he shows up, he dishes food to the soldiers and then he goes.  But he takes from his busy agenda.  We know that during Christmas everybody is committed and he comes to Price Barracks to pay his respects to the soldiers for the work that they have done every year and so do we, the senior NCOs and officers, we do that as well.  A wonderful tradition and I think that it’ something worthwhile to keep.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“To me, it’s very important because of the men and women who are at the forefront, right at the front, facing whatever challenges that we may have as a country, be it with the fires, the floodings, hurricanes and storms, fighting at the border, protecting the border.  And so, I think it’s the least I can do is to come and symbolically serve them some food.”

B.D.F. Opens New Kitchen at Price Barracks

Earlier today, the Belize Defense Force celebrated the opening of a brand-new kitchen at Price Barracks. The previous facility faced closure threats from the Ministry of Health and Wellness due to hygiene issues. Commander Loria shares more about this important upgrade.

 

                         Azariel Loria

Brig. Gen. Azariel Loria, BDF Commander

“That kitchen is a godsend.  As I mentioned in my speech, we had an old one that the Ministry of Health wanted to close down because it was so unhygienic, but with the efforts of the Ministry of National Defense, with us pushing that we needed a new kitchen, that is now a reality.  It’s a state-of-the-art facility and it could accommodate up to… if we push, up to three hundred soldiers.

Reporter

“And you say it’s going to be used as a hurricane shelter as well?”

Azariel Loria

“It could withstand up to a category five hurricane.  So that could be used as well, if needs be.”

Coast Guard Commander Says Fishermen Still Using Gillnets

Even though the ban on gillnet use has been in place for a few years, some people are still using this illegal fishing method. Gillnets are notorious for their indiscriminate capture of marine life, trapping and killing everything in their path. Fishermen often throw the dead animals back into the sea. Coast Guard Commandant, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, explained that seamen must constantly patrol the waters to catch gillnet users. Recently, they’ve confiscated gillnets in Belize City, Gales Point, and Monkey River.

 

                           Elton Bennett

Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“We are actively always on the lookout for Gillnets, and we have recovered quite a few over the past few months. We have, we have recovered nets from in Belize City. As far as Hunting Key, indeed, but they’re, they’re pretty much all around. So it’s not only an issue of cross border illegal fishing. Wherever our own Belizean fisherfolks are, we are still having this illicit practice of using gillnets. We quite often receive reports of gillnets in the Monkey River area, and also in the Gales Point area. So it’s something that we’re always on the lookout for.”

Coast Guard Still Without Larger Patrol Boats

Earlier this year, the Belize Coast Guard aimed to boost its capabilities by trying to buy two patrol boats worth eight million US dollars. These Sea Axe Class vessels are much larger than the Boston Whalers they currently use. Commandant Rear Admiral Elton Bennett mentioned that they had been in discussions to acquire the boats, but the ones shown by the boatbuilder didn’t meet their needs. As a result, the Coast Guard will be looking for other options.

 

Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, Commandant, Belize Coast Guard

“We had a tenure earlier this year. We decided not to accept any of the submissions that were made. They did not meet our criteria, so we went back to the drawing table and we’re going to re-tender to try to get the best that we can. So, we will be sending out a tender again for that. This is a eight U.S. million-dollar tender and the submission that were made from the shipyards did not satisfy our needs, therefore we decided not to accept any of them.”

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