Minister Balderamos-Garcia also gave an update on her ministry’s work with the draft Maya Customary Land Rights Policy. Viewers will recall that the policy received significant objections from several Maya communities after its distribution. Minister Balderamos-Garcia says revisions have been made, and along with her new director, they are seeking to balance the playing field in the Toledo district. Here is what she told us.
Dolores Balderamos- Garcia, Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs
“Our senior council, Mr. Marshalleck, along with Samantha Matute, we have gone back and looked at the policy and made a few adjustments to what was proposed. Because if you will remember, some of the Maya communities were saying that they didn’t like the section five, which gives you to begin with a concentric circle of a kilometer or two or three kilometers going out in terms of radius. They were not two happy about that. But I believe there was a misconception there. We were not saying to the Maya communities this is all the land you are going to get. What we were saying is that is your starting point without you having to prove use and occupation.Now one of the proposals in the policy is that if you wish to claim as communal land more than the two- or three-kilometers radius then you will have to prove use and occupation for at least thirty years. Some of them don’t want to hear that. But unfortunately, the government is not in a position to please one people, we have to create a balancing act. I can tell you that mister Requena will be reaching out to the non-Maya communities as well, Jacinto Ville, Yemeri Grove, Barranco, these are areas we also have to look at. We are waiting to hear from the legal advisor from the MLA group and then we will be reporting back to the Caribbean Court of Justice.”
The BelCan Bridge, built by the Government of Canada several decades ago is in dire need of replacement as the structure is deteriorating over time. The Ministry of Infrastructure Development says that there is not much more work that can be done to refurbish the bridge because of its dire state. But the bridge should be replaced as soon as the government gives the go-ahead to welcome tendering for a new bridge at that location. Today, Chief Engineer with the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Evondale Moody, told News Five that hopefully the project for that bridge will begin this year.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“It’s a structure that really needs to be replaced. It’s more critical than Hawksworth. Definitely, because of the structure that is there. We have seen based on the assessment that we have done that the pairs that are there are at risk because of the spalling of the concrete from the piles. And so definitely that is a bridge structure that needs to be replaced. We had initiated the procurement process for that replacement structure. However, that was put on hold by the Ministry of Finance. And so at this point in time, we are currently awaiting a decision from them that we could proceed with the construction of that structure. So it’s not within the Ministry of Infrastructure’s decision right now to go ahead. We have to wait until we get a final decision from the Ministry of Finance, but it is a structure that urgently needs to be replaced.”
But the Hawkesworth Bridge that connects San Ignacio and Santa Elena can serve the public for another twenty-five years, according to Moody. But that will only be after the one-lane suspension bridge undergoes repairs. The Hawkesworth, which has been around since 1949, needs to undergo extensive work that will take six months. But Moody assures the public that the new bridge, which is a two-lane structure, is more than adequate to handle the traffic in the twin towns until the bridge is reopened again.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“What the Ministry of Infrastructure did a few months ago was that we did an assessment of the existing Hawksworth bridge because we knew that It needed some kind of routine and periodic maintenance. And so what we did, we engaged a local consultant, Chias Engineering, for them to do an inspection and assessment of the bridge structure. As you’re aware, that bridge was opened, I think, in 1949. And so the structure itself is approximately 75 years old. Over time, the ministry has executed some repairs to the structure itself, mainly to the deck. However, at this point in time, we need to look at the main structure of, the bridge itself, which is the suspension structure, the cables, we have to look at the primary and secondary girders, we have to look at the deck for the vehicular traffic, and also the deck for the pedestrians. Based on the assessment that was carried out is recommended that we did some immediate. Periodic and maintenance works on that structure because we had some elements that are in need of critical maintenance. And so the idea was that we engage a contractor to do those works. So we went through a procurement process for us to engage a contractor. And that contractor that will be doing the works is Kyosteel Limited, and they will be supervised by Chia’s Engineering and also the MIDH. We have commenced some of those works under the bridge. However, it will take us more time for us to do the main and critical works that needs to be addressed on the suspension bridge itself. So in an effort to do those works and for safety as well we believe it was important for us to close the bridge structure for that duration, which is approximately six months, because they will be doing some sandblasting and other activities on the Structure where you will have workers working at high elevation, and so it’s important for us to keep your safety in mind and the safety of the motor in public as well that utilizes the bridge. And so in an effort to do that, the ministry thought it was critically important for us to close the structure, do those remedial works that needs to be done, and then reopen the structure once we’re completed.”
Like many Belizeans who did not get the chance to refuel before this morning, you may have noticed a significant difference in the prices. That’s because the cost of regular gasoline increased by twenty-three cents while diesel went up by thirty cents. As changes in fuel are a significant factor in the livelihoods of taxi drivers, we spoke to some today, to hear how they are feeling about this increase. Several noted that they were unaware of the increase as they had not stopped for fuel for the day. Bue Albert Robinson, a Belize City taxi driver of over forty years, said there was nothing to be said about the increase, as it was all a part of the reality in Belize.
Britney Gordon
“How long have you been driving a taxi, sir?
Albert Robinson
Albert Robinson, Taxi Driver, Belize City “Well, I started back in 1977. When I took off for about 8 years. I went to work with the Central Bank for free and the program for police for like five years and I came back here since then. So from about 1985 until now, I am operating the taxicab.”
Britney Gordon “So how are you feeling about the recent change in gas prices last night, it went up about twenty-three cents for regular and thirty cents for diesel. How is this affecting you?”
Albert Robinson “You know that you are telling me this. I didn’t know that it went up. Because one of the problems is that most of the time when gas prices fall, we know from the customers, because they want you to reduce your price too. They are telling you, oh, gas gone down, and you still charge the same fare, but then when it goes up, nobody remind you, and the thing with them, our business is not only gasoline, it’s wear and tear, plus you have to labor, you have to work, so you have to get some kind of income, from what you are making, and there’s nothing planted out here, you got to get out here, and do what you need to do, and it’s good that I give thanks to some people that really patronize me for who I am, you know, I respect them and I give them thanks all the time because, especially out here at Albert Street, most of the taxi people, if you leave anything in your, in their vehicle, you’re sure to get it back. You know what I mean? Once they are aware that it is in there, they’re sure to get it back. So it’s safe and we do, we try to do the best we could in keeping, upkeeping the vehicle. And it takes maintenance, not only gasoline, you have to spend on everything. I think taxi operators are the people that contribute the most when it comes to taxis and things like that. Because when we make the little fare from the taxi, When we shop and buy anything, we pay taxes. We have to license ourselves. We license the vehicle, insure the vehicle. So, where do we go from there? What do you understand from that? You know what I mean? And try to be as reasonable as possible with the fare. And try to be hospitable with the customers and give them thanks.”
During the COVID-19 crisis, Rotary Clubs in Belize and Port Moody developed a grant to install RACHEL computer labs, providing offline educational content to schools and the Belize Central Prison. The programme is now expanding to eleven schools with the aim of enhancing literacy and mitigating dropout rates through technology access. Through a collaborative effort, the Rotary Club of Belize, and the Rotary Club of Port Moody, supported by the Rotary Foundation, have committed two hundred and ten thousand Belize dollars to execute this impactful project. Each learning lab will comprise a RACHEL server, twenty Chromebooks, headphones, a monitor, and a storage cart or unit. Teacher and administrator training began this week in Belize City. News Five stopped by to find out more.
Ardeth McFadzean Kelly
Ardeth McFadzean Kelly, Principal, Belize Rural Primary School
“One of the most things I’m excited about is seeing the children using the RACHEL program as they surf the different websites on their own and guided by the teacher. And as we evaluate their progress from where we start to, let’s say, maybe the end of the first cycle of the school year.”
Janeen St. Bernard
Janeen St. Bernard, Principal, Lucky Strike Government School
“I am really enjoying the training. The experience is great because we’re introduced to this program where we have many resources that we can take back to the classroom and to the teachers. And it will enhance learning in a whole with our students.”
Glen Brown
Glen Brown, Rotary Club of Port Moody
“We implemented the pilot project at the Belize Central Prison just prior to COVID. So what was really interesting about that project is that we essentially gave the inmates there and the staff, the equipment, the Rachel server and Chromebooks with relatively minimal direction. But one of the things that we know about learning is that you provide students, adults, with tools and information and they discover it for themselves. And so there really was a process of discovery at the prison with the inmate tutors learning how some of the systems within Rachel would work. And, and really started to advance and to use those things at a very high level.”
Katherine Meighan
Katherine Meighan, President, Rotary Club of Belize
“So I should add that this is the first part of a wider project because there’s more we’re going to be seeing of you good people. It’s really starting off with 11 schools. It’s a nice project, good size. It gives us an opportunity to then train teachers and administrators and also work very closely with the Ministry of Education to make sure that this project is working the way we want. Examples of the 11 schools, and it’s a mix from the Belize district area, or Belize rural area, and Belize city as well. Examples include Lucky Strike, we also have Biscayne. We also have Belize Rural. These are examples of schools that will get access to the Rachel Program. Additionally, we have a few in the city. They include St. Ignatius School, St. John’s Anglican. We also have Unity Presbyterian, Salvation Army and I’m also excited that we were able to add in that 11th school, and that’s Stella Marris. Because we know the age ranges at Stella Marris is wider. We are adding additional programs, for instance. It’s a tool that can be used to support cooking programs, sewing programs, things that could think things that can help and support the young persons, whether they’re five years old or whether there are 15 years old, right? So it’s a really amazing tool that can teach literate literature. Literacy, math, English grammar so much.”
On Monday, the Statistical Institute of Belize released the preliminary results of the 2022 census. In that report, it was revealed that Belize’s population has increased by twenty-three percent since 2010, with just over seventy-five thousand more people. This number was lower than what was initially projected by the S.I.B., and the data shows that the population has been declining by a larger number of people each year. Several factors contributed to this, which were further detailed in the census review. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
In the preliminary results of the 2022 Census , Belize demonstrated a steady decline in population due to the dwindling birth rate. Director General of the SIB, Diana Castillo-Trejo expanded on these trends.
Diana Castillo-Trejo
Diana Castillo-Trejo, Director General, S.I.B.
“And what we can see here from the population series that has been revised for 2011 to 2021 is that one, our population has been growing at a slower rate than was previously estimated. We also see that the rate of growth for our population has been decelerating. We grow by less and less every year, and this is due in large part to declining fertility rates.”
The data also revealed a decline in the number of people married across the country.
Diana Castillo-Trejo
“We also see some slight shifts with respect to marital status. So, the percent of our population that reported that they had never been married for 2022, both males and females, was somewhere around sixty percent. For males, it was over sixty-two percent. For females, it was over fifty percent and both of these were up a few percentage points from 2010, and this corresponded with a slight decrease in the number of persons who reported that they had been married.”
Contrary to the declining marriage rates, the number of people reported in common law partnerships increased.
Diana Castillo-Trejo
“Similarly, when we look at union status, there is a shift, a slight shift away from being married, living with a spouse, to common law living arrangements. So there’s a decrease in both males and females in the percent of the population that reported that they were married and currently living with their spouse.”
According to Castillo-Trejo, the decline in population is consistent with the trends observed in a number of other countries around the world, such as China and Korea. In 2021, data from the World Bank revealed that Korea had the lowest birthrate worldwide, which has only declined since, resulting in the implementation of several government initiatives to boost the birth rates, such as subsidized housing for newlyweds, discounted postpartum care for new mothers, and payments of over two thousand dollars for every newborn. She further explained that not only has the population decreased, but it has also aged as a result of the low birth rate.
Diana Castillo-Trejo
“We can take a look at how our population has changed just in a snapshot form over the past several decades, and we will see that there have been not only changes in terms of growth of the population, but also changes in terms of our general age structure. So you’ll see over time that the very base of our pyramid, which indicates our younger population, has been steadily widening right up until 2010, which was the first census in which we observed that our very base, our children aged zero to four years old, was actually narrower relative to the age groups just above it. By 2022, we can see that this trend was even more pronounced, and this is signaling at least the beginning of a gradual aging of our population. Remember, fertility rates are declining, people are having less children, base of our population is shrinking, and we are starting to age as a population over time.”
Another contributor to the low population was the decline in people who were born abroad migrating to Belize. Doctor Osmond Martinez, CEO of the Ministry of Economic Development, stated that the number of people who migrate to Belize for work is still significant; however, they are operating in informal positions such as construction and agriculture, which he stated were in need of more employees. As a result, the question was posed to the CEO about whether or not the borders should be opened for these workers.
Osmond Martinez
Dr. Osmond Martinez, C.E.O., Ministry of Economic Development
“I don’t think that we need to open the borders. I think there needs to be, and the Ministry of Labor is working on the work permit. But we have to be clear, and it is visible that there is still a lot of crime in Central America, criminals in Central America, gang members, so it is important that who comes to Belize is well screened and that all the background is done and all the due diligence that needs to do by our security department is being done. And so, I don’t think it needs to open the border, but yes, we need to improve especially for the private sector and new investors that are coming into Belize. It’s important to enable that environment where visas can be issue on a more timely manner and the work permits. I am happy to say, that the Ministry of Labor have and it’s working continuously to improve that system.”
As you heard from the Commissioner, there is an ongoing rivalry between residents of three villages in the Belize Rural Valley area. He says that efforts are being made to quell the feud among those groups. However, police are getting resistance from residents of Lemonal Village. Commissioner Williams also criticized the woman supporting the feud.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Yesterday we, we also had intervention with the villagers from Lemonal and Doublehead Cabbage and during that intervention session, a lot of information was shared in respect to what caused the beef and what can be done to resolve the beef. A number of the key players from the Lemonal fraction were absent. And so we could not have had the intervention in such a way that we believe the matter could be brought to an end. And so we have reserved this coming Thursday to go back to Ladyville and invite the different players to come to the table for us to have a more better intervention with the input of more of the players from Lemonal Village. While we try to do this, we, we still see that a number of persons from Lemonal continue to go on social media and are instigating violence. I don’t think that is going to add, it’s going to make the situation any better. And in some cases we’re seeing where the violence is being pushed by women. And in some cases, mothers of these young men who are involved in these ongoing, feud. Now, as parents, I would want to think that you would be more responsible and, uh, would try to guide your child or your children to act civil and not to be involved in these type of activities. But when we see that parents are involved to the extent of riling up the children to behave in an uncivil way, then it makes you wonder what kind of parent they are.”
According to Police Commissioner Chester Williams, police efforts in the Belize Rural Valley area need to be restructured. He says that police officers who are stationed in the three villagers know the troublemakers all too well, and it is something that the department will address internally.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“Many of the failures in the area also had to do with policing. Poor level of policing coming from the police officers in the rural area. And so as a part of the plan moving forward, there certainly needs to be an adjustment in the police officers deployment within rural Belize. Many of the officers there are from the same villages where these problems are coming from and so they’re too acquainted with the players and are unable to execute their duties the way they should. So we have to address that internally. And that is something that I have discussed with Mr. Romero, Mr. Greenwich, Mr. Barrow and Mr. Gabriel. Additionally, we have also, since last week put in place additional patrols in the River Valley area to see how we can conduct more strategic operations to go after those persons who are involved. And I can tell you that over the weekend, footages with these, um, brawls at these games. And, in almost all of these video footages, we can see that the group from Lemonal are the aggressors. And so we have to look at that very carefully and see what we can do to adequately address the issue to try and bring this feud to an end.”
Today, the Statistical Institute of Belize revealed the preliminary results of the 2022 census. This census, which began in May of 2022, collected data from nine hundred fifty-six areas over the course of an eight-month period. The data was then analyzed by the S.I.B. to identify Belize’s population trends, demographics, and socioeconomic insights. The preliminary results revealed that Belize’s population has increased by twenty-three percent since 2010, with just over seventy-five thousand more people. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Belize’s population increased by twenty-three percent since 2010. There are about twenty-five point two percent more females and twenty-one point four pecent males than there were in 2010. Despite the increase in population to close to four hundred thousand, the rate at which it has been increasing has been declining steadily over the past few years. That’s because there are fewer births. Director General of the S.I.B., Diana Castillo-Trejo gave further insight into the trends.
Diana Castillo-Trejo
Diana Castillo-Trejo, Director General, S.I.B.
“We also saw a dramatic reduction in our dependency ratio. So, whereas in 2010, the dependency ratio was 60. 2%, and our dependency ratio is basically the ratio of persons who would not normally be a part of the labor force. So, our children 0 to 14 and persons older than 65, um, as a percent of the persons who would normally be in the labor force. So, persons age 15 to 64. So it, it gives you a ratio of your dependent population to your non dependent population. In 2010, our dependency ratio was over 60%. In 2022, it had fallen by more than 10 percentage points to just under 50%. And we can see that this was all due to a reduction in our child dependency ratio. Whereas we had a child dependency ratio of 50%. 53. 4 percent in 2010. This had fallen dramatically to 41. 3 percent in 2022. We also see the effects of those slightly longer lives in an increase in the old age dependency ratio.”
The census also revealed that the number of houses increased significantly, growing from seventy-nine thousand six hundred fifty-eight in 2010 to one hundred ten thousand, seven hundred nineteen. The number of persons dwelling within each household decreased from four per household to three point six. Deputy Director General of the SIB, Miriam Willoughby detailed these changes.
Miriam Willoughby
Miriam Willoughby, Deputy Director General, S.I.B.
“In terms of the population characteristics in 2022, the total household population stood at three hundred and eighty seven, three hundred and ninety 7,483, up 23.3%. Since the last census in 2010, Stan Creek District experienced the highest population growth at 40.3%. While Carole Ball had the lowest at 10. 4%. 50. 50.8 percent of the population were female compared to 48.2 percent male. 27. 6 percent of the population were below the age of 14. The national median age wasat 25 years of age. The share of the population We since 2010, and we had about 11.5 of the population that was born abroad, and almost one third of migrants came to Belize because of family reunification.”
Although the number of people migrating to Belize for the purpose of family reunification increased Doctor Osmond Martinez, CEO of the Ministry of Economic Development explained that, that did not signal a decline in the number of people migrating to Belize for employment.
Osmond Martinez
Dr. Osmond Martinez, C.E.O., Ministry Economic Development
“The statistics didn’t say only family relations because no, the hiring of people is more formal, formal. So if you ask the ministry of labor, for example, there has to, they have been creating a mechanism in place whereby we can import the labor force not to participate in the agro productive sector and the construction sector. If I’m not wrong, just a few days, you had a, an interview with the, uh, this, uh, cement factory, you know, who, who produce cement, uh, cement blocks, no. And there was no workers. To work on that field. And, and if you look at my speech, I actually, um, highlighted the service sector, the, uh, BPOs and the, um, and the tourism sector are boosting on our, um, their numbers are better off than where it was in 2019. So it has attracted. Young people, young, educated people who are well rewarded in terms of their salary. So they don’t want to go and work in the construction sector or the agro productive sector. So the citrus, banana, uh, the sugar industry continue to face challenges year after year. And so there is an importation of hundreds and hundreds of workers every year. So for example, in 2022. There were, uh, 21, 000 workers that were imported from Central America so that they can continue to contribute to our economy through the agro productive and construction sector.”
The Belize Police Department and the Department of Transport now have better equipment to prevent motor vehicle operators from breaking the law. As we reported, new legislation recently came into effect prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving. And, to show how serious they are about road safety, the Belize Road Safety Project handed over thousands of dollars in equipment to both departments to bolster their traffic enforcement efforts. News Five’s Paul Lopez has the story.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
To mitigate the increasing number of road traffic incidents on the nation’s highways, the Second Road Safety Project handed over much-needed equipment to the Department of Transport and the Police Traffic Unit at a ceremony in Belmopan. Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson was present at the event.
Rodwell Ferguson
Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Transport
“Our responsibility is to try to keep the commuter safe and those who are driving motor vehicles across the country. So, what we received today is just a collaboration between ourselves and the Road Safety Project to make sure we can implement these in our highways. Fortunately, over the Easter I didn’t hear of much accidents. If we can maintain it that way that would be very important. So I am asking now for a collaboration with the police and traffic department to do night patrols. To mitigate the amount of drunk driving and those who are driving carelessly at nighttime. So these will complete what we have already. About a year ago we also got a number of other equipment. WE have also passed legislation so that we can use them. So, with this and those we can improve road safety in the country of Belize. So I feel very confident it is going to work.”
Among the items handed over are handcuffs, reflective vests, binoculars, and handheld radios. Zane Castillo, the project manager at the Road Safety Project, explained that the resources will be shared between the police and traffic departments according to their needs.
“The Department of Transport will be receiving handcuffs, raincoats, reflective vests, uniform caps, retractable speed bumps, traffic signs, handheld radios and base chargers for the radios. The police traffic unit will be receiving traffic cones, binoculars and flashlights, and also reflective vest. They both will also be receiving first aid kits. Especially with respect to the Department of Transport, the equipment should be shared among all the branches within the department for them to have better equipment while on the road doing patrols and checkpoints.”
The Road Safety Project functions under the Ministry of Economic Development. CEO of the Ministry, Doctor Osmond Martinez, says the resources are valued at one hundred and ninety-six thousand Belize dollars. He noted that the funds to acquire the equipment were sourced in part from the Caribbean Development Bank.
Osmond Martinez
Dr. Osmond Martinez, C.E.O, Ministry of Economic Development
“We continue to see road accidents. There is also a need to upgrade the enforcement of our constitution and also support the reinforcement of the transport department. The donation that has been handed over today by the Road Safety which is under the Ministry of Economic Development to Transport, which is also to support all the officers, the men and women who work with the transport department. The total value of the donation to the Ministry of Transport is a hundred and ninety-six thousand dollars and is funds that come through the Caribbean Development Bank. There is also a counterpart funding from the government of Belize.”
And both Minister Ferguson and CEO Martinez had a message for motor vehicle operators. With new legislation passed that prohibits the use of cellphones while driving, Minister Ferguson and CEO Martinez emphasized the fact that one life lost as a result of a road traffic incident is one too many.
Rodwell Ferguson
“I want to urge the travelling public that lives really matter because when someone dies it affects the families. So, we are asking you all to make sure there is no drunk driving. We recently passed the cellphone law that you cannot answer your phone while driving. So, I hope the people comply and many time accidents involve drunk driving and cellphone use. So, I hope they get the message and understand clearly what we want to accomplish for them. It is not only for us, but also for all of us.”
Dr. Osmond Martinez
“The loss of one life is too many, therefore it is important for us to be responsible when we are driving on the road. Follow the rules of the transport department also to be responsible and understand that driving a vehicle is similar to having a weapon on you and it is a weapon on you, a weapon that can kill, injure, anyone out there.”
