2025-06-25 - Greater Belize Media

Government Rent Spending: Old News or Ongoing Problem?

Prime Minister John Briceño says there’s nothing surprising about the government spending over two million dollars a year on office rentals. According to him, this isn’t a new issue, and his administration is already working on solutions. But here’s the thing: while the PM points to plans like a new judiciary center in Lake Independence and a future government office campus, there’s still no clear timeline for when these projects will actually break ground. Briceño also highlighted that the government pays twenty-two thousand dollars a month to rent just one building, money he admits could easily cover a mortgage instead. So, if the problem is well known and the cost is so high, why is progress so slow?

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We are working on that. We are starting to work on our building, a judiciary center right here on Lake Independence Boulevard, along with Social Security. And we are getting some investments from other bond holders to build a huge campus to be able to put something there. So, we are working on that. We want to get partner with the private sector or ourselves. Look at this place right here with 5Cs, the government pays for that. We pay twenty-two thousand dollars rent a month. That can pay a mortgage. So we are working on that. You are not coming with nothing new. When we look and I don’t have the exact number, but when you see where we were in 2020 and where we are today and how much more rentals we have been getting, it is not much.”

Is the government doing enough to cut wasteful spending, or just talking about it? And how long should taxpayers wait for real change?

Police Minister Supports Diverting Rent Money to Office Construction

Fifteen thousand dollars a month, that’s what the Ministry of Home Affairs is paying just to rent office space in Belmopan. That’s a hefty price tag, and today we asked Minister Kareem Musa the big question: who’s getting those rental checks, and wouldn’t it make more sense for the government to invest that money in building its own offices? Here’s what he had to say.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“We currently occupy the first floor on constitution drive. I believe this property belongs to Abbadis. I think Special Effects are the owners of the property. Just so you know the last administration was paying more. We were able to negotiate a reduction in the amount of rent that was payable under COVID, we were able to get a reduction. But no doubt the landlord is behind us for an increase because of COVID. So, I just want to make that point.”

Paul Lopez

“Do you think it is high time we stop paying people’s mortgages and loans at the bank with these rental fees?”

Kareem Musa

“I am absolutely a huge supporter and advocate for that position. Obviously that is going to require a financial institution, whether a local institution or foreign, coming in to provide a very substantial loan. We are looking in the range of forty to sixty million dollars to create a government campus that can house all of these offices. That is something we need to focus on. I agree, overtime it is going to be worth it so if we can enter into a public, private partnership whereby you pay this very same rent for a period of twenty to thirty years but after that you become the owners of it, I think that makes a lot more sense and is the direction the government is going to be looking at.”

Tax Transparency or Public Shaming? PM Weighs In

Prime Minister John Briceño isn’t pleased with the Belize Tax Service’s recent move to publish the names of tax defaulters. While the agency says it’s within its legal rights, the PM believes the list should have stayed private. He argues that many small businesses end up in tax trouble not because they’re dodging payments, but because they simply don’t understand the filing process. And while the government can’t legally erase tax debts, Briceño says they’ve been stepping in to help, negotiating lower penalties and interest rates to ease the burden. But is naming and shaming tax defaulters a fair way to enforce compliance, or does it risk crushing the very small businesses the government claims to support? PM Briceño insists his administration isn’t out to hurt entrepreneurs.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“It is unfortunate that it was made public. And I am speaking for myself. It should not have been made public. We should have continued working with them. As you know there has been tremendous growth in the economy over the past four years and nobody can dispute the fact. And it is unfortunate and some small businesses in many instances because they don’t know how to file their taxes are in problems. But we stepped in. We stepped in whenever they asked us to help. We cannot write off taxes. It is only the National Assembly. But how do we help, we will try to negotiate with the Belize Tax Service to try to lower the interest tor the penalties to make it more affordable. We do not want to get anybody out of business. We want more businesses and entrepreneurs. That is why we have been working closely with BELTRAIDE for them to be able to thrive in this economy.”

G.O.B. and Joint Unions are Back at the Negotiation Table

All eyes are on Belize City tomorrow, where government and union negotiators are set to meet once again. On the table? That long-standing demand for an eight-and-a-half percent salary adjustment. The government is expected to present its counterproposal and today, we asked Prime Minister John Briceño what the unions can expect. Here’s what he had to say.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“What I have said with the unions, I will not comment. I want the ministers and deputy prime minister to be in charge of that. They will meet with the unions tomorrow as opposed to just sending the letter. We will meet with them, give them the letter and we hope that they are going to accept. We think we have been bending over trying to accommodate it as best as we can. But we are trying to do something not only for the unions but for the country, because at the end of the day it is all of us tax payers that have to pay that bill.”

Are the Unions Getting a Raw Deal—or Just What They Voted For?

Is the government truly out of money or out of ideas? And should voters hold themselves accountable when promises go unmet? Former Opposition Senator Mike Peyrefitte isn’t holding back when it comes to the ongoing standoff between Belize’s unions and the government. Teachers, public officers, and their managers are still locked in a dispute with the Briceño administration over an eight-and-a-half percent salary adjustment and other unmet demands. But Peyrefitte says the unions shouldn’t be surprised. In his view, the People’s United Party government has failed to grow the economy since taking office in 2020, and now it’s struggling to meet its financial obligations. He points out a tough truth: many public officers voted for this government. Peyrefitte accuses the administration of painting a “rosy picture” of economic success while failing to deliver on promises, especially financial ones. He challenges anyone to name a single new, viable industry that has boosted the economy under the current leadership.

Mike Peyrefitte, Returning Chairman, U.D.P.

“With the unions, well, we could have told them that. The PUP paints this rosy picture of a government that’s flush with cash and doing so well and yet they can’t meet their legal obligations to the unions. Well I say this as well, too, for some of the people in the public service. You also get the government that you vote for. A lot of them voted PUP. This is their government, so they must ask themselves why their government is not helping them and they must see the government that they elected. They are deceptive and they don’t plan on keeping their promises any at all, especially their financial promises. I totally believe them, that they don’t have it. They have not grown this economy since they came to government in 2020. They have done nothing, name me one new growth industry that’s viable that has added to this economy. Name me one. They have done nothing to grow the economy, they have done nothing to generate revenue.”

Minister Musa Says PSU President Started It

The back-and-forth between Police Commissioner Doctor Richard Rosado and PSU President Dean Flowers took center stage recently and now, Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa is weighing in. According to Musa, Flowers fired the first shot in this war of words. So, should the top cop even be involved in a union dispute? And what does the minister think about those bold ads targeting union leaders? We put those questions to him today. Here’s his response.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“Well the Belize Police Department and Doctor Rosado are not creating any sort of ads or attacking the unions. So let us not try to bridge those two or combine those two together. I believe those are political ads. If you look back at the history of how this all started I believe that Mr. Flowers was personally heavily attacking the commissioner of police calling him a bully and puppet, which is unreasonable in my opinion. Dr. Rosado was only acting in the most professional capacity. I think they handled all the demonstrations quite professionally. Obviously the one in Dangriga went on a bit longer, went on for almost two hours and of course the police department has a responsibility to commuters and citizens. That situation got a little tense obviously. The commissioner was able to sit down with the unions after that and they were able to make peace. The commissioner has aways been open to honoring the unions’ request when they want to peacefully protest, it is just that there has to be this level of cooperation and understanding which the unions have since demonstrated.”

Survivor Recounts Night of Terror in Triple Murder Trial

In a gripping courtroom moment, Yenie Alberto, the sole surviving witness in the Ramnarace family triple murder, took the stand to describe the terrifying events of New Year’s Eve 2022. Alberto, the common-law partner of victim David Ramnarace, recalled a peaceful evening spent with David, his brother Jon, Jon’s wife Vivian, and their baby at the couple’s home in Maya Mopan. They were cooking, chatting, and playing games—just enjoying the holiday. But everything changed when the dogs started barking. Jon and David stepped outside to check, and Alberto followed. She noticed someone walking toward them but didn’t get a good look. Moments later, Vivian joined them at the door. As Alberto turned to speak with her, gunshots rang out. Alberto said she instinctively pushed Vivian inside and tried to shut the door. She was shot in the stomach and collapsed in the living room. Despite her injury, she managed to escape through the back door and hide. She later ran to a neighbor for help and was rushed to the hospital. Under cross-examination, Alberto admitted she couldn’t identify the shooter, only describing the person as dressed in black. Defense attorney Doctor Lynden Jones questioned whether the group initially mistook the gunfire for New Year’s fireworks. Earlier in the day, three medical professionals testified. Two doctors confirmed that Vivian was alert and coherent in the days following the shooting. A mental health expert also spoke about helping Vivian prepare to tell her daughter about her father’s death. The final witness was Justice of the Peace Catherine McKenzie, who supervised Vivian’s police statement before her death. That statement, which reportedly names the shooter, will be examined in court tomorrow. The trial continues before Justice Nigel Pilgrim.

Unemployed Woman Caught in $70K Drug Bust

A major drug bust in the heart of the city—police have taken over seventy pounds of suspected cannabis off the streets. It happened just after midday during a joint anti-drug operation in the King’s Park area of Belize City. Officers executed a search at a residence and made a surprising discovery: thirty parcels of suspected cannabis hidden in two containers—one of them a black plastic barrel. At the center of it all? A twenty-four-year-old Belizean woman, Rebecca Marlene Daniels, who was at the home during the search. She’s currently unemployed and now facing serious questions from the authorities.

Police Minister Backs Proposed 13th Amendment

There’s a new constitutional amendment on the table and it’s got people talking. Critics, from the National Trade Union Congress to the opposition and defense attorneys, are sounding the alarm. They say it could lower the bar for declaring a state of emergency and open the door to government overreach. But Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa is pushing back. He says the Thirteenth Amendment isn’t introducing anything new, it’s simply giving constitutional backing to a law that’s already on the books. In fact, he points out, the language comes straight from a 1993 law passed by the United Democratic Party. So why the outrage now? Musa argues that critics may be forgetting their own history.

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs

“As you know this is now going to be the thirteenth amendment to our constitution, which obviously is a very limited amount of constitutional amendments that have been made since our independence. What we have to understand is that whenever you are making and amendment to the constitution, whether for better, or in some cases, you might consider it to be worst, there will be criticism from various entities, especially the opposition. But if you ask me, fisherman will never say their fish stink, because when you look at the state of emergency that came under scrutiny in the high court, that was a state of emergency that was instated by the UDP. So now we are having to defend that. But then you see the opposition condemning the SOE and criticizing this legislation, but what we have to understand is that this legislation is in large part, if not wholly a migration of an existing law. So if you look to the 1993 passage of the legislation in the crime control and criminal justice act, it is the exact language that you see in there that is now being migrated into the constitution. So this is a law by the United Democratic Party. I don’t think they realize that, that this is their legislation. So it is just giving it that extra protection cloak by enshrining it in the constitution, which will make it less open to being attacked constitution, because it now forms part of the constitution.”

Does embedding this law in the Constitution protect public safety, or does it make it harder to challenge in court if it’s ever misused?

Is the Thirteenth Amendment a Step Forward, or a Step Too Far?

The proposed Thirteenth Amendment is stirring up serious debate in Belize. The government says it’s about tightening laws around states of emergency, especially in areas hit hard by crime. But critics, like returning U.D.P. Chairman and attorney Mike Peyrefitte, are raising red flags. Peyrefitte argues that no law should block people from accessing the courts. In his view, if someone believes their freedom has been taken unfairly, they must have the right to challenge it in court. Anything less, he says, could be unconstitutional. So, here’s the big question: Can a government strengthen public safety without weakening individual rights? And if courts are the last line of defense for our freedoms, should any law limit access to them?

Mike Peyrefitte, Returning Chairman, U.D.P.

“I don’t know that you can write any law, I think that’s well established, that could prevent access to the courts. I think the court’s original jurisdiction to hear all matters would naturally, in my view, make that law unconstitutional or illegal. I believe it’s well established that no law can be passed to say [that] you cannot take a matter to court. I think all matters could be taken to court for which the court for which the court would have jurisdiction. Certainly, if someone is deprived of their liberty and they believe that it’s being done in a wrong way, I cannot imagine the court saying that they will not hear them, or hear their issues and make a determination on it.”

As this amendment moves through parliament, it’s not just a legal issue, it’s a test of how we balance justice, safety, and democracy.