United and Strong in Belmopan!
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Thursday, February 16, 2012 Capital Weekly Page 1 CapitalCapitalCapital FromFromFromWeekly WeeklyWeekly thethethe HeartHeartHeart ofofof thethethe NationNationNation tototo thethethe SoulSoulSoul ofofof thethethe PeoplePeoplePeople No. 022 Thursday, February 16, 2012 Price: $1.00 Nomination Day United and Strong in Belmopan! nyone can talk were already scheduled by law for about running for March 7 and will thus be held on the Aoffice, but it is only same day as the General Elections. those who get themselves nomi- Saldivar and his army of nated that are really in the race. UDP campaigners and supporters For the municipal elections, nevertheless joined in the nomina- registration to enter the race took place tion day parade, making for one giant countrywide this past Wednesday. UDP march of unity and solidarity. But besides being an of- “United and Strong,” was indeed the ficial part of the election pro- slogan boldly displayed on red- cess, nomination day has always shirts worn by campaigners and been an occasion for displaying supporters of the UDP in Belmopan. strength and rallying the troops And, we can tell you, on that that will do battle on Election Day. day, there was plenty of red, more It’s an opportunity that was than quadrupling the blue T-shirts that seized upon this past Wednesday, had came out earlier in support of the especially by the governing UDP PUP. And there were also hundreds which by all accounts is in supe- of UDP flags to go with the T-shirts. rior fighting form, as compared to As to Belmopan’s third party, the PUP, which has been taking the VIP, and other independents, blow after blow from within, in they stuck to the official process; no addition to successive defeats suf- crowds, no march, no music, no flags. fered at the polls since the Cayo Mayor Lopez and Hon. Saldivar wave at supporters on Nomination Day And so, the stage is set—as South By-Election of October 2003. mopan. He has now served two terms wide, which take place on March 7. far as the municipal elections are The man who, in that by- and is getting ready to go for a third. But this past Wednesday, concerned—no new horse being able election, became the first ever UDP to Saldivar himself will be it was Mayor Simeon Lopez and to enter the race. And the same will be win the Cayo South constituency, Hon nominated this Friday, February his slate of candidates for coun- true for the General Election race by John Saldivar, is now the area repre- 17, along with all other candidates cilors whose turn it was to sign the end of this week, as those nomina- sentative for the constituency of Bel- for the General Elections country- up for the municipal elections that tions take place on Friday, February 17. Objection Superbond Strikes Again! to Shakron Another 33 Million Gone! Nomination hirty Three Million! That’s how much money the Government and People of BelizeT have to find in the next few days for one single payment on the Super Bond left behind by the PUP. Bright and early this com- ing Monday, February 20, 2012, we will have to pay up US $16, 768,533.33 which converts to BZ $33,537,066.66, being the latest in- stallment on the repayment of the Super Bond which the PUP left as a legacy for Belizeans, and which the Said Musa Francis Fonseca (Continued on Page 9) Story on Page 14 Page 2 Capital Weekly Thursday, February 16, 2012 From the Desk Paved Placencia of the Chairman Road Inaugurated The Harder They Come The Harder They Fall ! any election, even one that all the vital signs told you they should lose. Those days are gone, and today the PUP appears to be a party without soul, style or substance; a kind of A portion of the newly paved Placencia Road walking dead organism which is simply limp- ing around longing to regain the mobility and ability it once had. If there was ever a time for the third party ele- Delroy Cuthkelvin ments to jump the PUP Chairman, Editorial Board and move into second place, that time is now. s it only me, But that is not the or do you get main point of our es- say. That point is that Hon. Melvin Hulse Hon. Anthony Martinez the distinct Stann Creek West Area Rep. Minister of Works feelingI that the forces the Barrow administra- opposed to this UDP ad- tion is so decisively and It is the access road at Thursday’s inauguration ministration are growing resolutely on the right to one of Belize’s most pop- ceremony were Minister of more desperate by the track that it is becoming ular tourism destinations, Works, Anthony Martinez, and minute as the General harder by the minute for the Placencia Road, which Stann Creek West Area Repre- Elections draw nearer? the pockets of resistance, leads to the village by the sentative, Hon. Melvin Hulse. And isn’t it becom- including what is left of same name, Placencia. After a decade of prom- ing just as obvious that the PUP, to mount any ises by the last administration, the harder they try, the effective assault against that road has finally been FromCapital the Heart Weekly of the Nation more they’re failing, and it, even if they were to paved by the Dean Barrow To the Soul of the People falling like flies that hit coalesce, as they appear Government with financing to be attempting at this a glowing light-bulb? coming mainly from the Ca- Published By: There was a time late stage in the game, ribbean Development Bank. Roots & Rhythm Ltd. when the ‘invincible blue around the single agenda The project agreement 15 Gibnut Street machine’ was pretty ef- of bringing down an ad- was signed in 2008 with Cisco Belmopan Construction, and the works fective at muddying the ministration that has were completed last year. waters amidst an elec- so successfully stood Chairman: Also constructed as Delroy Cuthkelvin tion season, so that it up and defended the part of the entire project became difficult for the national interest; an ad- was a multi-purpose build- Compositor: average Belizean voter ministration that has, in- ing in Seign Bight, which William Cuthkelvin to distinguish between deed, gone a step further was built to replace the old good and evil, right and in taking the offensive multi-purpose structure that Telephone: wrong, truth and fiction. on behalf of the People had to be demolished to ac- 802-1284 And on the ground, the and Country of Belize. commodate the widening and paving of the Placencia Email: “The harder they ‘blue machine’ had such Road that passes through capitalweekly_bze a dominating game it come, the harder they fall; that neighboring village. @yahoo.com appeared they could win one and all!” (Jimmy Cliff) Among special guests Thursday, February 16, 2012 Capital Weekly Page 3 Tourism Turns the Corner BIG Increase in Overnight Visitors t is no secret that, com- We are also working on—and enhancement training, customer ser- paratively, Belize’s Econ- there’s going to be training in March vice training; wait staff, bartending omy is doing well. Com- in cultural tourism for persons who front desk, and key to all of this is parative,I that is, to other countries in are offering cultural tourism products, to get more trainers into the system.” the region, particularly other mem- giving them training and also a small Total overnight arrivals in bers of the Caribbean Community. grants program that is coming through 2011 stood at 250,263. It is the sec- This is, of course, within the IDB project and looking at health ond highest performance in this the context of the global economic and safety standards and accompany- particular sector, the highest be- crisis from which nations great ing training throughout our sector. We ing in 2007, which was just before and small are struggling to recover. also have to focus a lot on capacity the global economic recession hit. One of the key areas where building and training for our industry. It is only the second time Belize’s recovery is evident is Tour- We’ve revamped our tour in the history of Tourism in Belize ism; and the news coming out of guide certification course and should that the figures for overnight tour- that sector this week was particu- Hon Manuel Heredia be giving that to the industry a little ism surpassed 250,000 visitors. larly good. At a press conference on Minister of Tourism later this year so that we can begin Not only is the news good, Wednesday in Ambergris Caye, the “The cruise sector has done new programs that focus on inter- the projections are also promising, Belize Tourism Board announced very well for us even when our over- pretive skills. Introduction of a new in fact even more promising for that tourist arrivals for the last night sector was taking a dip. So we tour operator course; right now there 2012, the Belize Tourism Board quarter of 2011 had increased by as have the zone, we have to continue is no course offered to persons who says. And beyond that, the future much as 6.5 percent over the figures our negotiations with the Florida operate tours, so we have created that looks even more promising as a for the same period of 2010. The Caribbean Cruise Association and groundwork and we are ready to roll major airline out of Canada, Sun- actual figure for the last quarter of of course capacity building for our out our first training in the summer.