Sunday, February 14, 2021

Sunday, February 14, 2021 Vol. 24 No. 7 Page 2 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">The GuardIan </li><li style="flex:1">Sunday, February 14, 2021 </li></ul>people also, just as important, people that are prepared to cooperate with the government. Many instances we have a lot of people within government because they pledge allegiance to the previous government or to the UDP. They do every and anything to undermine the work of the government and many of these people, we saw this happening, and so it was felt that in the interest of the bus industry and to be able to provide proper service to the public that that they had to be released.” Briceño’s forked tongue Appearing on 7 News on Tuesday, February 9 was Prime Minister John Briceño. He was questioned on a number of issues but the one that stuck on us was his answer to the possibility of persons losing their jobs after the Belize Bank completes the purchase of Scotiabank in Belize. Answering the question he stated that, “Well, I have not seen that report. So I can’t really comment with certainty. But I can tell you that one job loss is one too much. And we hope that in the consolidation that they do not move quickly to try to let go Absolutely no consideration was given to the fact that these very people were not phantom and in fact were at the terminals when they were given their walking papers. They in fact had to stop the work they were carrying out after they were served. Even so, there was not though on what Briceño is now saying, that is that when people are let go there is nowhere to go. of people. But also to have some sort of social conscience that at this moment there are no jobs out there. So if you were to let go people now there is nowhere to go. So, we would have to take a look at that and see how best we can discourage them from letting people go.” Prime Minister John Briceño <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">was after hearing Briceño’s </li><li style="flex:1">there by the previous minister. </li></ul>Many of them were just there as placeholders, many of them were not even working. Many of them did not even qualify for the post that they were given. They were simply given a post because they served or supported the former Minister of Transport and we need to put in people that can do the work and answer. This is the very man who just a few days earlier, on January 20, told the nation that persons were being fired from the Transport Department were phantom workers. He said that, “On the issue of the people that have been let go at the bus terminals, as I am told, many of those people were just put What’s even more is that the Being slack-jawed is not a reaction that could fully describe what the sentiment firings continue. Just this week nine persons were terminated from the Belize Marketing and Development Corporation. They now form part of a long list of hundreds of workers who have been fired from the Transport Department, the Border Management agency, the Central BuildingAuthority, the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Health, the Northern Regional Hospital, the San Ignacio Hospital, NHI in Dangriga, the Port Authority and many other institutions across the country. Fired for Valentine’s The Guardian has again A letter we have obtained shows that a security guard was unceremoniously terminated without being given a reason. What’sworseisthattheeffective date for the termination is no other than, ‘The day of love,’- Valentine’s Day. more exposed to abject poverty. received confirmation that at least nine persons have been fired from a statutory body. This time the firings have taken place at the Belize Marketing and Development Corporation. As has happened now in countless occasions, the firings are against those who are at the lower strata of society. We are now seeing as many as 500 persons who have been terminated in this manner and the firings continue unabated. Their campaign slogan was “everybody fi win” but apparently it is quite a different story for the small man. There are not winning in fact, they are losing and of all things, they are losing their jobs. During a pandemic, this type of victimization is damning as those who are dependent on the very small salaries are now The Guardian Protecting Freedom Rights Democracy edITor: Alfonso Noble adVerTISInG Louis Thompson ComPoSITor: Kristen Jimenez rePorTer: Jem Smith reCePTIonIST/aCCounTS CLerK V a nessa Gillett Published by The Guardian Newspaper Limited Cor. Ebony St. & Bel China Bridge, P. O. Box 1898 Belize City, Belize Telephone: 207-5346, 207-5347 Fax: 227-5343 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] <a href="/goto?url=http://www.guardian.bz" target="_blank">Website: www.guardian.bz </a>Printed by The Guardian Press Cor. Ebony St. & Bel China Bridge, P. O. Box 1898 Belize City, Belize Page 3 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">The GuardIan </li><li style="flex:1">Sunday, February 14, 2021 </li></ul>American national found with cannabis items The Biting Dog Contributed The people of Belize are tell they eh no wah bite people again.” Even after the warning: “Unnu no loose da dog cause e wah bite Unnu.” suffering under the wrath of the People’s United Party and it brings to mind an analogy of a biting dog that has been kept tied up. Imagine, the people of Belize have been consistently been told for years that, “this dog bite and it must be kept tied.” They were told that, ”you see ah bite people already. You know this dog bite and because ah dat deh tie the dog to a big tree for 12 years.” The Belizean people did not listen and gone loose the dog ...and as they loose ah, the dog bite deh! No more food pantry, no more Covid financial relief, mass firings of poor people, pay cuts for public officers coming soon, gas raised seven times since elections, teachers got their paid study leave canceled, School tuition subsidy canceled, CXC subsidies canceled and the list goes on and on and on. But everybody Fu win though! Plastic bag containing cannabis An American national has been detained pending charges relating to a series of illegal drug items found inside his luggage at Now the people started to feel sorry for the dog and said, “Mek we loose ah cause the dog the Philip Goldson International Airport. The discovery took place at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 while a Customs Officer was conducting luggage inspection. Inside his luggage, the officer found seven transparent plastic bags containing suspected cannabis ranging between 140 and 390 grams, a plastic bag containing concentrated cannabis wax, and an envelope containing suspected cannabis seeds. He was handed over to the Ladyville Police and remains in detention. PUP witch hunt circus begins The former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, the Financial Secretary Joseph Waight and the director of the Vehicle Care Unit, Ruperto Vicente are the first persons to be summoned to testify in the first PUP-orchestrated witch hunt. They are trying to prove that there was wrongful disposal of government assets during the last year of the UDP’s tenure of office. Former Prime Minister Barrow has expressed his full willingness to participate in the charade and will be making an appearance on Monday, February 15. The hearings are to take place in Belize City at the House of Culture starting at 9 a.m. Page 4 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">The GuardIan </li><li style="flex:1">Sunday, February 14, 2021 </li></ul>Tweedle Dee, Tweddle Dum BTL employees win more taxes <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">receive these allowances, there is </li><li style="flex:1">Employees at Belize </li></ul>Telemedia Limited are up in arms after an announcement was made by the company’s management that additional taxes will be levied on their income. According to an internal bulletin, it states that employees will now be taxed on Telecom Benefits, Transport Allowance, Vehicle Maintenance Allowance, and Vehicle Insurance Allowance. While not all staff members apprehension by the larger staff that there are additional taxes, which will be levied on them. One employee told The Guardian that he fears that even their phone benefits will be taxed. The move to tax the employees further comes at a most inopportune time as the workers are have already received a salary cut, which as a result of the pandemic. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Oscar Mira </li><li style="flex:1">Alex Balona </li></ul>a completely different Bill. It was not until the Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Patrick Faber, pointed out to the Speaker, who was then shown the error by the Clerk, was the Prime Minister forced to admit that he had made a fool of himself. He made a presentation on the wrong motion. He was then given the opportunity to present the right one. However, the confusion did not stop at the Prime Minister’s folly because two more PUP Representatives, namely Oscar Mira and Alex Balona got up and debated the wrong motion. One debated a motion that had already been debated and the other debated a motion that at that point was It appears as if though this PUP government is good at three things. Those are, (1) hiring relatives and friends; (2) firing people who work menial jobs and (3) making fools of themselves. Over the past three months we have discussed the first two on numerous occasions; however, we have not discussed the third. During last Friday’s house meeting, we were reminded of how good they are at making fools of themselves. First to get up and make a fool of himself was none other than the Prime Minister, who got up in the House of Representatives, and did and entire presentation, where he read the recitals for one Bill and then he spoke about yet to be presented. that if every person of the 1,000 workers were to earn $200 per week it means the sum total in income would be $800,000 per week. Now, basic arithmetic tells us that it should actually be $200,000. With these types of leaders we do not have to wonder why we are in the predicament we are in. However, no member of the media has taken them task like they used do back when the UDP was in government. What makes the gross shortcomings of the members of the present administration so pronounced is that they are argumentative about the positions they take. Then there is the Jose Abelardo Mai; he does not only have a problem with Phonics, he is apparently some sort of “MATHEMATICAL GENIUS”. He gave an interview on the reopening of the Corozal Free zone. In that interview he noted that the move had created some 1,000 jobs. These jobs, according to Mai, have each employee earning $200 per week. Mai then went on to do the multiplication. In doing the math, he took a page straight out of the Yolanda Schakron math book. Upon doing the calculation he stated Page 5 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">The GuardIan </li><li style="flex:1">Sunday, February 14, 2021 </li></ul>Legal battle for Comptroller of Taiwan donates cloth to entrepreneurs Customs position begins Justice of the Supreme Court, Westmin James has ruled that Deputy Comptroller of Customs,IanHaylockcanproceed with a case of judicial review in the appointment by Prime Minister, John, Briceño, of one of his former subordinates, Estelle Leslie, as the new Comptroller of Customs. before advising the Governor General to appoint Leslie as the new comptroller. He stated that, “There ought to have been consultation and or adequate consultation and that there was effectively no consultation” in the appointment of the comptroller. Justice James expressed that there was not adequate time given to the public services commission to respond to the appointment and that the Governor General’s actions can be questioned in court if they are unlawful. Justice James explained that “the instruments issued by the Governor General could be null and void” and that there was no bar for the court to review these decisions. Haylock through his attorneys, former Prime Minister, Dean Barrow and Darrell Bradley argued the case on Wednesday February 3. He asked the court to allow him leave to fully explore whether or not Leslie’s appointment was in accordance with the constitution. He also asked for an injunction to bar Leslie from taking up the appointment. Taiwan’s donation of cloth TheEmbassyoftheRepublic of China (Taiwan) in Belize has donated 523 bales of cloth to our country’s Ministry of Human Development, Families, and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs. The cloths include polyester, rayon, and spandex and will be distributed to groups of women and entrepreneurs across the country with an aim to support their income generating activities. ItwillbedistributedbytheWomen and Family Support Group and seeks to ensure opportunities for marketing and distribution of items created by these women and entrepreneurs who focus on the production of Belizean goods. This donation comes at a cost of $94,602 but hopefully will see its revenue generation tenfold. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">In his judgment, Judge </li><li style="flex:1">Ontheissueoftheinjunction, </li></ul>Justice James ruled that the office was too important to leave vacant and as such ruled against it. The case will now proceed with as an expedited matter. Timelines for the full hearing to take place is now being worked on. James stated that Haylock has two arguments which have a realistic prospect of success. He noted that one of those arguments were whether or not Prime Minister Briceño properly consulted with the Public Services Commission The Guardian online at <a href="/goto?url=http://www.guardian.bz" target="_blank">www.guardian.bz </a>Page 6 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">The GuardIan </li><li style="flex:1">Sunday, February 14, 2021 </li></ul>Hon. Tracy Taegar-Panton Noise pollution in Hillview, Santa Elena Town appointed as new Chairman of Public Accounts Committee On Thursday, February 4, 2021, Hon. Tracy TaegarPanton, representative for the Albert Division in Belize City, spoke to some members of the media regarding her newest job title via a Zoom video conference call. That is her appointment as the new Chair of the Public Accounts Committee by Hon. Patrick Faber, Leader of the Opposition. Her appointment also comes at an important time for the Committee as it is now being expanded to house three Hillview is a neighbourhood in the Santa Elena area of the Cayo District Aresident from the Hillview Area of Santa Elena Town in the Cayo District is complaining of incessant noise pollution in her neighbourhood. The head of a family household, who does not want to be identified, reports of having exhausted all avenues for getting auditory relief. The person begins her case by stating in her written post: What do law abiding citizens in this Country need do to get assistance with noise pollution? I have been complaining for the past six or seven years and all my complaints have fallen on deaf ears. The Santa Elena citizen reports having a high school child, taking online classes who continuously struggles with the noise. “My child is struggling to try to hear her teachers, while using earphones. Some days, like today, are worse. The noise was so bad, she had to take her device into her bedroom, lock all the windows and her bedroom door and yet she was unable to hear her class. This is because we already have all windows and doors on our house shut down!” So far, the complainant has reported the issue to the Department of the Environment, Police and Town Council. “Those not in the situation will not understand how stressful it is not to be able to sleep at night, or to be awakened at 2 a.m. by the sudden blast of loud music and outrageous bass,” she writes. She also writes, “Some people have had the audacity to tell me to soundproof my house. We are already living like prisoners with bars on our homes, yet we need to soundproof our homes because others are inconsiderate?” new social partner senators after government introduced a new statutory instrument (SI) to reconstitute the membership at the meeting of the House on Friday, February 5, 2021. As a result, the new Committee will now be comprised of four members from government, two members from the opposition, and three social partners to be nominated by the President of the Senate. Hon. Tracy Taegar-Panton necessary while remaining open to GOB’s budgetary proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. She also intends that they will be able to make timelier audit reports. T h e r e h a s b e e n a recommendation for the hearings to be done in the public arena, something which Hon. Taegar-Panton says can be very beneficial toward transparency. This would, however, require the amendments of the existing standing orders but there are no objections to reform for accountability. I n s p e a k i n g o n h e r newest appointment, Hon. Taegar-Panton highlighted the importance of the committee as a standing committee of the House of Representatives. Likewise, she made mention of the Committee’s role to ensure accountability and transparency and to prevent or at least deter the misuse of public funding. They will focus on the spending of government expenditure and the Consolidated Revenue Fund as well as to make suggestions for those. For now, the Committee are not actively involved in hearings until after the reading of the upcoming year’s budget. Reportedly, the previous committee which was Chaired by Julius Espat left quite a lot of unfinished business but she says that while it will be, to some degree, the new committee’s responsibility, they will focus on making meaningful changes. She says that their task will not be to “witch-hunt” but to form recommendations where Page 7 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">The GuardIan </li><li style="flex:1">Sunday, February 14, 2021 </li></ul>Public Holiday for George Price’s Birthday Contributed Making a public and bank Sometime ago Baron Bliss was deemed THE benefactor of Belize and 9th of March, his birthday was celebrated with a public and bank holiday. However, some intelligent minds argued that there were other prominent people who had contributed to Belize’s welfare but were not mentioned - people like Marcus Garvey, who jumpstarted the UNIAand Black Cross Nurse movements, and Isaiah Morter, who had contributed immensely to Belize. A statue of Morter was much, much later erected at the end of Albert Street. The 9th of March was therefore designated Heroes and Benefactors Day. George Price and Philip Goldson, the only two official Heroes of Belize were then a part of that Day. Interestingly, Chief Justice Crane had passed sentence on Philip Goldson and Leigh Richardson on November 7, 1951. Shortly after their imprisonment Price summoned a meeting of the PUP at the Battlefield Park at which he (Price) praised them (Goldson and Richardson) as ‘heroes’ of the people who were making a sacrifice that is worthy of the people’s cause! various family member and other die hard PUPs. Indeed he was the Premier when Belize got its Independence, indeed he was the first Prime Minster of the country, but so are all the former British colonies’ leaders when they got their independence but NONE called those leaders Father of their Nation. Yes they have their National Heroes e.g. Jamaica has her Bustamante and Norman Manley and Paul Bogle, Trinidad has her Eric Williams, Guyana has her Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnam, Barbados her Errol Barrow. Those are Caribbean former leaders but the same can be said about the other African, Indian and Far East colonies as well. And NONE have a holiday for their birthday. Belize looks ridiculous to the rest of the Commonwealth countries, indeed the laughing stock of them all and the world. holiday for the birthday of George Price is one of the most ludicrous decisions of this new PUP Government. When they stopped at George Price’s grave and had a ceremony before going to Belmopan after success at the polls, that was OK for their party. At the event, grandnephew Henry Charles Usher put up his hand at the Leader and said that there should be a public and bank holiday for “Uncle George.” Briceño did not respond, so it was believed that that was that. Then lo and behold: a few weeks later it was done. The Chamber of Commerce representatives have always been saying that Belize has too many holidays (I agree with them) but now, not a peep out of them - they don’t dare. When Patrick Faber and Michael Peyrefitte brought it up, Fonseca jumped up to say yes, but there is only one father of the nation and Cordel Hyde and others mimicked that. In truth and in fact, it is only a PUP thing. When they promoted George Price, who were they that did so? All rabid PUPs: Winston Smiling (Price’s family), Bobby Leslie, Valerie Lovell on behalf of her PUP grandmother,

Sunday, February 14, 2021

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