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7 News Belize HeadlinesFriday, March 15, 2024

After 12 Years, Ranguy Pleads Guilty To Murder Of Mother, Sister And Stepfather
They have been waiting 12 years for justice and finally tonight the Skeen and Vellos families have some sense of closure. The relative who killed three of their loved ones plea...
Atlantic Bank Puts Stake Bank In Receivership, $150M On The Line
Tonight - Belize's often murky cruise tourism future is even more unclear. That's after the only cruise port that was close to completion - Stake Bank - was put into receivers...
PM Says PBL And Portico Still In Play
And while Stake Bank's investment is a private transaction - because of the quantum the money involved - it is a matter of public interest for the Government and the Central bank - since a p...
PM Hopes To Reach Agreement With Stevedores On Monday
So while the future of the cruise industry remains uncertain at this time, what about the government owned Port of Belize? As you saw earlier this week, the stevedores refused to offload c...
Firemen Save Three Houses From Blaze
Just before midday today, fire teams rushed towards the Antelope Street area, unto Laura Dunn Street. That's where a small wooden home situated in a family lot along with three other ...
Cop Shot Man In Dispute Over An Ex
A policeman in Punta Gorda shot his common law's ex partner on Thursday night. He claims that Richard Valerio Was harassing him and his partner at a basketball game. PC Feliz Fernandez...
PM Says People Shouldn't Have Access To Guns
Tomorrow will be one week since the murder of City Administrator, Stephanie Lindo-Garbutt. Her death brought a spotlight on the issue of guns being in the hands of persons in mental heal...
Another Crisis With Caneros?
Last Friday we told you about the judgement from the high court which found that the Sugar Import/Export Regulations passed in May 2023 were unconstitutional. It required BSI/ASR to disclose...
Mennonites Scold Government For Failures
And while the prime minister won't respond to the cane farmers, they aren't the only ones scolding the government for its management of public affairs. Yesterday at the opening of the Spanis...
Has Police Restraint Courted The State Into Inaction?
And while the cane farmers and the Mennonites may criticize - the Briceno administration is doing its own balancing act with domestic security and worker groups engaging in civil disobed...
Tensions Flare Briefly At Southern Boundary
And restraint is also what the BDF showed this morning on the Sarstoon when border tensions flared slightly between the Guatemalan Armed Forces and the BDF. It happened at 7:30 at the mout...
A Somber Swearing In For PUP Slate
With the death of the City Administrator, the newly elected city council was thrown into a bit of chaos before even being sworn in. But a little over a week later, they finally took the ...
Mayor Hopes For Female Deputy
And one of the next steps for this council will be electing a deputy mayor. Allan Pollard has held the post twice - though in his second term, Micah Goodin was Deputy briefly. This time ...
City Council To Tackle Drains In First 100 Days
And once a deputy is elected, the mayor says the main focus of the council within its first 100 days in office will be improving and upgrading Belize City's drainage: Bernard Wagner, May...
Finding New CA Not Simple Says Mayor
And the hiring of a new City Administrator will be going on in the background. It's not a simple process, and one the mayor anticipates will take months. Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize ...
Developers Not Giving Up On Angelfish Caye
And now that the government isn't so busy with elections, they'll have time for other issues affecting the nation, like Angelfish Caye. We reported that this caye, known to the locals ...
One Attorney Convicted, One Charged, Kareem Says Justice For All
And, in other news - we yesterday asked Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa how he feels as an attorney about the events of one week ago. That's when an attorney was jailed, and anothe...
PM Calls Shyne "A Gift"
And finally tonight, yesterday we told you about Shyne Barrow's "plus one" at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting. He strolled in with Michael Ashcroft, whom he claims was a...
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7 News Belize - News:
Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers, we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English

After 12 Years, Ranguy Pleads Guilty To Murder Of Mother, Sister And Stepfather

They have been waiting 12 years for justice and finally tonight the Skeen and Vellos families have some sense of closure. The relative who killed three of their loved ones pleaded guilty in court today. Jomarie Lanza was there this morning at the High Court, here's what she saw:

Almost twelve years after this unbelievable crime scene in 2012 - which saw three bodies removed from the Skeen/Vellos home, it's finally over: the killer Jared Ranguy today pleaded guilty.

It was a teary eyed moment for the Skeen/Vellos family, as if a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. After 12 years, 16 adjournments, 2 judges and more than a handful of lawyers, Jared Ranguy, who appeared virtually in court today pleaded guilty to the crime of three counts of the murder of his mother, his sister and his stepfather.

Rene Skeen, the brother of deceased Karen Skeen says that regardless of what today's outcome would have been the family remained rooted in prayer throughout it all.

Rene Skeen, Brother of Deceased, Karen Skeen
"On behalf of the family we would like to thank God. The most important thing is we got justice and the emotions you can't explain it. It's been over 11 years we have been waiting for this and the day has finally come."

"We will never get full justice three people are dead. But for him pleading guilty it kind of helps a little bit. The pain kind of you know we can deal with it a little better now."

"At the end of the day he pleaded guilty and that's what matters it doesn't matter to us whether he was trying to do it with an explanation. I did it but I didn't mean to do it at the end of the day he killed three people. Three family members."

And now that the family now has some degree of closure, Skeen says he might also be able to find it within his heart to forgive Ranguy

Rene Skeen, Brother of Deceased, Karen Skeen
"I think it was about a month or so ago he and his attorney asked for a sentence indication which the judge read to him three life sentences and a forty years before eligibility for parole he served 11 years already which means it will be like 29 years plus a few months so although we would like to see no parole at the end of the day like I said for the family we got what we were requesting for him to say look I'm guilty. We used to say that you know you guys interviewed us and we said, you guys asked can we forgive him and I use to say no but now you know what I think I can."

Reporter
"After he has pleaded guilty only after he has pleaded guilty."

Rene Skeen, Brother of Deceased, Karen Skeen
"Right."

Reporter
"But he didn't want to plead guilty"

Rene Skeen, Brother of Deceased, Karen Skeen
"At the end of the day he did he didn't want to but he did because look after three judges and about what ten twelve attorneys after about 16 adjournments hey the family is tired."

As it relates to the sentencing for Ranguy, the DPP told us today that they will now move onto mitigation where the accused could spend up to 40 years in prison

Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, DPP "A considerable time in terms of the trial itself because there were quite a number of witnesses who would have had to have been called and there would have been voiders in relation to the statement that would have been given and admissions. So it did save the court some time but of course this matter has been before the court for a very long time."

"The maximum that the judge would impose is a life sentence with a minimum term of 40 years that was the indication. That is not the actual sentence and I believe I did read on some one of the media that it will be sure sentence and that will be imposed. That is the maximum sentence that the judge will impose and so now we go to the stage of mitigation and they will put before the court by way of mitigation what they think the judge should take into consideration, and the judge is entitled to give a sentence that is lower than what he indicated."

Ranguy's sentencing is set for May 13th.


Atlantic Bank Puts Stake Bank In Receivership, $150M On The Line

Tonight - Belize's often murky cruise tourism future is even more unclear. That's after the only cruise port that was close to completion - Stake Bank - was put into receivership yesterday evening by its financier, the Atlantic Bank.

At 150 million dollars and counting, it's the most expensive private project we can recall - and now that's in receivership, what does it mean for the project, and the bank? Jules Vasquez examines the present, the future and the past of Stake Bank:

Yesterday evening, Atlantic Bank put Mike Feinstein's Stake Bank project - known as Port Coral - into receivership. The receivership was initiated on Thursday evening and Marlow Neal has been appointed receiver. With an estimated 150 million BZD invested so far in the island based cruise terminal and tourism village, it is the largest receivership in Belize's banking history.

A spokesperson for the bank told us "the sole purpose of the receivership is to take the project to completion". That is no small task - more than 50 million in additional financing is needed to get it operational. The group of creditors who have financed the project so far are now expected to come together now to find these funds - as Atlantic Bank is already over extended and will not provide more funds. The bank spokesperson says that the projected date for completion under the receivership is 6 months in the best case, on the outside, maybe 9 months. The receiver's priority will be to complete the piers - which are designed to provide direct berthing for cruise ships.

Of course, the receivership is activated because the project - by the bank's assessment - is in peril. The bank is considering "completion risk" - where the Feinstein Group was unable to source the funds to complete the project.

The Bank says it is activating the receivership to protect depositors - and stressed that the bank is, quote "at no risk at all."

The governor of the Central Bank Kareem Michael said the receivership is "core to prudential oversight and risk based supervision" and added that for the bank, "prudential ratios are adequate, particularly on solvency and liquidity."

And while the receiver is now in the driver's seat, Feinstein continues to be the owner of the project - but reports suggest he opposes the receivership and loss of control of a project he has been publicly floating since 2007.

posted (September 19, 2007)
Mike Feinstein - Developer

"We will have duty free shopping, we'll have restaurants, swimming pool, beach activities and vendors, hair braiders - everything has to be done out there as well as in here. So like I said, the opportunity just quadruples really."

Six years later - in 2013, Feinstein formally launched the project:

Mike Feinstein - Developer
"What this whole entire project means to the economy of Belize and presently Belize receives 61 million US dollars from Cruise Tourism, 7 million from crew, the numbers will definitely go up to at least 250 million US dollars and another 40 from the crew. If we can keep 200 million Belize back into the economy here, you're looking at a project that will give back into the economy 700 million Belize dollars a year."

Huge figures, but it would take another six years, one act of parliament and one definitive agreement before we saw a groundbreaking.

Mike Feinstein - Developer, Stake Bank Cruise Port
"It has a very long time, but as I told one of the ministers, I said, I have a tiger by the tail, and I refuse to let it go. It will turn around and bite my ass (beep out "ass") but, I rest my case."

That was February of 2019 and the project was slated to be up and running in 18 to 24 months. And the cost?

Mike Feinstein - Developer, Stake Bank Cruise Port
"The bankers for this project is being led by the Atlantic Bank group. The Atlantic Bank is the lead organizer for the money for this project which is 67 million US dollars on the island and a total of 82 million before this project is done."

But five years later - it still isn't done - and the Atlantic Bank has now moved in to take over the operation and bring it to completion - so that revenue can start to be generated to pay back the enormous debt.

We did reach out to developer Mike Feinstein for comment - but at news time we were still waiting for his call-back. We expect that he will resist the receivership.


PM Says PBL And Portico Still In Play

And while Stake Bank's investment is a private transaction - because of the quantum the money involved - it is a matter of public interest for the Government and the Central bank - since a portion of the project's financing comes from depositor funds. And, then there's the other pressing public issue of a cruise port that has a berthing facility - will Belize ever have one!?

We asked the Prime Minister about both today and he didn't seem too stressed out about it. But he did give us a nugget - guess what, the Port of Belize might end up being a cruise port after all! Here's the whole interview:

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"When it comes to the issue of the receivership, that's a matter for the bank and I'm sure they may have their reasons why is it they believe that they have to put the Stakebank project on receivership. As we know that the main players behind the Stakebank project decided to sue the government. From what I'm told, there's really no case so I can't understand why it is that they would want to due the government."

Courtney Menzies:
"What do believe this means for the cruise sector, will Belize ever see a berthing port?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I do believe that we will. As we said, there's three areas, there's Stakebank, there's Portico and there's Port of Belize and so all of that is still remaining in play. And we will see which is the one that is able to develop into a cruise port that can meet not only the needs for today but also for ten, twenty years from today."

Courtney Menzies:
"This is the largest receivership I believe in Belize's banking history, do you think it will affect the banking sector?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"No it will not. The Central Bank has been very clear and also so has Atlantic Bank, they have been very clear from day one, they are going to ensure that they project every single cent of the depositor so no I do not expect it to be a problem."

Reporter:
"Notwithstanding you saying that the claimants don't have a case, has the government engaged with them, have you met with them?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I have not met with them. But Mr Feinstein did call me on Wednesday wanting to have a meeting so I hope to meet with him next week."

Reporter:
"Where are we with the legislation that's forthcoming with cruise tourism development in this country?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Until we know where we're going, it does not make sense to pass this piece of legislation. We're pretty much ready but depending on which direction we go, then we'll need to make some adjustments to that piece of legislation so that why we're holding onto it and we will deal with it when the time is appropriate."


PM Hopes To Reach Agreement With Stevedores On Monday

So while the future of the cruise industry remains uncertain at this time, what about the government owned Port of Belize? As you saw earlier this week, the stevedores refused to offload cargo ships to send a message to the government regarding their redundancy package.

They're meeting with GOB on Monday and they expect a suitable settlement offer. But today the PM maintained that there was no redundancy. He also added that the issues preventing them from signing an agreement are "minor" ones.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I've had several meetings with the stevedores and every time we meet we come with an agreement but it seems when they leave the meeting, they come up with other issues. I said to them from the beginning, let's not talk about sugar, or the sugar money, I said you have your position, we have our position that there is no claim for no kind of redundancy, nobody got fired so there's no sugar money. But as a government we're prepared to be able to adjust many of the pending issues between the stevedores and the Port of Belize so that we can modernize the Port. The way the Port has been running for the past ten, fifteen, twenty years, it's not in the interest of the Port nor the interest of the country and I've been explaining to the stevedores, now we have competition, there's more than one port. So when you decide that you don't want to discharge a ship, the ship would either a, go back to their home country, quite likely the United States, or they go down south to discharge their ship, their containers, that's what happened with sugar. so when they behave the way they do, they decided not to offload, they are shooting themselves in the foot. We need to be able to find a common ground where we both, stevedores, Port of Belize, and the Government of Belize, that we want to find out how to move this forward, how we can modernize, and at the same time to protect their interest. I understand that, and we want to do that, that is why the government made an offer of 1.5 million dollars to say listen, let's stop fighting about everything, let's come up with the new working practices, can't work more than fifteen hours, and when you finish working fifteen hours, a new gang finishes if the ship is not finished offloading. Let's look at the number of gangs, Port wanted to bring it down to 12, it's 14, and the stevedores didn't want to accept that. I said, okay, in the CBA you've already signed, you're talking about 13, okay let's see with 13, so we've agreed with that. So most of the things we've agreed, there's just small little things. For instance, how many people are going to be working in discharging for instance, when we have fertilizers but these are small things that can be worked out."

"We will meet with them on Monday once again but this is not my money, I just can't give them the money, we have to have an agreement. When we have an agreement, then we're going to be passing on the money to the Christian Workers Union on their behalf."




Firemen Save Three Houses From Blaze

Just before midday today, fire teams rushed towards the Antelope Street area, unto Laura Dunn Street. That's where a small wooden home situated in a family lot along with three other homes, went up in smoke.

The fire spread rapidly throughout the structure, and firemen arrived just in time before the blaze could jump to the other houses. Though no one was at home inside the house during the fire, one of the residents told us how he got the fright of his life this morning.

Michael Flowers, Relative of Fire Victim
"I left My yard about 10:30 and they left a little earlier because they go to work. so they went to work and drop their kids at school now I'm at home and I went out to buy my stuff. When I went to pick up my stuff and I was walking back down the road, I saw some big flames."

"When I'm coming down the road now when I looked, I saw a big flame but I didn't really know what was happening. I got a little closer. I saw the house under flames. So I ran into the yard. I thought I tried to throw some water I was bawling out calling for people. But I think it was because of the breeze because the rest of the houses could've caught on fire but we noticed it's only that one because of the breeze the way it is blowing. My stepdaughter lives in the house."

"I broke the pipe trying to out the fire. I was trying to wet the other house because the gas tank is there and I didn't want it to blow up and I didn't want the other houses to catch fire."

Reporter
"How fast was the house destroyed?"

Michael Flowers, Relative of Fire Victim
"I don't really know how much time but it probably took about 45 minutes because the breeze was blowing too right."


Cop Shot Man In Dispute Over An Ex

A policeman in Punta Gorda shot his common law's ex partner on Thursday night. He claims that Richard Valerio Was harassing him and his partner at a basketball game.

PC Feliz Fernandez claims that they eventually decided to leave the basketball game and asked an officer to escort them, but upon leaving he says he caught Valerio damaging his car.

He claims Valerio then threw a rock at them, which prompted Fernandez to pull his licensed 9mm pistol and fire a single shot at Valerio injuring him in his lower back. He was rushed to the Punta Gorda Hospital for medical treatment. The commissioner of police has since ordered an internal investigation into the matter.


PM Says People Shouldn't Have Access To Guns

Tomorrow will be one week since the murder of City Administrator, Stephanie Lindo-Garbutt. Her death brought a spotlight on the issue of guns being in the hands of persons in mental health crises, such as her husband, who took his own life after he killed her - while their teenaged son was in an adjoining room.

Then, days later, the mental health of Haitian American Robert Joseph, who murdered a mother and a child at the Belmopan Market, was also questioned.

You heard the Minister of Home Affairs say that he agrees there should be mental health evaluations for current gun license holders. But as you may know, his boss, the prime minister, is completely anti-gun. And today, following these two events that shook society, he reiterated this position.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I will repeat, if it was left up to me, there would be no guns on the streets, I don't think anybody should have a gun. I know somebody told me, some reggae/dancehall singer said guns don't kill people, people kill people, yes but you don't help people to kill people by giving them guns, allowing them to have easy access to the guns. So as far as I'm concerned, we should ban guns. We believe that we have to go after those people that commit these kinds of crimes to ensure that we can get the guns from these people. There's been massive discussions in the United States, the United States again they don't want to do anything when it comes to the control of guns and wanting to blame it on mental health issues. Well, in Belize we have the same issue, that many of the gun holders have mental health issues so probably we also need to take a look at that and those we believe should not have a gun, we should take it away from them as far as I'm concerned."


Another Crisis With Caneros?

Last Friday we told you about the judgement from the high court which found that the Sugar Import/Export Regulations passed in May 2023 were unconstitutional. It required BSI/ASR to disclose their contracts to the sugar Industry Control Board every time they applied for a shipping permit. The judge decided that the law was too invasive. He also called it obnoxious.

The Prime Minister was quick to say that he wasn't surprised, and that government will make the necessary amendments to the law.

Well the BSCFA didn't like that easy concession one bit and is tonight calling out the government for not taking action following the judgement.

In a release they say they are "appalled" at the statements made by both Godfrey Smith, who represents ASR/BSI, and PM Briceno. BSCFA criticized Smith for painting the company as a target and the victim of the regulation. They also said they found the PrimeMinister's remarks unbelievable.

They ask, quote, "Has the Prime Minister replaced the principles of social justice with a heartless capitalism in the governance of Belize and a hunger for foreign investments?" End quote.

But that's not all, they also likened the PM to former Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz. They ended their release by calling on the PM to "Stay Pan Track," before they had to remind him where that track is.

Today the PM said he wouldn't waste time getting into a back and forth with the BSCFA.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I will not waste my time in answering the BSCFA. I think and I am doing what is in the best interest of the industry and in the interest of Belize. We have three other associations that are working with the sugar mill, they're not the only ones, so let's start off with that. I have said to them that there has to be proper consultations. There were not proper consultations. The way the commission of inquiry, the terms of reference were set out, it was a terms of reference for the BSCFA. So I am meeting with the minister on Monday and on Monday we're going to finalize the terms and then we're going to proceed but if we were proceed the way they want us to proceed, we would be wasting our time because we will be taken to court and the court is going to rule against us. We are not going to appeal just because they asked us to appeal, we have to see if there is a case and it seems that there is not a case to appeal. I am not going to waste the people's monies. As long as I know in my conscience that what I am doing is the correct thing, I don't care what anybody says. It's important for us to work. The farmers in this country in the work know the work that we're doing, they gave us already an overwhelming mandate in Orange Walk Town and in Corozal Town. Several thousands of farmers living in Orange Walk Town and Corozal Town, they did not vote against us, they voted for us because they are seeing the work that we are doing."


Mennonites Scold Government For Failures

And while the prime minister won't respond to the cane farmers, they aren't the only ones scolding the government for its management of public affairs. Yesterday at the opening of the Spanish lookout commercial industrial expo, mennonite business leaders criticized the government for the port situation, the crime situation and other matters. Here's the President of the Spanish Lookout Business Chamber.

Norman Dueck, President - Spanish Lookout Business Chamber
"We call on the government to act and resolve our port issues in Belize. For too long the successive governments have failed to deal with our port and the issues with the Stevedores. This week one of the ships was forced to sail back with its Cargo back to Miami. We have small businesses right here right now that have products that should be here but are not here because the boat left. All because we don't have the will to fix the problems with the stevedores and so the business chamber of Spanish lookout calls upon the government to once and for all fix this issue."

"The number 2 issue on our minds of course is crime today. It is certainly on our minds when kids can no longer have the piece of mind to go and eat ice cream with their parents. We know that the issues that lead to crime are multifaceted and not easily tackled. It will not be solved by the government. We are only kidding ourselves if we asked the government to solve crime and solve crime alone we certainly need better effective policing. We need better conviction rates but the issue must also come from us the people right here."

Guest Speaker, community leader Harry Letkemen was even more cutting in his remarks where he lamented excessive regulations.

Harry Letkeman, Community Leader
"It seems to me that the GOB is fighting with their hands tied behind their back. As many of you I am most frustrated with three problems in Belize, crime, corruption and overregulation. And the hon minister will know when I am angry he is usually the first one to know. We always hear about crime and corruption but very few people mention we are overregulated when the business chamber started to prepare for this expo they approached the community leadership like Norman said and requested the funding to expand this venue this was approved and we set about to get the new building erected ASAP. However not long into the project we were served with this stop order right here. You may ask who would want to stop the construction of the building here at the park is Belize not open for business?"

"Let me give you another example of how over regulation can have a detrimental effect on the well being of our citizens. Take the single use of plastic for instance let us consider the goal of regulation and what was actually the effect. We have a garbage problem in Belize no doubt and many of us throw our trash out at will so the goal was noble but the result was not so great. First they engaged in a campaign to sensitive the public then they engaged in a drawn out fight with the chamber of commerce and finally they brought the law into effect and for the next few months we paid much more for shopping bags and disposable utensils. The cost of food obviously had to go up hurting everyone, not just the big producers. This is something I believe regulators often overlook."

"Did you know a few months into the biodegradable cups no longer stink like rotten corn well guess what those who made the single use plastics are happy to print biodegradable on their products so now the DOE discovered that none of the single use plastic in Belize is actually biodegradable. So the whole thing was a huge exercise where tons of money was wasted."

While the speeches are over, the expo continues until March 16th.


Has Police Restraint Courted The State Into Inaction?

And while the cane farmers and the Mennonites may criticize - the Briceno administration is doing its own balancing act with domestic security and worker groups engaging in civil disobedience.

We're talking about the cane famers and the stevedores where the security forces have clearly been directed not to provoke them.

But it has courted the state into a position where now they can't touch anyone - since a precedent has been set. We asked the Minister of Home Affairs about it yesterday:

Reporter
"When the caneros were lighting tires on the highway, we know the police showed great restraint in not being physically, abusing them or assaulting them or anything like that. There were no casualties, no injuries. But then they allowed as well the highway blockage to continue. And now we have the stevedores who seem to be heating up."

"How would the police act in this situation where you can't allow them to just do whatever they want, but you also have to show restraint?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I think it is important to point out that there was dialogue between the police department and the Carneros whenever they were doing their protests. Whenever the police asked them to clear the highway, they would clear the highway. And so there was a mutual understanding and a mutual respect and adherence to the law. And I think that is the difference in this."

"I'm not saying that that is not happening. I think equally, if the stevedores continue to be law abiding, which from all indications they have been, I don't believe we will have any sort of confrontation. Again, it would only be if if anyone goes outside of the law and does something illegal, that would then prompt the police to act."


Tensions Flare Briefly At Southern Boundary

And restraint is also what the BDF showed this morning on the Sarstoon when border tensions flared slightly between the Guatemalan Armed Forces and the BDF. It happened at 7:30 at the mouth of the Sarstoon when a Guatemalan barge got stuck on the Belize side of the boundary.

The barge - loaded with sand - was going from Livingston to Sarstoon village when it became grounded in an area about 800 meters in front of the BDF's Forward Operating Base.

Smaller vessels from the Guatemalan side then had to come over and take sand off the barge so it could float.

All that was happening on the Belize side - so a BDF patrol had to go and monitor the activities. The BDF called the Coast Guard because it was in the sea, and the always aggressive GAF also showed up in two skiffs.

But, it was getting tense while they waited for the Coast Guard, so the BDF commander concluded that the barge could claim innocent passage and allowed them to haul the remainder of the sand to their village. The BDF General tells us that situation was defused without any major escalation.


A Somber Swearing In For PUP Slate

With the death of the City Administrator, the newly elected city council was thrown into a bit of chaos before even being sworn in. But a little over a week later, they finally took the stage and made their oaths to the city.

For some of the slate, it's their third term, for others, they're just getting their feet wet. But regardless, the heads of City Hall can now get back to work.

Courtney Menzies was at the ceremony and has this story.

One week and two days ago, the PUP slate took all 11 seats at City Hall in a landslide victory. And the man leading the charge, Bernard Wagner, is the first three time PUP mayor of the city.

But while the excitement was at an all time high last Wednesday, it came crashing down on Saturday, with the murder of the City Administrator. Stephanie Lindo-Garbutt had been with the mayor since his first term in 2018.

So, today's swearing in couldn't have started without first acknowledging the work she has done.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"You see this stern looking, young, independent, hard working woman but inside she's a softy, she's very loving, she's friendly, she's open, but a professional and she will make sure she is going to get her job done and she was so good at her job that many instances the councillors would get upset with her because sometimes the councillors want spend money that you don't have."

"The City Administrator can't give you what she doesn't have. But that's Stephanie and I know the City Council staff, mayor, all of you are going to miss her, you're going to miss that person, the backbone of steel that is going to stand up and speak out when she does not see thing going right."

"But Stephanie is in a better place right now."

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize
"She was our chief accountant and chief accountability personnel. She was fierce, no nonsense, and most importantly, she was a professional and a fair leader while still being a comforting friend to all of us."

"This recent loss of our CA adds another layer of challenge to our journey, however, just as what we have done in the past, we will rise and honor her memory by navigating through these turbulent times with strength and with resilience."

And during their first term, the entire world went into lockdown because of the Covid pandemic. In their second term, the council had to tackle with Hurricane Lisa. And now, they must begin without a CA.

But still, the PM said today that believed the mayor has always had a penchant for serving.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"The main reason I believe that Mayor Wagner decided to run, whilst everybody wants to win, but more than anything else, I saw in him a man that wants to serve. As he said, he had a fairly successful professional life but there's more to life than being successful professionally but also when you have it in you when you've been working with young people, you've been active in sports, you see the many needs that the community has, he felt that he needed to take that extra step to be able to do public service."

Now this new slate under the same old leadership has big plans for the next three years.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize
"This third consecutive swearing in as mayor is an immeasurable honor. My gratitude and my promise to remain a faithful mayor are equally overpowering. At this moment, our team is fueled by a surge of triumph and overwhelming public support."

"And soon Belize City will see Electric buses and electric taxis on our streets for the first time as we take a national lead in modernizing public transportation. This is only one of a cluster of signature achievements to come during this term. Among them along with the Central Government, we intend to replace both the Swing Bridge and the Belcan Bridge. The rehabilitation of the MCC Football Field, the rehabilitation of 200 streets, greater partnership with the police department to boost public safety and efforts to stimulate public health, civic pride, entrepreneurship, development in every sector, every corner, and in every nook of Belize City."

And today, both the young and old councillors got a few words of advice from a long time politician and current prime minister.

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Don't look at this as a profession, this is not a profession, this is public service that you have offered yourself to this city that you're prepared to work for the city, that you're prepared to look after the concerns of the citizens of this city and that you're not here because you get a monthly stipend, because that monthly stipend, in many instances you end up using that and more because people come with their needs so it's not a profession. It is public service."


Mayor Hopes For Female Deputy

And one of the next steps for this council will be electing a deputy mayor. Allan Pollard has held the post twice - though in his second term, Micah Goodin was Deputy briefly.

This time around, the mayor is hoping for a female deputy.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize
"It's the councillors that really appoint through vote, through the city council act, we're empowered by the city council act. The first caucus meeting really, it's there the councillors will vote for a deputy. I believe given the, we've always been promoting and trying to empower women, women inclusion, sustainable development, and being in women's month I think it would be symbolic for this city council which has always been male heavy from 2018 in respect to deputy mayor, it would be a good start for us to have a female deputy mayor this time around."

Kaya Cattouse finished second to Allan Pollard in the polling for the PUP slate in the March 6th election.


City Council To Tackle Drains In First 100 Days

And once a deputy is elected, the mayor says the main focus of the council within its first 100 days in office will be improving and upgrading Belize City's drainage:

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize
"The biggest projects are the drains. Drains, drains, drains, drains. That has been the call on the streets of Belize City that people want the drains to be really shaped up, maintained, have them connected to the canals and the canals to the river, and the river to the sea, if we can get that sort of drainage down, we would be in a better position, given that in the next three to four months we face the hurricane season so that would be priority number one to really get into drains maintenance, shaping them digging them out, taking out all the slush that is there and we are really optimistic about being able to deliver the drainage but continue the infrastructure work as well."


Finding New CA Not Simple Says Mayor

And the hiring of a new City Administrator will be going on in the background. It's not a simple process, and one the mayor anticipates will take months.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize
"I know it's a process because you have to be transparent about it. You have to do the required vacancy notice, that will take a while to get done again and then you get in all the applications and you vet them. You bring in them for interviews and then thereafter you decide on another person which will take another month or so, then you'll have to go about getting the contract in place. So I really am not looking until close to the third quarter, ending of June, beginning of July to really got that in place but the good thing with the city council, we have a couple managers in place who have been with the council for years so we feel comfortable knowing that we have the human resource."


Developers Not Giving Up On Angelfish Caye

And now that the government isn't so busy with elections, they'll have time for other issues affecting the nation, like Angelfish Caye. We reported that this caye, known to the locals as Will Bauer Flats, is essential for Belize's fly fishing industry. Today the Minister of Natural Resources said the project is on pause, but the developers haven't given up.

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"The last I heard on that was that the developers were going to seek to have a conversation with the fly fishers and try to convince them. But they're going to do the heavy lifting, it's their interest, and they're going to do the heavy lifting, we'll wait and see how that goes and then, you know, we've been locked in elections and so Cabinet has not had a chance to sit and go over it comprehensively and make a determination going forward but as it is right now, it's on pause."


One Attorney Convicted, One Charged, Kareem Says Justice For All

And, in other news - we yesterday asked Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa how he feels as an attorney about the events of one week ago. That's when an attorney was jailed, and another was taken to court and charged for rape.

He said it's a sign of balance in public affairs:

Reporter
"In the legal profession, we saw one attorney go to jail for the first time ever in Belize. And then we saw another attorney charged for rape. Can you comment on the blight, it seems, of the legal profession at this time?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I don't think it is blight, Courtney, but I think it is showing that there is this balance that everyone is treated equally before the law. You always hear politicians, attorneys, businesspeople, they are not subjected to the same treatment as the common man or woman out there. And I think this goes a long way in showing that our justice system is not just fair, it is balanced."

"And everybody, everybody, no matter who you are, are subject to the same rules and laws in the country."

Reporter
"Based on your knowledge of remand laws, do you think OJ should have gotten bail?"

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I am not familiar. I know that there was an amendment. I don't know if rape was included in the list of offenses that you are not to be granted bail for. And so I would have to check on that to see if rape was included."

And we see those rules and laws are also being enforced by the General Legal Council. As we reported last night, they investigated a complaint against attorney Bryan Neal. A client claims he paid Neal five thousand dollars and he did not perform the contracted services, nor did he want a refund. The council found him guilty of professional misconduct. Those with similar complaints against attorneys are urged to go to the Bar Association's website and follow the instructions at the complaints portal.


PM Calls Shyne "A Gift"

And finally tonight, yesterday we told you about Shyne Barrow's "plus one" at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting. He strolled in with Michael Ashcroft, whom he claims was a guest of the UK delegation.

Today we asked the PM what he thought of the pair:

Courtney Menzies:
"Shyne bringing Ashcroft to the CPA meeting, what are your thoughts on this?"

John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Shyne is a gift that keeps giving."







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