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
Tonight, the Prime Minister and PUP Party Leader is breaking his silence after one of the biggest political pageants took place on Sunday to determine who will be the next PUP mayoral candidate for Belize City.
Today, the PM-who was rumored to be pro-Eluide-didn't take sides, and said both sides did what they needed to do:
John Briceo, Prime Minister "I think it continues to show the strength of the PUP that we have tremendous support across this country, and when you have very good candidates that is what you create an excitement about who it is that is going to be leading of the party, and in this case we're going to be leading the party in the next municipal elections. I think it was very, very good."
Reporter "Some people would say that the spending for the municipal convention was obscene, is that your view?"
John Briceno: "Sorry?"
Reporter "That it was obscene, the spending."
John Briceno: "Well I would just describe it as both parties wanted to be able to win and they managed to get people to give them the support, to be able to spend to have a successful campaign and they did. Maybe you could have saved money, probably you could now you look back. Maybe you could look back and say maybe you didn't have to spend all that money, probably they did, but the important point is government resources were not used. It is private sector and people that support each camp to be able to put the money. Both side, both parties, both groups had enough financing to be able to run a very good, vigorous, fair campaign."
Like everything else in politics, conventions do cost, and those banners, t-shirts, fuel, and food to mobilize hundreds of supporters didn't just fall from the sky.
So how much did Anthony Mahler spend to make sure his candidate Eluide Miller was in a position to win the mayoral nomination? Was it-as many speculate-in the six- or seven-figure range? He scolded the media today for suggesting that millions were spent.
REPORTER: "One of the big things, I think, observations of the day itself for convention and leading up to it was the spending. Are you willing to say how much you spent for your slate?"
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Sports "I think it is a disservice when you spew what I would call nonsense in millions of dollars being spent. That is an irresponsible approach from the media and I will tell you straight that if I spent fifteen hundred dollars on that day, it was a lot. Now, conventions cost money, yes, but if you have a thousand t-shirts out there at $12, that is $1,200. How did you get to 2 million dollars? How did you reach a million dollars?"
REPORTER: "The banners, there is way much more because you have to mobilize people, fuel, it cannot be one thousand five hundred sir."
Anthony Mahler: "I am not saying that, I am saying that what I spent on that day just to give people for food and so..."
REPORTER: "And before?"
Anthony Mahler: "Obviously there is going to be a cost other than everything, you have to have people in your shirts, yes, but it is not what you think because it is a delegate convention so it is not as costly as you think. What the work that we did leading up to the convention is important, the alliances that we created were important and we held those blocks tightly knit together and that is what delivered Eluide."
When we asked Miller about his campaign financing, he claimed that he was not the one personally handling those expenses.
And when we asked Mahler today, he didn't know either, only that it was certainly nowhere close to a million being spent. He said the big figure that matters was the number of hours spent in the field:
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Sports "Listen to me, that young man worked 16 hours a day. I saw it many days, he and his team 16 hours a day, and campaigned and spoke to delegates. If they were not given the opportunity to meet delegates, they found a way to find as many of them as possible. And that was a sprint, that was a Marion Jones type sprint, that was not a marathon. It had three weeks and you had to go, and so to me it is a great disservice when you go out there and say millions of dollars were spent. It is impossible; yes, money was spent."
Reporter: "Thousands?"
Anthony Mahler: "Yeah, I mean I can't say because I am not the candidate now."
Reporter "And he says he doesn't know either because he said other people were handling those things, and we imagine that you supporting him as you did would have been one of those persons."
Anthony Mahler: "I was one, but again I am part of his team and he led, I followed. I stood beside him on many a day."
But the money needed to win an election often comes from dark sources. And like Governance Minister Kareem Musa said on Sunday at the convention, the PM believes that there needs to be campaign finance legislation that can cater to Belize:
John Briceno, Prime Minister "We need to come with first of all, I've been saying it over and over, we need to come up with legislation that can work. You don't want to pass legislation just to say you pass legislation, we could have done that a long time ago and we're still looking. I just met with Dylan Vernon, he and his colleague, they presented a paper which I'll be taking a look at. Minister Musa has already said that by the end of this year he expects that he can bring a paper to Cabinet with a proposal on what kind of campaign financing we can work. Listen, and I make this clear right now, just in the United States they have campaign financing laws, is it working? Not really. I mean, just right now for the primaries, I just read an article in The New York Times where it's saying that over a billion dollars have been spent from different groups that nobody knows who they are, and so if we want to pass legislation just to say we have campaign finance legislation then we can do so, but it's important that we have one that is applicable and can work within the Belizean context."
But the "Belizean context" that the PM discusses can mean many things. Here's how Mahler contextualized it:
REPORTER: "You do support the enactment of campaign finance legislation? Well, the social partners are asking for it in 90 days."
Anthony Mahler: "You see, yes to a certain extent. I don't think any politician wakes up one morning for an Election Day and says, 'I want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars,' right? So I think there should, but realistically speaking, in the great United States they created campaign finance reform, but what do they do? How President Trump raises 1.2 billion dollars for an election, so you can come out and say it's dark money, and that is an irresponsible statement again because dark money makes it sound... makes it sound like we are dealing with drug dealers. No man, explain yourself because the normal Belizean won't understand what that means and when intellectuals come out and say these things, they really don't understand the grind on the ground."
REPORTER: "So then they need to sit with you all as stakeholders?"
Anthony Mahler: "I invited them. I said to come and see my clinic, come by the clinic one of these days, go and see Honorable Cordel Hyde's clinic, go and see somebody else's clinic in a rural community and see what we have to deal with on a daily basis. So if a businessman gives me money in terms of my campaign, that is the reality, that is the reality all across the world."
And whether or not millions are being pumped into the campaign, Mahler told us that for the most part his campaign is self-funded:
Reporter: "One of the concerns of course is you are giving millions to a party... and you can give millions to a party or an individual then you can call the shots and that may not be in favor of the public, of Belize's development."
Anthony Mahler: "I don't think anybody would give millions of dollars, I really don't. I am not involved with the financing of the party and in elections I focus on what I have to do. I help as much as I can in other areas and my goal from I re-entered politics in 2016 is to deliver as many victories for the People's United Party so we can continue serving the people and doing the great work of our party."
Reporter: "You said to a certain extent, so that means that if we make things transparent in terms of campaign finance legislation, then we should know okay, if I give 100,000 that should not translate to endless contracts for your company, kind of thing."
Anthony Mahler: "I agree. I agree, that is why I fund my campaign for the most part."
And another minister who says he supports campaign finance legislation is Francis Fonseca. We asked him today about Minister Musa's promise to work on a draft by the end of the year. He said that they've always supported campaign finance reform, but the problem is drafting a bill that works for Belize.
Francis Fonseca, MOE/MFAFT "Yeah, we've always supported campaign finance reform. The challenge is making sure that it's something that can work for Belize, right? We're not... you see in these, even in these big developed countries, you know, it doesn't work. You know, there are all sorts of loopholes, and, you know, so I'm absolutely in support of campaign finance reform legislation. But it has to be something that's workable, something that's practical, something that's equitable. It has to be something supported, bipartisan support for it on both sides, something that the political parties can live with. So, you know, the whole Government, I think, is prepared to look at campaign finance proposals. We've been discussing this at the joint union level for years. The joint union, I think they had gotten some drafts, they have some drafts of their own, and we're prepared to look at those again. The Chamber of Commerce, I think, was also involved in reviewing some of those drafts. So I think all of us can sit down together, because the business community, I think, has to be involved as well. So all of us can sit down and make sure we take a good-sense approach to developing meaningful campaign finance laws that will work effectively in Belize."
So will we be seeing Mahler's Pickstock machinery out again for the municipal elections in support of Miller?
Mahler says he will remain active and hopes that despite Pollard's loss, his supporters will remain true to the Blue:
Anthony Mahler: "Well, I have always been active, I don't know how to go any other way: 100%, 150%, 200% if I need to. But what I know is that we have to have, just like sports, a team approach. We have to work together. Now we have to rally behind Eluide Miller and his slate and we have to deliver victory in Belize City and across the country."
REPORTER: "Are you concerned about any hurt feelings from Mr. Allan Pollard, and that his supporters may not be as passionate about Eluide's candidacy?"
Anthony Mahler: "Well, I mean this is politics and we have to rally behind each other and hopefully we can mend fences and move on."
And the Freetown constituency also supported Eluide Miller, who is a part of that division's committee.
Today area rep Francis Fonseca said he believes Miller put in the work and the delegates made the right choice. But how does he view the prospect of bad blood between Miller and Pollard supporters? And will Lake I still back Miller? Here's what Fonseca said:
Francis Fonseca: "I think the results are a reflection of really the hard work that Eluide Miller put in. I hear all sorts of people giving explanations, but the bottom line is, he worked hard every single day engaging with those delegates across the city. He sat down with them, shared his vision with them, and talked about his plans for Belize City. And at the end of the day, the majority of the delegates believed in that vision, shared that vision, had confidence in him, trusted his leadership and gave him their support. So I think that's very important. He's gotten a very important mandate. Let me say this as well, because I've heard people talk about grassroots and all sorts of things: those delegates of the People's United Party, 780-something of them who voted, they are the grassroots of the People's United Party. They are the grassroots of the party. So it is the grassroots of this party who came out in the city on Sunday and overwhelmingly gave their support and confidence in Miller. That is the bottom line. And they understand that he will work hard, and that he is competent, that he is disciplined and that he is prepared to work for the residents of the city."
Courtney Menzies: "Do you believe that the convention will cause long-term divisions because of the split in support? Like, do you believe that Lake I will come out and support Miller for the municipals?"
Francis Fonseca: "Oh, absolutely. 100%. If you have any doubt about that, then you don't know Cordel Hyde. Cordel Hyde believes in the philosophy of the People's United Party. He supports this party with every fiber of his being. He knows that the People's United Party always represents the best choice for the people of Belize, and in this case, for the people of Belize City. So there should be no doubt or question about that. And one of the things, you know, the Deputy Prime Minister always reminds us, and it's a good lesson to everyone, because people outside don't want to hear anybody whining about why they lost the convention. People don't have time for that. What they're interested in is how do we move forward? How do we fix the problems of the city? And the Deputy Prime Minister always reminds us-and it's a good lesson for everybody-that the people are never wrong."
But is that same Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde still the man in Belize City?
His personal brand as the PUP's "Black Jesus" took a hit on Sunday when his candidate, Allan Pollard, lost-after Hyde put it all on the line for him.
Mahler-on the other hand-displayed his emergent power to carry Miller to victory.
So is Mahler now the dominant politician in Belize City?
He didn't even entertain that; he easily gave it up to the more senior politician:
Reporter: "And your reaction to the narrative that it was somehow you against the Deputy Prime Minister and somehow whoever won would be the king of the city?"
Anthony Mahler: "Man, listen to me, that is nonsense. Honorable Cordel Hyde has won I believe 5 or 6 times, Jules Vasquez says I won one and a half times and that is fine, he is the boss of the city. I will continue to follow him, but I have a duty as the deputy party leader for the Eastern Caucus, which is to me the most powerful caucus in the country, and I don't take that lightly. So if Honorable Dolores needs me to go in one of her villages or to go work I will go; if Marconi Leal or Honorable Marconi Leal needs me to go I will go; if Miss Lorna McKay wants me to go in Queen's Square I will go; if Gilroy wants me to go in Port I will go. It is not about flexing or who, that is my responsibility. Now if I am not the deputy for the East then I will still because I grew up in sports and it is fitting, so I understand about teamwork. If I have an opportunity to go in and help somebody who is a colleague of mine, then it is my fiduciary duty to do so I believe as a political... and that is where the strength came from because if you ask many of them leading up to 2025 I was on the ground with them. Well, I didn't have an election, but..."
The looming question in the air is, what will happen to Allan Pollard Jr. now that he has lost the convention and will no longer be in the political line for the PUP?
Sources suggest that the PM did not support Pollard, especially after he used his seat on the BTL board to vote against the acquisition of SpeedNet.
Pollard is on the board, but will he hold that seat for much longer? We asked the PM about Pollard's future with the party:
John Briceno: "I think he has a bright future, I've always been saying that, he's a young man with tremendous talent, tremendous goodwill, hard work and commitment as a public servant and wants to work for his community, so we should never lose sight of that and I need to commend him for the way that he has acted through this entire time, that he acted with grace, with humility and with poise, and I want to thank him for that."
Reporter "There's been much speculation that you did not support Pollard because he voted against the Speednet acquisition by BTL, is that true?"
John Briceno: "No, it's not true."
Reporter "Will he be removed from the board?"
John Briceno: "Well that's something that we, we never said that we were going to remove anybody, but when you're appointed, you're appointed at the pleasure of the government so you're not guaranteed anything. But I can tell you that I think that Allan Pollard has a bright future in this party, a bright future in this government and we need to be able to develop him to be able to be even a better public servant and he has been doing a pretty good job."
And moving now to the broader political issues, at last week's NTUCB protest Senator Glenfield Dennison expressed that with the cost of living as it is now, he does not believe that political leaders are in touch with the affordability crisis that regular people face daily. And, he claims, that is especially because most of their vehicles are funded by the government and the gas is on an invisible expense account. Here's how he put it:
Glenfield Dennison, Union Senator
August 28, 2026 "Anybody who has been getting just gas paid for, they have a Government vehicle, they have a statutory body vehicle, the utility company that they are directors for provides a vehicle for them. Any of those people who don't buy their own fuel can't relate to what is happening on the streets right now, and especially if you've been doing that for the last six years, you don't even know what it is like to full up your tank. A lot of these people have drivers, so transportation for them is not an expense. I feel like once you can't relate to buying your own gas, you can't relate to the average Belizean, straight like that. I said so."
Today the PM angrily rejected criticism that government officials are unable to relate to the affordability crisis facing Belizeans. Clearly the Senator's comments struck a nerve:
Reporter "The union senator says you are unable, you or government officials like yourself, are unable to relate to the affordability crisis because, for example, a lot of your fuel bill is covered by taxpayers' funds. How do you respond?"
John Briceno: "I'll be kind to the senator so I will not answer that question because he should know better."
Reporter "Can you relate?"
John Briceno: "How can I not relate to that? You guys do not understand, you don't understand. Wait, wait, stop, interrupt man, allow me to speak. Can you do that? Respect me and I will respect you, and you do that all the time. So again, I believe that all of us in government we can relate, because why? Because we are in our communities, we walk and meet with people. I walk all of this country, you know, more than any one of you here. I go and I meet people in their communities, I go and see what are their challenges, I understand what they're going through. Now you may say, 'Oh yeah, well, you don't have to buy fuel.' Well from time, let me give you a quick story. I remember once speaking to some students in Galen when I was the leader of the Opposition, and then one of them said, 'You don't know what it is to ride the bus, because you have only vehicles.' I was in Opposition, not in government. I said, 'Excuse me? When I started business I used to hitchhike to come to work, to come and buy stuff here, but I've worked hard over the years so I paid my dues and I've managed to be able to have my own vehicle.' That does not mean that if we forget, that does not mean that you cannot relate to people. If you don't relate to people, then they vote you out. And so we understand the challenges, we know that it is tough, that is why we are doing everything possible to help. Today right now we're going to bring to Cabinet a paper where we want to present to increase, to remove the GST on electricity for consumers, I think to about 200 dollars; that in itself is going to be positively affecting our consumers, I think it's about a hundred thousand accounts. We understand and we're doing the best we can with the little that we have, so don't you dare, and I challenge the senator, don't he dare come and tell us that we don't understand. We have a better understanding than him because he does not walk the streets of this country the way we walk, and when he can walk in our shoes then he could talk. Right now he's been elected as a senator on profile, but let him walk the streets, let him walk in the villages and understand what it is to live in a village where you don't have electricity, where you don't have water, where sometimes because the road is so bad that you have to walk to be able to take your children to school. When he understands that, then let's talk."
The Union Senator today responded to 7News by saying, quote: "There is a fundamental difference between walking the streets and living in the streets. And the truth of the unprivileged in relation to cost of living and affordability is... Who feels it knows it."
And with the cost of living as high as it is, was the gaudy political pageantry at Sunday's convention out of place?
One thinks, even if a million was not spent in the past convention, could the funds have been put to better use? We asked Mahler about this:
Jomarie Lanza: "But regardless of how much was spent, if it was a million or a thousand, the convention looked rich."
Anthony Mahler: "You all won't get off of that narrative."
Jomarie Lanza: "Yes, but still..."
Anthony Mahler: "No, no."
Jomarie Lanza: "This stands in stark opposition to daily life of average Belizeans who are struggling to pay their bills. What would you say to that contrast?"
Anthony Mahler: "So go and ask the Prime Minister who has been one of the champions fighting against the cost of living. I have been from day one. I used to take Lala milk, I used to take ramen, 123 oil, I told them next time I will bring a sheet of zinc and plywood. It is brutal, but it is brutal all across the world, it is not unique to Belize. We import far too much, we import far too much, and we produce 70-80% of what we can consume. But go into all of the stores, whether a small supermarket or a big one, you will find a bunch of imported stuff. So instead of peas and carrots, why not make from your own, chop it up and do it? I'm just saying, right."
Today, there was a fatal accident on the Philip Goldson Highway. It happened at Mile 8 where an SUV ran into a motorcycle in the other lane-killing the passenger, a female, on the spot-while the driver, a male, was rushed for treatment and has reportedly succumbed. Police have not confirmed the names of the victims and have not-at this point-released the name of the driver.
The accident occurred around 11:30 a.m., and traffic was blocked for miles until 2:00 p.m. when the vehicle and the cycle were cleared.
Today, former UDP Belize Rural North Area Rep Minister Edmond "Clear the Land" Castro pleaded not guilty to charges of negligent wounding and permitting an unmuzzled ferocious dog to be at large.
The charges stem from an alleged August 24 incident in Maskall Village, where five-year-old Kevin Young was attacked by four dogs while walking near Castro's residence. Police say the child suffered bites to his face, head, neck, ears, back, and stomach.
During the arraignment, the Magistrate questioned the charges, stating that they appeared to be "duplicitous" and noting that the facts did not indicate Castro personally caused the injuries.
His attorney, Norman Rodriguez, also told the court that the animal involved was a "pup" and not a grown dog. Castro maintained that the dogs do not belong to him and he was granted $500 bail with one surety for the same amount. We spoke with his attorney outside of the courtroom and this is what he had to say:
As school opened, the parents of More Tomorrow received shocking reports that their village primary school was going to be shut down.
If you'll recall, we visited the school back in 2024 when they only had one teacher, who also doubled as the principal. The road to the village is difficult to travel on, and the accommodations for any hardship teacher are in terrible condition.
However, the Minister of Education told us today that the school is not shutting down. He explained that they're working with the school and the community to fix their staffing problem.
Francis Fonseca: "I don't know where that came from, that it was being closed this Friday. That's not the case. The Ministry has been in discussions with the school and the principal and the community. And even today I spoke with, you know, the Area Representative because I wanted to assure them that we're not closing the school. What we're doing is engaging in discussions about how we can really put the school on a sound footing, because we do have challenges there. Nobody wants to go to teach there. They say the conditions are too harsh and, you know, all sorts of things, and you have to understand that. So we've been trying-I know last year we made accommodations, we tried to improve everything, we facilitated even a mother and daughter, we said they live together, it would be better both of them teaching there-but even then, you know, they have gotten frustrated. So it's a difficult situation, and, you know, it's a small school. So we have looked at options, different options, one being whether it would be easier to provide transportation and take them somewhere else. But we're discussing it with the community and we won't do anything without consulting the community. So I think they're scheduling a meeting, if not this Friday, next week to have a sit-down with them. But we're not closing the school, we're looking at how we can improve the school and make sure we have a strong staff there that can serve the needs of the students."
Back in 2024, the school had 3 classrooms and 40 students across 8 grades.
Last night we reported that ASP Aaron Gamboa, the longstanding commander of the SPU, had been relieved of his command with immediate effect.
Reports tell us that the Ministry had concerns about his continued tenure in charge of one of the top operational units.
Today the PM said that he doesn't know much about why the decision was made, but that he trusts acting Minister Julius Espat's decision-making:
John Briceno: "I don't know, I'd have to speak with Minister Espat, but Minister Espat has been doing a number of changes, he's been shaking up the Police Department and we need to do some of that, we just can't keep business as usual and so I think I will have to speak with him. He did tell me that he's making some changes, but he did not tell me who are the people that he changed and so I'm sure that Minister Espat would have a good reason for that change."
But, bigger than Gamboa, the question many still want to know is, "Who thief Budna?"
Our sources say that could lead to political higher-ups. So did the PM give Espat any instructions to not touch that case when he got in? Here's what he said:
Reporter "There's this rumor that you told him to stay away from the Budna case."
John Briceno, Prime Minister "Who?"
Reporter "A rumor that you told Espat, in terms of the Budna case."
John Briceno, Prime Minister "Don't listen to rumors, you can ask me the question outright: did you tell him that? No, I did not tell him."
Police have made an arrest in connection to Saturday's double murders of Rasheed Hyde and Gil Pineda of Santa Elena.
25-year-old Chris Anthony Veliz and 25-year-old Roberto Vidal May have been jointly charged with murder.
The men are alleged to have targeted Hyde and Pineda while they were outside a home socializing.
Prime Minister Rules Out Direct Bailout for Belize Electricity Limited
Looking to utilities, with all the load shedding that has been taking place, the question can only be asked: what will or can the Government do to help BEL?
After all, the company does owe CFE 30 million dollars-and counting.
So is a special bailout in the works? The PM says, that's not it:
John Briceno: "We don't give any money to BEL. What we have done, remember, is that we have, and I think Lynn Young explained it better, best, you know, if you have a taxi and you need to change the engine, are you bailing out the taxi? You're not, you're fixing your taxi. The same there goes for BEL, that BEL for many reasons, including that the cost of electricity continues to go up considerably and we don't want to put that burden on the Belizean people, what we have done is then be able to as the main shareholder to invest monies back into BEL. It's an investment that we believe in years to come when we start the solar that will be coming into place that because of the declaration of an emergency for energy in Belize that we could be able to sign with some companies-there are several that are already negotiating with BEL-that they could be able to come online within 6 months, within a year at much cheaper rates than what we presently buying and so we work in all of these things and so it's not about giving, but it's an investment in an asset and a company that we the taxpayers own."
Cabinet Reviews NTUCB's 11-Point Demand List Ahead of Union Talks
And while the PM gave the media 20 minutes in the city today, he said he was rushing off to a Cabinet meeting in Belmopan.
And at the top of the agenda for that meeting was NTUCB's 11-point list of demands:
John Briceno: "Well, it's not a matter of having a response by tomorrow, but I will have a response. As I said, I want to discuss the proposed response to Cabinet and once we do that we'll be sending a letter, an official letter to NTUCB. And I must put on record that I do recognize that we probably need to work even harder to have a better relationship with them. NTUCB, I have to take responsibility for that. Well, we have the DPM and three other ministers that are the direct liaison with them and so I was just feeling that they are the ones that represent them, and then I am making the commitment to them that if they want us to meet every quarter then I will do my best to see how we could structure to see how I'll be able to meet with them more often and to be able to strengthen the relationship."
Minister Fonseca Addresses BNTU and UBFSU Demands and National University Funding
And today the Minister of Education said he also looked at the demands, but focused particularly on those from the BNTU and the UBFSU. He told us that some of the issues are ones they are already working on and emphasized that, regarding UB, they've significantly increased their funding to the school. Here's what he told us:
Francis Fonseca, MOE/MFAFT "Yeah, I did look at the NTUCB demands. Of course, I looked at... the ones that I focused on were the ones coming from BNTU and the UB Faculty and Staff Union. So we're prepared to respond to those. I was a little surprised, because the ones from the BNTU area are ones we've been working on, we've been discussing on the table between education, just education and BNTU. We've been talking about those, so I was surprised that they found themselves in some broader discussion. But nonetheless, we are prepared to respond to those. I think there are absolutely areas where we can find common ground and compromise. So we're going to work on that, that's important points. In terms of UB, you know, when we came in, the subvention was $7.5 million when we came into office. It's now at $10 million. We're not at the $15 million we promised, but it's, you know, we came in during COVID, so it took us about two years before we started adding on. Now it's at $10 million this fiscal year. And we should not forget that every year-and this has gone up significantly over the past five years-we contribute another $20 million to UB through scholarships and financial assistance to students; the Ministry of Education, just the Ministry. So that's significant, it's significant. So UB is our national university. We're always prepared to sit down with them and discuss how we can improve our partnership, how we can strengthen the UB. We have great respect for all the teachers there, the professors, the lecturers, the administration. We're prepared to talk with them in good faith about these issues. But I want the Belizean people to understand there should be no doubt about our commitment to UB. We have, as I said, increased the subvention by $2.5 million over the last five years, and we have increased... the Financial Assistance Scholarship Program used to average around $8 million, I'm saying to you now we're spending $20 million at UB helping Belizeans get educated at our national university. So that's very significant, and that should form a part of our discussion."
Cabinet Approves Continued $2 Fuel Subsidy Extension for Bus Operators
The biggest news coming out tonight is that the Government has approved a $2.00 fuel subsidy for the Belize Bus Association.
The CEO in the Ministry of Transportation, Chester Williams, informed Belize Bus Association President Philip Jones by letter today that Cabinet approved the extension.
The subsidy will continue at $2 per gallon and may remain in effect until March 31, 2027, provided fuel prices do not fall below $12 per gallon.
Cabinet has also agreed to review the subsidy every two months to assess its effectiveness and determine whether it remains necessary.
Today we spoke to the PM before Cabinet approved the continued subsidy. We asked him about the threat of a bus strike if the subsidy was not approved-and he put it in the context of the price of diesel fuel:
John Briceno: "I always start with the premise: Belize is an independent country and we all have a right to decide what we want to do that is in our best interest as long as it does not impede in the interest of other Belizeans, and if the Bus Association or anybody feel like they want to strike for whatever reason, that is their right."
Reporter "But are you..."
John Briceno: "Can you allow me to finish?"
Reporter "Sorry, go ahead."
John Briceno: "That there's a serious challenge with the cost of diesel, it's over 15 dollars. We as a government have been doing our part in cutting or trying to reduce some of the burden of the tax on diesel and we know that they're struggling, and at the same time we don't want them then to cause that burden on our consumers. So today we'll have a discussion in Cabinet and I believe that we're going to find a common ground where there will be no need for them to strike and to be able to continue to operate and provide services for our citizens."
Prime Minister Says "Usher the Unfencer" Was 'Overanxious'
And keeping the lens on political conflict, last night we showed you "Usher the Un-fencer"-PUP Area Rep Gilroy Usher-who was seen cutting the fence of a constituent.
So what does his boss have to say about it? Well today the PM says that he was probably "overanxious" when he did that and he already apologized:
John Briceno: "The thing is that Minister Usher was overanxious and probably frustrated in trying to fix a problem that has been created over land and felt that if he did not step in, people are being killed over land. Unfortunately in Orange Walk my compadre in San Lazaro was chopped up because of an issue with land and he felt as if he stepped in maybe he could help. Would I do it differently? Of course I'll do it differently and I called them and said that you should allow the law to take its process, allow the police to take the process and also the Ministry of Natural Resources to come in with their surveyors to come in and tell them these are your boundaries. And he realized that, he apologized, he made a public apology to people, so I think I would not have done it that way, but at the same time you have to admire him taking his role seriously as an area representative."
Prime Minister Addresses Oscar Mira's Presence at Official Event Amid Cabinet Leave
But Usher wasn't the only minister turning heads. We today saw Oscar Mira, who appeared in the front row alongside the Prime Minister at an event this morning.
And just in time: it's coming up on three months since he was put on leave after an audit was launched at the Ministry of Defence.
Does this indicate that Mira is making his way back to Cabinet? Well, here is what the PM said:
Reporter "PM, we also see that Oscar Mira is here. Is he returning to his Ministry?"
John Briceno: "I think we're kind of jumping ahead of the time. Oscar Mira continues to be an area representative, he continues to represent the people of Belmopan and I welcome for him to be able to continue to work in Belmopan and for government."
Reporter "What's the extent of Mr. Mira's representation here today, do you know?"
John Briceno: "I think the Minister... he was invited, he's an area representative, we invited all the Area Representatives to come here."
Belize Navigates U.S. Concerns to Preserve Cuban Medical Brigade
Belize waits with bated breath for what will become of the Cuban medical brigade. As we have told you, the U.S. is pressuring GOB to send the 90 or so medical professionals home, but those healthcare professionals are the foundation of many rural facilities, not to mention their invaluable support in the regional hospitals as well.
So where does GOB currently stand on making that decision? We asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Francis Fonseca, MOE/MFAFT "I don't think much has changed since we last spoke about it. You know, as I have said, it's very important for the Government of Belize to try to pursue every opportunity available to keep the Cuban doctors and nurses in Belize; they are a vital component of our health system. So we're working on that process, we're working through that process. We are having discussions at the government level, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs level with, you know, with the Cubans. And of course, as you all know, I mean it's no secret, we also have to be sensitive to some of the concerns that have been raised by the U.S. Government. So we're navigating that, we're working through that process, and we're hopeful. We're hopeful based on the discussions we've been having over the past few weeks, both at the level of the Government because, as you know, Prime Minister Briceño discussed this matter with the Americans when he traveled to Washington, D.C., a few months ago, two months ago or so, and here we have been engaging with them as well as, as I said, with the Cubans to see if we can arrive at some, you know, compromise that will allow us to preserve the presence of the Cuban doctors and nurses in Belize. So that's where we are with that. That work continues, and we're hopeful that perhaps by the end of this month, we'll be able to have some firm plan in terms of how we move forward."
Prime Minister Details Diplomatic and Healthcare Outcomes of Honduras Mission
And along that line, we asked the PM about his recent trip to Honduras-where a part of the discussions centered on bringing Honduran doctors to Belize and providing training opportunities for Belizean medical professionals:
John Briceno, Prime Minister "The Honduras trip I believe was a very successful trip. If you probably know now, it is one of the things that I've said from early and part of Plan Belize is that we have to be more integrated with Central America. We are already integrated with the Caribbean, but the truth and the reality is that we are surrounded by more than 100 plus millions of Spanish-speaking people. We've been working closely with Mexico, we managed to be able to open the market with Mexico for cattle and now we're working on other products such as coconuts. We have a partial scope agreement with Guatemala, we just signed one with El Salvador, so the next step is to be able to see how we could have that same agreement with Honduras, so that was one of the things that we went to look at. The other issue is the issue about the challenges we have in our healthcare system, that because of the Cuban brigade we're still working on how is it that we can keep at the very least some of those doctors that are working in Belize. We're working on it, we don't have a clear path, we're working with the United States government, but we were informed that now that in Honduras there are doctors that are prepared to come to Belize, and so we're looking at how the Ministry of Health can sign an MOU with the Ministry of Health from Honduras to see how we can bring them over. We are also looking at how we can have residencies in their hospitals so we can send our young doctors to be able to be trained in Honduras. So we're working on that. The military to military, Belize has a great relationship of cooperation, but now for the very first time we have a young Belizean, I think it's two young Belizeans now studying in the military academy, and so we're looking also to see if we can sign a memorandum of understanding between both militaries and both ministries of defense again to continue to strengthen that relationship. We have these challenges with narco-trafficking in the region, they've been cooperating with us so we want to cooperate with them, so there's a lot of opportunities that are available to be able to work with Honduras."
National Sports Council Kicks Off First National Sports Summit
Today was day one of the National Sports Council's very first National Sports Summit, which featured an expo, a panel discussion, and an Olympian keynote speaker. Jomarie Lanza has this report:
Olympic Legend Marion Jones Delivers Keynote Speech on Youth Talent Identification
And that was just a small part of Marion's hour-long address which was passionate, fiery, motivational, and emotional.
Her focus was on young athletes-and how their talent can be identified and nurtured at an early age:
Marion Jones Shares Vision for Supporting Next Generation of Athletes
And from there, Jones went into the dream and the worldview of that young athlete-seeing herself in the network of coaches and supporters who discover young talent:
Marion Jones Addresses the Future of Belize's National Sports Complex
Jones also spoke about Belize's largest outdoor sporting and track facility. It is one of the few in the world to still carry her name-but she says she wants it to be more than a name:
Marion Jones Reflects on Her Historic 2001 Visit to Belize
Jones also reminisced about her visit to Belize in 2001 after her historic gold medal run in the Sydney Olympics.
She was later stripped of those medals-but she says the magic of 2001 still lives on:
Sports Minister Mahler Highlights Purpose of Marion Jones Keynote Address
Sports Minister Mahler explained why he asked Jones to be the special guest speaker at the first sports summit:
Anthony Mahler: "So Marion Jones, I have been after her for almost a year back and forth, back and forth, and I believe her story is a great one: trials, tribulations. I believe that she can tell or give a lot of messages to very young people who have hope of maybe being an Olympic medalist one of these days for Belize. Yesterday we did a tour of the facility that is going to be the number one High Performance Center in Belize, that is our goal. We are working on trying to raise some financing for that, and then we want to have four of those across the country: one in Belize City, one in Orange Walk, one down south and one in Cayo somewhere."
The Cabinet Dance: Physical Activity at Sports Summit
And that's it for an extended 7News tonight-thanks for staying with us-and we leave you with one more highlight of today's sports summit-as nutritionist Karen Rosito led the gathering in a physical activity that gave ministers in the front row a chance to show their moves…
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Tonight, the Prime Minister and PUP Party Leader is breaking his silence after one of the biggest political pageants took place on Sunday to determine who will be the next PUP mayoral candidate for Belize City.
"I think it continues to show the strength of the PUP that we have tremendous support across this country, and when you have very good candidates that is what you create an excitement about who it is that is going to be leading of the party, and in this case we're going to be leading the party in the next municipal elections. I think it was very, very good."
But how much financing was really involved?
"I think it is a disservice when you spew what I would call nonsense in millions of dollars being spent. That is an irresponsible approach from the media and I will tell you straight that if I spent fifteen hundred dollars on that day, it was a lot. Now, conventions cost money, yes, but if you have a thousand t-shirts out there at $12, that is $1,200. How did you get to 2 million dollars? How did you reach a million dollars?"
"Yeah, we've always supported campaign finance reform. The challenge is making sure that it's something that can work for Belize, right? We're not... you see in these, even in these big developed countries, you know, it doesn't work. You know, there are all sorts of loopholes, and, you know, so I'm absolutely in support of campaign finance reform legislation. But it has to be something that's workable, something that's practical, something that's equitable. It has to be something supported, bipartisan support for it on both sides, something that the political parties can live with. So, you know, the whole Government, I think, is prepared to look at campaign finance proposals. We've been discussing this at the joint union level for years. The joint union, I think they had gotten some drafts, they have some drafts of their own, and we're prepared to look at those again. The Chamber of Commerce, I think, was also involved in reviewing some of those drafts. So I think all of us can sit down together, because the business community, I think, has to be involved as well. So all of us can sit down and make sure we take a good-sense approach to developing meaningful campaign finance laws that will work effectively in Belize."
So will we be seeing Mahler's Pickstock machinery out again for the municipal elections in support of Miller?
But is that same Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde still the man in Belize City?
The looming question in the air is, what will happen to Allan Pollard Jr. now that he has lost the convention and will no longer be in the political line for the PUP?
"Anybody who has been getting just gas paid for, they have a Government vehicle, they have a statutory body vehicle, the utility company that they are directors for provides a vehicle for them. Any of those people who don't buy their own fuel can't relate to what is happening on the streets right now, and especially if you've been doing that for the last six years, you don't even know what it is like to full up your tank. A lot of these people have drivers, so transportation for them is not an expense. I feel like once you can't relate to buying your own gas, you can't relate to the average Belizean, straight like that. I said so."
Today, there was a fatal accident on the Philip Goldson Highway. It happened at Mile 8 where an SUV ran into a motorcycle in the other lane-killing the passenger, a female, on the spot-while the driver, a male, was rushed for treatment and has reportedly succumbed. Police have not confirmed the names of the victims and have not-at this point-released the name of the driver.
Last night we reported that ASP Aaron Gamboa, the longstanding commander of the SPU, had been relieved of his command with immediate effect.
But, bigger than Gamboa, the question many still want to know is, "Who thief Budna?"
Police have made an arrest in connection to Saturday's double murders of Rasheed Hyde and Gil Pineda of Santa Elena.
And while the PM gave the media 20 minutes in the city today, he said he was rushing off to a Cabinet meeting in Belmopan.
And keeping the lens on political conflict, last night we showed you "Usher the Un-fencer"-PUP Area Rep Gilroy Usher-who was seen cutting the fence of a constituent.
