GOB Gave Green Light To Corona, But Minister Backpedals

Would you pay over $100 for a case of Mexican Corona beer? Well, Bowen & Bowen and the Ministry of Agriculture are hoping you won't.

Yesterday we told you that GOB green lit a permit for the importation of Corona beer. It's caused major concern for local breweries, like B&B and Caribbean International.

When we brought their concerns to Minister Jose Mai today, he explained that he didn't know about the permit until this past Tuesday, and that he believes it shouldn't have been given at all.

He added though that, to be fair, if permits are being granted for cheese and meats, then beer permits must be considered, especially with what he calls a "tariff barrier" to de-incentivize it.

However, he told us that in the meantime, they're planning to put a pause on the permit.

Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"The director explained to me that they have been in consultation with the CEO and Customs for a very long time because people have been applying for permits. My Minister is bombarded with the requests for permits - steak, pork, duck, chicken, everything, shrimp, cheese, milk, everyday we requests for import permits. There are some in Cabinet who believe that we should do away with the license regime because it's against the policies and regulations of WTO. But every country puts regulations in place to protect their industries. So the technical team believe that by putting in the measures that they put in, which is, if you want to bring in this beer, you will have to label every single bottle marked Belize market and the name of the importer. We know, well, the technical team believe that it wouldn't have been possible to do that one, and two, look at the tariffs that are being imposed with importation of beer, it would have been extremely high so the importer would have had to sell a case of beer for $135 so we knew it wouldn't be competition for the local product. My personal view on this, we should protect every single thing we make in this country and you know my position has always been, we need to protect what we grow in this country.

"I have advised the technical team that we should put on hold this import permit because, for me, like I said, my view is that I wouldn't like to give permit to anybody.

"I believe that maybe we should have waited and not give it at all but that would have to go for everything, you cannot do that only for one product, you do it for everything.

"So do we apply the rule to everybody or half apply it to some and to some not. So this is what we are battling with everyday but I've asked my CEO, I've advised my CEO and the director of Supplies Control that we should put this on pause because we do not want to be seen as a ministry that supports foreign products.

Flour Shortage Leads To Meatpie Shortage, When Will It End?

And as we told you yesterday, the importer, a company called Goliath, told GOB that they want to pick up the slack after reported shortages of Belikin Beer at tourist destinations.

But beer isn't the only thing that's been scarce. There's been a recent shortage of flour - so much so that Dario's Meatpies had to tell their customers "no pie today." Brent Hernandez, the operations manager, explained to us that they've had limited production over the last two days - only 50% - because they can't get flour at the miller though wholesalers. They hope things go back to normal tomorrow, but are asleep concerned that flour prices may go up.

Tonight the news is that the shortages may not last for much longer - Minister Mai explained what went wrong in the first place:

Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"The problem was that the mill was having some problems. That has been addressed since last week so I know they're working overtime to supply the market once again but it should be temporary."

"We have to, again, consult with Belize mills to see how that is going. The Director is working on that too but I'll give you an update on that sometime maybe by tomorrow."

Sugar Still Scarce, Mai Proposes Legislation To Keep It On Shelves

And aside from flour, you'll know that there's been a sugar shortage for some time. The Ministry knows that the sugar meant for stores is being sold across the border to Mexican and Guatemalan markets. But the problem lies in how to stop this - and how to arrest the persons responsible. Mai says they're still at the drawing board trying to come up with a solution, but he believes there needs to be new legislation.

Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"I just got off the phone yesterday with Mr Chavarria with the same matter, sugar. we're trying to control what is being sold. What he has said to me is that he's selling the stores directly and not the middle men so that the stores won't be able- but even if the stores, if you want to sell it abroad, they will sell it abroad. We don't have all the measures in place to control it, what I suggested to him and to our team is to come up with a law that had been in before when there was a rice war. Those who wanted to distribute rice had to have a permit. Now, you will know that there are people who receive sugar from BSI that we cannot find evidence that they sell to the stores so what are they doing with the sugar? We asked that they be audited by the tax department too because these people, we have found no evidence, no document that says they have sold this sugar to this store. We have to assume then that they are the ones who are exporting it to the Mexicans and Guatemalans. Now, again we don't have a law in place to say, if I find you, for example, remember the truck that was intercepted during the standoff, the police had to release it because there's no evidence that it was going abroad. I believe it was going there but in the country, you can't charge then for anything but now if the law is a law that says you have to have a license to wholesale sugar and I meet that truck on the road that doesn't have a license then that person is committing an offense. But again, we are still think tanking what is the best way to address this matter. But I will tell you, I do not see us importing our own sugar that we sell to ASR and importing it, that is not going to happen, at that price, absolutely not. I'm not for that and I will fight against that. We are a country that produces sugar, we need to produce our own sugar for ourselves. If we need to come up with some law that will prevent people from doing that, we have to do so."

63 Pounds Of Cocaine Found In Fisherman's Home

Police made a major cocaine bust in the north last night. The search of a fisherman's home in Sarteneja at around 9:00 turned up 53 pounds of cocaine. That's 25 bricks of cocaine - commonly the number found in a bail - which are how the cartels package them. Tonight, four persons have been remanded after they were charged with drug trafficking.

The Commissioner of Police gave us a briefing this morning:

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"The police in the Corozal District in particular the Corozal police along with some of the elements that we have currently deployed in the northern area as a part of our northern operations conduct an operation yesterday or last night sometime around 9:00 Pm there about in the Sarteneja area the operation took them to a home where searches were conducted and the search led to the discovery of 25 parcels of what we suspect to be Cocaine. The cocaine was taken into police custody along with 4 persons who were found at the home. The four persons included three male and one female at the Corozal police station the suspected cocaine was weighed and it amounted to just over 28 kilograms. Those persons as I said are in police custody and are expected to be charged today for drug trafficking."

And shortly after that interview, the charges were made public. The owner of the home 35 year old Armando Torres, and charged along with 36 year old Mirna Durantes, 32 year old Delwyn Novelo and 37 year old Nigel Neal for "Possession of Controlled Drugs with Intent to Supply." All 4 persons were arraigned at the Corozal magistrates court, where the homeowner, Torres, pleaded guilty with an explanation - which ended up with no plea being entered. The other three accused pleaded not guilty. All four were remanded to the Belize Central prison and are expected to return to court on November 15th.

Cops Fighting Northern Narcos

And police say this big bust is only part of the effort to keep the heat up on northern narcos.

We also reported on a Marijuana plantation that police had destroyed in Orange Walk on Monday. The Compol says that they are aware of the increase in drug activity in the North, and have taken steps to heighten their surveillance and response:

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We also recently destroyed a marijuana plantation in the Rhaburn's Ridge area I think Ravens Ridge would be in the Belize District but falls under the Orange Walk jurisdiction from a police stand point again that operation was led by elements of the Belize Police department and it was based on information obtained they visited the area and they found the plantation and the plantation was destroyed whereas recently there was also a drug bust in Corozal district again where six parcels of suspected cocaine were found at a house I think in the Chunox village area and a number of persons were detained for that and one person plead guilty when the matter went before the court and the case was withdrawn against the other so it's an ongoing thing with our operation teams in the north as you all would be aware that we have the ongoing northern operations in which the government of Belize has invested a lot of money getting the resources that the police officers need to be able to execute our duties in that area and you would know that recently I think in this month there was the killing of the leader of the Caborca Cartel which is the cartel that is basically running the Quintana Roo area and this leader was killed in the Polanco area of Mexico City. We do expect that there is going to be reprisals in the Chetumal area and those reprisals may trickle over into Belize particularly along the irregular border crossing area so our officers the police, the BDF, and the coast guard have been on extremely high alert in the northern area particularly the irregular border crossing area with a view to see if there is going to be persons from over the Mexican side who may want to come over to Belize and we are also paying keen attention to those Belizeans who we know tend to operate of the directives or directions from those cartels from across the border so there is a lot that we are doing with a view to ensure we keep the integrity of our borders in tact so that these cartels cannot come and operate in our country how they may wish."

US Again Lists Belize As Major Drug Transit Country

And, despite these efforts - the United States is not impressed. Four days ago the White House once again listed Belize a "Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug Producing" country.

This list includes every country in Central America - along with the Bahamas, Ecuador, Jamaica and others.

The commissioner rejected the listing today:

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"We judge based on statistics right so I am sure that members of the media you no longer hear of drug planes landing in our country. So I wonder how that came about because the truth is we have done a lot our government continues to invest in the BDF, the police and coast guard to be able to ward off these drug traffickers from our country. We have made significant progress so when I read that report I wondered myself what measuring stick they are using to be able to arrive at that conclusion but it is there assessment of us. I don't accept it I am sure that many Belizeans will not accept it and at the end of the day there is nothing we can do about it but just continue working and do what we can to ensure that we continue to keep the drug traffickers from using our country as a transshipment point."

We note that "The list is not a sanction or penalty."

Mason's Kidnapping Retrial Starts In High Court

William "Danny" Mason was back in court today for the start of his retrial for kidnapping. Mason and Ryan Rhaburn were indicted to stand trial for kidnapping and blackmail. This is after the last proceedings in Belmopan was declared a mistrial at the end of July.

Mason - who had no attorney today - told the new Judge, Justice Nigel Pilgrim he was not aware of a retrial order. And his attorney Hubert Elrington is ill and in recovery and it is possible that Mason will have to seek a new attorney. So he asked the court for 30 days to prepare himself.

Simeon Sampson was there representing Ryan Rhaburn.

The case was adjourned to October 17, 2024.

Rhaburn remains out on bail and Mason was returned to the prison where he is serving a life sentence for the murder of Pastor Llewelyn Lucas. Today Mason was delivered to the court - as he always is - by a well armed Gi3 special escort.

Mason and Rhaburn are on trial charged with two counts of Kidnapping of a Mennonite couple, Lloyd and Rosey Friessen which is alleged to have occurred on May 31, 2016. After he allegedly kidnapped them, Mason is said to have demanded that Lloyd Friessen pay him $2,500 dollars weekly for protection.

Angry Grocer Assaulted Price Control Inspector

In other court news, Chinese businessman, 28 year old Jiahui Chen, owner of Bosco Supermarket on Central American Boulevard appeared in the Belize City magistrates court today to answer to the charges of assault. Chen is accused of assaulting 36 year old Nicholas Smith, a Customer Protection Inspector for the Ministry of Agriculture. He visited Chen's store on September 16th to conduct an inspection. According to a report, Smith had confronted Chen for failing to display the price on a 16 ounce pack of bread, and that he would issue him a ticket. And that's when Chen allegedly grabbed him by the shirt and attempted to drag him out the store. Smith then alerted his superior of the situation and called the police. He then proceeded with court action against Chen, and so Chen was arrested and charged with Common Assault. Chen pleaded not guilty to the charge and was offered bail in the sum of $1000 which he was able to meet. His next court date is set for November 21st 2024.

A Groundbreaking On Guinea Grass Road

And in other news, the day Guinea Grass residents had been waiting for finally came today. The Ministry of Infrastructure Development broke ground on their road - which means by this time next year, they will have an almost fully rehabilitated roadway. As it stands right now, they have a dusty dirt road which is difficult to navigate. And while it took some time to get started, this project will now change the lives of 9,000 villagers. Courtney Menzies was at the groundbreaking ceremony today and has this story.

All five miles of road connecting Guinea Grass to Tower Hill will be fully renovated in the next year. It's a major relief for the villagers who have to contend with dust when it's sunny and mud when it rains. It's a project that's been years in the making. In fact, Area Rep Jose Mai says he's been telling the prime minister about it before they were elected.

Jose Mai, Area Rep., Orange Walk South
"There have been 4 area reps before me. Each one of these area reps has promised this road to these people. I look at this project as important. You don't play politics with people. You get the job done from before elections when we were campaigning. We're planning our campaigning Prime Minister and I told him, Prime Minister. It is time for these people to get there road paved along with San Estevan, San Estevan and Guinea Grass."

"Living in these conditions is unacceptable in 2024. Living, I mean the quality of life and all the houses have no color except white because it's dusty, when it rains it is all muddy"

And finally today, four years later, he, along with Minister Julius Espat and the Orange Walk, East era rep Kevin Bernard broke ground on the road. According to Espat. Every Area has their requests. But there were at last able to get to Mai's.

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
"Lots of work and every, every Area Rep. makes their requests. And as you are aware, we have hundreds of miles of road. So we sit as a group and we try to prioritize and we get them out one by one. And what we did here was we paved the village inside the village first that was done by MIDH staff."

And then we were maintaining this road. We put in all the sub base. We compacted it and we maintained it for a couple of years until we got the opportunity to do this. As Minister Mai had mentioned, there were two projects that were important for the two area reps, one for San Estevan and this one and also a minister Kevin Bernard had gotten some work in his villages too.

So we finished San Estevan. We have completed the work for Minister Kevin and now we are here and to complete the promise that we made to the Honorable Abelardo .

And Mai explained that this road is essential because of the thousands that use it every day and because its produce reaches different markets around the country.

Jose Mai,Area Rep., Orange Walk South
"Many Teachers in this village travel from Orange Walk to here. Can you can you can you can you picture the amount of problems along the route to get here? And so also very important is the amount of food and food products that come out of the te area it is just tremendous. You stand up there for 15 minutes and you count the amount of veichles that pass you will be surprised."

So it is time for us to do what we are elected to do.

Julius Espat,Minister of Infrastructure Development
"We are dealing with about 9000 people in one village. And then you have shipyard and you have the other. It's very important. All the villages we historically have not been given the respect that they deserve. And our mandate as this government was to invest in the rural communities. And we have been doing so from the day we got elected."

"And this is just a continuation of that plan."

The total cost of the project is approximately $3.6 million.

Compulsory Acquisition Of Stake Bank A Cabinet Decision But Julius Won't Defend It

And while Espat agreed to renovate the Guinea Grass Road, does he agree with his government's compulsory acquisition of Stake Bank? It's a collective Cabinet decision - but Espat didn't want to defend it today

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
"The government's acquisition of Stake Bank, your thoughts on it and do you think it meets the threshold of compulsory acquisition?"

"I would prefer not to comment on that."

Infrastructure Minister Foresees A City On Stilts

And while Espat wanted no part of that, the Minister Of Infrastructure had more to say about the King Tides.

For the past few days, Belize City streets have been flooded at high tide - even without rain - because of this phenomenon.

But rising sea levels have made this year's king tides worse and with climate change, it may soon become the norm.

Taking the long view, Minister Espat says Belize City may soon have to change the way it builds its infrastructure.

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
"The world is going through that, if you look at Fiji, if you look at New Orleans, if you look at all the low lying communities, it is something that's happening, it is a gradual process. Some people say 1cm a year is how it's- it depends on who you speak to but we are now facing reality, it's getting worse in Belize as a country. We can withstand it because we have flooding and it lasts maybe a little bit longer than we would like to see but our systems are working I would say fairly well. Belize City is a peculiar case because in a low lying area, it is below sea level, most people don't realize that, the seawalls that we have around us protect us to a certain extent, the landfill that people put on their land help to a certain extent. The concreting of the streets and the asphalting of the streets in Belize City has assisted, the pump station that we put in plays a role. Everything adds to helping the problem but you won't solve it because we are in a low lying area and so it is a matter of time we will have to go back to the original way of building where people were building on stilts and we forget that you know. We have a short memory span, we only worry about building on stilts when a hurricane is upon us, after the hurricane passes, we go back on the ground again, and it's because of economics so we understand that but there was a reason why we built on stilts in the low lying area and that was so the flood would pass through and you would be safe, dry and secure in your home above. I think the time has come where the central building authority has to look at policies when they're looking at low lying areas and force certain types of structures to happen again."

Julius Claps At Hugo Patt

And we also asked Espat if he's dealt with the Remate Road issue. In the House of Representatives last Friday, Corozal North area rep complained that after being opened on May 8th the road has been deteriorating despite having just been built. Espat clapped back, saying that Hugo Patt should worry about more pressing matters in his party.

Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development
"I think Hugo Patt needs to concentrate on more important things, every time he comes to the House he speaks on the Remate because there's nothing else for him to do. He has to work on his party before he can start criticizing the work we are doing. We sent out an engineering team, both international consultants and our engineers and there's no problem that he had mentioned. So I challenge him for the third time, you have a specific problem, bring it to us, we will go out there, we will deal with it, he has not done so and so I expect him to raise it again because he has nothing else to speak on and so the Remate seems to be the thing that sticks in his head. That's fine, I understand all of that, but don't come with accusations that don't have any basis. If it has basis, we will deal with it. And if it's anybody's fault, including ours, we will solve it. But don't get up and repeat the same rhetoric over and over with no basis."

ComPol Concedes There Was A Breach In Daniel Cal's Detention

A week has passed since 26-year-old Daniel Cal passed away after an extended stay in police custody. And since then the police department has been under pressure - with the family claiming that the injuries and mistreatment he got in custody directly led to his death.

When we spoke with the commissioner today he told us that aside from the investigation into Cal's death they are also concerned that there was a breach in the department, and someone has to take accountability for it.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"When it comes to the incident involving Daniel Cal. As the commissioner of police it gives me no pleasure in seeing the death of someone go unpunished where there is evidence that somebody may be liable for that individual's death. But equally as the chief law enforcement officer in the country I am guided by evidence that would be obtained during an investigation. When the incident occurred with Cal both myself and my minister spoke and we both agreed that there needs to be done a proper investigation to get to the bottom of it. That investigation was done to some extent it is still ongoing because we don't just want to look at the criminal aspect of what took place we can say with certainty that there may be no criminal culpability on the part of the police. But as the investigation is unfolding we are seeing where some of our administrative measures were breached and so those police officers who caused the breach of our administrative measures will have to answer administratively. One such thing is that Mr Cal had not need to be in police custody beyond the Friday he could have gone to court. Why keep him in custody longer than it was necessary to do so. So whoever was responsible to ensure he had gone to court the Friday will have to answer why that did not occur."

A Statue, A Wreath, And A Home, The Price Trifecta

13 years ago on September 19th, Father of the Nation George Price died at the age of 92.

And, to mark his passing and engender Price's lifelong commitment to public service - September 19th is now National Service Day.

And while that happens in different ways across communities, in the realm of officialdom - the veneration of the National Hero seems on its way to a canonization. Jomarie Lanza reports on the various Price celebrations in the last 24 hours:

BTB kicked off the Price marathon last night with the unveiling of an 11 foot bronze George Price statue last night in Battlefield park.

Pulled from under a shroud of navy blue - the statue towers above the park made famous for the labour movement - which is also one of the foundational elements of the PUP.

Price's grand nephew Henry Charles Usher says that it was a moment of reflection for him:

Henry Charles Usher, Grand Nephew of George Price
"It's something that has been in discussion now over a year and we've been waiting for this night waiting for this unveiling so"

Reporter:
"Your first thoughts after seeing it?"

Henry Charles Usher, Grand Nephew of George Price
"Well whenever I see an image of him, a statue, a video or I hear his voice I remember the times I spent learning from him. The times I spent sitting next to him and just being told about our country being educated on what it meant to be a Belizean, the Belizean identity, the value of unity, the value of working together, the value of nation building so it's always a moment of reflection for me."

And this morning, as per tradition, the 13th anniversary of Price's death was marked by the traditional wreath laying ceremony where government officials, CEO's and other members of parliament, as well as a cluster of school children gathered at the Lord Ridge Cemetery on the George Price Highway for a memorial service. There were speeches and reverential laying of wreaths upon the Great Man's grave.

But more than just honoring his grave, they are doing the same with the place that was the cradle for this national hero.

The Minister of Culture says they went the extra mile this year in preserving Price's memory by restoring his childhood home and turning it into a historical site.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture
"I'm very grateful for the Price family many of whom are here today for working with us and agreeing to participate in this important project which is the restoration and designation of the Price house on Pickstock street the family home, the family home will now be a part of our NICH program of work in terms of managing and administrating that property. And turning it really into a public classroom is how I like to describe it. A public classroom and an immersive learning space where all young people can go and all corsets indeed."

The yard space here at the birth home of Price on Pickstock Street will also be turned into a botanical and sculpture garden.

It's the product of an MOU that NICH has signed with the Price Family to preserve and transform the historic Price Family Home and repurpose it for public benefit.

The Prime Minister was there to unveil the plaque outside the house marking the transformation and spoke about the importance of its preservation:

Prime Minister, John Briceno
"I think not only as a government but also as a country that we have managed to sign NICH along with the Price Family to sign an agreement for us to be able to protect and preserve a part of our history, the house of the father of the nation. So many important events happened there from signing agreements to protests and meetings a lot of the history of Belize is right there over in that building and in that yard so it is very important for us to do everything possible to protect it so that our young people especially our young people can come and visit and get a better a truer appreciation of the work of the father of the nation."

"Mr Price gave his life to this country and he always felt that we must always give back to Belize and how best can we celebrate the day that he left us if you want to put it that way by doing what he did best to serve this country to serve the people and so as a party and as a country we ask everybody to do one small kind gesture to his neighbor or to his neighborhood to be able to help to make Belize better and that is the whole idea behind service day which we celebrate on the date of his death."

A release from NICH says the Price Family Home will remain, quote, "a non-partisan space accessible to all Belizeans and visitors."

Six Villages In The North Get Water Meters

Earlier in the news, we showed you the groundbreaking for Guinea Grass' new road. Well, they're not the only ones in the north with something to celebrate. San Jose and San Pablo in the Orange Walk District, as well as Libertad, Concepcion, San Victor, and Buena Vista in the Corozal District today received water meters for their villages. The CEO in the Ministry of Rural Transformation explained more.

Valentino Shal, CEO, Ministry of Rural Transformation
"Water is extremely important for our rural families and rural households and we need to ensure that they have access to good clean quality water year round, day in and day out. And what we need to do to ensure that is to have these systems become financially sustainable so that they can continuously provide this service and one way to do that is to install meters on these systems and we're working with our waterboards throughout the country to be able to do this and so far we have increase the systems that are fully metered and today we are donating to I think four villages, some have shared systems here in the north, another I think 380 meters, that's valued at just above $190,000."

"It's a big task, I think we have 108 or 109 water systems and it's just 60% are fully metered, some are partially metered and some do not have meters so there's a long way to go. But there has been, since we started three years ago, every year we bring an amount and we install them along with the water boards so we have increased the number and the percentage of systems that are metered and we will continue until we have the entire rural water systems fully metered. And it's totally doable, of course we wish to have all the funds at one time because other villages are seeing the benefits, they're coming to us and saying what about us, we want to install meters on our systems too. But we work first with those villages who are ready, the ones who come and say we want to meter our systems. And there are those who are a little reluctant but we will work with them and we will get them on board as well."

Chester Scolds Shyne

Following Leader of the Opposition Shyne Barrow's State of the Nation Response, the Commissioner of Police moved swiftly to fact check him. The Compol pulled up the figures with the quickness and today he spoke with us as to why he felt the need to do so.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I find it strange that my friend the leader of one of the opposition because I think there is two. Tends to speak of crime and equate the occurrences of crime to the ineffectiveness of the police or the government. As a person who had in the past committed a crime and convicted of a crime I am sure that he could attest that despite the US is a first world country they possess all the technology to be able to fight crime and prevent crime. He was still able to commit a crime for which he was convicted. And I am sure that he did not blame the police in the US for the crime he committed neither did he blame the government of the US for the crime he committed. He took responsibility for it so for him to now try to blame the police or government for a crime being committed is rather insane. Nonetheless I think it has become rather frustrating to see that whenever there is a family grieving from the loss of their loved one the leader of the opposition would use that opportunity the misfortune of people to his to try and achieve his end state I think we as a society need to condemn that because it certainly is pathetic."

ComPol Slams Shyne With Stats

The Compol stands by his numbers.

And going slightly over the top, Compol Chester adds that the leader of the opposition's speech is not only an affront to him as the top cop, but to the country as well, especially those who may consider visiting Belize.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"It is so sad that the Leader of the Opposition knows the truth, he knows the reality of where we stand with crime statistics yet he would use the opportunity of the media to say to the Belizean people that murders are up by 40%. That crime, yes year to date, that crime is out of control. Marisol, Ms Lanza Ana Mr Lopez you people work in the media you all know this is not true. And that's the reason why I saw it prudent to respond to him because we cannot allow him to mislead the Belizean people and it is not just about Belize you know he calls himself a patriotic man but when you do things like lie about your country and lie about the state of security in your country you are doing your country a disservice because people in the international world who may want to come to Belize and they see your interview they see your comments will not want to come because they fear that if they come to Belize crime is out of control they may become the victim of a crime so when he does these things he is causing a disservice to the nation and that's the reason why i presented the statistics for you all to see and for the nation to see and if you all wish you can fact check my press release compared to what he said."

Belmopan City Council Casts Serious Suspicion On Mayor Sheran's Land Dealings

There are interesting developments to report in Belmopan where the mayor Pablo Kawich is making moves and some shady land dealings that occurred during the tenure of his PUP predecessor Sheran Palacio.

The council today announced that it has launched an investigation into Unlawful Discounts on Sale of Land in the INNOVABEL Area.

A release says it, quote, "has launched an investigation into a series of land transactions conducted by the previous administration that have raised serious legal and ethical concerns. It has come to our attention that several land parcels were sold at unlawfully discounted prices, undermining public trust and potentially resulting in significant financial losses for our community."

The release adds, quote, "we have discovered major discrepancies between the amounts reported in the 'Transfer of Land' documents submitted to the Lands Department and the actual selling prices unlawfully approved and collected by the City Council. For example, there are instances where the Transfer of Land document, prepared by the former Administration, indicated that the sale price was $19,968.20 when, in fact, the collection record at the Belmopan City Council shows a sum of only $2,000.00 being received. This may equate to fraud and therefore raises questions about compliance with established regulations and proper governance."

Again, these are transactions overseen by the last PUP council under the hand of former Mayor Sheran Palacio. Transactions under scrutiny also include land allegedly sold to her family members for deep discounts.

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