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The long awaited court of Appeals decision on the second nationalization of BTL will be delivered on May 15th at 2:00 pm. Â It’s been scheduled and delayed before, most recently in early April. Â But, this time it’s for real – and by a jarring coincidence, May 15 is also the day that Appeals Court Justice Samuel Awich’s contract expires. Â It still hasn’t been renewed and last week we asked the Prime Minister about it:..

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, Justice of Appeal Awich, has his contract been renewed?"

Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"Not yet, sir."

Jules Vasquez
"And it expires in May, what considerations go into that?"

Hon. Dean Barrow
"The usual considerations, is the man of sound mind? Is he in good health? Has he discharged his duties during the period of the first contract? That sort of thing."

Jules Vasquez
"As you know, some unfortunate allusions have been made about the timing of the long-awaited -"

Jules Vasquez
"I am very pleased to hear that you, sir, refused to repeat those allusions on the basis that they may constitute contempt of court. I share precisely that position."

Private Prosecution Meeting Resistance

And in other court news, the activist group COLA and its attorney have one more month to produce hard evidence in against Elvin Penner showing that he is guilty of criminal behaviour for his role in the Won Hong Kim immigration scandal. Â If not, Penner’s attorneys will be able to start pressing the court to throw the charges out.

Today, we asked Kareem Musa, the private prosecutor in the case to give us an update.  He says that he’s meeting roadblocks at every turn: 

Kareem Musa - Attorney for COLA
"the record would reflect that the Prime Minister was the one who suggested that the P.U.P.; he suggested that the P.U.P. should actually try to get information under the Freedom of Information Act and do this private prosecution instead of the writ of mandamus. Well we succeeded in the writ of mandamus. Now that we are following through and now COLA has taken up the challenge. Now that we are following through on what he suggested we are meeting roadblocks at every corner. We have formally requested Duane, we have formally requested from the Commissioner of Police through a letter that he turn over all information to us; all evidence gathered from his investigation. Now under the Freedom of Information Act, he has fourteen days to comply with that request - fourteen days have long gone. Likewise, the Auditor General, we requested from her that she delivered all information and materials that she has gathered from her investigation. Fourteen days have long gone, but she has responded, unlike the Commissioner of Police, the Auditor General has responded and said I cannot give you the evidence that we have gathered because those documents or that material is exempted. She said she is not finished with her investigation. Now I don’t know how long these people want to carry on this investigation, but it has been over eight months now that this offense has taken place and that everybody has been intentionally dragging their feet."

Daniel Ortiz
"What happens if all of these roadblocks continue and you reach that date when Mr. Penner will reappear?"

Kareem Musa
"Then, in fact, what that is confirming for you, Daniel, is that the entire process is bogus. I think - I can't say it any other - I can't be nice anymore. I can't be nice and say that this system we're trying - we're trying, as you can see, we are trying to work with the system in place, with the Freedom of Information Act. We're reaching out to the relevant parties and authorities to ensure they are doing their jobs. But come the 29th of May, if I don't get the information from the DPP, or the Commissioner, or the Auditor General, then I might have to ask for an adjournment. As you know, in the Magistrate's Court, people wait years, donkey's years before their case is actually tried. So, I don't think that Mr. Penner should be afforded any special opportunity, or any special treatment, and that his case should just automatically dismissed. This is a matter of national importance, and I don't believe one adjournment is what he should be entitled to, and then everybody else has to go through 6, 7 or 8 adjournments for their criminal matters."

Musa told us that he will seek to challenge the position of the Auditor General by applying to Ombudsman. He will ask the Ombudsman to review her decision under the Freedom of Information Act. This tactic, he said, is to find out whether or not the materials she gathered in her investigation are actually exempted, as she claims.

SIB: Trade Imbalance Widens

Belize’s Trade Imbalance continues to grow. Â The statistical institute of Belize reports that In March 2014, Belize imported $162.9 million dollars in good, up by $13.4 million or 8.9 percent over March 2013. The most significant rise was in Chemical Products, which surged by $6 million as a result of increased imports of fertilizer. Considerable increases were also seen in purchases of steel and iron products for construction.
Consumer goods also saw an increase, rising by as much as $21 million due to increased purchases of vitamins, seeds and wines.

And while imports were up, exports totalled only $48.6 million in March 2014, a decline of $20.6 million or 30 percent over March 2013. This fall was entirely the result of no sales of crude petroleum and a decline in sugar and orange concentrate exports of $7 million and $4 million, respectively.
Notably, Sales of Red Kidney Beans grew by $3 million owing to higher demand from Jamaica. Exports of farmed shrimp increased by $1.6 million. 

The inflation figures have also been released. The inflation rate for the first three months of 2014 is 1.7 percent. The increase is mainly as a result of higher prices in the Food and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels categories.
In terms of food, the most significant price increases were for beef, pork, black beans, Red Kidney Beans, cabbages, carrots, onions and limes. Sweet pepper and tomato prices, on the other hand, fell considerably due to increases supply of both products.

Dangriga recorded the highest inflation rate of the seven municipalities while the lowest was in Orange Walk Town

 

Nat'l Song Competitition Going To The Districts

This afternoon the National Celebrations Commission launched the National Song Competition at the House of Culture in Belize City. This year for the first time the competition will be branching out to the districts offering both workshops and stage performances to the artists and song writers. Â We found out more at the launch.

The winners of the district competitions will be invited on the National stage on August 9th.

 

Princess Hotel Is Now A Part Of The Ramada Chain

The Princess Hotel and Casino is trying to change its image both locally and internationally in a rebranding project.

They’ve no joined the “Ramadaâ€￾ Chain of Hotels to attract the international clientele who are regular patrons of the overseas Hotels under the umbrella.

The General Manager of the Princess Hotel claims that at this point, the Belize Princess is the largest hotel and entertainment Facility offering five star accommodations and services. We challenged him to that: