belize times september 30, 2012

Sunday, September 30, 2012 THE BELIZE TIMES 1

Issue No. 4815SUNDAY September 30, 2012 www.facebook/Belize Times

SCAN HERE

S&P says Belize Selective De-fault foreign currency rating and its Default rating on the bonds will remain despite the part payment.

Our families and friends from abroad have all returned to their greener pasture and we are now left to face these trou-bles and hardships alone.

The government ruling politi-cians view these exemptions as “favors” they “give” to inves-tors. They view these benefits as SUBSIDIES to investors, and even calculate a “revenue loss” value from such exemp-tions.

Lock, Stock & Barrel

Continued on page 3

Happy 62nd Birthday PUP

BSI sale includes giving up millions in taxes to US Company

S&P not impressed by GOB’ Superbond partial payment

Reid Between the Lines:

Development Concessions & Investments

9

Page 13

Page 15

Page 10

Page 4

Page 19

PUP DEFENDS CANE FARMERS

21st Parade in OW

FOLLOW US!

New foreign company will enjoy multitude of tax exemptions

The UDP has sold out Belize sugar industry to a foreign company

NICH allows Porn filming at Mayan Temple?

Cane farmers demand equal treatment

Prime Minister refuses to consult

Scenes of 21st day parade in Orange Walk Town

on the social media

Belize City, September 26, 2012

The Barrow Admin-istration took the risk of dragging Belize’s econom-ic reputation in the mud when it refused to honor its Superbond debt obli-gation on August 20th. It claimed it didn’t have the money to pay bondhold-ers.

The Barrow Adminis-tration has refused to grant public officers and teach-ers a much needed and overdue salary increase. It also claims it does not

have the money to pay.But today the same Barrow Administration ap-

proved a bill that surrenders tens of millions of dol-lars in tax revenue for a wealthy American company.

The Sugar Industry and Cogeneration Project

Bill was rushed through all three readings during a raucous meeting of the House of Re p r e s e n t a t i ve today. Support for the Bill only came from the Govern-ment-side, as the Opposition Peo-ple’s United Party opposed, calling it an outrageous accommodat ion agreement.

The Bill is en-tirely about a heap of tax exemptions for American Sug-ar Refining, the US

2 THE BELIZE TIMES Sunday, September 30, 2012

National Service Day in Caribbean Shores

THE BELIZE TIMES

serving Belize since 1957 as the longest continous newspaper.

Founder: Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price, People’s United Party Leader Emeritus

EDITOR

Alberto Vellos

LAYOUT/GRAPHIC ARTIST

Chris Williams

Published ByThE BElIzE TImEs PREss lTD.

Tel: 671-8385#3 Queen StreetP.O. BOX 506

Belize City, BelizeEmail: [email protected]

[email protected]

PUP says Tax Exemptions for

BSI Sale are sourSeptember 25, 2012

The Northern Caucus of the People’s United Party expresses grave concern with the Sugar Industry and Cogeneration Project (Development Incentives) Act, 2012 bill which seeks to provide exemp-tions from taxes and duties to American Sugar Refinery (ASR)/ BSI/BELCOGEN.

The bill which is to be passed at a spe-cial sitting of the House of Representative on Wednesday, 26th September 2012 shall seek to exempt the companies from income and business tax, retrospectively; 2008-2012. The Bill shall also exempt BSI/BELCOGEN/ASR from withholding tax as follows: on dividends, on payment for technical services, and on interest pay-ments to non-residents of Belize.

The companies shall also be exempt-ed from Customs and Excise Duties and Environmental Tax for a period of ten years. They shall be granted exemption of 50% of Stamp Duty payable for the cancelation or assignment of existing se-curity documents and other instruments necessary to give effect to the acquisition of the shareholding in BSI or ASR.

The Northern Caucus recognizes that the sugar industry is one of the most im-portant industries in the country and as such the government must find ways to secure the viability of the industry for all stakeholders. Our concerns are as fol-

lows:1. This Bill as it stands will give

an unfair advantage to BSI/BEL-COGEN/ASR over Belizean cane farmers allowing BSI to produce sugar cane at much lower costs, while the cane farmers continue to struggle to meet the daily esca-lating costs.

2. A couple of weeks ago the cane farmers approached the gov-ernment for a loan of BZ 1.5 mil-lion dollars to the fight froghopper infestations and were flatly reject-ed by the government.

The Northern Caucus, with the approval of the Parliamenta-ry Caucus of the People’s United Party, hereby demands the follow-ing:

1. That this Bill be deferred until there can be proper consul-tations with all stakeholders.

2. That these exemptions be also granted to all Belizean cane farmers.

The People’s United Party will be monitoring the sale of the Be-lize Sugar Industry Ltd and BEL-COGEN Ltd to ensure that there are maximum benefits to the BSI workers, cane farmers and Belize. (Press Release)

BSCFA demands equality and respectSeptember 25, 2012

Hon. Dean BarrowPrime MinisterOffice of the Prime MinisterBelmopan

Dear Hon. Prime Minister:

We have learned, through the local media, that you intend to present a Bill entitled Sugar Industry and Cogeneration Project (Development Incentives) Act, 2012 at the sitting of the House of Rep-resentatives on Wednesday September 26, 2012 for its enactment.

This Bill provides for “an Act to pro-vide for certain exemptions from taxes and duties to attract new capital invest-ment into the sugar industry and to make revised and improved provisions for the continued development of the Belcogen Cogeneration Project…”

At a meeting held in May 2012 among representatives of American Sugar Refin-ing Inc. (ASR), the Belize Sugar Industries Ltd, Belcogen Cogeneration Ltd., the Be-lize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, the Government of Belize and yourself, you had given us a commitment to consult with us on the terms and conditions of any favourable business consideration which you and your Government would grant to ASR. We must say that your in-troduction of this Bill to the House of Representatives on Wednesday without prior consultation with us does not reflect good faith towards us as one of the key stakeholders in the sugar industry.

While we support positive measures to encourage and promote local and for-eign investment in our country, we find that the tax and duty exemptions being provided to ASR, BSI and Belcogen as being excessive, especially since the prof-itability and future prospects of BSI and Belcogen have improved considerably due largely to the sugar cane quality pro-gram and other measures implemented by the BSCFA among other factors.

We are greatly concerned about the unfair advantage these tax and duty exemptions will provide to ASR, BSI and Belcogen. Cane farmers are being urged to increase cane production but they are facing a high cost of cane pro-duction due to the increasing cost of in-puts, such as fertilizers, herbicides, fuel, tire, spare parts, machinery service and others, while ASR’s cost of production will be low. BSI’s and Belcogen’s income and dividends will not be taxed, while the income of our cane farmers will be taxed. The industry requires financial re-sources for pest control and sugar cane road repairs and maintenance, while BSI and Belcogen will accumulate taxable in-come that could assist in resolving these problems. These exemptions aim at mak-ing the rich richer and the poor poorer, as they do not advance the Government’s

Pro-Poor Policy commitment.However, we are particularly con-

cerned about Section 8, which provides BSI with the unrestricted right to export raw sugar and molasses for a period of ten years with effect from September 1, 2012. We oppose the granting of this unrestricted right and request an amend-ment to Section 8 to delete the words “unrestricted right” and to include the words “to hold appropriate consultations with the BSCFA in relation to the export of sugar and molasses and any other by-product and any other sugar manufac-turer”.

We would like to , therefore , request that the Government of Belize grant the BSCFA and its farmer members the same tax and duty exemptions for the same period of time granted to ASR, BSI and Belcogen. It is only fair and just that our farmers received all the necessary as-sistance to enable them to expand their cane production at a low and reasonable cost and not be displaced by ASR and BSI.

We trust that you will take our con-cerns seriously and grant us a favourable consideration.

We wish to affirm our commitment to work as business partners with you and BSI/Belcogen and ASR for the via-bility of the sugar cane industry and our cane farmers in a framework of mutual respect, consultation and collaboration.

Yours sincerely,Mr. Ramon Aban, BSCFA ChairmanMr. Lucilo Teck, Secretary

PUP Caribbean Shores Standard Bearer Dr. David Hoy plant-ed 15 fruit trees in the yards of residents of the area

Dr. Hoy makes donation of drum set to the Principal of Canaan High School


Continued from page 1

Lock, Stock & BarrelCompany which has engineered a smooth buyout of BSI. A new share capital set up in late May gave ASR 80% to 85% of shares the company. In return, ASR offered US$62 million in equity to be used to pay off the debt owed to the ING Bank and First Caribbean International Bank. ASR also promised $30 million to improve the factory, and additional financing to pay off the overdue dividends to BSI workers. The total dividends are $5.2 million.

It is clear that ASR sees worthi-ness in BSI, despite the sugar com-pany’s financial travails; the kind of worthiness that should have also made the Barrow Administration consider continuing it’s so called “nationalism” and keep the com-pany in Belizean hands. But some-how the Prime Minister didn’t see anything sweet in BSI. Instead, the Government supported the selling out. They even became intimate-ly involved in the sale and through special connections they attracted the Honduran bank, Banco Atlanti-da, a year ago. That deal went sour after cane farmers learnt of an array of unfair terms for the Bank, includ-ing the exchange of 20,000 acres of land that would have made the new Bank-owned BSI a supersized cane producer.

Farmers complained bitterly. One of the bank’s high-level nego-tiation meetings in Belize City was cancelled due to a bomb threat. The Opposition threatened to reverse any deal that didn’t include cane farmer ownership. The Atlantida ship sank.

BSI’s future remained obscure. A buy-out proposal from the Cane Farmers Association was flatly re-jected. They didn’t even obtain Gov-ernment support. But in May 2012, ASR surfaced and in the dark the details were worked out.

The Bill taken to the House of Representatives today is a product of those closed-door negotiations. Everyone knew of BSI-ASR debt-eq-uity exchange, but no one expected the extent of Government’s involve-ment and accommodations to en-able the ASR to realise. Included are a slew of tax concessions for BSI, BELCOGEN and ASR and any of its subsidiaries for the following:

- Exempt BSI and Belcogen from ALL Income and Business Tax retrospectively from the 1st of Jan-uary, 2008 up to the 31st of Decem-ber 2012; from 80% of IBT in 2013; from 60% of IBT in 2014; from 40% of IBT in 2015; from 20% of IBT in 2016.

- Exempt BSI and Belcogen from paying withholding taxes on dividends and on payments for technical services for 5 years start-ing the 1st of September 2012; and

from paying withholding taxes on in-terest payments to non-residents of Belize for 10 years staring on the 1st of September 2012.

- Exempt BSI and Belcogen from customs and excise duties for 10 years effective the 1st of Sep-tember 2012.

- Exempt BSI and Belcogen from payment of environmental tax for 10 years effective the 1st of Sep-tember 2012.

- Exempt ASR from 50% of the stamp duty that should be pay-able on the transfers of securities, security documents and other in-

struments in their acquisition of BSI and BelCogen.

- Exempt BSI and Belcogen from ALL exchange control restric-tions for 10 years effective the 1st of September 2012.

The Bill also grants unrestricted right to BSI to export raw sugar and molasses for 10 years effective Sep-tember 1st 2012, regardless of what the Sugar Act stipulates.

Industry observers tell us that these exemptions total up to $40 to $50 million in revenue which the Bar-row Administration is foregoing. In doing so, the Barrow Administration

is caught up in a series of serious con-tradictions that it needs to explain to the people of Belize. The first is that if the Government truly believes in nationalisation, why it didn’t choose to keep BSI Belizean-owned. The sec-ond is that the Barrow Administration has granted a series of accommoda-tions similar to the BTL accommoda-tions which it considered offensive. How could it be acceptable now? The last point is that if the Government is so cash-strapped that it cannot afford to pay its debt or to increase wages, how could it possibly afford to forego revenue and for a foreign company?


PUP DEFENDS CANE FARMERSBelize City, September 25, 2012

The Barrow Administration ap-proved the controversial Sugar In-dustry and Cogeneration Project Bill in a rush at today’s House of Repre-sentatives meeting, despite serious concerns raised by the Opposition People’s United Party and key sugar stakeholders.

Following the introduction of the Bill by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dean Barrow, PUP represen-tatives raised a number of concerns about the purpose of the Bill, point-ing out that it provides millions of dol-lars in unnecessary tax concessions for American Sugar Refining Inc., the foreign owners of the previously Belizean-owned and managed Belize Sugar Industries. PUP Leader Hon. Francis Fonseca said the deals pre-pared by the Barrow Administration in secret create an unfair advantage for ASR/BSI. He said the arrangement is a slap on the faces of cane farmers who were not consulted even though it is their livelihoods that are being affected.

The Bill awards a multitude of tax exemptions to ASR. PM Barrow said the exemptions are just an extension of what existed under the 2005 Be-lize Cogeneration Project Act, but former Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Said Musa challenged that. Hon. Musa said there are fundamental differenc-es including that the 2005 Act pro-vided support for cogeneration only which was a project to achieve bio-mass energy. The current bill for ASR encompasses all of BSI’s operations, including its production of cane. This is where the disadvantage is created, because while ASR, a wealthy for-eign company, will now enjoy tax ex-emptions for customs and duties, en-vironmental tax, and stamp duties in all its machinery and supplies, cane farmers won’t.

PUP representative for Orange Walk South and cane farmer, Hon. Jose Abelardo Mai, was very outspo-ken against the bill. Hon. Mai said cane farmers were “shocked” when they learnt of the extent of the con-cessions being granted to ASR/BSI.

“Nothing is worse than to give the largest cane producer customs and excise exemptions Hon. Speak-er, this is a blow to cane farmers,” Hon. Mai declared.

BSI is a cane grower with about 3,500 acres of cane field in the Or-ange Walk District. They produced 92,000 tons of cane in the last crop, or almost 30 tons per acre.

Hon. Mai argued that BSI has always had the man and machinery power to outdo cane farmers. Addi-tionally, they can attract better financ-ing and have the resources to carry out research and set up defence mechanisms against threats such as the froghopper. “Yet, the Govern-ment still wants to give them tax exemptions. They [BSI] is not wor-thy of the concessions, the cane farmers are,” he remarked.

Hon. Ramiro Ramirez, PUP repre-sentative for Corozal SouthWest and cane farmer also, said the playing field will definitely not be level any more.

He cited that for cane farmers, the cost of production is already too high. “A bucket of oil cost $70 in 2008, today it costs $95. Tires cost $578 in 2008, today it costs $1,200. If you want to help the farmers, give them the same opportunities,” he pointed out.

Hon. Ramirez’s sentiments echoed the views expressed by the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Associa-tion (BSCFA) in a letter they sent to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, Sep-tember 25th. In that letter, the Asso-ciation requests that the Government “grant the BSCFA and its member the same tax and duty exemptions for the same period of time granted to ASR,

ernment’s pro-poor policy commit-ment,” declares the BSCFA letter.

While at today’s House Sitting, Orange Walk Central Representative, who is also a cane farmer, Hon. John Briceño supported the BSCFA’s call for inclusion. The Bill grants ASR a mo-nopoly over rights to export raw sugar and molasses, but the BSCFA believes that since cane farmers own the cane product they should also have a say.

“We oppose the granting of this unrestricted right and request an amendment to delete the words and include ‘consultations with the BSCFA in relation to the export of sugar and molasses and any oth-er by-product and any other sugar manufacturer’”, stated the BSCFA.

Hon. Briceño proposed that a marketing committee be set up to include representation of all sugar stakeholders.

Despite the concerns raised in the BSCFA’s letter to the Prime Minis-ter, and the call by Opposition Leader Hon. Fonseca to defer the Bill until full consultation occurs, the Barrow Administration went ahead to ap-prove it.

The BELIZE TIMES understands that the BSCFA has warned that they just won’t “stay quiet”. “We are pre-pared to take the necessary steps to ensure our voices are respected and heard,” said the BSCFA in an in-terview with CTV-3 News in Orange Walk.

And in a similar warning, Hon. Fonseca warned the Prime Minister to do what’s right.

“You don’t like to listen, but this is one time you need to listen and learn from the cane farmers of this country,” said the Leader of the Opposition.

BSI and Belco-gen”.

The BSCFA states that cane farmers are facing increasing cost of production due to the increasing cost of inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides, fuel, tires, spare parts, and machinery services.

Addit ional ly, states the BSCFA letter, while BSI and Belcogen’s income and divi-dends will not be taxed, the income of our cane farm-ers will.

“These ex-emptions aim at making the rich richer and the poor poorer, as they do not ad-vance the Gov-


Hon. Francis Fonseca, Leader of the Opposition,

Independence Day Address September 21, 2012, City of Belmopan

My Fellow BelizeansA pleasant good morning to each and

every one of you.In his book: “George Price-Man of the

People” Rudolph Castillo records that it was on July 26th, 1981 at the Belize City Centre before a gathering of some 6000 people that then Premier George Price broke the news that Belize would become an Independent nation on Monday, Sep-tember 21, 1981.

Castillo reports on the people’s reac-tion:

“Ladies rushed unto the platform and kissed their leader. Men hugged him in joy. Soon he was lifted off his feet and show-ered with love and adoration by those gathered at the City Centre. In one corner people hugged and kissed one another; spontaneous dancing broke out; some just screamed; some broke into hysterical laughter.

Some older people transfixed by hap-piness, sat and just cried their hearts out as joy and happiness excited the crowd at the announcement of the long awaited day.

George Price had to be rescued from the unbridled love of a people for their great leader”

Fifteen days later on Thursday, Sep-tember 10, 1981, just 11 days before In-dependence, George Price addressed thousands of Belizeans gathered at his-toric Court House Plaza for national Day celebrations.

He reminded those present that:“31 National day Celebrations have

helped to build the new nation of Belize with all its territory intact and to ensure its Independence.”

In his well researched and written book: “George Price-A Life Revealed”, Godfrey P. Smith brilliantly and dramatically recounts the birth of our nation:

“About a minute before midnight, the lights at the Governor’s residence were switched off. As the seconds ticked by, a drum roll began. The Union Jack was slow-ly lowered in the darkness of the night and the Belizean flag hoisted in its place. On the stroke of midnight, lights in the com-pound were switched back on and spot-lights illuminated the Belizean flag flutter-ing in the light September breeze. The 1st Gordon Highlanders played, Land of the Free, the National Anthem of the newly Independent Belize as Price, dressed in his white, long-sleeved guayabera, and the guests, stood to attention.

Across the harbor, clearly visible from the grounds of the Government House, the HMS Ariande discharged a 21 Gun Sa-lute as Price proposed a toast to Her Maj-esty Queen Elizabeth.

Later that day the official handing over of the Instruments of the Independence Constitution took place here in Belmopan and the following day Price flew to New York to be present when the UN Security Council and the General Assembly voted to approve and formerly admit Belize as the 136th Member of the United Nations.

Indeed to think of Belize’s Indepen-dence is to think of George Price.

Two days ago on September 19th our nation observed National Service Day in honor of the Father of our Nation.

It was on that date, one year ago, that the Lord called home this good and faithful servant.

The Lord saw that he had grown wea-ry after a life of work and service to his people and nation.

If but for a brief moment, our nation stood united in its loss and sorrow.

Thousands travelled from our cities, towns and villages to pay their final re-spects and honor the man whose tireless efforts and sacrifice, above and beyond all others, had made it possible for us to be Belizean.

Maya, Creole, Mestizo, Garifuna, East-Indian, Mennonite, Asian, Hindu, Arab, African,-we all mourned as one.

On this Independence Day let us re-new our commitment to this unity of spirit and purpose and let us guard against the growing danger of “intense individualism”.

A healthy democracy is not simply a society in which individuals pursue their own goals. Democracy flourishes when it is tended by Citizens prepared and willing to use their freedom to actively engage in the life of their nation, adding their voices to the public debate, electing represen-tatives whose values reflect their aspira-tions, and accepting the absolute require-ment for consultation, dialogue, respect, and tolerance in a free society.

Thirty-one years ago, as Smith records in his book, “there were many questions about the viability of Belize after Indepen-dence. The New York Times of October 4th, 1981 reported that amid the toasts following Independence, a lingering doubt floated among the foreign delegations-Be-lize had become an Independent State but was it viable as a Nation?

Foreign Analysts argued that it would be difficult for Belize to generate its own wealth. A third of Belize’s total imports consisted of food, it had virtually no in-dustry and employment opportunities re-mained scarce.”

Prime Minister Price’s Independence Day message on 21st September, 1981 was devoid of any triumphalism or the un-bounding of grandiose ambitions. He was conscious of and preoccupied with

the everyday practical prob-lems that lay ahead. Like, quite literally, how he would meet the payroll and debt ob-ligations of his Government.

Since that time, Beliz-eans-as government and people have together been writing our own chapters in the book of Independence.

Ours is a story that has tracked back and forth be-tween triumph and adversity, prosperity and paucity, hope and despair. But, taken in the balance, what we have ac-complished as a small nation fills us with the optimism to take up, year after year, the immortal challenge issued to all Belizeans from the father

of the Nation, to be committed Nation Builders.

By any standard, there are very good reasons for us to pay tribute to Belize and its people. Pressed against our backs, pro-pelling us forward is a short but compel-ling history of peace and stability, ethnic cohesion, democratic traditions, primacy of human rights and respect for interna-tional obligations and international law.

It is, after all these hallowed values and traditions that have consistently won us respect and support from the commu-nity of nations in the face of threats to our territorial integrity.

As a small, vulnerable and highly de-pendent nation, maintaining the support of the international community must rank among our paramount objectives.

In a few short hours, these formal cer-emonies being held across the districts of Belize will come to an end, giving way to people’s celebrations.

This is as it should be.But as responsible citizens and lead-

ers we are aware that, on Monday, after we’ve shaken off the residue of month long revelry, serious challenges await us as a nation.

We know them only too well.-30,000 Belizeans actively seeking a

job cannot find one-148,500 Belizeans living on less than

$5.50 per day for food-the ongoing restructuring of the

2029 Bond-the scourge of violent crime threat-

ens our social fabric-less than 50% of our children are

completing secondary school-oil revenues are on the decline-Foreign Direct Investment remains

elusive-and the unfounded Guatemalan

claim persistsChallenges, yes. But no one dare

question the viability of our beloved na-tion.

Belize has 8,867 square miles or five million six hundred and seventy four thou-sand eight hundred and eighty acres of land, twelve miles of territorial sea, two hundred miles of exclusive economic zone, untold natural wonders, and the skill and ingenuity of an over one hundred

and thirty thousand strong labor force.It has geographic proximity to and

shares the English language with the wealthiest country on earth. It has other large markets in its immediate vicinity and it has inherited the preferred and fa-miliar English Common law system.

Thirty one years after Independence it is time for us to competently and effi-ciently maximize the use of all these re-sources and comparative advantages to achieve economic growth and develop-ment.

We must reinvent ourselves to be relevant to present and future challenges.

We must forge strong, meaningful al-liances with civil society, the church com-munity, and the private sector to create a more just and equitable society and a more productive, competitive and pros-perous nation.

Independence, even 31 years on, of-fers us no guarantees.

It is both a promise and a challenge.It is a promise that Belizeans working

together can govern ourselves in a man-ner that will serve our aspirations for per-sonal freedom, economic prosperity, and social justice.

It is a challenge because the success of that Independence rests upon the shoulders of the citizens of Belize, and no one else.

Independence requires that we Be-lizeans share both in its benefits and its burdens.

We who have embraced the work of nation building and self-government must commit ourselves to the principles of indi-vidual freedom, human rights and the rule of law for those who are yet to come.

Our vision for Belize must be one in which our children are born into strong functional families, receive a quality ed-ucation which equips them with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to find or create employment and lead lives of dignity while raising a family and preparing for a comfortable and secure retirement.

On this 31st Independence Day cel-ebration this must be our shared vision.

If Belize is to grow and develop, all of us must be committed to a strong Be-lizean economy and society grounded in credible, practical plans and solutions to the social and economic challenges we face.

Our Government must be a Govern-ment for all the people not a Government just for those supporters of the political party in office.

The results of the March elections demand respect and dialogue.

We in the opposition People’s United Party have been patient and respectful in light of the serious social and economic challenges our country faces.

The authority of our duly elected rep-resentatives must not be undermined and the needs of those we represent must not be disregarded and ignored.

We can do better Belize! We must do better!

In the words of the Psalmist, let us call out to our God:

“show me your ways, O Lord;Teach me your paths.Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for youAre the God of my salvation;On you I wait all my day.”HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

MAY GOD CONTINUE TO GUIDE AND BLESS BELIZE!


Humor in UDP Politics!

The following matters were discussed in Cabinet:The Cab Sec asked each representative where they

spent Independence Day. Contreras said he and Salva left from the 19th to Melchor, but Salva disappeared im-mediately after. When everyone turned to Salva to find out why he disappeared, he replied, “Ask Montero!”

………………………The Prime Minister was asked why is it that Sedi

never gets to act as PM, the way Gapi and Faber do. “Well,” came the response, “Sedi is always flying here and there, to Israel or a meeting in Guatemala, but that is not the only reason…he may thing Acting PM is too artificial.”

………………………Longsworth was asked what he had against the 3x3

basketball tournament in Belize that he didn’t want to provide sponsorship. Boots asked, “You mussy noh like Coke”. Then Faber replied, “Me noh blame ah…me no like Mark crowd either!”

………………………Faber was ridiculed in Cabinet by Saldivar for giving

into the Church’s demands to recall the HFLE manu-al. “Yu too soft…that’s why yu can’t be party leader,” said Saldivar. Castro defended Faber saying, “Yu did the

right thing Rasta…the Church is too powerful.” Just then Faber said, “They may have won this one, but I can do many things through the backdoor”.

………………………In other related Cabinet News:John Saldivar was seen trotting and galloping, then

halting and gasping for breath one early morning. A lady who was exercising in the area thought he was catching a stroke, so she went to help. When she went closer, she froze and shouted, “Man you can’t be serious…you can’t exercise and eat garnaches at the same time”.

………………………Representatives of stores owned by Santi were on

the radio this week advertising discounts on imported products. One caller called in and said, “Dem discounts sound nice, nice…but tell me…where will we get the money to buy?”

………………………After being forced to pull the HFLE Manual from the

school curriculum, Faber was asked what he will do with them, he replied, “We’ll have to make the wording more ambiguous”.

………………………Castro was on Krem Radio one day complaining about

the bus industry and what was not working and how bus operators were greedy and the commuters were being chanced. One caller got so tired of the Minister, when the call came in the person said, “I mi think yu da di Minista boss, but after I hear yu its clear yu dah only the bus conductor.”


Scenes from Belize City

2012Independence Day


City Boys upset Placencia Assassins 2-1

Ecumenical boys bomb

Nicaragua 6-2

BELIZE'S #1 SPORTS PAGE

Scotia Bank outlasts Atlantic

Bank in interoffice volleyball

Belize City, September 23, 2012The Scotia Bank crew outlasted Atlantic Bank in three sets on

Sunday morning in the interoffice volleyball competition at the Belize Elementary School auditorium.

Scotia Bank dominated the first set 25-13, but Atlantic Bank ral-lied a comeback in the second set 25-16. Atlantic Bank tried their best by getting Yolany Diaz in play in the third set, but Scotiabank prevailed 15-12.

Other matches:Simon Quan Dragons vs. UK Royals – 25-21, 25-23Croshers vs. UK Hitters – 18-25, 25-10, 15-12Belize Telemedia vs. First Caribbean “Serv-ivors” – 25-22, 26-24Simon Quan Black Stars vs. Honeybees – 22-25, 25-18, 15-13

Honey Bees spike on SQ Stars

Belize City, Septem-ber 23, 2012

The Placencia As-sassins did not wear their championship boots when they squared off against the Raymond Gentle City Boys in the fifth week of Premier Football League of Belize com-petition.

The City Boys de-feated the Placencia Assassins 2-1, end-ing their undefeated streak. Goals were scored by Dalton “Chicken” Cayetano in the first half, followed by David MaCualay Jr. in the second half, and one more by Col-lin Westby to put City Boys over the edge.

Other games:Belize Defense Force vs. Belmopan Bandits – 1-1Goals by: Ralph Flores, David MadridHankook Verdes vs. Paradise Freedom Fighters – 3-2Goals by: Humberto Requena, Pedro Guerra, Robert Mus-

champ, Emmanuel Martinez, Alex PetersJuventus vs. San Pedro Sea Dogs – 1-0Goal by: Michael WhitakerPolice vs. San Ignacio United – 1-0Goal by: Gilberto Carillo (autogoal)San Felipe Barcelona vs. FC Belize – 0-0

Upcoming Games:Paradise Freedom Figthers vs. Belmopan Bandits, Isidoro Bea-

ton Stadium, Saturday nightPolice vs. San Pedro Sea Dogs, MCC groundsSan Felipe Barcelona vs. Placencia Assassins, San FelipeBDF vs. Verdes, Norman Broaster StadiumFC Belize vs. R.G. City Boys, MCC GroundsJuventus vs. San Ignacio United, the People’s Stadium

Emmanuel Martinez Verdes scored 3rd goal

San Salvador, September 23, 2012The Stann Creek Ecumenical

High School bombed Nicaragua 6-2 at the Las Delicias Stadium in San Salvador at the XVII Central Ameri-can Junior Scholastic (CODICADER) Games hosted by El Salvador on Tuesday, September 25.

Hassan Lucas scored a hat trick, then added a fourth goal, while Melvin Valerio and Marlon Escobar scored a goal each in the 6-2 rout.

Jamal Westby scored a goal for Belize in the second half of their game with Panama at the Magico Gonzalez Stadium last Thursday, September 20. Panama led 4-0 at in-termission, but the Ecumenical boys tightened their defense and allowed the Panamanians only two more goals in the second half, Panama

won 6-1.The team rested on Friday, be-

fore taking on Guatemala at the Las Delicias Stadium on Saturday, Sep-tember 22. Hassan Lucas and Kyle Valerio each scored a goal for Belize for a 2-2 draw at intermission, but Guatemala won 6-2.

The Ecumenical boys improved with each outing, and held El Salva-dor to a scoreless draw up to inter-mission at the Magico Gonzalez Sta-dium, but El Salvador scored two goal within 10 minutes at the start of the second half, and went on to win 3-0.

The Ecumenical boys will play Costa Rica Guatemala at the Las Delicias Stadium on Wednesday, and Honduras at the Magico Gonzalez Stadium on Thursday, before they re-turn home on Friday, September 28.

Ecumenical took down Nicaragua 6-3


Scenes from Orange Walk

2012Independence Day


Barrow’s Independence Speech – Trying to make good out of terrible situations

Belize City, September 22, 2012There was something totally dif-

ferent about Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s speech this year. While it couldn’t compare to the substance delivered by the Leader of the Op-position Hon. Francis Fonseca who called for unity and challenged the country to “be better”, the Prime Min-ister sounded aloof and confused. It was as if he was totally detached from reality.

Prime Minister Barrow refused to discuss the real challenges facing Be-lize. He made no mention of the 40% plus poverty rate and 30% plus un-employment rate. He carefully avoid-ed discussing the alarming crime lev-els. In fact, for the 1st time in recent years, he didn’t sound like a scratched record repeating the promise of a fo-rensic lab to improve the prosecution of criminals. Instead, he resurrected an old but futile idea of having a Cab-inet subcommittee to come up with an anti-crime strategy. This he propos-es, as if anyone in his Cabinet has any experience in social work and com-munity development.

This time there was no mention of VOIP for telecommunication cus-tomers and businesses. No mention of a new relationship with the private sector. No plan to rescue the econ-omy or the introduction of new and pioneering ways of providing opportu-nities to Belizeans.

Instead Barrow, who had just re-turned from Miami in his fifth or sixth trip for the year, tried to play around with the Independence celebration theme: “Many faces, many dreams, one goal”. Barrow claimed that his ad-ministration and Belizeans were on the same track, even though his Min-isters drive Lexus cars and 2012-mod-el vehicles on free gas, while Beliz-eans can barely afford to feed their families.

Barrow believed the theme is most relevant, and his Government had just recently revealed their slogan of “One people, One government, One Belize”. This, once more, is a con-fusing message as the Government has been caught acting against the people’s will, for example, the off-shore oil drilling case, the 13th Sen-ator case, Government’s tax on the high cost of fuel, etc. Clearly, the Bar-row Administration has done its best to ignore the people’s cry.

Most surprising about the Prime Minister’s speech was his puzzling choice of illustrations in his attempt to associate his Government with exam-ples of “successes”. Barrow spoke of 13 year old Rowan Garel, who had ac-complished a tremendous feat – walk-ing from Western Belize to Belize City

to raise funds for a summer program for children with disabilities. But Gar-el’s struggle is a reflection of Govern-ment’s lack of proper support to assist programs that aid children with dis-abilities. While Garel finished his trek, there was insufficient support. In fact, the reason financial donations barely trickled in for Garel was the heavi-ly-advertised Government-sponsored Fundraiser that occurred a week be-fore which sucked out funding from

local donors. That event turned out to be a political stunt for UDP politicians to “look good” by giving away pub-lic money. They showed their faces on the TV-aired show, but none, not the PM nor any single Government walked with Garel at 5am.

Barrow also made mention of Police Corporal Victor Lima who was killed as he responded to a distress call in Hattieville. The PM said the offi-cer “gave his live for the country”, but

we’re sure Lima would not have suf-fered the unfortunate fate if a bullet proof vest had been provided to him. We’re also sure that if the Barrow Ad-ministration would give more than lip service to much-needed resources for the Police Department and if Lima was not the only officer at the Hatti-eville Station and if the Station had an operational patrol vehicle events would have turned out different. Of course, Barrow didn’t seem to re-member any of this.

The Prime Minister must have not thought out this 21st speech well. He must have still been flustered from the Miami trip. Or is it that he has real-ised that after all the pretty speeches he has an even harder time delivering, especially when you’re stuck with a set of competence-challenged Minis-ters for the next five years.


Who is American Sugar Refining, Inc.?A Fashion Tribute to our History

[Published on July 10 BELIZE TIMES edi-tion]

American Sugar Refining Inc., the U.S. based company that is poised to acquire ma-jority shares in Belize’s only operational sugar factory, Belize Sugar Industries, remains an unknown entity in Belize. Only as much as has been divulged by BSI’s current managers is public – that it is the largest cane sugar refin-er and that it will soon take charge of one of the country’s largest foreign exchange earning industries, taking the spot previously held by Banco Atlantida who gave up on its interest.

The BELIZE TIMES did research and found out more about this company that plans to spend over BZE$120 million to acquire control of BSI, in order to increase its dominance in the global sugar market.

American Sugar Refining (ASR), Inc. also known as “Domino Sugar” manufactures re-fined and specialty sugar products in the Unit-ed States. ASR was formerly known as Tate & Lyle North American Sugars, Inc. which was ac-quired by Florida Crystals Corporation in 2001. That is when the company went from Tate &

Lyle North American Sugars, Inc. to American Sugar Refining, Inc. in November 2001.

The company has a long history, dating back to 1891 when it was founded in Yon-kers, New York where its headquarters is still located. Today, ASR continues to operate as a subsidiary of Florida Crystals Corporation with sugar refineries and factories in Yonkers, Baltimore, and New Orleans (United States), Toronto (Canada), Veracruz (Mexico), London (England) and Lisbon (Portugal).

Florida Crystals Corporation is a Fanjul Corp. company of West Palm Beach, Florida, whose origins trace to Spanish-Cuban sugar plantations of the early 19th century. This com-pany is led by Alfonso Fanjul Jr., Chairman and CEO, and J. Pepe Fanjul, vice chairman, pres-ident and COO, and Sugar Cane Growers Co-operative of Belle Glade, Fla., led by George H. Wedgworth, chairman of the board and CEO.

Florida Crystals Corporation has made huge investments to make ASR the largest sugar refiner in the world. In 2007 when it ac-quired Ingenio San Nicolas S.A. de C.V., a mill that produced 75,000 tons of refined sugar annually, ASR’s Co-President Luis J. Fernandez stated their overarching goal, “This acquisi-tion is an extension of our strategy to be the premier sugar producer and supplier in North America”.

Of recent, ASR had to appear in Court to answer to accusations that its boilers violated the federal Clean Air Act permit. If the com-pany admits fault, it could be allowed to bring its boiler operations into compliance, and pay a $200,000 fine rather than face stiffer penalties.

Designer Rebecca Stirm, History Student Cherisse Halsall, and Photog-rapher Monica Gallardo partner to reveal the stories of four outstand-

ing Belizean Historical figures- through fashion.

As the smoke of the magnificent fireworks dissipated at midnight on the Eve of Independence many felt a swell of patriotic pride. We all celebrate and express our “Belizean Pride” in different ways; we parade, we decorate, and we dance. How did we decide to celebrate?

Well, it all began when I had the priv-ilege of viewing Stirm’s mini collection in her studio earlier this month, I found myself reflecting on the understated elegance and graceful detailing of the pieces. They evoked within me thoughts of old colonial Belize with its wooden mansions and red bricked cathedrals. Through conversations between Stirm, and Photographer Monica Gallardo and I, we were able to come up with a plan for photographing the mini-collection as a “Fashion Tribute to Our History”.

A visit to the national archives al-lowed my discovery of four of our Beliz-ean “Pathfinders” – Women of yester-year who are worthy of recognition and honor for their hard work and dedication to our nation: Vivian Seay, Dr. Bernice Hulse, Gwendolyn Lizarraga, and Sadie Vernon.

On the Sunday morning following the festivities and celebrations of our country’s thirty-first birthday we visited four historical locations to photograph the pieces. We photographed “Vivian”, a white lace and satin day dress worn by model Chloe Daly, at the first Protestant Church building to be erected in Cen-tral America- The St. John’s Cathedral in Belize City. Belizean “Pathfinder” Vivi-an Seay was educated in the Anglican Church school, and went on to become the second female citizen of British Hon-duras to be named “Member of the Brit-ish Empire.” This honor was granted due to her diligent work as a nurse, her vol-

unteer service in the wake of hurricane Hattie, and her position as head of the Black Cross nurses.

We chose to photograph “Bernice”, a formal white lace dress with long sleeves – worn by Naomi Stirm, in the ruins of the old Belize City Hospital. Be-lizean medical “Pathfinder” Doctor Ber-nice Hulse was the first female Belizean to receive a medical degree, and worked tirelessly for the eradication of tuberculo-sis in our country through the launching of a country wide vaccination campaign. She is also distinguishable as a brave Be-lizean veteran of World War II where she treated wounded soldiers as a resident at an emergency medical hospital in the United Kingdom.

Our team continued that afternoon in the heart of the old capital photo-graphing “Gwendolyn”, a straight cut grey pearl lace mini-dress with pearl detailing and delicately puffed sleeves. Photographs of this dress worn by Mod-el Judy Hoare were taken at the Belize City Court house- a symbol of govern-

ment in our country. Belizean “Pathfind-er” Gwendolyn Lizarraga earned the dis-tinction of becoming the first Belizean woman to be named a Member of the British Empire as well as the first wom-an elected to the national assembly. She was most vocal about women acquiring their own house lots (an important feat prior to 1954 when only property owners were allowed to vote).

We ended the day on Belize City’s iconic swing bridge photographing Krista Cruz wearing “Sadie”, a grey and white, lace and linen day dress with tiny pearl buttons and lace detailing around the col-lar. Belizean “Pathfinder” Sadie Vernon graduated with a master’s degree from the Earlham school of Religion at Earlham College and became the first native ex-ecutive secretary of the Christian church council. She is remembered fondly for coping with the needs of human suffer-ing caused by Hurricane Hattie. In the aftermath of the disaster, she spent her days distributing clothing, food, and other goods.

As young women in Belize, launch-ing out in our careers and interests, we are inspired by these women and grate-ful that we can enjoy and benefit from all they gave to make Belize what it is today. - Cherisse Halsall & Rebecca Stirm

Historical Research- Cherisse Halsall. Photography- Monica Gallardo. Fashion Design/Styling- Rebecca Stirm. Models – Chole Daly, Naomi Stirm, Judy Hoare, and Krista Cruz.

Bibliography:“Personality of the Month.” The New

Belize March1984. “Mothers of modern Belize” “Pro-

files of four Belizean Patriots” Silvana Woods.Belize National Women’s com-mission 1991.

“Vivian Seay”.The Reporter. 9 No-vember 1986.

Ramos, Abraham L.W. “Sadie Ver-non.”Amandala. 24th June 1983.

Anglican Diocese of belize, “Prepara-tions for the 200th anniversary” retrieved from http://belizeanglican.org/2012/02/15/preparations-for-the-200th-anniversary/


Reid

By G. Mike ReidBelize’s annual month-long period

of celebration and merrymaking is be-hind us and we now move on to face the harsh realities of everyday living. Our families and friends from abroad have all returned to their greener pas-ture and we are now left to face these troubles and hardships alone. They have no doubt returned with a bet-ter idea of what we are facing here at home. Many were appalled at the high price of fuel, which even at the “two to one” currency ex-change, far outpace the three and four US dollars per gal-lon prices that they are used to paying in the states. Many quickly realized that this was not the Be-lize that they had left behind.

Apart from the socializing, festiv-ities and parades associated with September, the occasion offers both government and opposition the oppor-tunity to present to the people their respective views on the “state of the union”. Listening to the Prime Minis-ter and Leader of the Opposition, one might be tempted to believe that these two men live in totally different worlds.

The Leader of the Opposition, while calling for a “unity of spirit and purpose” warned against “the grow-ing danger of intense individualism”. He was practical and sincere in point-ing out the difficult challenges that awaited us after the festivities were over and done with. Belize is faced with high unemployment, high cost of living, 43% poverty rate and a crime problem that has crippled our social

Yet ironical-ly enough,

31 years and counting, Dean Barrow is now

the man to stand and extol the virtues of the Father of our Na-tion and exploit his good name

for political gain.”

lifestyle. No less than four rapes were reported over the long weekend along with a number of robberies, burglaries and other serious crimes. While he struggled to remain positive, the Lead-er of the Opposition was forced to ac-knowledge that things in Belize were far from what they should or could be.

The Prime Minister on the other hand, was his usual pretentious and grandiloquent self. He flaunted his stock of words and tossed around quotations like a beggar squandering wishes. At the end of the day, Prime Minister Barrow had very little to offer and spent most of his time recount-ing events of the past year. Mr. Bar-row spoke of Rowan Garel, Jasmine Lowe and a couple of doctors who performed Belize’s first open heart sur-gery. Big respect to Dr. Coye and Dr. Cervantes but for the record Mr. Bar-

row, the world’s first open heart surgery was performed on July 9th, 1893. Good to see that Belize is catching up though.

Mr. Barrow went on to beat his chest some more about the “nationalizing” of BTL and BEL. No word yet on how or when the previous owners of these utilities will be paid. In the same breath, Mr. Barrow boasted about the 200 mil-lion dollar sale of Be-lize Sugar Industries to foreign investors. Am I the only one who sees some sort of contradiction here? Neither was any word mentioned about the huge tax exemptions that these new owners are getting from

government. This includes exemption of income and business taxes retroac-tive to 2008 as well as the withholding of “tax on dividends, on payments for technical services and tax exemptions for ten years on custom and excise du-ties and environmental tax.” Talk about an “accommodation agreement”, not even BTL’s pot was that sweet.

Mr. Barrow’s big announcement came early in his speech when he announced the renaming of Belize’s two major highways. According to the Prime Minister, “The Government of Belize, in conjunction with the National September Celebrations Committee is officially renaming the Western High-way the George Price Highway; and

the Northern Highway the Philip SW Goldson Highway.” Wow, can they do that! Should there not be some pro-cess of consultation? And when Mr. Barrow speaks of the Government of Belize, does that not also include the Opposition? Mr. Barrow’s continued refusal to consult with the Opposi-tion on any matter is completely dis-respectful and an insult to our system of Democracy. The PUP might need to start flexing its political muscle.

There is a question that is being asked in most forums where this de-cision is being discussed. Just exactly how will this name change help Belize? Will the name change create jobs? Will it lower our debt? Will it help to allevi-ate poverty? Will it in anyway help to reduce crime? If your answer to any or all of the above is no, then we really must question the real motive behind this move. With all the serious issues confronting Belize today, is this really the best that Dean Barrow has to offer.

Dean Barrow is apparently trying to latch onto the coattail of Mr. Price’s popularity. This, after spending a life-time opposing every policy that the Right Honorable gentleman had tried to implement! Hypocrisy at its high-est level! Mr. Barrow was also among those who were vehemently opposed to Belize attaining Independence when it did. He could definitely be con-sidered one of “the Cassandras” who

predicted that Belize would not make it as an independent state. Yet ironically enough, 31 years and counting, Dean Barrow is now the man to stand and extol the virtues of the Father of our Nation and exploit his good name for political gain.

There are many who believe that a more fitting tribute to Mr. Price would be to finish the George Price Boulevard in Belmopan. The road which provides a practical and convenient alternate route into the capital sits in a state of complete neglect and disrepair. There is also another George Price Boulevard in Santa Elena and many other towns that can use attention. And did we not already honor Goldson by naming our only international airport after him? Dean Barrow is apparently trying to employ this feel-good strategy to di-vert people’s attention from the very huge problems that confront us.

While we did get some of the same old cock and bull story about cows go-ing to Mexico (remember two years ago there were 3,000 at the border waiting to cross?), at least we didn’t get more promises of Voip, cheaper in-ternet and an oil refinery. Mr. Barrow seems to be running out of lies, run-ning out of excuses and running out of time. Nation building is indeed a task for giants, Mr. Prime Minister, not for little people with big words. Rise up Belizeans, we have much to do.

A tale of two speeches


GOB lies to and manipulates Placencia residents EXPOSED!

Submitted by Placencia Water Board Chairman Charles Leslie Jr.

Today September 11, 2012; Ladies and Gentlemen, the fine people of Pla-cencia Peninsula; we are here to inform the General Public that the Government of Belize in conjunction with Belize Wa-ter Services Ltd. (BWSL), have lied to, mislead and manipulated the communi-ties of the Placencia Peninsula.

A TIMELINE OF EVENTS:July 27, 2010: I attended the first

meeting about the Integrated Water and Sanitation Programme for the Placen-cia Peninsula at Robert’s Grove, in the capacity, of the Chairman of Placencia Village along with Francis Palacio, Chair-man of Seine Bight Village. A meeting which I video recorded. At minute 49 I stated, from the information I was gathering at the meeting, that it seems that BWSL wants to take over the Pen-insula’s Water Boards, I also stated that if I presented the information they just gave to me, that the people of Placencia would reach the same conclusion. In-ter-American Development Bank (IDB) Team Leader of the Water and Sanita-tion Project, Lu Shen, did not clearly state whether or not BWSL would take over the Water Boards.

August 2010: “The Ministry of Fi-nance, along with the Ministry of Natu-ral Resources and the Environment, the Ministry of Public Utilities, Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Labor, Local Government and Rural De-velopment jointly submitted a Cabinet Paper requesting approval to (i) delegate the management of water and waste-water services in Placencia to BWSL.” It was not until August 27, 2012 that the Peninsula became aware of this cabinet decision, when a document was leaked to the Placencia Village Council and the Placencia Water Board. This document, dated August 20, 2012, which clearly references the Cabinet decision, was written by Maria del Rosario Navia Wa-ter & Sanitation Specialist for the IDB, to H.E. Yvonne Hyde, CEO of the Min-

istry of Finance and Economic Develop-ment.

December 10, 2010: The Integrated Water and Sanitation Programme for the Placencia Peninsula IDB Loan Proposal document (BL-L1015) states on page 4 section 1.9: “Placencia Water Sector Policy Changes: It was determined that the best solution to ensure effective and efficient services in both water and wastewater would be to transfer the re-sponsibilities for water from the Village Water Boards to BWSL.”

Also, Section 1.10 of the same loan document, “In August 2010, the Minis-try of Finance, along with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environ-ment, the Ministry of Public Utilities, Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Labor, Local Government and Rural Development jointly sub-mitted a Cabinet Paper requesting for Cabinet approval to (i) delegate the management of water and wastewater services in Placencia to BWSL; and (ii) mandate universal sewer connections. The Cabinet approved the said paper in late August, thereby formalizing the institutional arrangement for the water and wastewater service provision in Placencia.”

January 20, 2012: Halcrow’s final report released to the public: EXIST-ING CONDITIONS > SECTION 2.5.1 > WATER SOURCES > SUB-SECTION 2.5.1.1 > Government of Belize Water Sources states, “Belize Water Services (BWS) Ltd. does not currently serve the Placencia Peninsula in the delivery, treatment or management of potable water. At the time of this report, there is NO known expectation for BWSL to expand its services to the Peninsula.” This statement contradicts the IDB loan document released more than a year earlier, as well as the August 2010 Cab-inet decision.

In Conclusion, the final Halcrow Report released on January 20, 2012 stated, that there was no known ex-pectation for BWSL to expand its wa-

ter services to the Peninsula. This was 2 years after the Cabinet made the de-cision, in August 2010, agreeing to dis-solve the Water Boards of the Peninsu-la, and more than a year after the IDB Loan Document was written, stating that the Peninsula Water Boards would be dissolved.

In addition, the Halcrow Report list-ed 4 sewage treatment options. In the same report, Halcrow clearly states that they chose the option that best suited BWSL institutional capacity. There was no consultation or dialogue with Penin-sula residents about the sewage treat-ment options. This lack of transparency and failure to consult the residents of Placencia Peninsula, is in complete op-

position with the Peninsula 20/20 Ini-tiative, which emphasizes sustainable, locally generated development.

We have been lied to since July 27, 2010. This project was a brain child of the Placencia Community. We want this project. However, it seems that the minute money got involved, the people of Placencia Peninsula got tossed aside and very important decisions were made without our involvement.

The members of the Placencia and Seine Bight Water Boards and Village Councils came together on September 10, 2012, and discussed and drafted some ideas to share with the residents of the peninsula to determine the best way to move forward.


Development Concessions & Investments

Home Economics

By Richard HarrisonDevelopment Concessions are an

instrument used by the government purportedly to “stimulate” investments. Basically, it involves giving individuals and companies certain “benefits” of some kind of tax relief, usually exemp-tion on import duties of certain input materials used in the production of goods and/or services. For some “cho-sen” investors, it extends to exemp-tions of other taxes, such as GST, Busi-ness Tax, Stamp Duties, Environmental Tax, tax on dividends, etc. Most of the time, these are given time limits from two to ten years, with the discretionary option of the government to renew.

The very fact that a government considers giving Development Conces-sions…..is an acknowledgement by that government, that its tax policies are standing in the way of investments….and that by giving those exemptions, such investment will now be viable and able to proceed.

If the tax policies are acknowledged to be obstacles to investments….why not change them?

If a business starts with a develop-ment concession…and during the life of that concession….the government does not change the tax policies that in-hibited the need for those concessions in the first place….then is the govern-ment saying that those investments should continue even though the poli-cies that inhibit them are still in place? Or should that investment only last for the life of the concession?

It boils down to the exercise of power and control….the ability of governments and ruling politicians to choose winners and losers among the governed.

Those with the benefits of devel-opment concession can fly, as they can operate at lower costs than their com-petitors who do not enjoy those bene-fits. These lower costs can allow them to sell at lower prices, or make bigger profits, allowing them to do more and better marketing, distribution and other things that can create advantages in the marketplace.

If at any time an investor falls out of favor with ruling politicians….or com-petes directly with friends of those pol-iticians….the government can choose not to renew its development conces-sion…..thereby forcing that investor to sell at higher prices and/or accept lower margins….both of which forces a decline in such an investor’s business and livelihood of his workers….likely re-sulting in a gain for the friends of those ruling politicians, and perhaps for their workers. That investor, having already invested, now has higher cost-of-goods and operations, forcing smaller levels of income with which to cover assumed short and long-term commercial debts that has to be paid on previously agreed terms….resulting in a decline, or clos-

ing down, of such an investment….especially if those debts cannot be re-structured to suit its new and lower lev-el of income. It’s a LOSE-WIN formula. It’s the same formula that the govern-ment of Belize finds itself in with the so-called Super Bond. They are asking their creditors for a significant “hair-cut” and better terms, based on lower projected levels of income….yet local investors are not considered by the very same governments for “hair cuts” nor better terms…even though they know very well that those companies suffer dam-ages, and will see a significant drop in their levels of incomes, while their debt obligations remain. This situation is ripe for landmark constitutional legal battles for which the government is opening up a can of worms.

The government ruling politicians view these exemptions as “favors” they “give” to investors. They view these benefits as SUBSIDIES to investors, and even calculate a “revenue loss” value from such exemptions. When viewed by our international trade partners, our investments APPEAR heavily subsi-dized, when actually this “subsidy” is merely an artificial compensation for high and unrealistic tax levels that our governments keep in place….to create an artificial need for these development concessions “services”…..so that they can continue exercise their power and control over who wins and who loses in our society.

If our governments continue to see the need to exercise this power and control to decide which investors win and which lose….and cannot be cre-ative in finding other ways to exercise this power and control….then they will never change these high and unrealistic tax policies…they will never change the rules to remove this artificial need for development concessions.

This system has been going for so long….that even the people blindly agree “that concessions are neces-sary to stimulate investments”. They are ignorant to the fact that these con-cessions are actual OBSTACLES to in-vestments. Not any investor wants to be subjected to kneeling down to poli-ticians to get these benefits for their in-vestment dollar. WE Belizean investors do it, because we choose to live here and invest here. In fact, investors from abroad will ONLY subject themselves to these rigors if they can exact super-nor-mal profits from engaging in invest-ments in Belize…..because they will have known from experience….or from references….that when the govern-ment change in Belize….or when the government changes its “mood”….the carrot and stick game can change….and hence the country of Belize is deemed to be of very high POLITICAL RISK…and this risk has to be factored into the cost of doing business. Therefore, most investors that have come to our shores

since 1981, have only come if they could MILK the situation with expensive guar-antees from our governments. This is a major reason why our interest rates are so high….because our commercial banks are foreign owned….and they perceive this COUNTRY RISK as very high…and they are the ones financing all these THOUSANDS of companies that operate on politically driven dis-cretionary development concessions…and they know that with this carrot and stick game….these companies they are financing can go under at the strike of a politicians pen.

Unfortunately….this trend contin-ues unabated….and our government and people are not even considering if and when we should change these tax policies….eliminate the need for these artificial “subsidies”…..level the playing field for ALL investments….and create an enhanced environment for the rap-id increase of investments and jobs in Belize.

Looking at this from the investment community point of view…..there is the establishment…and then there are the new and potential new investors. There is no agitation from the establishment to change the system….because most of them currently enjoy these bene-fits…and they consider the risk to their business of losing them to be less, than if a new investor would invest in their line of business with a level playing field. They accept the political risk as being lower than the risk of competing with another, perhaps more-efficient, more effective investor. The govern-ment, by acquiescing to the establish-ment, feeds on their fears…and keeps the system of “chosen favorites” in place….to the detriment of new, more efficient and effective investments. Our establishment investors thus have agreed to become willing pawns in the carrot and stick game, silently collud-ing with the ruling political class….that is why they play the game of cat and mouse with the politicians…only spe-cial invitees welcome to play…thank you very much!

The dilemma for Belize, is that the establishment itself will only invest up to a certain point…and will hoard and hide its resources….against the political risks of having their carrot taken away. They will not expose themselves to higher levels of investment….because they know that their investments hinge on very risky political strings. Thus, the investment climate in Belize is not con-ducive neither to growing domestic investments….nor to growing Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)….unless such investors can exact very high conces-sions that are as legally binding on the government as can be written in the official English language. Even so, in-vestors have seen that governments of Belize are willing to use their power to change laws and regulations overnight,

to use force and other means, in the exercise of its power and control…..which has raised the ante even further in the calculation of BELIZE COUNTRY RISK….and therefore the levels of de-mands for concessionary benefits upon our government and people…when in-vestors are considering investing in Be-lize. The risk for Belize increases even further when those FDI are coming from players who originate in obscure undemocratic states, where the carrot and stick game is played with Russian roulette rules….the stakes are higher, and sometimes involve the loss of limb and life. In other cases, the FDI might come from companies that enjoy mo-nopoly or oligopoly status even in the world commodity markets, where they have become adept at using their mar-ket power to control states (especially small ones like Belize), not the other way around.

Our people say they want more in-vestments and jobs….but they are not pressuring our governments and poli-ticians to change the rules of the car-rot and stick game. Our governments do not feel the pressure, nor do they desire to alter their artificially created need to exercise their power and con-trol over choosing winners and losers in our investment community. Our es-tablishment investors do not have any ambition to be more than pawns in this carrot and stick game…as long as they can afford their lollipops.

This philosophy…and its mind-set….by the ruling politicians and estab-lishment….well entrenched since Inde-pendence….is the greatest obstacle to “stimulating” the kind of investments that Belize needs and deserves. It only serves the interest of those inefficient and ineffective investors who thrive on political favor….and the political estab-lishment who benefit from those “ac-commodation agreements”….no matter how the wolf is cloaked in sheep cloth-ing.

Belize should (1) treat ALL invest-ments within Belize alike and allow them a more competitive economy within the global marketplace, where they can operate profitably and freely (especially by lowering import duties and taxes on imported inputs to remove the need for discretionary development concessions and the choosing of winners, removing ALL taxes on fuel except GST, broad-ening the consumption tax-base at a lower level on ALL goods and services that are consumed, and where possible increasing the import duties on import-ed competitive goods and services)…(2) it should afford them (especially the nascent industries as permitted by our treaties) advantages in its domestic marketplace over imported competi-tive products and services, including using SPS measures as allowed by our treaties…and (3) it should negotiate im-proved market access and trading con-ditions for its exports and potential ex-ports to our trading partners….especially those with whom we have a significant trade-deficit.

Belize can do much better…..if this philosophy of the ruling political and es-tablishment class….is altered voluntarily.

Richard Harrison is a local business-man and investor in the manufacturing and service industries. Send comments to [email protected]


Is The Bible Real?During our September celebration I found myself having a

family round table discussion about the authenticity of the Bi-ble. I listened to the different views and opinions and the scien-tific or logical cons and pros.

There are so many uses and functions for the Bible that it caused me to feel an even greater sense of amazement in regards to this book. One debater described it as the atom of human existence, saying that whoever wrote the Bible really does understand humans. It was referred to as the best psy-chological book ever. As the days passed I kept thinking of that conversation. Imagine hinging and living your life based on a book, making certain decisions, denying your life many things based on a manual.

It tells you not to get drunk, to respect your parents, to love your neighbor, to not be lazy, to help the poor and needy. You learn how to relate to your parents, to your wife, to your kids, how to do business, what’s healthy to eat, how to maintain mental health, and the list goes on and on. If I were to try and list everything that is advised and offered in this book, one mere article would be unable to contain it.

The biggest problem that I have found people have with this book though, is that they believe it was written by ‘humans’, who were only trying to push their agenda and were not truly inspired by God. It seems that the same way the rich man in hell wanted Lazarus or an angel to return to earth and tell his broth-ers about God, seems that most humans would have preferred for God himself to write the Bible and have it glow to prove divine penmanship.

How about asking ourselves some question in relation to this constitution. What would our life be like without this book? Why is it the best selling book in the whole world to date? How many religions have this book as the core of their faith?

Well to cut to the chase, I like to look at the Bible as a thick juicy tortilla wrapped around a sausage including all the vegeta-bles and spices.

The sausage being Jesus, while the tortilla and veggies be-ing the scriptures. You cannot have one without the other. In fact, the whole scripture is wrapped around Jesus and gets its name from him (John 1:1). In the same way this kind of food is called a “Great Dog” Jesus is my “Great Dog” or for those more religiously strict folks, we would have to shift the letters in the word Dog around and correctly say He is my “Great God”. Please don’t be upset with me as Jesus referred to himself the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35).

Yes! What makes the scripture come to life and moves it from being ‘just a book’ that tries to justify itself is a ‘divine human’, or better put, a God that took on flesh and came to live temporarily on earth, with the intention to purchase back the species that the devil swindled out of Adams hands. Of course, the only way to pay for this species was with blood and so the whole plan included God giving up His power (Philippians 2:6,7) and coming on earth in a human body and then sacrific-ing that body on a tree so that whosoever, let me repeat that “whosoever” without prejudice, believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life!

Unlike any other human ever to walk this earth we celebrate both His birthday and His death on a yearly basis all around the world!

So I ask you Is the Bible real?Until next weekGod Bless!

…WhILE BELIzEANS StRUggLE & SUFFERTHis is How THE UDPs RoLL…

PRimE minisTER DEan BaRRow’s nEw Law FiRm

DEPUTy PRimE minisTER GasPaR VE-Ga’s 2012 LanD CRUisER -

VaLUED aT $180,000

minisTER oF GanGs maRk kinG’s FoRD 150 - VaLUED aT $74,500

minisTER oF woRks REnE monTERo’s 2012 ToyoTa PRaDo – VaLUED aT $96,000

minisTRy oF EnERGy anD sCiEnCE CEo CoLin yoUnG’s 2011 ToyoTa

HiLUx – VaLUED aT $65,000


Serve The PeopleHappy Birthday PUP!

Jumbled Units

Who’s Who?

Have fun testing your PUP smarts with us this week as we celebrate!

Can you match the PUP leader to his or her post?

The Hon. Francis Fonseca Wendy Castillo Senator Collet Montejo

The Hon. Oscar Requena The Hon. Florencio Marin Jr. Kareem Musa

Can you arrange the governing units of the PUP from highest to lowest (hierarchical) order?

Answers: 1. The Hon. Francis Fonseca 2. The Hon. Florencio Marin Jr. 3. Senator Collet Montejo 4. Wendy Castillo 5. Kareem Musa 6. The Hon. Oscar Requena

On the road to independence…can you help Mr. Price find his way through the

maze to the raising of our flag?

1.2.3.4.5.

The National ExecutiveThe Constituency BranchesThe National CouncilThe Four Regional CaucusesThe National Convention

Peaceful Movement

1. Party Leader __________________________________

2. Deputy Party Leader, North ____________________________

3. Campaign Manager, West ________________________________

4. President, United Women’s Group ________________________

5. Communications Director, East ____________________________

6. Chairman, Southern Caucus_________________________________


SCIENCE & TECHBELIZE TIMES WEEKLY

R E V I E W

Selected By Chris Williams

Earth cracking up under Indian Ocean

Is hearing more important than seeing?

Survivors of a violent birth (Image: Chaideer Mahyuddin/AFP/Getty Images)

26 September 2012 by Colin BarrasYOU may not have felt it, but the whole

world shuddered on 11 April, as Earth’s crust began the difficult process of break-ing a tectonic plate. When two huge earth-quakes ripped through the floor of the In-dian Ocean, they triggered large aftershocks on faults the world over, and provided the best evidence yet that the vast Indo-Austra-lian plate is being torn in two.

Geologists have spent five months puz-zling over the twin quakes - of magnitude 8.6 and 8.2 - which took place off the coast of North Sumatra. Events that large nor-mally occur at the boundary between tec-tonic plates, where one chunk of Earth’s crust slides beneath another, but these were more than 100 kilometres from such a sub-duction zone. What’s more, both involved rocks grinding past each other sideways with very little vertical movement - what geologists call strike-slip earthquakes. Yet strike-slip quakes this large had never been reported before.

Matthias Delescluse at the École Nor-male Supérieure in Paris, France, and his colleagues have an explanation. They an-alysed quakes in the area since December 2004, when a magnitude-9.1 quake in a sub-duction zone near Sumatra triggered a dev-astating tsunami. They found earthquakes during this period were nearly 10 times

more frequent compared with the previous eight years. What’s more, 26 of the quakes that happened between December 2004 and April 2011 were similar to the 11 April quakes in that they involved rocks being

pushed and pulled in the same directions.Taken together, the events suggest

that the Indo-Australian plate is breaking up along a new plate boundary, say the re-searchers, and that may account for both

the location and the size of April’s quakes (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature11520). Al-though both are currently on the same plate, Australia is moving faster than India. This is causing a broad area in the centre of the Indo-Australian plate to buckle. As a result, the plate may be splitting (see map).

John McCloskey at the University of Ul-ster in Coleraine, UK, is not yet convinced, saying the evidence from the April events is still too weak to support such a bold claim. But Lingsen Meng at the University of Cal-ifornia, Berkeley, who studied the rupture pattern of the larger 11 April quake, is more confident. “I think it’s a fair argument that the 11 April earthquakes may mark the birth of a plate boundary,” he says. Things should be-come clearer as more earthquakes shake the region.

If they are anything like the 11 April events, the rest of the world may shake too. In another new study, Fred Pollitz at the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California, and his colleagues found that the global rate of quakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater increased almost fivefold in the six days after 11 April - something that has never been seen before, even after very large earthquakes (Na-ture, DOI: 10.1038/nature11504).

“This was the most powerful event [ever recorded] in terms of putting stress on other fault zones around the world,” Pollitz says.

26 September 2012By Mark Changizi, contributor

In The Universal Sense, Seth Horowitz makes a compelling case for our most underrated sense

WOULD you rather be blind or deaf? You would probably quickly and fervently answer that you’d rather be deaf, if you really had to choose. Vi-sion is too dear to most people. Hear-ing on the other hand... well, it’s boring.

This is a misconception that neuro-scientist Seth Horowitz knocks down

in The Universal Sense, in which he sings the praises of this underrated sense.

The most frequent argument for hear-ing’s importance to humans is that it is fun-damental to our most valued talents and pas-times - speech and music. That justification, however, is problematic. The sensation of hearing is universal among vertebrates, but the use of it for speech and music is uniquely human. What else, then, does hearing offer?

Horowitz shows that there’s so much more. Taking examples from the animal kingdom, he explains how hearing connects

creatures to all the world’s good vibrations. From blackboard scrapes to bats that can hear sounds mere nanometres long, he leads us on a canal tour through the ear. Though the book reads a little like a sequence of field trips, Horowitz recounts fascinating anecdotes of how hearing can tell us a great deal about the world - whether or not we are paying attention.

Take, for example, Horowitz’s scenario of going to wash your hands. “You’ll prob-ably think of the water splashing in the sink and that’s about it,” he begins. Then he intro-duces the possible signals we unconsciously glean, showing us how hearing adds richness

and context to our surroundings: “Pay attention to all the sounds. The sound of your footsteps, whether shod in slip-pers or socks, padding toward the sink. Did you walk on tile? Is your kitchen echoing with each footstep or are you wearing something soft and absorbent that damps it? When you reach for the faucet handle, do your clothes make a quiet shushing sound? Does the han-dle squeak a bit?”

It wasn’t until I strayed from re-searching vision into the realms of hearing that I fully appreciated this subtle and fundamental sense. Horow-itz’s book, filled with thought-provok-ing passages and interesting tidbits, will help everyone better see what they hear. I suspect that, like me, Horowitz might prefer to be blind than deaf.


NICH allows Porn filming at Mayan Temple?

Belize City, September 26, 2012The BELIZE TIMES has been reliably informed that the National Insti-

tute of Culture and History recently approved the filming of pornography at a Mayan Temple in the Cayo District.

Our attempts to clarify the reports with NICH or the Belize Film Com-mission were futile but our source indicates that this occurred at the Xunantunich Mayan temple a few days ago.

Our research shows that NICH does allow filming at reserves and archaeological sites. An application must detail what kind of film will be recorded, and along with a fee of $200 per hour for Commercial Video Re-cording/Filming, there are other requirements such as providing a copy of the final product and the accreditation of location used in the film.

We understand that all films must first get permission from the local film commission before requesting the green light from NICH.

If our source’s information is as accurate as we trust it to be, NICH and the film commission of Belize must be held to task for the blatant dis-respect and desecration of the Mayan temple. The Government must also take steps for this occurrence not to happen, and for its agents to show greater respect for the Indigenous Maya of Belize.

S&P not impressed by GOB’ Superbond partial payment

Belize City, September 25, 2012

Compelled by limited time, disintegrating talks and immi-nent expensive legal battles with bondholders, the Government of Belize was forced to cough up a partial payment towards the Superbond. On Independence Eve, September 20th, the Gov-ernment made a US$11.7 pay-ment towards the coupon it had missed on August 20th.

While the part payment has bought them some time, it has gained no reprieve from the Standard and Poor’s credit rating agency, which considered Be-lize as a selective default nation when it failed to meet its debt

obligations a month ago.S&P says Belize Selective Default for-

eign currency rating and its Default rating on the bonds will remain despite the part payment.

“Our ratings speak to full and time-ly payment,” explained a release by Stan-dard and Poors on September 21st.

S&P said it views the default talks as “distressed” and said that by “any mea-sure” the Government remains in default.

S&P indicated that its rating will only change if and when negotiations are com-pleted between the Government and bondholders.

The partial payment has allowed the Government a 60-day extension on the very tense negotiations with bondholders. It also avoids the start of any protracted legal disputes which are bound to follow a

collapse in negotiations.The discussions were on the verge

of collapse after bondholders refused to accept any of three renegotiation terms presented to them by the Government. Creditors considered the terms “the worst ever”, as it suggested that they take up to a 45% haircut on expected returns. The suggested terms also propose to extend the payment deadline from 2029 to as far as 2060.

The Government had budgeted the payment of the August 20th Superbond US$23.5 coupon, but six days prior to the date it announced that it could not find the money for it. Since then the Barrow Administration has come under fierce fire from creditors, including accusations that it is withholding the payment and that it is a tactic to force creditors into submission.

The Hezbollah ConnectionBelize City, September 26, 2012

The Barrow Administration contin-ues to claim that it has no idea how known terror suspect, Rafic Moham-mad Labboun Allaboun, obtained a false Belizean birth certificate, passport and driver’s license in only two days.

Allaboun stole a Belizean Mennonite identity, Wilhelm Dyck, with assistance from personnel from the Vital Statistics Unit. He then applied for a Belizean pass-port under that false identity and obtained the travel document easily from the Belize City pass-port office. And then he travelled to Belmopan where the Mayor’s son-in-law, Traffic Manager Kevin Jones, personally processed his first time driver’s license even af-ter the cut-off time had passed.

Information to the BELIZE TIMES indicates that Allaboun also obtained a fake Social Secu-rity Card, which may require an investigation of that office as well.

The Minister of Immigration, Godwin Hulse, has struggled with the investigation. He finds himself in the biggest scandal of recent UDP history. Not only is it a national shame, but also an in-ternational embarrassment as Allaboun was caught with the Belizean passport by U.S. CIA forces in Mexico. The news went global, and everyone knows it was under Hulse’s watch that such corrup-tion manifested. The embarrassment is intensified by the fact that two weeks later, he still can’t give answers.

And while the investigations into that one case continue, more immi-gration red flags are surfacing. There is the case of one Fidel Garcia who has

a passport addressed at Barrack Road, but there is not such person with that name living on Barrack Road. A series of Lebanese-owned stores do adorn Bar-rack Road.

There is also the case of Visas is-sued to questionable persons travelling from Nepal and India. The businessmen travel to Belize through Central and South America and claim their trip is paid for by a certain store in San Ignacio Town.

belize times september 30, 2012

Documents

belize sugar industry

cogeneration project

tax revenue

heap of tax exemptions

business tax

foreign companynich

new foreign company

day parade