As the competition continues to heat up at the Falcon Field in San Ignacio Town, the Over?25 Basketball Competition is attracting more and more fans. The two games on Friday night got rained out, and were postponed to Tuesday night.
The Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL) is scheduled to hold its 17thAnnual General Meeting, Friday, September 30, 2005, at the Princess Hotel and Casino on Princess Margaret Drive in Belize City.
One big question is: who will show up at the AGM and who won?t? This is because since December 2004, over 200 BTL shareholders sold their shares to Lord Michael Ashcroft?s Mercury Communications Limited, some without knowing that Ashcroft was actually behind the company and the buy-out.
We are hearing this cry way too often these days: ?They didn?t have to kill him.?
We heard it exactly five months ago from the mother of Ernest Croft when he was shot and killed by a local businessman in April of this year for allegedly breaking into his house on the Western Highway.
We heard the same thing from the mother of Shawn Copious two weekends ago when he was killed by another local businessman.
The Government of Belize announced on Wednesday, September 28, that it would open the sale of a 5% block of shares in the Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL), valued at US$4.9 million, on Friday, October 14, 2005.
The shares would be offered to Belizeans at a price of US$2.71 each, and only in multiples of 100. GOB insists that the shares must also be purchased in US dollars, which means that interested persons would have to come up with at least $271 scarce US dollars to buy the BTL shares.
The defending BPFL champions, Juventus, due to the power of the almighty dollar, are looking at a glass that?s either half empty or half full, depending on how you see things, either pessimistic or optimistic.
Juventus has a very young team, with approximately five rookies in starting positions to accompany veterans such as Allan ?Toobus? Flowers, Kevin Pelayo, Nixon Centeno, Donnie and Freddie Tun and William Johnson, who is certainly one of the top goalkeepers in the country. They are currently in the bottom of Group ?B? standings with just one point, which they picked up in a road game with Hankook Verdes. For some inexplicable reasons, Juventus just can?t get it together after three weeks of football.
Popular trade unionist, Zenaida Moya, who has been at the forefront of the unions? resistance to the Government?s recent tax hikes, this afternoon declared at a Radisson Fort George press conference that she intends to become the next mayor of Belize City.
Top-ranking officials from the United Democratic Party (UDP) stepped out to endorse her candidacy with full fanfare?banners, T-shirts, posters, and experienced campaigners.
For the first time since police began their investigation into $7.6 million missing from the Belize Telecommunications Limited (BTL), BTL?s former Chief Executive Office and board director, Gaspar Aguilar, has been questioned by police, by Senior Police Superintendent, Mario Vernon, on Tuesday evening, September 27.
Aguilar finally agreed to give this newspaper an interview, for the first time since the scandal broke more than three weeks ago. He told us about his 6-hour long interrogation, as well as the illegal parallel market transactions that BTL had been involved in for the past four years, 2001 to 2005.
The past year has been one of turmoil in Belize. The country has experienced protest after protest, primarily over the Said Musa administration?s public finance policies and practices, and against the imprudent lending and exposure of Social Security funds, heavy taxation and skyrocketing gas prices.
The same issues that were the source of ferment on August 28, 2004, have fueled another protest on September 24, 2005?more than a year later.
Both of Belize?s major political parties celebrate anniversaries this week. On Tuesday, September 27, the Opposition United Democratic Party celebrated its 32nd anniversary, and on Thursday, September 29, the ruling People?s United Party celebrates its 55th anniversary.
The United Democratic Party today, Wednesday, September 28, 2005, officially endorsed the bid of Zenaida Moya, union activist and economist, to represent the party in the mayoral elections due next March. We say this because a personage no less than the Hon. Michael Finnegan, one of the party?s most experienced and formidable politicians, has officially stuck his neck out for her as campaign manager, against possibly five other party candidates.
I would appreciate you publishing my observations in your esteemed medium. I live in the Sandhill area where we have no land line phones, and calling radio talk shows on a cell is expensive, especially when one has to hold.
Ever since the Milton Palacio-led Belize team won gold in the 1998 CARICOM Basketball Championships, Belizean basketball pundits both home and abroad have pondered many times over the big question of, what if Milton Palacio could one day be joined in the backcourt by Belizean-born Marlon Garnett? Would Belize then be able to contend with the perennial basketball powerhouses of the region? Could we say Olympic qualifiers?
Well, while not much is known about Garnett and some of our other basketballers abroad, we here at the desk promise to try our best to keep our readers updated on our Belizean-born players? week to week performances during the upcoming NBA, NCAA and Italian league seasons.
It is often a good match-up when Belmopan and any team from the Mid-South area takes the field. It could well be a rivalry that has grown over the years. Even though a few of the original Belmopan Builders Hardware Bandits players have left for other franchises, the core remains. Belmopan?s Edmund ?The Buzzard? Pandy and Deris ?Colombia? Benavides certainly will be bringing their ?A? game.
