May and June hot day and night temperatures hurt lettuce and tomato production in Belize

* The tomatos are few and far between and are being picked green and are ragged and small looking.

* They didn't look good like this. Lettuce were barely growing, with a lot of brown burnt leaves.


May and June were very bad months for lettuce and tomatoes in Belize. I guess it is the high temperatures during the days sometimes and the high temperature at night? Without a temperature differential between night and daytime, some vegetables do very poorly.

photos and articles on Western Belize here

http://westernbelizehappenings.blogspot.com

Cayo District of Western Belize holiday photos.

* You have to swim to get into this underworld cave.
* Mennonite farming family cross river bridge in horse and buggy.
* Cayo District horseback riding.
* Cayo District, Western Belize valley.

Beginning food export industry of Belize

We can make foods to export in Belize, will the 5000 graduates of this year 2009 get started?
Grace Kennedy exports from Jamaica internationally.
Grace Kennedy food exports international


EXPORTS AND GRACE KENNEDY (BELIZE) LTD

Grace Kennedy of Jamaica is a well run operation, for promoting Jamaican food products and also for finding sources of food products in other countries world wide. There is a tremendous lot of expertise in the company and their brand name is known quite well internationally. Grace Kennedy ( Belize ) Ltd. a franchise operation, or a subsidiary, is a good thing for Belize.
What struck me most the other day in an email from them here in pioneer
Belize, is that they are having a difficult time in finding producers of products locally, that they can market under their well established international brand name. They buy cheap, label and repackage and quality control mostly, plus of course the marketing and advertising involved with such a thing. Needless to say GRACE KENNEDY LTD. has a lot of experience under their belt. We need that in Belize to start micro manufacturing and exporting, to build our small economy.
I wonder how one would disseminate the information to small rural village women, that there is a market locally for properly prepared produce such as; jams, sausages, meats, fruit pulp blends, and other international foods? The village women of course if interested, would probably have to consult with GRACE KENNEDY in Belize City, if they can produce something from locally available fruits, or other ideas in food processing. A lot of small producers can make a seasonal product to fill a container full any day. It is GRACE KENNEDY’s ( Belize ) Ltd., chosen role to be the middle man organizer of it all and an excellent industry with great potential. I would guess Grace Kennedy (Belize ) Ltd. would have to provide the containers, or packaging style, to be uniform in an established brand name?

I wonder if BIG H are coming along also? Maybe they are having the same problem in finding producers of food products? Such a business relies on a lot of little people doing just a small part in the process of developing a big export industry with a world wide reputation. I wonder if our 5000 graduates this year of higher education in Belize have the smarts to create a niche for themselves in this business world? Somehow I doubt it? Wonder why? I do hope so though and wonder if the education they have received in Belize is relevant to this opportunity? I don’t get to talk to my grandchildren very much, to even find out what kind of education they are getting, which I miss.

BELIZE BUILDING ACT TRACED TO CARICOM FIASCO.

BELIZE BUILDNG ACT NEW REGULATIONS EXPLAINED BY THE BIG PICTURE!

Well we finally found out how the Building ACT regulations came about. It seemed ridiculous in a small scattered population of a country like Belize. At first we thought it was from media articles, an attempt to create a monopoly by big contractors, architects from Belize City and Civil Engineers ( the few they are ) and create a monstrous inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy in Belize. It probably is going to work out that way? Seems from recent articles and the ability now to get CARIBBEAN TELEVISION NEWS in the evenings, this is a CARICOM thingy. Created by intellectual political dimwits over in the Eastern Caribbean. Our own current Belize government is dominated by the port town, primarily Caribbean orientated black people and so the thrust of the UDP CABINET under Prime Minister Barrow has been for ever more bureaucratic and regulatory similarities to the CARICOM agenda, which it is now obvious he ( our PM ) himself is deeply enamored. In lieu of practical things like Caricom economics and trade infra-structure. He was recently Chair person of CARICOM, so that must have given him some good times and an ego boost He got a lot of gratifying personal attention internationally through it. Irregardless of the facts that CARICOM in all it’s disguises doesn’t work and has never worked for the last 45 years or so. I’ll believe in CARICOM when they have internal airline transportation on a regular schedule. Right now we cannot fly from Belize to anywhere in CARICOM. Or go by ship either. Anyway, to make a long story short, PM BARROW and his CARIBBEAN orientated fellow travelers down on the coast of Belize are pursuing an agenda in the name of Belizeans as a nation, for more legal and regulatory bureaucratic controls through the CARICOM ten countries. Hence this BUILDING ACT. Sort of as a political braggadocious propoganda substitute for more practical things, like an airline serving Belize and other CARICOM countries. Hence this ridiculous Building Act new bureaucracy for our very small frontier pioneering population.
CARICOM itself is breaking apart. Recently a bunch of the islands on the Eastern side formed their own grouping called OECS or something like that. Can’t remember all these myriad acronyms the politicians and bureaucrats dream up, to make us believe they are worth their salaries, travel allowances, per diems and perks. Then Dominica I see by the news, has now made it four countries to defect from CARICOM, making our number now, only ten countries from the previous fourteen countries in the Caricom block. ALBA the Venezuelan totalitarian state concept, run by President for Life, Hugo Chavez, has recently passed CARICOM for country memberships, in that the ALBA bloc now has eleven countries with Dominica now added. At least the leader of Dominica is economically pragmatic in foreign policy decision making. More than you can say for our Prime Minister. Chavez is seducing our Caricom members away; with oil, food and infra structure using his oil wealth. Chavez now controls more international country votes than Caricom. Most of CARICOM countries are so mismanaged and so far in national debts, that they can NEVER EVER get free of the debt load.
In the meantime, the United Kingdom has gone broke, about the same as Belize or in worse condition financially. The USA is expecting inflation with gargantuan spending and government printing presses making money 24 hours a day, and countries like Japan who kept their treasury reserves in US dollars, are recently in the news with a smuggling operation by Japanese Treasury personnel trying to take 800 BILLION or so BEARER BONDS of the US treasury notes to Switzerland, to get out of the US dollar situation. Many countries like Venezuela now only take money in International Euros. I digress forgive me! – FINI -

Annual dentistry for problem wildlife Jaguars in Belize

Wild jaguars get root canals at Belize Zoo re-hab annual program.


THE RE-HAB CENTER IN BELIZE FOR PROBLEM WILD JAGUARS

What can you say about a country that cares so much about wildlife, that we even have a re-hab program for trapped, wild jaguars, that are serviced at our tiny, tiny, but really tiny Belize Zoo, of which Belizeans are so proud. Small as it is.
Mostly with Jaguars, they are supposed to live off hunting paca, deer, and peccary and other jungle small animals. Belize jungles have no large animals like in Africa, or the USA and Canada. Anyway, when Jaguars break their teeth, they tend to prey on farm livestock, like dogs, sheep, chickens and cattle. They get trapped and sent to the re-hab center at the Belize Zoo. Dr. Ed takes time once a year to do dental operations on captured Jaguar and does fillings and root canals.

Belize Government approval rating jumps from 38% to 44%

* Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize and lawyer leader of the UDP Cabinet, got lost in the nit picking legal details instead of the BIG PICTURE.


* Foreign Minister Elrington of the UDP Cabinet, a lawyer lost in nit picking legal details, instead of the BIG PICTURE.


BELIZE UDP GOVERNMENT APPROVAL RATING JUMPS FROM
38% TO 44%

Prime Minister Barrow’s UDP government approval rating took a jump this week from 38% to 44%. The jump was attributed in Western Belize opinions to the handling of the dispute with the biggest government hospital in Belize, Doctors Union go slow dispute. While not resolved yet, the different sides and mediations have been well publicized and the handling of the dispute met with general approval.
The other issue was the handling of the SWINE FLU in Belize. This week, five cases were confirmed by tests to be the first in the country, imported over the border into Belize from Mexico. Many Belizeans go to Chetumal, Mexico, to shop on weekends for every day items. Mexicans also flock into the Northern Corozal Free Zone looking for bargains and gambling at the three Casinos there. The H1N1 flu virus, seems to have evolved into a mild case of ordinary flu and the fatality rate percentages has dropped remarkably world wide and this flu is no longer considered overly dangerous. There will be a Pandemic, the WHO organization have declared this winter, but is expected to be just an ordinary winter flu in effect with standard fatality percentages occuring. Even so, the government has received stocks and distributed same, such as TAMIFLU around the nation of Belize government hospitals and this preparation has been judged as efficient as can be accomplished, within the sparse circumstances of life in Belize.
On the negative side of government policies, the action of the GOB in joining CARICOM and the OAS in a knee jerk condemnation of the Honduras government, over the ouster of ex-President Zelaya on criminal charges in Honduras, was more attributed to amateurish attitudes of young university students, rather than mature National Interest of Belize considerations, of the medium and longer term outlook for building the economy of Belize, perpetrated as a lawyerly nit picking opinion of a foreign policy, without any basis in facts. It was felt that the BELIZE NATIONAL INTEREST, as in ‘economic considerations’ should have been of paramount concern. What we got was viewed to be a bunch of political SHEEP in Belize following other SHEEP in CARICOM and the OAS, and a bunch of leftists in the OAS pushing their own agenda and leanings. Insulza the President of the OAS was believed to be incompetent and pushing his own political viewpoints. He is currently under requests from some other members to have him removed from his office in the OAS, as unfit to lead fairly.
If ZELAYA had succeeded in consolidating his hold over the military of Honduras and emasculating the Congress as he desired, to be come a virtual dictator, tyrant, or President for Life, as he was trying to do, under the advice and leadership of Chavez of Venezuela and Correa of Ecucador and other leftist Presidents of the Americas, who have succeeded in doing this in their own countries, then not only democracy in the Americas would become a PAPER CHARADE, but the situation in Belize economically could have and would have become atrocious. We have experience of past floods of refugees in Belize, from Honduras under dictators. Events were being controlled within Honduras by the Honduras government elected representatives, and even though the actions of Belize Foreign Policy were contrary to the NATIONAL INTEREST of Belize, the external events on the ground resolved this dispute to the advantage of the BELIZE NATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEREST anyway. This Foreign Policy action therefore got a zero rating and neutral grade in grading the UDP Government of Belize. Basically they did wrong acting as SHEEP is the opinion over here, in Western Belize, but events outside the Belize Government, made the political actions of the UDP knee jerk amateur reactions useless anyway. Belize did get BROWNIE points in currying and groveling for favor with other Caricom Leaders and the OAS countries, but we don’t really need this. Belize must show dynamic strong leadership and stand up for what is best for Belize at all times.

GRACE KENNEDY OF (BELIZE) LTD. imports products as a Merchant importer supplier

Jamaican jerk sauce
Grace Kennedy Ltd jerky pork chops.


GRACE KENNEDY OF BELIZE LTD.

Grace Kennedy of Belize Ltd sent me a very nice announcement of all the food products they sell in Belize. They had some advertisement and celebration for their employees, to do with their supplying the Belizean market with processed food stuffs down in the port town of Belize City on the Eastern coast.
I apologize if I am wrong in my impressions. But my impression is that; Grace Kennedy in Belize is a subsidiary of Grace Kennedy of Jamaica and imports all their products from Jamaica and Trinidad to sell in Belize? As a growth industry using the Belize market for CARICOM products, there is nothing really wrong with that. I buy their stuff because it is cheaper and good quality and even buy it when up in Florida where it can be found on supermarket shelves.
My impression though, rightly or wrongly; is that GRACE KENNEDY LTD of Belize is nothing more than a repackager over in the CARIBBEAN and in Belize simply is an old fashioned colonial style merchant middleman importer. I notice some of their products are probably mass produced in both Chile and Singapore in plastic bottles and cans, that are simply BRAND LABELED and imported first to Jamaica and then distributed to Belize. I appreciate they are successful and establishing a CARIBBEAN BRAND NAME internationally. However I cannot respect the local company.
Economically they do not contribute to Belize for industrial food processing growth is my impression. I forget the name of the firm out Western Belize here? Harrison H, or BIG H, or something like that, but they at least are creating the economic business like Grace Kennedy, but doing it here in Belize, whether it is producing, or repackaging. This to me is what Belize needs, not necessarily building the economy of Jamaica or Trinidad, even though there is a lot of talk of FREE CARICOM MARKETS. What Belize needs is jobs and to get that, we need to produce this stuff here. Then our companies can grow to EXPORT Belize products to places like Canada, Taiwan and China and the USA and Europe. Should the GRACE KENNEDY LTD branch do that here, then they get respect. Any idiot can import, wholesale and retail imported goods. For me in my uninformed opinions, BIG H is superior to Belizean economic development than GRACE KENNEDY. Though GRACE KENNEDY is bringing ideas and expertise which is good for Belize.

On a late note as I print this, Grace Kennedy ( Belize ) Ltd. said so far, they are only packaging, vinegar and bleach locally in Belize, but they have recently hired a Development Advisor to see what they can do with Belizean producers.

BELIZE TO GET FINANCIAL CENTER - SINGAPORE WATCH OUT!

Trading internationally from Belize
Trader at computer terminal.


PILOT PROJECT FOR SWISS BRANCH OFFICE OF A TRADING CENTER BEING NEGOTIATED.

Trading commodities, futures, pork bellies, currencies, stocks, options, etc. A pilot project of two floor traders and one supervisor is being contemplated and explored by investment capital with local partners. Local office space already lined up, and the main problem is getting DSL internet service for what is an internet based financial service. Sort of like International phone call centers.

To be located on the outskirts of the twin towns, what is lacking is direct line telephone service and DSL internet connections. Planned for October, but probably will go in November or December, it will be the first of it's kind in Belize. Office renovations underway as I speak. Expansion will depend on success, said spokesperson, Ms. Figueroa.

The last time such a thing was tried in Belize was done on Caye Caulker in 1994 about 15 years ago. The operation closed down due to lack of telecommunications infra-structure reliability. The operation was transferred to Florida.

Belize Foreign Minister Elrington takes philosphical intelligentsia view of cabal in Honduras

BElize Foreign Minister Elrington



FOREIGN MINISTER OF BELIZE, ELRINGTON DISCUSSES HONDURAS CONDEMNATION BY HIS OFFICE IN BELMOPAN

I caught only the last bit of the Elrington interview on Channel 5 TV this morning show. Elrington is the Foreign Minister of Belize and he was trying to explain his attitude, to what is happening in Honduras, prior to the election for President only about five months away in Honduras.
Our Foreign Minister made the Belize official position, joining with CARICOM and the OAS in condemning the ouster of Zelaya as President of Honduras as clear as he could make it.
From our viewpoint in Western Belize rural parts, we divide the debate into two parts as to Belize Foreign Policy. The first part was Elrington came across in his decision making process, as dealing from an academic, lawyer type point of view. Sort of an intellectualist point of view, based on abstractions.
What seems to have bothered him and CARICOM, was the midnight seizure and expulsion of ex-President Zelaya. The fact that Zelaya was hustled out of his house in his pajamas by some soldiers to an airplane and flown to Costa Rica.
Since the Foreign Policy decision in Belize was made by Elrington on the basis of academic and intellectual arguments, rather than pragmatic things. What was not discussed was the NATIONAL INTEREST OF BELIZE. The decision Elrington made did not have anything to do with pragmatics, or the future in Belize and how the decision effected our long term relationship with Honduras would continue.
I thought Elrington’s reasoning was not pragmatic enough, but in the short or long run, is unlikely to effect our relations with Honduras over either the intermediate term, or long term. So what Elrington voted on behalf of the nation of Belize, will probably not matter. Basically it is a tempest in a teapot, as it worked out. But it could have been worse for Belize if Zelaya had succeeded. Down the road could have been some really god-awful problems and interference in our own economy and politics if Zelaya had succeeded with his coup, which got pre-empted, by his own political party, congress and Cabinet.
I did find it disturbing that our UDP CABINET are not working in the BELIZE NATIONAL INTEREST. Foreign policy decisions should be pragmatic. While Elrington kept referring to the Military Coup, and recently the international media including Elrington have stopping using the word Military as it is now obvious it was not a military coup. Though Elrington and through him representing the voice of Belizeans, keeps calling it a coup. Though now he calls it a coup by the rich oligarchy capitalists in Congress. The interview on television though, was more about a Congress and Supreme Court made of Oligarchs, or Capitalists. The reasoning left me cold. Elrington himself is a rich capitalist and an Oligarch in Belize circles.
There was a coup attempt by ZELAYA who wanted to be PRESIDENT FOR LIFE. He could only do so, by using the power coming out of the barrel of a gun. ZELAYA is a capitalist lumber industry Baron and an oligarch in Honduras and belongs to the crowd he was trying to bypass and usurp. Yet his personal ambition is more to do with egoism and a lust for dictatorial power. Zelaya was attempting to use the military to circumvent the Congressional representatives, elected by the majority of people of Honduras. What happened was an internal power struggle, between a dictator wanna be, attempting to use the military to enforce a unilateral coup attempt, in going around the legal government mechanisms on separation of powers of the executive. His compatriots in the Congress, pre-empted him, when in his dictatorial anger, he fired the Generals who refused to use force to do his illegal referendum, much like has been done successfully by Presidents for Life, in Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. They then in Congress decided after consultation to get rid of Zelaya instead. Hence the midnight raid and expulsion. They would have been all for the firing squad anyway if Zelaya succeeded.
From the NATIONALIST INTEREST OF BELIZE viewpoint, a dictator such as ZELAYA in power in Honduras, enslaving the military by putting in puppets and getting rid of opponents in Congress would have been BAD FOR BELIZE. The intermediate and long term ramifications could have been worse for Belize. We’ve had refugees from Honduras dictators many times in Belize and at Caye Caulker. At least at the moment, the status quo has been maintained. You must remember ZELAYA’S advisors, like Presidents for Life, -Correa of Ecuador - President for Life in Venezuela, Chavez ,have been seizing businesses, closing down businesses, exiling or jailing people who are opponents and now in both Venezuela and Ecuador there is no long any television and other media opposition viewpoints. Zelaya wanted the same for Honduras in the longer term. In Belize we cannot tolerate that.
I think that in this particular case what Belize votes in the OAS, or CARICOM does not matter. Events after all worked out well in the end and Zelaya is gone. He was due to be gone in six months anyway, which is why he tried his own coup, under the guidance of Chavez, and from the viewpoint of the immediate future, there is going to be less problems and interference with Belize, because Zelaya the wanna be DICTATOR ( President for Life ) is gone.
That said, I do think that our BELIZE FOREIGN OFFICE should be thinking in USA terms, which is the NATIONAL INTEREST OF BELIZE, which means the ‘economy and money’. Not all these silly arguments that are academic and University level student, midnight coffee shop chatter in the nature of CARICOM intellectuals, who cannot even build and run a business, but must work for a poor government salary, represent an exploration of maturing of student youngsters. Interesting to discuss all night with student friends when you are between 18 and 24, but not practical in the real world. We hope Honduras elects a good capitalist President in the November elections. Pragmatism though should be our goal in Foreign Policy in Belize, not this high brow academic intellectualism. Of course, I’m just a retired fisherman, so my viewpoint tends to be more in what works best, not the abstract philosophies.

MAKING BELIZE STRONG THROUGH EXPORTING

Belize Jam Exports to Venezuela proposed as government to government project with Petro Caribe.



MAKING BELIZE STRONG THROUGH EXPORTING

By Ray Auxillou, June, 2009

Belize is a very small country, more poor than Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, or Salvador. The reason is a low population density. This can make us self sufficient, on a low survivalist type scale. As our population continues to grow, we need to find things for our young people to do, to earn a living. Giving everybody a government job is impractical. Living the hunter gatherer life style is still workable in parts of our rural districts, but does not satisfy the cash flow, tax revenue requirements of a government bureaucracy and political apparatus. We have 5000 graduates of higher education this year, who lack the innovative imagination to see their way to get rich, or live middle class.
The answer as we see it right now is to increase exports. Exports right now are mainly sugar and bananas, as the mainstays of our economy. We cannot do much about bananas, as that is an internal cycle type of business that is inter-locked. We could not for instance find another export market for our bananas. The reason being the transportation system, which is part and parcel of the whole growing, transportation, supply to wholesale chain. All segments of the banana industry rely on each other to exist and work.
Sugar is a different story. We can theoretically at least, sell sugar anywhere else in the world and sugar lends itself to value added processing, packaging marketing. Some of our marketing has expanded to other country markets, giving us a small measure of stability for the industry. A lot more in the marketing and value added processing packaging field in sugar is needed. There is certainly room for entrepreneurial activity in the buying of sugar locally wholesale and creating private businesses for diversifying the sugar product exporting markets. How do we do that with our 5000 graduates this year who are looking for jobs, or better yet should be looking for entrepreneurial value adding processing ideas and starting export companies?
The government has picked up on the marketing knowledge information problem, and lack of telecommunications and internet service around the nation. Most of the problems involved with entrepreneurial activity, is coming from the rural districts, but they lack the internet and decent workable telephone system to function properly. There has been a shuffle of bureaucratic deadwood in BELTRAIDE and now we read of efforts for BELTRAIDE seeking markets for possible future made value added processed products, in Taiwan and New York. The Ministry of Natural Resources seem to be funding the Agriculture Department to do this also. The challenge facing the bureaucracy is in communicating with the public at large, the experiments and knowledge they play around with internally, but do not disseminate to the general public, where the export entrepreneurial activity is generated. The Ministry of Natural Resources have been NOTORIOUS for decades, in their inability to communicate the exploratory experiments and fact finding knowledge to the general public. Yet with a dissemination system of knowledge, much of the factual experiments they have diddled with, on the internal bureaucratic and political level, could have produced entrepreneurial activity by somebody in the private sector, if anybody had known of it. Neither bureaucrats or politicians are very good judges of what makes a successful profit business. This is the role for private for profit, risk venture capital. You never know what silly idea the Ministry of Natural Resources has tried and discarded, which might have grown into a small viable industry in Belize. I have to mind, the potters wheel and the Cinva Ram, two man, brick making machine of decades ago. I wanted to do both in my youth and wrote about them at the time, the Ministry of Natural resources bought the machines, passed them around from office to office to play with and they got lost, or stolen. Twenty years later, I heard they had actually bought and imported the small cottage industry machines I was interested in, but never knew about it. Lost ideas, lost opportunities and lost industries, all because the government bureaucracy cannot disseminate information to the public at large. The government needs to solve this problem of dissemination of knowledge.
There are other ideas for export industries on this Western Belize news blog. Nearly all such ideas will start in somebody’s back yard, or kitchen as a family entrepreneurial risk venture, trial pilot project. Such businesses must expand by increments. They have to pay their way. Here is another idea, in this case this idea is a partnership between government and the entrepreneurial cottage industry private sector.
This business is to do with value added processing, packaging and marketing. The market is there! It is in the organization that work is needed to make the pilot project work. PETRO CARIBE and Venezuela ALBA bank have told us they will work only on a GOVERNMENT to GOVERNMENT basis. They will not work with the private sector. Indeed the attempt to sell shares to ALBA in a new internal CARICOM airline failed out of Belize, because it was not supported by our Belize Government.
Let us analyze the problems involved. We have a market! The market is Venezuela. The method of payment is trading oil imports for food products, of which Venezuela has a shortage. Most socialist and dictator run countries have this problem. They cannot feed themselves. The trick, or organizational problem is encouraging on the local scene a vast expanding set of cottage home industries in food products. We can start with fruit jams for example. Marie Sharpe at Melinda is doing this successfully to Europe, but most home makers do not have the technology or volume to copy this example. What we need is a government department that will supply a 20 foot container to start with, and a program of buying various fruit jam jars from individual cottage industry home wives in rural districts. They may also have to supply jam jar type containers, preferably plastic. Maybe they would even have to put in a manufacturing extruder jar making machine, for jams to sell to home owners in the business. Let’s say the Government department buys jars of home made fruit jams, puts them in cartons and pays for them with CASH, at whatever the local market rate is in the rural districts. Say $6 to $10 bz., per jar right now. They then load the 20 foot container, ( the pilot project ) agree on the price with Venezuela, FOB ( free on Board at the port in Belize ). Payment would have to be oil and fuel credits from Petro Caribe for our imports. The first cry you hear from both politicians and bureaucrats is MONEY. They have no money. Lets think about this for a bit. All obstacles have a solution. That is what being a successful entrepreneur is all about.
Suppose the government department in charge of buying the fruit jams in jars, to fill a 20 ft container, to ship to Venezuela got money from an issue of TREASURY BILLS at a fixed rate of interest. Not sure what that is right now, but around 7% or so. The oil we import from Venezuela is owed on 25 year loans at 1% per annum. Far better the naïve politicians and bureaucrats would say at first glance, to forget it and leave it to the private sector. Why take a 6% loss in interest? FALSE conclusion! You add on $1 bz., ( 10% ) to the price of every jar of fruit jam in that container, to cover costs in operating this scheme by the government department. The loss of 6% between getting CASH from an issue of treasury bills to implement the scheme and the cost of 1% loan money is covered. If you have no faith in a government department to do this, then farm it out as a middle man packager/exporter, for a commission percentage of your $1 bz., per jar extra fee.
What do you accomplish? You accomplish EXPORTS, you accomplish a payment received method and reduce your debt on importation of PETRO CARIBE oil. The negotiations are conducted on a government to government level, which satisfies ALBA, the Venezuelan market. You get a whole lot of people working as entrepreneurs. Suddenly you have a thousand, or more, kitchen jam producers who start figuring out other things to sell, like sausages, or some other value added processed product. Then maybe you get a better price and buyer in China, or someplace. You expand the knowledge base and some of those thousand kitchen cottage self employed workers will evolve into bigger companies and larger goals. The economy becomes robust and money is flowing through Belize again.
Just an idea, try it, you might like it.

For more articles and photos of enterprise opportunities in Belize, read the Western Belize Happenings news blog at: http://westernbelizehappenings.blogspot.com

BELIZE CABINET MINISTER VISITS SANTA ELENA TOWN LIBRARY

Minister of Education in Belize, Patrick Faber


CABINET MINISTER OF EDUCATION VISITS SANTA ELENA TOWN LIBRARY

The big news this week in my Santa Elena Town ( very small place in the foothills of the Belize Alps ) was that one of the local district area representatives, Hon. Salvador Fernandez and the Education Minister, Patrick Faber visited our local library. The Cabinet Minister is quoted as saying the NATIONAL LIBRARY SERVICE BUDGET has been increased this budget year by $200,000. ( $100,000 usa )
How much of that will actually reach our local library we do not know. There are a lot of libraries around the country to share with? I don’t know how many? Our library works mostly on donations. The library needs books and book shelves. I have friends that occasionally come to Belize and bring me a dozen books or so, that I read and donate to the public library afterwards. Patrick Faber is hoping that our two librarians, Mrs. Wagner and Beatrice can re-juvenate the library computer system with new computers to help students in local schools learn to interact with the internet. That is a tall order as I well know. My own computers at my business are ten years old and I have been trying to replace them with new ones from the USA, but while I could buy a $400 usa computer up there in Texas, or Miami, I cannot get it here. It used to be we could get somebody coming down to bring stuff like a computer as airline baggage, but nowadays the airlines have really cut back on baggage allowances and I’ve been trying to get my computers replaced for several years. I end up replacing monitors with 6 year old blackened screen, second hand discard junk and CPU’s, wherever I can find a bargain around our twin towns. All my stuff is a hodge podge of ancient relics. I end up paying more for junk, than the price for new in Florida or Texas. The idea that the Santa Elena Public library could create a new public computer system and network is unlikely with a few dollars from our community share of an additional $200,000 bz for the national library budget. I am not sure but I believe our public library only has one working computer any more, that is left from years ago, they once had a network of six computers or so. National funds, only pay the salaries of two librarians at the rate of $300 bz a week, or $150 usa per week on which they must live with their families. Any library supplies are usually bought with cake sales, raffles and donations. I love my local library though. I’m a reading addict and even read books I hate. I figure it is better than reading labels on food packages. Without my library I would go beserk. Mind you a lot of fiction books are a hundred years old and certainly many interesting ones have been published around 1940 or so. This is life in Belize. I love it!

Trip Advisor traveler reviews rate Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel - EXCELLENT

TRIP ADVISOR TRAVELER REVIEWS RATE FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL IN BELIZE -EXCELLENT!-

FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL

* adventurous Swiss couple going all the way to Brazil by motorcyle with side car from San Francisco.
* Yacht owner guests coming from Rio Dulce in Guatemala to renew their 90 day visas.
* upper apartment, third floor next to hydoponic nursery
Pickup transportation system with casita and seats
hammock room
* guests camping with tent
* eating area in hostel
annex building of Hostel



FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL

Falconview moves into it's third year in Western Belize, providing overnight accommodations for University age travelers, usually in their 20's and 30's. Set in a rural suburb of Santa Elena Town, one side of the TWIN TOWNS of Western Belize, the three story hostel is located on the slope of Green Parrot Valley, and also overlooks the Belize River Valley to the Yalbac Hills ranging along, about 8 miles away.
Falconview Hostel, accommodates 18 persons, using two dormitories. One dormitory has eight beds ( bunk beds ) and the annex second floor dormitory has 4 beds. The Hostel also has two furnished apartments, with bathroom, hot water, micro wave kitchen and verandahs overlooking the two valleys. Rates run $11 usa plus accomodations tax for single bunk beds and $45 usa per night, plus tax, for the furnished apartments. The HOSTEL enjoys a steady trickle of clientele, either going further Westward into Guatemala, or coming from Guatemala and going to the Barrier Reef Island of Caye Caulker, where the Auxillou Family ( owners ) have another hostel on the beach out there. ( Tina's Backpackers Hostel ) There is a hammock room and television, a kitchen area and dining area. Plenty of bathrooms. Designed from the beginning as an ADVENTURE Hostel to fit the lot in this Hillview suburb of a hundred houses running up and down and across the hillside, it is sort of very rural. With dogs barking at night, kids riding horses on the street and kids playing by the local grocery shop, either football, or racing their bicycles.
The Hostel is run by Ray and Silvia, a retired couple, who do this more for the fun of it and a little small income to offset their retirement years living expenses. They know all the local tour guides and will arrange you an adventure real quick. The tour guide situation changes frequently, so they stay on top of prices and which one has a workable vehicle that is not broken down.

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM TV IN BELIZE

THOUGHTS AND IDEAS FROM THE TV NEWS IN BELIZE


Another shootout, to do with contraband goods for a Northern border village. I think the customs and police and the CABINET are going about this all wrong. There is a road along the border river that is convenient for Belize border villages on the Mexican side. Anybody who has run the gauntlet of Mexican and Belize border crossings at the official Chetumal bridge would think the so-called contrabandistas are smart. They are doing things for their convenience. It is the duty of the Government of Belize and Customs and Immigration to establish a small outpost concrete building where these villagers are crossing over to Mexico to shop, if they want to collect taxes. People are not supposed to arrange their shopping trips to the convenience of the government by detouring to the main Northern highway Chetumal bridge crossing. The government are supposed to arrange tax collection points that are convenient for the citizens. If you have to have a border concrete post at the river in Douglas, or San Victor or down South in the remote Toledo District, up in those remote high mountain Toledo foothills, then it is our responsibility as a government to provide same, or leave these villagers alone to get on with their lives.

Bureaucrats and politicians all think the same. They think that we taxpayer citizens are there to satisfy their rules, but that is not so. We pay for them to provide government services to us in a convenient and pleasant manner. Obviously there are not enough border crossing immigration and customs posts for both Guatemala and Mexico border lines. Fix it you UDP CABINET, that is what you were elected to do.


Generally speaking overall, the UDP have failed so far as a government. There are some successes, but far outweighed by the mistakes, either in lack of departmental services, or incomprehension, or pure incompetent leadership. 44% report card score overall for this UDP government at the 18 month mark.


The Medical Department is getting a shakeup due to some deaths in Corozal and Punta Gorda, but things in our government bureaucracies and CABINET LEADERSHIP, or lack thereof, is more serious than that. There are too many poorly functioning government departments for this to be an accident. The UDP need to start shuffling CABINET POSTS, or getting rid of those Cabinet Ministers who are incompetent. The job of the CABINET members is to see the bureaucracy runs smoothly and gives service to the public. Too much is pure craziness and laziness and plain non – functioning. No wonder the UDP management score card is only 44% and going downward. Face it PM BARROW, the government problems have gotten away from you. A lot of your colleagues are incompetent. FIX IT MON, that’s what you get paid for! Government departments should give smooth, pleasant and prompt ( timely manner ) public service to us taxpayer voters. In the case of your elected party representatives, delegating authority like you have done and standing back while everything goes to hell in a hand basket is not working as a Prime Ministerial policy. Ultimately you are the Captain of the ship, or Pilot in command of the airplane, or in this case of the Government of Belize. The responsibility is yours and yours alone!


The MONEY GRAM so called LAUNDERING OPERATION was interesting to read about it. I can’t see why anybody would operate a SPORTS BOOK IN COSTA RICA and then mail the money to Belize. What happens to the money? You cannot easily get foreign exchange in Belize and surely getting money transferred from Costa Rica to Belize is counter productive if it is in Belize funny money? Unless you plan to spend the money here, which would be productive and good business for Belize. The Sports Book in Costa Rica I can understand ,because it is the USA that has the laws against their own citizens, not wanting them to gamble in foreign countries, only inside the USA. Sort of like Cuba and Castro brothers not wanting their Cuban citizens to do private business as in capitalists. More power to COSTA RICA here, for providing the service to international customers. Up to that point I would think everything is legal? At least in the International Arena. If CUBA wants to cry about their citizens doing private business, or the USA want their citizens only to gamble within the USA, that has no business with other international countries. That’s legitimate business.


The new USA Ambassador to Belize is going to be an Indian / American. Now think about that for a bit. When I heard that, I kind of wondered if he was Sioux, or Cheyenne, Apache, Kiowa, or something? My wife is a CHIBCHA royalty from Bogota originally. Turns out this new USA Ambassador is a University friend of OBAMA and big donor ( $100,000 ) to the OBAMA campaign for president and Belize is his reward. Apparently he is a NATURALIZED US CITIZEN during the hippie era, from the mainland India country in Asia to the USA. Different kind of Indians over there. Remember the port of Belize City WEDDING when the Indian Merchant from mainland India down in the port had a wedding with white horse, and rose petals on the street, to ride over to the rented Government House for the wedding, and all that Maharaja stuff from the movies? His bride was an arranged marriage and all that cultural stuff at the wedding when she arrived. Great stuff! Local people loved the story. You think OBAMA could use a leetle bit of the TRILLIONS being given away to corrupt thieves on Wall Street, to rent a couple of Mexican circus elephants, make some costumes and have the USA Ambassador ride elephants to the Prime Minister’s official office in Belmopan , to present his USA credentials, while carrying the US flag? Good publicity and what a cultural scene and mix for tourism in Belize. Invite all the US TV networks to film it. Mon o’ mon, what an opportunity to get news coverage for poor little Belize. Belize Tourist Board are you listening? Get to work mon! Don’t miss an advertising publicity stunt like this. Cheap at any cost. Have the US Indian/American Ambassador wear a Turban and Maharaja costume, with attendants, ride an elephant, musical band, waving USA and Belize flags, etc. WOW!!! Get the local Indian community to provide the costumes and stuff. The USA TV networks will love it and worth MILLIONS OF ADVERTISING DOLLARS for Belize. This is USA foreign aid to Belize, without them spending a government penny. Invite OPRAH. Should be easy to phone the new Ambassador guy and get his cooperation, even OBAMA should go along with showing the cultural diversity of the USA, after his latest international big push on USA Muslims, supposedly outnumbering the Muslim population of Dubai. This is a WIN WIN situation for some good cultural pageantry organizers. Heck, if the Queen of England can do this stuff in the Commowealth countries, then OBAMA can do it for the USA. He can make his USA diverse population proud this way. Something new and unique.

BELIZE HAS NO NATION WIDE INTERNET SERVICE - 2009 -

BELIZE STILL HAS NO NATIONAL INTERNET SERVICE COUNTRY WIDE, SINCE THE LAST TIME THIS UDP GOVERNMENT WERE IN OFFICE!

We are a small country, but still after 20 years of trying, by both political party governments, we still have no national internet service in Belize our country. All the internet providers, still cater only to population density hotspots. Mostly district capitals. We did receive an international fiber optic cable but that belongs to only one internet provider and is restricted to use for population density hotspots, where DSL can be offered. There was an alleged upgrade from copper wire telephone lines, to cell type telephone radio service, some years ago, but that turned out to be a cheaper way of doing things, for less capital investment and much higher profits when the telephone system turned from copper wire, monthly fixed rates, to by the minute pre-paid type, radio transmission cell phone calls. Much more profitable for those telecommunications providers, who had less capital investment, less maintenance, smaller overheads and very much higher profits. It is not unusual for the main internet provider to suck out $30 to $60 million a year in clear profits. ( That is another political lack story of itself! ) In a population of 300,000 of which 80% are under 15 years of age. Most of which telecommunications profits are not even re-invested in the country for development, but taken offshore to invest in other countries. Most rural district people are using satellite systems, if they can afford and arrange it, but the USA satellite provider only allows those in the continental USA and the use of satellite systems within the country of Belize is more of a bootleg operation. If you are not an upper middle class person and do not have relatives in the USA and a USA credit card, then the use of satellite is not an option. Nowadays, software and business operations have become so bandwidth intensive, satellite users in Belize with serious business intentions cannot even use the satellite systems, because while the download speeds and bandwidth are good enough for emails and text messages, the upload bandwidth limitations eliminate any serious business requiring internet within Belize for the international arena. One photograph can bog down a satellite system for 5 or 10 minutes. Imagine those businesses in Belize trying to work with hundreds of photographs or data programs by the second ? Investment firms are stymied, due to the requirement of rapid contact via internet systems. Farmers and producers are also stymied in the rural areas, because they cannot expand their businesses, or even start new ones, as without good telecommunications trying to communicate and find information, or give it to international customers is such a dreary mind boggling fight, most just give up, or restrict themselves to business things that do not require fast telecommunications. The government itself cannot even provide reliable telephone service to the capital of Belmopan bureaucracies and citizens. It is faster to take a horse and wagon to the capital and deal with a government bureaucrat, over the counter, than trying to telephone. That kind of system is not development conducive. The country of Belize is suffering development growth, from lack of a decent telecommunications provider.
Since this problem has existed from since the last time the UDP ( our current government ) was in office, ( 15 years ago ) you would kind of think a political solution would have been found, or bids offered for a foreign investor to supply national internet DSL and telephone service here in Belize by now. Alas! Even though this is the second time around for the UDP government of the day, with a 10 year hiatus of the PUP government in between; they our current government leadership are no further along today in solving the problem of supplying telecommunications to the whole nation of Belize. In fact, it does not even seem to be on their UDP CABINET priority lists? No mention is mentioned of the development problem, and if you do not debate the issue in Cabinet, then you cannot either find a solution.
Sad to say, while there are difficulties, the biggest one is lack of political leadership by both mainstream political parties during their time in government. We seem to be plagued with elected officials who are driven by self enrichment schemes, rather than elected officials who want to develop our nation. As in any generalizations, there are the odd exception to the rule. In the meantime, Belizeans in the districts with a yen to be entrepreneurs and businessmen who wish to expand, are simply ground down by lack of telecommunications service. Politicians and bureaucrats get salaries, and work nine to five with perks of all kinds, what do they care about the private sector public, except when tax revenue receipts fall off endangering their bureaucratic fiefdoms. There is a reason for low GDP percentages, high national debt to GDP ratios and the factual resemblance to a sleepy tropical African style country. Most of the problem is pure political, or lack of political work. This is an opinion article piece.

AFTER 18 MONTHS OF GOVERNING, THE UDP IS FAILING BELIZE?

The failing leadership of Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize, after his first 18 months in office of a five year term.



BELIZE UDP GOVERNMENT- 18 MONTH REVIEW

So where do we the public see things from the outside looking into government performance under the UDP? In a general sense this is A FAILED UDP GOVERNMENT, after 18 months. Leadership is sadly lacking. Barrow the Prime Minister and party leader is saddled with a bunch of elected representatives that would not even get hired as drain cleaners in San Ignacio. They lack experience, business sense and some sort of cosmopolitan travel experience. For all that, ex-PUP leader Said Musa was mostly regarded as a crook and swindling double crosser, at least he LED the country as best he could on an active weekly basis. Not like this party leader of the UDP. PUP Musa at least did not hide the bad news, or hide statistics. He was not afraid when things were going wrong and explained as best he could and came up with PUP team new ideas.
Dean Barrow is our new leader of course and he still has 44% on his report card, a failing grade. Mostly to do with his using the government machinery to blow smoke and mirrors and deceive the public on the prosecutions against his enemies in the Opposition party. Both Fonseca and Musa, arch alleged criminals of the previous PUP Musa administration have been prosecuted. It doesn’t look like the prosecutions are going anywhere? Musa is not expected to go to jail and neither is Fonseca. Without jail terms, the prosecutions look more like political vendettas and smoke and mirrors, to make believe Barrow is doing something for the gullible public consumption and party propaganda. This plays better down in the port town, where they like courthouse soap opera, but the townies don’t decide elections anymore. In the districts we are not so easily fooled. On the prosecutions of Musa and Fonseca, Prime Minister Dean Barrow and now considered publicly, a ‘failed lawyer’, gets a report card of F – ( minus ). What it looks like and the newspapers are reporting this, that while we the gullible public taxpayers are being snowed with a con job of court cases down in the port city, by Dean Barrow and his UDP party government, against Musa and Fonseca, he himself and his extended family, most particularly Louis Young his ex-wife the newspapers claim, are into self enrichment schemes at government expense. The country of Belize is loaded with capable lawyers, but only his ex-wife and fellow townies are getting all the government court cases it seems like, according to weekend newspaper reporters. The numbers are probably not accurate but legal fees for the Barrow and Young entourage are being quoted as around $12 million over the past year, for us public taxpayers to pay in increased taxes. For a report card on self enrichment schemes to do with legal shenanigans I would give Dean Barrow, our lawyer/Prime Minister a report card score of A +++.
All I know is what I read in the many weekend newspapers.
There is the very mysterious and suspicious cases of self-admitted embezzlements and fraud by Nadia Garcia and Glen Godfrey of the last PUP administration. Supposedly over $120 million that disappeared offshore in one scam, or another. Many minor types of frauds also using the DFC were committed of which there have been no court cases. The most serious and most blatant were done by Nadia Garcia who admitted in Senate Hearings that were televised, she signed illegal fraudulent documents, and Glen Godfrey who has been cashing out his assets in Belize and gone into exile abroad someplace with his alleged millions. The most alarming thing about Nadia Garcia and Glen Godfrey, and what looks like open and shut criminal cases, have not been prosecuted by this UDP government under our LAWYER PRIME MINISTER, Dean Barrow at all. In this case then, the accusations on television by ex-Prime Minister Musa claiming political persecution seem factual. At least in this one case he is being prosecuted on?
What we get as a picture of 1 ½ years of UDP government under Dean Barrow the leader, is a perception that he himself is almost as crooked in dealing with us voters and taxpayers as Musa was, and that when Musa claims these court cases are smoke and mirrors, to blind us public voters of what is really going on, one has to believe the words of the alligator, when he tells us what is happening on the river bottom in the mud. As an honest leader, Dean Barrow as Prime Minister gets a failing grade of 44% out of a 100 so far.
There are the case of increased national debt by this UDP government, led by Dean Barrow the Prime Minister. The ratings are mixed on this, but while debt wise, we consider the additional borrowing to be stupid and worth a failing grade, on the other hand going into three years of 2008, 2009 and 2010 where the predictions were for a declining GDP and reducing government revenues, due mostly to outside world circumstances; the fact that he ( Barrow ) is seemingly spreading out the disbursements and activities to do with spending the borrowed money over 2008, 2009 and 2010, would give him a passing grade. I would do the same myself knowing what we can expect from outside world economic shrinkage. I would give him a passing mark on this, probably worth about 75% right now, but higher marks if he succeeds in stretching the $200 + odd million borrowed money into 2011, when a recovery of sorts in tax revenues is expected to start rising again. For a report card I would say a balance of 50-50. Mainly because the game has still to be played out.
The most glaring failure are the prosecutions of Musa and Fonseca. This because without a jail term for either individual, then the whole government expense and exercise looks like just poppy show to distract the public voters and taxpayers from the economic situation. The worst part is that the so called $10 or $20 million Bz or USA, the court cases are about, are to do with Belize Bank, and the bank has already announced that the debt clock is running and the interest is mounting and if not this UDP government, or then the NEXT government will have to pay the bank a second time. Because of interest charges, this is expected to double, or triple the amount we THE TAXPAYERS are going to be dunned for, to cover the private games that the current Prime Minister is playing with his court cases and self enrichment schemes allegedly for his extended family. This makes Barrow’s decisions look ineffectual and stupid and EXPENSIVE for us voter/taxpayers. Great for getting personally rich, but lousy from our public viewpoint.
On the UDP good side, the Agriculture Department is doing well. Foreign GRANTS are doing well, whoever the writers are? Most of the government bureaucracy seems in chaos and dysfunctional. This probably is to be expected with reducing government revenues for the next couple of years, adding in the government job switches for party hacks and relatives. The only department I have had anything to do with, that seems to work, is the traffic licensing department.
Generally speaking government operations are about even on the score card expectations, because of the world economic downtown and the ripple effects. The UDP government would look a lot better if they explained things and the realities of money and capabilities. They have however seemingly put a freeze on statistical reporting? The real BAD spots are the mis-information we are being fed on Barrow’s personal vendettas to do with legal cases. He sure looks like a dumb lawyer? You wouldn’t want to hire him to represent you for sure. As a politician he is in his prime, on top of his game. As a lawyer he looks very poor. As an actual business leader for developing Belize he seemingly lacks ideas. Doesn’t seem to have a clue?
Do the PUP stand a chance to come back next term? Probably not, but you never know? Briceno the new PUP party leader has public suspicions against him, about taking oil lease bribes when he was in office and we will not know how that turns out until the campaigning for next term gets closer. Unless Briceno is squeaky clean in the bribe department, I don’t think he will stand a chance and nor in extension his PUP. A third party would stand a good chance under the leadership of that Belmopan crowd, but the independents can’t seem to organize themselves on a national scale. I think if there was a viable third party, us majority swing voters would throw the bums out of office of both existing national political parties.
UDP Edmund Castro came into publicity again. Seems he has rebuilt the $4 ½ million dollar taxpayer cost causeway in his constituency again, but with private sector funds at a cost of $1 ½ million or so. What we taxpayer/voters want to know is, where did the money come from? Does the income tax department know? How does he legally block the drainage of a wetlands? While you wouldn’t want Edmund Castro to build you anything, because he doesn’t plan properly the foundation work, you have to admire his desire to do well by his constituency come hell or high water. The PUP are claiming that the new causeway will wash away, as it was built with mud from the lagoon and has no culverts. Should be an interesting thing to watch this rainy season? The UDP supposedly built Hillview suburb out here where I live. We don’t have street culverts here either. Well we do in one or two places, but we probably need six or so more for rainy season.
UDP Rene Montero my area representative continues to do his best in the agriculture portfolio. I’m pleased with his performance there.
UDP Melvin Hulse has yet to prove himself out in Western Belize with his Transportation portfolio. We only got on his case a month or so ago, about the failure to provide public bus transportation to the border immigration post from Benque Town is detrimental to tourism development. Usually it takes politicians three years to do what a private sector person can do in three days. So he has time yet to perform in his portfolio. The thing is, in the tourist business, we note that things are picking up for the Summer High Season and the tourist season here is already starting. It is URGENT we get public bus transportation to the Western Border somehow for our tourism industry. From now ( mid June ) to the end of August is our summer HIGH SEASON. We hope UDP Melvin Hulse can do something more quickly than normal. We will judge him by performance, which will reflect on his UDP. If the lack of bus service continues through our mini summer tourist HIGH SEASON, then come the DEAD FALL months, we shall come down with unrelenting bad publicity for the UDP prior to the Winter High Tourist Season, starting December. This will be in the international and local media. We need prompt results to build this country, leadership examples, not a lot of talking and excuses. Watching and waiting for the next ten weeks of our summer tourist high season, to see what the UDP do, or do not do.

FIREARM WEAPONS LAWS IN BELIZE

* Taking aim at the third floor rooftop to scare the pigeons away. They defecate all over the place up there if you let them
* Slingshot to scare off birds.

The laws in Belize on weapons are strange to say the least. About 20 years or more ago, my Daisy children's BB pistol got stolen on Caye Caulker. I used to try and scare off the flocks of crows that would pull up my watermelon plant transplants under the coconut trees. The crows were a darned nuisance. Could never hit one, but they would fly off for fifteen minutes. Since then new laws on weapons have been passed. Did you know that some lawyer was telling me, that to even have a Child's BB Daisy air pistol in your possession in Belize, would mean INSTANT incarceration in the primitive HATTIEVILLE prison cages. Probably for two months or more on remand, while you wait for a court date. Then you would be fined $10,000 not counting ammunition, like BB's. So much for each. Talk about ridiculous. That is what we get for letting lawyers run political parties in Belize.
Anyway, I wanted to buy a new replacement Daisy BB pistol, but after the warning and legal advice, decided to buy a $1 sling shot from the store instead. Both BB's from toy air guns and pebbles from sling shots travel too slow, too fool birds. At any rate, the white doves and many pigeons of my neighbor, who like to roost on the rafters of FALCONVIEW BACKPACKERS ADVENTURE HOSTEL in Western Belize, third top floor wooden apartment, see the pebbles coming and fly off long before they get any pebble even closer than 20 feet away from them. Cleaning up their shit is no joke!
Co-incidently this morning in looking at yesterday's TV news, the Forestry Officer and Belize Defense Unit patrol at a legal licensed XATE harvesting operation in a jungle bivouac, were showing on television, them confiscating a similar SLINGSHOT to mine, ( it had two extra surgical tube rubbers though ) from the Jungle XATE collector. Go figure! Is this UDP port townie run government nuts or what?

SWISS and GERMAN couple stay at Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel

* Patricia and Marcus - GOOD LUCK TO THEM!
* Swiss German Patricia Degen driving the side car German motorcycle
* Marcus Jacob German in the sidecar.

This couple have an interesting story. They have been on the road around the world exploring for 18 months. They had even helicoptered into the wild mountains last July of the Russian KAMCHATKA Peninsular. A notoriously forbidden terrain with wild Siberian climate and rugged mountains. They took 40 days to hike out to civilization. Recently they flew into San Francisco California from India. They had explored the Indian continent and climbed mountains in Nepal over 16,000 feet. It gets really hard to breathe up that high alone, never mind carrying backpacks. In California they bought this 2005 German sidecar motorcycle and are on their way through Central America and South America ending up they hope in Brazil eventually. I hadn't seen a motorcyle like this since World War 2. Here in Western Belize they went to the ATM cave trip and are now going to stay with some German speaking old style, survivalist type Mennonites in Barton Creek.

Sean Steinberg stays both at Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel and Tina's Backpackers Hostel in Belize

Sein Steinberg of Cape Coral staying at Falconview Backpackers Adventure Hostel

Sean Steinberg is off to take in the ATM ( Actun Tunichil Muknal ) underground rugged explorers cave trip, a mile to the sacrifical site at the entrance to the Mayan Underworld, XIBALBA today. Sean is from Cape Coral, Florida and will be flying out of Guatemala City on Thursday. He wants to see TIKAL tomorrow and climb the volcano around Antigua on Wednesday. I recommended he take the buses to Tikal tomorrow morning and catch a bus back to Flores in the Peten for the night and a bus from Santa Elena Town in the Peten, bus station and catch the EXPRESS bus to Antigua going the back way on paved roads through the scenic mountains. Lots of hairy hairpins up there and beautiful, via Xayache, Coban and so forth to Antigua, missing Guatemala City entirely. Save him a vacation day and much better. Sean is a boat captain for supply vessels to the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, with a month on and a month off work at a time. We gave him breakfast FREE, as tourists tend to sleep in and miss a meal when Pacz Tours picks them up early for the ATM tour. They get weak in the knees climbing around rugged cliffs in the pitch black inside a mile underground.
We've been dead around here for at least two weeks and a bit, but looks like SEAN is the forerunner of our summer high season. Reports from Caye Caulker are that business is picking up for the summer. Sean stayed at Tina's Backpackers Hostel on the Caye Caulker beach and arrived from there by bus yesterday out here. Tina's is my daughter's hostel on the barrier reef island.

50 YEARS POLITICAL REVIEW OF BELIZE

Belize is a parliamentary democracy. The democracy part ends after the voting in National elections for five years. Justice is basically a flip of a coin, 50 - 50. If you can pay for justice, you get off.
The Supreme Court is considered entertainment like a Soap Opera in the port town.
Supreme Court Building in the port town. It is not located in the capital of the country.



50 year REVIEW OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF BELIZE

This is an opinion piece, delivered from living through the past 50 years. Belize has gone from a British Colony to an independent country, courtesy of the United Nations unanimous vote, with one abstentation by our neighbor Guatemala back at Independence in 1982.

How have we done? The masses of the population are learning how politics works. What has evolved so far, are two dominant parties with national ability to contest elections. There are a number of independent candidates, but so far none have won any seats in the parliament during national elections.

Since the UDP party has come back into power, the number of elected representatives believed to be criminals in the winning party is roughly 20%. During the last PUP two terms of office, the number of criminals that were elected representatives ran about 25%. The number of elected representatives have increased due to population growth and political skullduggery of unequal voting divisions of the port town people, ensuring the port town of Belize City retain control of the central government.

Some government departments are still not doing so good after fifty years, despite changes in political party control. Currently it takes One Year to qualify for permanent residency for an immigrant, but 2 ½ years for bureaucratic red tape processing, making Permanent Residency for foreign immigrant investors a very slow process of 3 ½ years. The citizenship process takes 5 years to qualify for citizenship of permanent living in Belize ( except if you are a billionaire and can pay a big bribe to the Cabinet Minister of Immigration for a more speedy processing ) After you qualify for citizenship, it takes 3 ½ years to do the red tape bureaucratic processing to get your citizenship, which means a total time of 8 ½ years to an applicant. Many things are not capable of being achieved in land development, without citizenship for immigrant developers.

These opinions are derived mostly from either first hand experience, or reading of the flow of investigative reporting from the weekly newspapers.

This past week, a NEW alarming trend has occurred in land title security. The land system has been one based on first acquiring a Lease Certificate, which in Colonial days was for 99 years, but sometime during Independence changed to 30 years. The process then required a survey and payment of money to apply for a change of a Lease Certificate to a CLEAR TITLE. In effect, between a Lease Certificate and a TITLE certificate, you paid for the land twice to the government. Last week articles in the newspapers were blaring the fact, that a local family with a LEASE CERTIFICATE , with home and possessions had her lease certificate CANCELED by the Cabinet Minister of Lands and was evicted and now homeless, after living on it and developing it for 13 years. The story was garbled, but essentially what we got was that a political switch went on, and the leased home was taken from the lease holder and sold to somebody else more politically correct and aligned, as a new lease certificate. This has rung alarm bells under this UDP government, both in the banks and among the populace, a lot of which hold a 30 year lease certificate type of possession. This has also created a storm in International investment circles as the stability of land tenure, sanctity of leases as security for bank loans and other usage change is no longer valid. In post colonial law of Belize, the Cabinet Minister of Lands has ‘discretion’. The translation means it is legal and there is factually no LAW in Belize to do with Land ownership security. Which is not only causing foreign investors to balk, but creating consternation and worry among the local populace, many of whom live on Lease Certificate type lands. Not being able to pay the purchase price twice in the current system of evaluation to go through to a clear TITLE.

Forestry department was budget emasculated back about three decades ago and has been an empty shell since then. Though the department exists and is used mostly for bribery revenues by elected representatives appointed by the incumbent party leader as Minister of Forestry, who controls the permit and license process for forest products and land usage, according to investigative reporting in the newspapers. The permit and license process is utilized in the Cabinet government system, to solicit self enrichment bribes, ( using a Cabinet Minister’s driver as a criminal cut out go between ) or to steal new viable businesses after the initial period of risk taking capital experimentation proves them successful.

The last PUP government experimented with debt financing and ran the national debt ratio up to 127 % of GDP. They were re-elected to a second term to settle due debts crippling the country and went on a five year austerity program which reduced the national debt to 72% of GDP. The new UDP Government has gone on a new BORROW and SPEND experiment and so far as is known, the debt ratio has risen from 72% of GDP, to 78% of GDP in the second year of their 5 year UDP term. The ideal is less than 3% of GDP for a well run government. The UDP government now in power has frozen financial monthly reporting and the public is left guessing, because of secrecy. There is no financial transparency, or accountability anymore. These are just election buzzwords, which are hot air and plain political party lies.

There were some scandals in the last PUP administration due to LOAN grants from both Taiwan and Venezuela to help Belize with problems. The new UDP government controlled by two lawyers in the Cabinet and some port city wild card area representatives, have spent a bit over a year with endless political vendettas and court cases. Nobody is sure why, instead of governing efficiently? The previous Prime Minister of the PUP used some of the grants to correct some of his borrowing mistakes by using foreign GRANTS, to clear the debts before the end of his term. The new UDP government is prosecuting him for malfeance and it is looking to be a political shell game. Unless they send the previous Prime Minister to jail for twenty years, the whole charade seems to be smoke and mirrors. Failure to send him to jail is going to increase the money, the arguments are about, to double or triple what was originally owed under the PUP. The actual extra debt cost being run up, will probably double the PUP original debt under this UDP. The whole legal exercise means NOTHING, unless they can put the previous Prime Minister in jail. The debts continue to increase exponentially. The whole political party legal show seems to be an orchestrated SOAP OPERA to hide the failures of administration. There seems no financial sense to what is going on.

In the meantime, the bank that was paid off with Foreign Grants for loaning money to the previous PUP government, is being forced to give back the money to this UDP government. Articles in the newspapers indicate that this money, or part of it, is being dished out under the disguise of poverty housing, but newspaper allegations are; that in reality it is being awarded to UDP area representatives, bureaucrats, middle class party hacks and supporters in $60,000 GRANTS each. And POOF, so will disappear $18 million dollars or so of foreign GRANT MONEY, into the greedy clutching hands of a new political party in power. The rhetoric is for poverty alleviation, but seems worthless propoganda? The previous debts in the situation are now being re-started by the bank and the interest cost is running. Expected to double the old PUP debt mistakes by the end of term, of this UDP government. The government following this one, will end up taxing the masses to pay for the alleged corruption, according to newspaper articles.

The PUP debt exacerbated by the new debts of the UDP, are expected to continue out for 20 more years. As time progresses and these interest payments are wasted and not available for development, the DEBT PRINCIPAL continues to remain and not be reduced. The National Debts are now projected out for 30 years under UDP management, instead of 20 years.

The lesson from this, for FOREIGN AID donors to Belize, is NOT TO GIVE ANY MONEY to our government directly. Funnel your donations and GRANTS through NGO’s, or establish your own AID programs in Belize. Neither the PUP, or the UDP governments are to be trusted with money coming as FREE GRANTS. Without outside supervision and control, the money will be filched. Corruption is rife in the system of government we use in Belize, which is the British colonial exploitation system of Empire. Some incoming GRANTS are working with the government, in the field of education and scholarships. The TAIWANESE agriculture program is an excellent method of seeing foreign GRANT money does the work it is intended for. The FAO GRANT funded habenero project went well it is reported, done through an individual buyer. The rice system run by CARDI seems a loser, as complaints from rice farmers in Toledo District say neither the quantity of rice they grow increases, despite being forced to change rice seed each year, nor does the rice price increase.

The only government department seemingly working well, is the Agriculture Department, which has seen a policy shift by this new UDP government and a lot of new jobs and expertise is being channeled into productive endeavors and export marketing. The Agriculture College has reopened and the UN FAO are giving GRANTS for education and experimentation, to increase local agriculture productivity. For the most part this is a mixed bag of Foreign GRANTS going more to individuals and NGO’s, not directly to the Government. It seems to be working?

There is a lot of activity in the legal system of courts. The public has come to the conclusion this is a CASH COW milking machine. Nothing is being accomplished, even though a lot of news, articles in newspapers and television coverage is given by lawyers who are getting RICH. There is a three tier court system and the legal milking machine, finds a case is judged at the lower levels one way, then for more money and time, going in an appeal to the second level of courts, the judgments are reversed, then in the final cycle of the money machine, another higher court then reverses sometimes, the decision again. You may find justice for a million dollars in costs, but unlikely for the general public, who cannot afford the system of lawyers and court processes. The public has given up with the court system, which seems over priced and totally corrupt. Justice is now being dealt in Belize, at the end of a gun, by hired assassins. Especially by the lower level population that cannot afford lawyers and to go through the LEGAL MILKING MONEY MACHINE. One attempt was reported to have been made to form MURDER INCORPORATED and formalize justice by force, using the police wilder element, but blew up in newspaper investigations, involving the Chinese community. There have been many successful assassinations privately done, reported in the newspapers for matters involving inheritance, vendettas and business problems. No one with any smarts and can afford it, is going to waste time on the lawyer/court three tier money making machine. As the population grows, this trend of seeking justice by gun, is expected to increase. Murder satisfaction costs are running a few thousand dollars or less, to settle what otherwise would be legal arguments.

Despite all these maturing growing pains, Belize continues to be an excellent place to live, if you live OUTSIDE the port of Belize City, in the other rural districts. The climate is great, the food easy, shelter easy and most people are nice to get along with. The population continues to be an incoming immigrant population, or people moving around the country seeking opportunity. There is a lot of population mobility. The middle class has grown in size, showing a successful result of governing, despite problems. Belize is an excellent place to RETIRE. The negative aspects of some government departments and political exploitation, effect the ordinary person, minimally. Most of the crime is to do with the money making aspects, of political elected representatives. Politics seems to be still the biggest employer and source of criminal activity in the country. Though the way it is arranged in the inherited Commonwealth British governing system, most of these activities are technically legal. This does not give much satisfaction to the victims of persecution, or when they are taken advantage of, using the political system. Most citizens of Belize try to stay small and insignificant, below the radar of government opportunism. Local investors stay small of necessity, otherwise you become a target. Belize is otherwise a pleasant rural place to live for the good family life.

The Belize National Debt size is the most worrisome thing affecting the country of Belize. This has been created by the amateurishness of our political party system. Of the many ideas to resolve the debt, holding back development of the country and government size, one idea I heard discussed the other day, was the consolidation of all foreign debts into a new set of BONDS, to be issued as replacement of bonds and current foreign debts, at an interest rate of USA Bank Prime rate, PLUS one percent. This to bring our foreign debts more in line with the industrialized world new financial system of low interest rates. We in the developing world can copy the more first world industrialized countries, in finding solutions. It is interesting to note that mortgage interest rates throughout the whole Caribbean region are now less than 10%. Signifying a readjustment of the New World Order in financial interest rate expectations. Interest rates in the G7 have shrunk remarkably. The third world though are stuck now, with what are now extra high interest rates carried over and need to re-finance, to re-adjust to the G7 norms in those countries that lead the world in financial manipulation. No third world country should be paying more than 3% on any debt these days, at a maximum. 3% interest rate today in this world financial climate is over paying actually.