Before being born baby NHI has died! Last week, on August 13th, 2010 to be more specific, the Private Hospitals who supply delivery services to the NHI for expecting mothers of the South-side Belize City got a Memo from the Social Security Board/NHI informing them, that in accordance to contract they were  being given ninety days notice before these services would no longer be required .  The effective date for the termination of delivery services is November 12, 2010. This alarming announcement is sending red flags all over Belize City among suppliers of services to the NHI. Suppliers of services to the NHI are wondering if this is the beginning of the dismemberment of the NHI. When we contacted one of the owners of a Pharmacy, she said it is very disturbing what is happening. After all the investment these suppliers have done to service the NHI, the last thing they need is to have their contracts ended. Suppliers: pharmacies, labs, clinics, etc are all nervous with this announcement as this augurs bad for their businesses. This, they say, will affect their ability to keep personnel employed and will affect the viability of the businesses.  However, we wonder here at the Belize Times what will the patients and residents of the south-side say when they learn about this decision. What will our expecting mothers of Belize south-side say when they learn that they will no longer be able to access the services at the private hospitals? This means that expecting mothers of the South-side Belize City, who could access delivery services from Private Medical Institutions like Belize Medical Associates and Belize Health Partners, while paying only a small co-payment, will no longer be able to do so.  Effective November 12, delivery services through the NHI will cease!  You will have to go to the Karl Huesner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) says the memo and pay the current rates. When the PUP envisioned the NHI it was always with the idea of increasing services and expanding the coverage. Another e-mail sent out to the Primary Health Care Providers (PCPS) on the same date and by the same person informed these health care providers that referrals should no longer be made to the Private Hospital for deliveries as monies were being re-allocated to address the Nutritional problems facing the Southern region of the country. Reliable sources tell ...

Run for the Hills… Pack up your meager belongings, throw your womenfolk over your shoulder and run for the hills – the mosquitoes are coming, the mosquitoes are coming! Oh wait, the mosquitoes have been here for a long time, and so has dengue. Even Jules had some serious comic relief at the expense of those nincompoops at the Ministry of Health and the KHMH who’ve just now realized that there is dengue in Belize, and in outbreak proportions. Boss, we’ve known that for months, don’t you all watch the news. Now, only now do these people realize that there is a serious problem with dengue after several deaths have been reported. I guess now the powers that be are goinbg to move into gear and deploy the sprayers and start dealing with the problem. Oh how secure that makes us feel, about 4 months after the fact. Bunch of idiots! We’ve done a little discreet digging to discover how the guys at the MoH and KHMH realized that there was dengue in Belize, and here’s what we found out. Remember the story we ran last week about the guy from Concepcion who was taken to the hospital in Corozal with dengue and they couldn’t treat him because they had no equipment? Well it appears that he is related to the Minister’s main squeeze (his wife, not the other one). So we figure his wife found out about it at the family dinner table this Sunday and promptly went home and told Naco about it. Wanting to impress or appease her, he immediately called the Ministry and directed them to check out the dengue thing and there you have it – a press conference announcing a dengue outbreak. Thanks guys…thanks for nothing, that is…If Da Noh Soh! ……………………….. Do we need them? As I understand it, the UDP City Council has issued a proclamation that it is the responsibility of citizens to keep the street area in front of their houses spic and span. Okay then. Just this morning the confused fellow and the idiot with the hundred year old face and 20 year old hair were on WAVE’s morning show and I had the great misfortune to tune in. ...

The UDP Cabinet of political and intellectual dunces is not only considered a joke and a farce by many Belizeans, but this week will go down in the archives as this newspaper’s Hypocrites of the Week. Collectively, the Cabinet holds tremendous decision making power in the country, and with that power a tremendous responsibility to the people of this nation. That body of dim-bulbs has taken all our people for fools and is running Belize into the ground. While so many issues have been hitting Belizeans daily, the Cabinet has remained for the most part blind, deaf and mute. Our people have been faced with a crippling economic recession, rising cost of living, steadily rising fuel costs, education crises, the Kendall Bridge, crises in health and allegations of corruption in almost every department and level of government. Cabinet has said nothing. When our nation was dubbed the murder capital of the world by the Economist, Cabinet said nothing. As grenades exploded in our streets and Belizeans experienced a new era of urban terrorism, Cabinet said nothing. As our young men were gunned down daily and innocent victims lay paralyzed by stray bullets, our Cabinet said nothing. Despite week after week of the most stunning revelations of misappropriation of funds and corruption in the Belize City Council, Cabinet said nothing. Even now the City Council is embroiled in the latest round of scandal and missing money, and Cabinet has said nothing. So many issues, so much suffering by our people and Cabinet has said nothing. Instead, every week a sentence or two on a Cabinet release revealed that our Ministers had discussed the latest gala that would be attended by the Prime Minister abroad, or who would be acting in his absence, or World Food Day. Petty nonsense discussed by our Cabinet while our people are bombarded with critical issues. Now we understand that while our military has had to take to the streets to rein in crime, the discussion in Cabinet was about a liquor license issued to former UDP National Campaign Manager Karim Berges. We understand that while our streets are now filled with BDF soldiers wielding machine guns because our Police Department couldn’t handle the job, our Ministers were fully engaged in jostling over whether Mr. Berges should get a license or not. Our Cabinet of Hypocrites and fools should be ...

By: Mike Rudon Jr. Dean Barrow is slapping himself upside the head for those words he uttered at the UDP National Convention while under the influence of pain meds – you can take that to the bank. Magic, he said! The magic is still here. What a monumental jackass Mr. Barrow is. Not only is he a monumental jackass, but apparently he thinks we are all monumental jackasses if he can tell us that there is any magic around us thanks to his superb leadership and divinity. I guess for a moment Mr. Barrow forgot the crime crisis, the poverty crisis, the health crisis, the education crisis, the economic crisis, the tourism crisis, the sugar crisis, the citrus crisis, the garbage crisis and all the other crises currently crippling our nation, cause I’m sure I forgot a few of them. Either he forgot or I got to get me some of those pain meds he’s on, cause they’re awesome. As Cheech & Chong would say…that there’s some good s##t! The fact is that the euphoric acclamation which trumpeted the rise of the UDP to power in February 2008 is no more. In terms of the economy, a lot of people believe that we are experiencing hard times like never before. The Prime Minister cites the global recession as the be all and end all of our local crisis, but while most persons agree that it is a factor, few believe that it is the only factor. Argue up one side and down the other, but reality is that things ‘dread.’ Cost of living is high, 43% of Belizeans are below the poverty line; statistics show that there are increasing numbers of students dropping out of school because education is too expensive; our public health system has come under scrutiny after a spate of deaths allegedly caused by negligence and/or lack of basic equipment; violent crime is at an unprecedented level; our justice system is in shambles with a Director of Public Prosecutions who boasts a conviction rate of somewhere between 5% and 7% and our judicial system is under regional and international scrutiny after serious allegations of political interference and manipulation by the Executive. There is more, much more, but it’s not a pretty picture for sure. The Prime Minister may not be as aware of things as we would like him to be, but for sure he knows that things ...

SCA girls and the U-15 and U-19 Brown Bombers teams won the championship finals in each of their respective divisions of the Belize District Football Association’s summer football competition at the M.C.C. garden on Saturday, August 21. The SCA girls won 2-1 against the Ladyville Rural Strikers in Game2 of the finals to secure the championship. Kursha Pollard, Tyra Moreira, and Shahida Young led the SCA girls’ attacks, supported by Christiane Rodriguez, Courtney Duran, Shantie Castillo and Symone Foreman at mid-field. Diedra Gill, Ashley Pelayo, and Inga Woods held down the SCA defense, until they blundered into a handball error and the referee ruled penalty. Vanessa Rose stepped u to convert with aplomb and give the Rural Strikers a 1-0 lead early in the first half. Not for long, as Kursha Pollard soon found an opening in the Ladyville defense to blast the equalizer past Rural Strikers’ goalkeeper Sheraine Flores for a 1-1 draw at intermission. Ladyville’s Mertell Bailey, Janine Henry and Faith tried to regainthe initiative in the 2nd half, with the help of Kayla Sanchez, Tishana Garcia and Daniela Palacio at midfield. But the Ladyville defenders Janicka Ferguson, Angela usher, Vanessa Rose and Tanisha Ogaldez could nt contin Kursha Pollard who drilled home the winning goal. SCA’s Samari Samos,, Alexis Rosado,  Kemisha Williams and Denisha Grant joined the party to hold on to their 2-1 win. The U-15 Brown Bombers burnt Hattieville United 4-1 in Game 2 of the U-15 finals to win the championship. Devaughn Zuniga and Jarron Myvett led the Bombers’ attacks backed up by Naim Wilson, Clinton Dawson, Stephen Goff and Kenrick Card at midfield. Dijeanne Thompson blasted in the 1st goal past Hattieville’s goalie Valentine Tablada early in the 1st half. Devaughn Zuniga penetrated past the Hattieville defenders Cleon Smith, Benjamin Hyde, and Raheem Usher to add a 2nd goal before the half. In the 2nd half, Tablada managed to stop a shot by Bombers’ Naim Wilson, but the deflection fell to the feet of Devaughn Zuniga who booted it back in to lead 3-zip. Jarron Myvett’s free kick gave the bombers a 4-0 lead.. Hattieville’s  Kelker Palacio and Richard Waight were unfazed by the score and continued to press their attack with the help of Lennox Clare Aaron King, Trevaun Rhaburn and Jeffrey Buller. Bombers’ goalie Shemar Nunez fumbled the ball on a corner kick, and Armando Heron ...

Will the Minister of Police please say what has Restore Belize done thus far to address the continuing increase in violent crime in Belize City.  It has been two months since it was launched? Will the Minister of Works please say under what authority has the Ministry taken on the work of the Belize City Council to maintain  streets and drains as “Easy Glenn” Keep Belize Clean Committee? Will the Minister of Education please  tell us how many students per district benefited from the $300 subsidy and what criteria was used to select the students who received the grant Will the minister of Transport  please tell us what measures have been put in place to ensure that students living along the major highways can get to school this school year without the hassles and delays they experienced last year?