And while he visited the farm, the Mesop area rep is accusing him of not visiting the gang ridden area. Over the past couple weeks, there have been a number of gang related murders in that area, which led Shyne Barrow to call out the ministry for not giving proper attention to the growing number of deaths.
Musa stated that in fact, he has been on the ground, he just didn't feel the need to bring the flashing cameras along.
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"With the member from Mesopotamia and I would try my best to be kind but let me take out what I think he was trying to say and to which I have no problem with. I think he was calling for us to have a united front against crime and I absolutely welcome that but at the same time I must insert a caveat that I am looking for solutions, not attention. I'm not an attention seeker so I did go on the ground last week, I met with some of the residents on the area, I might not have called out the media to come because I don't think that is necessary, you can still do a lot of good work without calling on the media every single time you do it. But in terms of the crime situation that is taking place, you might have noticed that there is increased presence and patrols in the area but at the end of the day, crime is not something that can just be solved with police presence and that kind of thing, we do have to get going on our Plan Belize initiatives when it comes to education, you don't find that young people who have invested in themselves, who have graduated from high school or sixth form, these are not the young men pulling the trigger, and so that to me is at the heart of it, we have to ensure that our young men and women stay in school, and if they cannot stay in school, we have to find a way to get them into ITVET program, social program, and at the end of the day, transition them into employment, I think at the end of the day, if you ca get those things included, which are all a part of Plan Belize, then you will see a reduction in crime."
EMT's: Frontliners and First Responders
Emergency Medical Technicians across the country are getting a bit of recognition with "EMS" week.
EMTs are those medical professionals who are the first responders to multiple traumatic events and make sure you survive get to the hospital alive.
It's an under-appreciated but critical link between life and death.
And this week is packed with events for those frontliners and first responders who - one well known EMT, Javier Canul - says do not receive the acknowledgment they deserve.
Javier Canul, EMT
"This week we're honoring all EMTs in in honor of EMS week. EMTs are people who do pre hospital care in the back of an ambulance. And this week we have several activities going on. Yesterday we had interviews on radios, today we did interviews on radios but more importantly we're having an open day in Belmopan where we have ambulance services from Southern Emergency Services, we might have BERT, and we have Belmopan Emergency Services. We're having an open day where everybody can go into the ambulance, walk around, see, check the equipment. We're doing free blood pressure check, sugar checks, and consultation to know a little bit about the ambulance and what they do."
"We are lie doctors in the field, we do what we all pre hospital care and there are times when there's chain and every chain has a link and the first link if somebody gets hurt, lets say somebody gets hurt, you see, you call, you're the first link because you make that call. The second link would be anybody else who get there, and the second link would be more or likely us. We get there, we take over the patient, and we play a role, the we get the patient, alive to the hospital, doing all that we should do, by god's grace, and then we get them the nurse and the doctor and everybody else."
"There's not a shortage of EMTs, in fact because people, or the general public or the government does not recognize the need or of the use of EMTs, plus financial constraints, we have a lot of EMTs who are unemployed. So we have EMTs working on ambulances, working at oil companies, working with sugar companies, doing accompaniment in tourism, EMTs who use the EMT platform to become a doctor. In fact one of the greatest things I am proud of t say is that we have a gynecologist, Dr Gene Arana, who was first an EMT who made his way up the ladder."
Other events happening throughout the week include a luncheon and a volunteer day.
Medical Professionals Not Happy
We know all about the PSU and the BNTU on strike…but now, a joint press release from BMDA, the Nurses Association, The Pharmacists Association, and the Association of Clinical Laboratory Science of Belize states that they are lending their support to the joint unions.
They feel as though they are not being adequately represented and that they have sacrificed for years - way before talks of salary cuts. Now, they are demanding good governance and until they get those pieces of legislation passed in the House, they will not be working at full capacity - a form of go slow across all associations. The release ends by stating quote, "There is no point in putting coins in a pocket with holes." End quote.
Union Calls For Audit Of Area Reps' Community Vote
And the pockets that the joint unions want to look into are those int he pants of area representatives.
The monthly community vote and constituency office allowance goes directly into their personal accounts.
And that's what the joint unions want audited. That community vote has never been audited.
PSU President Henry stated that most of the time, it's not being used for its intended purposes. Here's how he put it.
From Weatherman, To Climatologist, To Diplomat
He rose to national renown as a weatherman, then a climate scientist, but, now, Ambassador Carlos Fuller, is a diplomat, Belize's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Yesterday at the UN headquarters in New York, Ambassador Fuller presented his credentials to His Excellency, António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN. He also delivered greetings on behalf of the new Governor-General, Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Courtenay, and the Government and people of Belize.
While receiving Ambassador Fuller's credentials, the Secretary-General noted that Belize has played a major role in the UN system by furthering the interests of small island and low-lying developing states, climate change, and oceans.
Yesterday's event was a ceremonial presentation and a photo opportunity because Ambassador Fuller had already presented his official credentials via the UN's e-portal system on March 31, 2021, after his arrival in New York.
New Transport Boss
There's also a new Chief Transport Officer in the Department of Transport.
She's Dian Vasquez, who hold a master's degree from the Australian National University in Diplomacy and Environmental Management and Development. A release from the Ministry of the Public Utilities, Energy and Logistics says she also has experience in policy planning, research, and management.
She's seen here with the Minister of Public Utilities Rodwell Ferguson,, and his CEO, Marconi Leal Jr.
Vacancies Filled In a Time of Austerity
And while that post is no longer vacant, several others have also been filled at the Ministry of Home Affairs. But while there was speculation that these were unnecessary hires during austere times, the Minister says it's quite the contrary. He explained that those posts had been vacant and needed to be filled by civilians.
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"At the Racoon street Police Station, before our administration took office, there was already the camera surveillance operation taking place. Throughout Belize City we have a number of cameras, I believe it's a total of 22 cameras, and so these 6 camera operators, we were hoping to get 12 because they have to do it on a rotation basis, but they've only been able to fill the vacancies because the post were vacant, we have filled them with 6 camera monitor operators."
Reporter:
"So people cannot accuse you of these additional hires?"
Hon. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs
"I did not fire the people that were there, I do not know why they left, but the post was vacant, and so we had to fill those because somebody has to monitor the cameras, it is a civilian post, not a police operated post, so we had to fill those vacancies. Like I said there were 12, but because of the financial circumstances, we've only been able to fill them with six surveillance operators at this time, and it's full time, it's not six months."
Latest COVID Numbers
Earlier in the news, we told you about the COVID-19 contact tracing that is being conducted at the Princess Casino, and at the Belize City schools where new cases of COVID-19 have shown up.
Well, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has provided the COVID report for today's countrywide surveillance. The Ministry says that out of 645 tests that were conducted, only 3 new COVID-19 patients were identified. But, there are now 3 active hospitalizations due to the virus.
Here is a more detailed breakdown from the Ministry's information officer:
We note that while today's results say three new positives, another government release points to four: a 12-year-old Wesley student and three students at Wesley Lower ages 10, eight and seven.
Grazed to the Head, Shot to the Rib Cage
21- year-old Norman Cayetano was shot last night while at home in Seine Bight Village. It happened at about 7:45 when Cayetano was approached from behind his house by a man who fired at his home.
Cayetano was grazed to the right side of the head and received a gunshot to the rib cage.
He was later transported first to the Placencia Polyclinic and later to the Southern Regional Hospital where he is listed in a stable condition.
