The sugar crop season is scheduled to start next week Monday January 20.  The decision by both BSI and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers’ Association follows the signing of an interim agreement Monday evening in Orange Walk Town.

The interim agreement comes after a long back and forth process of consultation by both stake holders and negotiations between the two.  After the signing of the interim agreement BSI’s CEO Jose Montalvo spoke with the media and explained that now it’s all about taking the industry forward.

 

 

BSCFA’s Alfredo Ortega said the interim agreement now serves as the binding document that will ensure payment for bagasse.

Getting to this point wasn’t easy as cane farmers felt BSI does not intend to pay for bagasse and was only playing games for them to get frustrated and eventually give up.  Montalvo said it is not so.

Initially BSI took the position to not make any payment for bagasse but in the course of two months it changed position and now legally compromised to doing so.  Montalvo said getting here wasn’t that easy.

BSI and BSCFA will not meet again with two to three weeks to start the negotiations for the quantum to be paid for bagasse to each cane farmer.   It is hoped that negotiations can conclude before the end of the harvest and delivery season this year.

Continous rain for the past week has worsened the condition of the road from Orange Walk Town to San Estevan and Progresso Village.  Pictures sent to us by residents of the area show several portions of the road under water and in some parts thick sticky mud that makes it even more difficult for vehicles to pass. 

This morning some buses could not make it through and commuters had to cross on trucks and other heavy machinery. 

Last month the high ranking officials from the Ministry of Works, the CEO included, met with residents of the area in Progresso to explain why the work on the road had stalled.  According to the CEO Errol Gentle they were waiting for money to be disbursed to the two contractors, Lopez Co. Ltd and Bella Vista Co. Ltd,  for work to restart in the area.

The rehabilitation of the approximately 15 mile long road is part of the sugar accompanying measures financed by the European Union.  The only work that has been done in the area in 18 months is the opening of drainage and elevation of the road in some sectors of the road.  

Residents have continuously expressed frustration with the delay of the work on the road as hundred of commuters use the road on a daily basis.  The road also connects Orange Walk Town to major fishing villages of Xunox, Copper Bank, and Sarteneja. 

For the past weeks thousands of teachers in Mexico have taken to the streets to show their discontent of an education reform introduced by President Enrique Pena Nieto.  On Wednesday the Mexican Senate voted in favor of the bill.  Major demonstrations have been happening in Mexico City and the states of Nayarit and neighboring Quintana Roo. 

This afternoon, the state governor Roberto Borge Angulo was caught among some angry protestor who blocked the passage of his convoy.  Things got tense but before it got out of control the governor’s bodyguards quickly jumped in and pushed away the big crowd of protestors.  Mexican media reported that the governor’s vehicle received minor damage as a result of the confrontation. 

More policemen were dispatch to in front of the State Government Palace in Chetumal where hundreds of teachers have been protesting all this week.  Mexican media report that public officers working at the government palace are unable to exit the building as teachers continue the blockage. 

Our mothers deserve better!!!

Every year around this time the question is “What can I do for Mom?” While some of us commemorate the day the second Sunday in May and some of us do so on May 10^th, whichever is the day we set aside to honor her we try to make this day a special one, or so we hope.  But I think it’s time for all of us as a nation to ask the question collectively “What can we do for our mothers?” Perhaps many Belizeans might be surprised to learn that a country as ours, with a small population and “continuous strives” in the part of our government, ranked 41^st of 79 Less Developed Countries in Save the Children’s annual ranking of conditions for motherhood.  There are three categories in which countries were separated; More developed countries (where USA ranked 31^st/44), Less developed countries (category in which Belize falls), and Least developed countries (where Afghanistan ranked last in the entire world). 

In the category in which we fall Cuba ranks No. 1 in an index that includes conditions for both mothers (maternity leave, income, life expectancy, access to contraception, maternal mortality) and children (infant mortality, education opportunities).  While Belize did much better than its regional neighbors such as Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua which ranked 68^th, 59^th and 58^th respectively, El Salvador ranked ahead of Belize at 40^th and Mexico at 23^rd while Jamaica came up 15^th among 79 countries in this category.  While Afghanistan ranked last, Norway ranked No. 1 in the entire world and the report credits the country with having the highest ratio of female-to-male earned income, the highest contraceptive prevalence rate, one of the lowest under-5-mortality rate and one of the most generous maternity leave policies in the developed world. 

Despite the fact that these are developed countries compared to Belize, I believe we are not doing enough to provide better living conditions for our mothers.  The present economic situation in our country makes it’s even harder for our single mothers who are trying to raise families in a society where crime against women is growing by the day and where public polices seem not work for them.  Our women hold fewer elected offices than their counterparts in the countries that scored better on the index and also face tougher conditions of employment where men get paid better wages for the same job performance and the list of our shortfalls continues. 

This is no way to treat our mothers.  41^st is an unacceptable place in the region! We have strived for better ranks in sports and education; I believe our mothers deserve far better conditions which are presently afforded to them.  I feel our national executive and our legislative branch should feel compelled to review public polices in areas such as health care, education and parental leave.  Our Belizean mothers should be given the basic tools they need to break the cycle of poverty which leads to many social ills and thus improve the quality of life for themselves, their children and for generations to come. 

The flowers, dinners, outings, and wine are all nice gestures but let’s not be under the illusion that we are doing enough for our Mothers. 

Thirteen others storms followed Alex before Belize was threaten once again by nature. Tropical Storm Mathew made landfall in southern Belize the last week of September but not before Hurricane Karl gave a scare to the nortenos.

Around September 11 an area of low pressure remained motionless north of Venezuela. The storm moved a little to the north causing some rain to parts of Jamaica and it was not until the 14th that the storm became more organized and was named Karl. It moved west threatening Belize and the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It was September 15 and the storm seemed to be organizing more by the hours as it moved North West.

Graphic courtesy of Wikipedia

 While Belizeans kept attentive watch of the storm, by late Wednesday September 15, it was clear Karl was making its way to Quintana Roo. Of course this was no good news for Mexicans as they prepared to commemorate Mexico’s 200th Anniversary of Independence that night. Throughout the Mexican state, anniversary celebrations were canceled for many major cities in lieu of the approaching storm. The most they experienced though was scattered flooding which evicted over a hundred families from their houses. There was some lost of power but it was soon restored.

Picture courtesy of Channel 5 News (GBP) Belize

Picture courtesy of Channel 5 News (GBP) Belize

 Back in Belize, the northern most district, Corozal, experienced nothing but intervals of light rain and squalls associated to Karl. The worst Karl did to Corozal was toppling some beach palapas and break tree branches; nonetheless NEMO Corozal was in full activation. Power was lost due to some damage to power lines coming from Mexico; however,electricity was restored by afternoon the following day.

Karl intensified quickly to a category three hurricane the following day as it entered the Bay of Campeche. It later made land fall north of Veracruz Mexico on September 17.

Graphic courtesy of Wikipedia

 Nine days after the passage of Karl once again Belize was under the threat of yet another storm – Mathew. Mathew passed over Nicaragua and Honduras before arriving to Belize as a weak Tropical Depression. While it claimed some lives in these Central American countries Belize was spared from major damages and loss of life. There was some flooding in the south of the country and like always Belize City felt the effects due to the flooded streets.

Picture courtesy of Channel 5 News (GBP) Belize

Picture courtesy of Channel 5 News (GBP) Belize

Picture courtesy of Channel 5 News (GBP) Belize

 Initially it was expected that Mathew would move north and eventually hit the south state of Florida. That did not materialized as Mathew had a mind of its own and after moving into Belize it stalled inland near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec bringing a lot of rain to the area. Mathew never did make out to the Gulf of Mexico and dissipated by the end of September.

2010 in Review

As the year comes to an end many of us tend to look back at the events that will be remembered of the year that goes by.  This year is no exception, 2010 brought its fair share of people and events, both man-made and natural, which made it on news headline and perhaps was the talk of town for some weeks, if not months.  

One of the events that perhaps will be remembered very well as it still lingers among us is the devastation caused by nature; this year being perhaps the first in the history of Belize that three storms hit the jewel in the same storm season.  While two were mild and left minimal damages to lives and structures, Hurricane Richard maybe well remembered for being the storm that hit the old capital after almost 50 years when the city was battered by Hattie. 

Now that the storm season is over and the rain has stopped, scientist are analyzing the 183 days of the season and the 2010 Hurricane Season has been considered as a hyperactive season being the most active one since 2005.  The first storm to form was Alex which formed in July, a relatively weak storm that reached category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale at one point.  

Graphic courtesy Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia 2010

The storm formed emerged as Tropical Wave in mid-June and by the 24^th it was south of Jamaica with 50 percent chances of developing into a storm.  Later that day the National Hurricane Center issued an advisory on the first Tropical Depression of the season.  Meanwhile, some 800 miles to the west, Belizeans had their eyes on the approaching storm. 

Two days after, June 26 the storm was upgraded to a tropical storm and it then gained a little more strength before it made landfall in north Belize with winds of 65 mph.  The storm caused little or no damage to infrastructure, homes, and agriculture as it pass over the North Belize District and south of Orange Walk District, a sparsely populated area.  

The most the storm brought to these areas was intervals of rain.  While some people decided to buy non perishable goods in the event the storm creates havoc, the majority of Belizeans weathered the mild storm unprepared.  As a matter of fact during the passage of the storm, many individuals living in the path of the storm opted to spend their Saturday night in the clubs and at house parties.  For the exception of certain streets in Belize City flooding out, and the national radio LOVE FM continuing its hurricane coverage, many people did not notice a storm had passed over the country.  

Photo courtesy News 5 (GBP) Belize, 2010

Nonetheless, this storm provided a good opportunity for NEMO, the National Emergency Management Organization, to test its ability to manage the country’s resources in the event of a bigger storm.  In the south of the Orange Walk district, the storm passed through the villages of Guinea Grass, and parts of August Pine Ridge and Yo Creek.  While NEMO Orange Walk remained activated for the next two days, its assessments showed no major damages except like a couple of blown zinc sheets of houses. 

By the following day, Alex was already in the Bay of Campeche and when it gained strength by June 29 it was upgraded as a category one hurricane.  Alex made landfall as a category 2 hurricane in Soto la Marina.