Black Immigrant Daily News

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. July 14, 2022According to Minister of Education, Hon. Francis Fonseca, concrete steps are currently being taken by the government to fulfill its pledge to provide free education to the students of four Southside schools as part of the “Together We Rise” education upliftment project. Minister Fonseca said today that the ministry has been engaged with these four schools in preparation for the commencement of the project in the upcoming school year.

“It’s the start of the free education policy program rollout, so it’s the pilot project for that rollout. We are starting on the Southside of Belize City with four government high schools—Gwen Lizarraga High School, Maud Williams, Excelsior, and Sadie Vernon High Schools. What this will mean for the students who attend those institutions is that they will not have to pay any tuition fees. We are also instituting in those schools, feeding programs. We’re going to provide transportation. We’re also, through our Student Welfare Unit at the Ministry of Education, engaging with the families, engaging with the school communities to make sure that we can also assist students who need basic supplies, whether it be uniforms, tennis, text (books), whatever. We’re also providing digital devices to those students who are attending those institutions,” Minister Fonseca said. 

He further stated that a major part of the project will also entail the improvement of the physical structures and facilities at those institutions—a number of which are housed in buildings that are in a state of disrepair. “It’s already budgeted for, so we have the funds available, and we are absolutely excited, and we have been engaged with all of these institutions, the principals, the boards, getting ready for the new school year,” Minister Fonseca said. 

According to Hon. Fonseca, the key aim of the project is to provide access to education for school-age children living in at-risk communities, many of whom have dropped out of school over the past two years of the pandemic. He said it is imperative that these students return to the classroom.“These are at-risk communities; these schools are in at-risk communities, vulnerable communities. Over the past few years we have seen that these schools have actually been losing students; it’s amazing. We have to invest in these schools, we have to ensure that we are increasing enrollment in these institutions and providing incentives to our students in these communities to go to school. It’s critically important, so we are very, very excited about this initiative,” Minister Fonseca said. 

A Cabinet release issued today indicated government’s support of a move by the Education Ministry to increase the maximum age at which school attendance is compulsory, from 14 to 16. The release states that while the government is aware that “this change will lead to other legislative and policy changes, it is a critical move to help to prepare Belizean students for life.”

In its release today, Cabinet also expressed support for the Belize Education Upliftment Project: Together We Rise and stated that they had been informed of the Belize National Curriculum Framework 2022. This framework’s priority is to build the competences of students from pre-primary to secondary level. The Cabinet brief said that the framework was developed after months of “consultations and focused effort.” 

This new national curriculum is expected to be rolled out for the academic year 2022-2023. Finally, on the education front, Cabinet indicated support of the Education Ministry’s projects that are geared toward addressing the developmental requirements of the University of Belize in order to enable the institution to meet its national mandate. Details of these specific projects were not released. 

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Black Immigrant Daily News

A man who is claiming $2.5 million in damages for personal injury against a Cayman company applied to the court for a part payment of USD480,000 towards the total possible damages as estimated by the man (this request for a part payment was on top of a previous, voluntary interim payment of USD350,000 paid to the man in April 2021). In its decision, the court agreed that the man had a reasonable need for a further interim payment to assist with legal and medical costs, but awarded a lower sum than requested by the man.

Accident giving rise to claim

According to the judgment for part payment delivered on July 7, 2022, the man’s claim relates to “damages resulting from personal injuries suffered on the Defendant’s premises.”

More specifically, the allegation is that, on March 25, 2017, the man was walking along an external walkway besides the exterior wall of the premises adjoining the sea shore when he stopped and bent down to observe fish in rock pools. As he stood up, he leaned towards the wall to get his balance but before his hand could make contact with the wall an uncut piece of rusty reinforcing bar or rebar jutting out of the wall broke through the right lens of his sunglasses and deeply penetrated into the area of his right eye. The man then allegedly fell to the ground, causing further injuries to his face and bleeding to his nose and right ear.

The man claims that the injuries suffered were caused by the negligence of the Cayman company and that he is entitled to general and special damages.

In response, the Cayman company has denied liability and alleged contributory negligence.

The parties have therefore agreed that negligence as to the man is 50 per cent and 50 per cent as to the Cayman company, leaving damages to be assessed.

Calculation of total damages

Bearing in mind that the Cayman company is saying that the man is 50 per cent negligent in the circumstances, the parties estimated damages for loss of earnings, future medical treatment and pain and suffering as follows:

Estimated damages for personal injury (source: Cayman courts)

In analysing the estimates, however, the judge acknowledged that medical evidence only came from one source and additional expert medical evidence was needed. In addition, the court documents noted the concern for a lack of any meaningful evidence about the man’s earning capacity apart from a letter from his brother’s company which confirmed what they would have been prepared to pay the man if he worked for that company. Lastly, the court documents indicated that there was a lack of any current or cogent evidence about the likely impact the man’s business idea for a lodge may have on the man’s ability to earn or receive an income.

In the end, the judge said that, after reviewing the respective positions of the parties and adopting a global approach, he was in some difficulty in assessing the present value of the man’s future loss.

The judge said:

To order the interim payment as currently sought would result in the payment to the Plaintiff of approximately 65% of the claim calculated on his figures. The Defendant’s case puts the claim at a far lower value, but still subject to the variables identified above.

I am satisfied that the Plaintiff has a reasonable need for an interim payment to assist with legal and medical costs. However, based on the above, and in order to avoid the risk of the Plaintiff receiving an overpayment, in my view, it would be imprudent to order a payment of more than US$150,000 at this stage.

While this case has not yet concluded and only interim payments have made to date towards estimated damages for personal injury, it is an interesting reminder to local companies that risks may be present in or around their properties and they may wish to therefore take note of the same. Residents and visitors should also be cautious and look out for dangers when visiting properties.

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Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC, centre, with lead investigator Supt Wayne Abbott, right, and another officer at the scene where three men were killed by police in Morvant in August last year. – Angelo Marcelle

EIGHT POLICE officers have been arrested in a major breakthrough in the two-year-old homicide investigation into the fatal shooting of three men in Second Caledonia, Morvant.

Seven of the officers fired their weapons repeatedly killing Joel Jacob, Noel Diamond and Israel Moses Clinton, almost instantly in a volley of gunfire during a stop and search near the Auto Guru building, Juman Drive, on June 27, 2020.

Among those detained are a sergeant and seven police constables who were arrested. Police said one of the officers was arrested on Thursday night and the others early Friday.

Investigators confirmed that one of the officers has agreed to co-operate and give evidence against his colleagues.

Joel Jacob –

The arrest of the eight is a part of a painstaking forensic investigation which saw investigators re-enact the scene of the crime last August as they were guided step by step by Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC.

One of attorneys representing six of the officers, Ulric Skerritt, in an interview on Friday said he had visited his clients at various police stations on Friday after they were detained by a special task force, led by Supt Wayne Abbott.

In a radio interview, acting CoP McDonald Jacob said on Friday eight officers had been detained between Thursday night and early Friday as the investigation drew to a close. Jacob said the investigators would seek the advice of the DPP once the arrested officers were formally interviewed.

Attorney: Officers treated like ‘common criminals’

Skerritt said he had spoken to his clients who were kept separately at police stations in Morvant, Arima, Maloney, St Joseph, San Juan and St James.

The officer who has agreed to turn State witness recently returned from overseas and has given statements to investigators in the matter, sources said. A previous operation to arrest the officers had to be called off after they learned that the officer had travelled to the United States on a one-way ticket.

Investigators intend to interview each of the officers under caution before consulting Gaspard on whether there is sufficient evidence to support criminal charges as high as murder.

Skerritt said his clients were in good spirits and four of them were confined to cells on cold concrete without even the luxury of a mattress. He said he was told by a member of the investigative team that his clients would have been interviewed as early as 9 am on Friday but by 12.50 pm none of them had been questioned.

He said the officers who have “put their lives on the line are being treated as common criminals” and he expects the Police Association to support them if they are charged with any offence.

Israel Moses Clinton –

The attorney said his clients believe they acted lawfully after one of the three men pointed a firearm at them during a stop and search. Seven of the eight officers who were detained are assigned to the Inter-Agency Task Force and seven of them fired their weapons during the incident.

The seven shooters had been sent on administrative leave in July 2020 after the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which did a parallel probe, made a recommendation to then commissioner of police Gary Griffith.

Victim’s parents: Faith in police restored

Responding to the development, Sterling and Carol Jacob, the parents of Joel Jacob, said their faith in the police and the justice system have been restored.

“The wheels of justice turns very slowly and my wife and I have been traumatised because our only son was killed by the police. He was not anti-law and was brought up as a law-abiding citizen.

“I know we have some good police and I hope this will help weed out the rogue elements in the service where some officers take the law into their own hands. This is something the powers that be have to deal with because these rogue officers are making my country look like a banana republic. No matter what, the life of my son cannot be brought back but I pray for our system where we can have law-abiding officers doing their duty diligently,” Sterling said.

His wife said she was happy to know that her’s son’s killing was not swept under the carpet like so many other cases of fatal police killings.

She said she hopes the arrests serves as a wake up call to other officers so that “we all can continue to show our respect and have trust in the police service which has dropped tremendously.”

Noel Diamond –

She appealed to the acting CoP and his senior officers to do more to monitor the actions of officers, especially those who are suspected of being rogue, to remove them from the service as she and her family awaits the outcome of the judicial system.

The tragic incident, Sterling said, has brought the oppressed community of Second Caledonia together in love, unity and harmony. He also praised the diligence and professionalism of the task force led by Abbott and the DPP for ensuring that justice prevails.

Police: Ten more officers under probe

Police said ten other officers, assigned to the Guard and Emergency Branch, who were part of the joint team which intercepted a gold-coloured Nissan Tiida hatchback remain under investigation in a wider probe of conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice and misbehaviour in office.

The shooting incident was captured on CCTV cameras and shared on social media mere hours after the incident.

Police claimed officers opened fire on the three men after one of them pointed a weapon. However, security camera footage conflicted with the officers’ account as two of them had their hands in the air when they were shot repeatedly.

The killing of the three men sparked three days of violent protests in the capital city and other parts of the country and the Prime Minister appointed a committee to find out the root causes of the protests.

Jacob, 38, was celebrating his birthday with his childhood friend, Diamond, who lives nearby, when he stepped out of his house and took a drop from Clinton to go and buy a bottle of rum at a village shop. The trio had not travelled more than 20 feet before they were stopped by armed officers who alighted from four jeeps. Jacob emerged from the back seat with his hands in the air, Clinton held his hands above the steering and as Diamond lowered the left back window, all three were repeatedly shot.

Police bundled their bodies in the back of a jeep and sped off while other officers pointed their weapons at residents who were brave enough to peep though their windows, residents said.

A mural has been painted on the wall of the Auto Guru building in remembrance of the three men whose deaths have brought the fragmented community of Second Caledonia closer.

The arrest of the officers come after public disquiet over the police killings of three young men on Independence Square, Port of Spain on July 2 and a fourth man, Tristan “Ratty” Springer, 24, at Second Caledonia that same day. Those killings also sparked violent protests on July 4, as protesters blocked the Beetham Highway, Priority Bus Route, parts of East Port of Spain and Lady Young Road, Morvant.

Police were expected to submit a preliminary file to the DPP in that matter on Friday.

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