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  • Thieves Target Water Meters in Belize and Corozal Districts

    Thieves Target Water Meters in Belize and Corozal Districts

    A resurgent wave of targeted thefts of household water meters has left hundreds of residents in Belize’s northern Belize and Corozal Districts without running water, as thieves target the valuable copper components inside the devices to sell for quick scrap metal profits. According to officials from Belize Water Services (BWS), the public utility responsible for managing the nation’s water infrastructure, more than 29 meters have been stolen across the two districts in recent weeks, with the problem flaring up again after a brief lull earlier this year.

    Roberto Toriz, BWS Operations Manager for the Belize District, explained that the issue first emerged back in December of last year, when a similar string of thefts disrupted local services. The criminal activity tapered off after that incident, but began reemerging in June 2026, starting in neighborhoods across Belize City. As of the latest official count, 18 meters have been stolen from Belize District properties since the resurgence began, while Corozal District reported 11 new thefts in just a 24-hour period ahead of the October 14 announcement. The total cost to BWS already amounts to thousands of dollars, with each new meter costing the utility roughly $300 to manufacture and install.

    Thieves typically remove the entire water meter and connected valve from residential properties before stripping out the copper components inside, which they then sell to scrap yards for a small fraction of the meter’s actual total value. While the theft itself generates only minimal quick cash for the perpetrators, the ripple effects create major disruptions for homeowners and the utility alike.

    Paul Wade, BWS Assistant Customer Services Manager, noted that stolen meters immediately cut off water service to affected properties, leaving residents without access to running water for extended periods of time. The disruptions are often especially severe when the thefts occur overnight or in the early morning hours, before residents wake up to discover the issue. Though BWS maintains a 24-hour emergency response team to address outages, replacing stolen meters requires significant deployment of labor, materials and logistics resources that stretch the utility’s capacity thin.

    For now, BWS replaces stolen meters for customers at no direct cost, but utility officials warn that repeated large-scale thefts could eventually force the company to pass some of the costs onto consumers through higher rates or service fees. In response to the ongoing crisis, BWS is issuing a public call for residents to remain vigilant for suspicious activity around neighborhood water lines, and to report any unfamiliar individuals tampering with meters to local authorities and utility staff immediately to prevent further disruptions.

  • BWS Strengthens Southside’s Emergency Water Supply

    BWS Strengthens Southside’s Emergency Water Supply

    As rapid population growth outpaces existing water infrastructure on the southside of Belize City, state-owned utility provider Belize Water Services (BWS) is moving forward with a $4.5 million infrastructure upgrade to reinforce emergency water storage and prevent prolonged service outages for local residents. Scheduled for full completion by March 15, 2027, the project is already more than 50% finished, marking a key milestone in improving long-term water resilience for the fast-growing district.

  • Deadly Prefab Home Crash Exposes Serious Highway Safety Gaps

    Deadly Prefab Home Crash Exposes Serious Highway Safety Gaps

    Prefabricated housing has emerged as a transformative affordable homeownership solution for thousands of Belizeans, opening access to property that would otherwise be out of reach for many working households. But the hidden cost of this booming market has come into tragic focus following a deadly collision on the George Price Highway that claimed the life of senior Belizean police officer Jovanni Ponce, when Ponce’s SUV crashed into an oversized prefabricated home being transported along the public roadway. The incident has sparked urgent scrutiny of whether regulatory oversight and enforcement have kept up with the exponential growth of the prefab home industry, and what systemic changes are needed to prevent future fatal crashes.

    Ponce’s death underscores the inherent dangers of moving massive prefabricated structures along the same highways used by everyday motorists. The force of the impact tore the roof clean off Ponce’s SUV and sent debris through the vehicle’s windshield, killing the officer instantly. In the wake of the tragedy, stakeholders across government and industry are grappling with a painful core question: did insufficient safety rules or lax regulatory enforcement create the conditions that cost Ponce his life?

    Ronny Plett, a representative of the Belize Home Movers Group – an alliance of industry stakeholders formed to draft safety standards and advocate for best practices in oversized prefab transport – notes that the sector has operated in Belize for 23 years, moving approximately 3,000 prefabricated homes across the country’s highways annually. Plett acknowledged that while four lives have been lost to transport-related incidents over the sector’s history, the industry as a whole still maintains what he frames as a strong safety record when measured against the volume of annual moves. Even so, Plett emphasized that any preventable death is unacceptable, and the industry is committed to raising safety standards to reach a goal of zero fatalities.

    Driving the rapid expansion of Belize’s prefab home market is unbeatable affordability. Industry data puts the cost of an unfinished 20-by-30-foot metal prefab home between $31,000 and $33,000 BZD, while a fully finished, two-bedroom model of the same size runs roughly $85,000 BZD – a fraction of the cost of traditional site-built housing. That lower price point has spurred soaring demand, but moving the oversized structures requires strict adherence to basic safety protocols: transporters must properly mark loads, install clear lighting to flag their size, and coordinate movements to minimize risks to other road users.

    Chester Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Belize’s Ministry of Transport, explained that core safety rules already require oversized prefab loads to be lit at all four corners to clearly alert oncoming motorists to the load’s size and the road space it occupies. Williams has participated in ongoing talks with industry leaders to strengthen existing safety measures, but he acknowledges that even the strongest regulations are only as effective as their enforcement. Right now, the Department of Transport lacks the staffing needed to consistently monitor compliance across all highway routes.

    Williams explained that while Cabinet has approved funding for additional enforcement positions, bureaucratic red tape has slowed the hiring process. The Ministry of Public Service has already signed off on creating the new roles, but the department is still waiting on the Ministry of Finance to formally approve the positions and allocate the budget required to hire new enforcement officers.

    This bureaucratic delay has created a dangerous gap: the prefab home transport industry is growing rapidly today, but the extra staff needed to enforce safety rules remain stuck in government approval pipelines. In the interim, transport companies are left to self-regulate, scheduling moves during periods when road traffic is lowest to reduce collision risk. Many companies, including Plett’s own Plett Home Builders, opt to move prefabricated homes overnight, when road volumes between major hubs like Belize City and Belmopan are far lower than daytime hours. A single three-hour daytime move between the two cities can encounter between 500 and 2,000 other vehicles, causing major traffic delays and increasing collision risk, making overnight transport the preferred choice for most operators – a practice that also raises questions about visibility for other motorists even when loads are properly lit.

    For thousands of Belizean families, prefabricated homes represent a critical path to the security and stability of homeownership. But the tragic death of Jovanni Ponce has made clear that the journey to delivering these affordable homes must not come at the cost of innocent lives. As the industry continues to expand, all eyes are now on Belizean authorities to cut through bureaucratic delays and build out the enforcement capacity needed to keep highways safe for all users.

  • 117 Belizean Women Turn Ideas Into Business Opportunities

    117 Belizean Women Turn Ideas Into Business Opportunities

    On October 14, 2026, a milestone graduation ceremony took place in Belize, where 117 women entrepreneurs crossed the finish line of the Catalyze Her Potential Accelerator Program, walking away with new skills, formal certificates, and a clear roadmap to grow their businesses. This event marks not an endpoint, but the official launch of the next phase for these women, many of whom entered the program with nothing more than a raw business idea, while others joined to scale existing ventures that had plateaued without structured support.

    Organized by the International Network of Women in Business, the Catalyze Her Potential initiative is a multi-phase project designed to address systemic barriers that women face in entrepreneurship across Belize. To date, the program has supported 250 women total: 124 graduated from the project’s business incubator track in August 2026, with Wednesday’s ceremony celebrating the second cohort of accelerator graduates. According to Katia Montenegro-Hoare, president of the hosting network, the program fills a critical gap by moving beyond basic business operation training to equip participants with the tools to compete in crowded markets, scale their operations, and eventually create job opportunities for other Belizeans.

    Following the celebration, the program will move into its next phase of targeted support. Roughly 100 participating graduates will advance to a one-on-one mentorship track, before gaining access to the initiative’s fourth and final component: seed capital to fund business growth. Dr. Yasmin Andrews, a consultant leading the project, outlined that the mentorship phase will begin with a detailed mapping analysis of each graduate’s specific goods and services, allowing organizers to match participants with industry experts whose experience aligns with their business goals. During this phase, mentors will also guide participants through two critical foundational steps: formal business registration and development of a viable, investor-ready business plan—two key priorities identified by financial industry experts who partnered with the program.

    For many graduates, the program has already delivered transformative change that extends far beyond classroom lessons. Carmelita Sanchez, founder of Caye Caulker-based tour company Knotty Tours, entered the program as a new entrepreneur navigating a fiercely competitive, male-dominated tourism sector. “Being an entrepreneur right now, I had no idea of how to run a business, what it is like to be a business person,” Sanchez explained. “And I’m so grateful for this course because this course has really helped me get to where I want my business to be.”

    Benita-Keme Palacio, owner of beauty brand Curves Royale, completed the three-month accelerator while balancing full-time employment, and used the training to build skills she is already applying to rebrand and relaunch her business. “It ranged from reforming your financials to also learning about how to promote your business, how to rescale your business or rebrand your business as well,” Palacio said. “And that is exactly what I’m trying to do with my own business right now. Trying to reform it and this has definitely helped me know how or what are the steps to do that. As well as having guidance, as a graduate I will receive guidance and mentorship after this to continue reforming my business.”

    One of the most valuable, and least quantifiable, outcomes of the program is the peer support network that has grown among participants. Palacio noted that the cohort has already built an active online community where members share experiences, promote each other’s services, and offer support through the common challenges of entrepreneurship. “We are one fifty women in all and although we weren’t able to meet everybody today, we have a chat where we share each other stories and learn about each other and recommend each other, and that’s a beautiful thing to have,” she said.

    Program organizers emphasize that the true impact of Catalyze Her Potential will not be measured by graduation numbers, but by how these women turn their training into sustainable, growing enterprises. The long-term vision extends beyond individual business success: organizers hope that the growth of these women-led ventures will create new jobs across Belize, strengthen local communities, and pave the way for more women to pursue entrepreneurship in the future. For these 117 graduates, the certificate they received Wednesday is just recognition of the work they have put in so far—now, the real work of building their businesses begins.

  • One dead, two wounded in Dennery shooting

    One dead, two wounded in Dennery shooting

    A deadly shooting incident in the quiet community of La Pointe, located in Dennery, has claimed the life of a local man and left three other people fighting for recovery, according to updates from law enforcement in Saint Lucia.

    Fifty-seven-year-old Francis Ford, a resident of La Pointe, passed away on Monday from the gunshot wounds he sustained during the attack, which unfolded just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 10. His death came two days after the violent incident shook the small coastal neighborhood.

    The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) confirmed that the first alert about the shooting reached officers at the Dennery Police Station shortly after the gunfire erupted. Initial reports indicated that three men had been hit by gunshots in the attack. Emergency responders immediately rushed the injured men to local medical centers via ambulance for urgent care, though no further updates on their current conditions have been released as of yet.

    To advance the investigation, authorities have scheduled a post-mortem examination to confirm the exact cause and manner of Ford’s death, which is set to take place at a future date. Law enforcement teams have not yet released details about potential motives for the shooting, identified any persons of interest, or made any arrests in connection with the case.

    The RSLP is now actively calling on members of the public who may have witnessed the incident, or hold any information that could help advance the investigation, to come forward. Anyone with relevant details can reach the Dennery Police Station directly at 456-4090. For community members who prefer to share information without revealing their identity, anonymous tips can be submitted through two additional channels: calling the national Crime Hotline at 555, or submitting information through the official RSLPF Crime Hotline mobile application, which is free to download on the Google Play Store for Android devices.

  • Verkeerde arrestant vrijgelaten uit cellenhuis Geyersvlijt

    Verkeerde arrestant vrijgelaten uit cellenhuis Geyersvlijt

    A critical administrative blunder at a Surinamese police station has left law enforcement hunting for a suspect who was released from custody by mistake earlier this week. The error, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon at the Geyersvlijt police precinct, saw 42-year-old Cecilson Jurgen Raymond, a suspect detained in connection with a major narcotics and organized criminal enterprise case, walk free from the station’s holding cells when he was not supposed to.

    The mix-up unfolded at approximately 4:50 p.m. local time, according to initial police reports. Investigations into the incident have confirmed that Raymond was incorrectly processed for release instead of another detainee being held at the same facility: Cecilson Armanai Rihanna, who had been scheduled to be released from custody that afternoon. Both detainees share the same unusual first name, which authorities have suggested may have contributed to the identification error, though no official confirmation of this detail has been released.

    As of Thursday morning, law enforcement officials confirmed that they have launched an urgent manhunt to take Raymond back into custody. Authorities have not yet clarified what specific procedural gaps or oversights allowed the mix-up to occur, and investigations are still ongoing to determine the full set of circumstances that led to the wrongful release. Police have not issued any public warnings about potential danger to the public associated with Raymond’s release, but have reiterated that their top priority is apprehending the suspect as quickly as possible to resolve the error.

  • State: No exceptional circumstances to justify blocking Parris trial

    State: No exceptional circumstances to justify blocking Parris trial

    A major legal battle over the long-running criminal case against former CLICO Life Insurance Company chairman Leroy Parris has advanced to the appellate courts, as state representatives are pushing aggressively to reverse a lower court ruling that halted all prosecution proceedings against the ex-executive.

    On Wednesday, Deputy Solicitor General Marsha Lougheed officially filed an appeal challenge with the Court of Appeal, requesting the appellate panel overturn a permanent injunction that bars the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from moving forward with criminal charges of theft and conspiracy against Parris. The three appellants in the new challenge are Magistrate Manila Renee, the Attorney General, and the DPP, represented by Senior Counsel Roger Forde.

    In court documents filed as part of the appeal, Forde laid out the state’s core legal argument: long-standing case law confirms that a DPP cannot be blocked from initiating or proceeding with criminal prosecution against any individual unless concrete evidence of bad faith (mala fides) on the prosecution’s part, or truly exceptional circumstances, can be proven. Forde emphasized that the affidavit evidence Parris submitted in earlier court proceedings fails to demonstrate either mala fides or any qualifying exceptional circumstances that would justify halting the case.

    Forde further argued that the lower court judge made multiple errors of law in her original ruling. He pointed out that there was no admissible evidence to support the finding that Parris held a valid cause of action against the DPP that warranted granting the protective injunction. He also noted that no evidence was presented to back up a ruling that Parris held a constitutional right to avoid prosecution on the outstanding criminal charges, and that no legal precedent or evidence supports the conclusion that Parris is entitled to an injunction blocking the prosecution’s work.

    The legal dispute traces back to last month, when High Court Justice Michelle Weekes ruled in favor of Parris’ judicial review application, quashing Magistrate Renee’s earlier decision to commit Parris to stand trial via an order of certiorari. Beyond nullifying the committal, Weekes also ordered Magistrate Renee not to share any case documents with the DPP or the Supreme Court registrar, and granted the permanent injunction that prevents the DPP from moving forward with an indictment against Parris.

    The roots of the case stretch back more than a decade. In 2023, Magistrate Renee moved forward to send the case, which centers on allegations that Parris stole $3.3 million from the now-defunct insurance firm, to the High Court for trial. Parris’ legal team, led by Senior Counsel Hal Gollop and Neil Marshall, responded by filing the judicial review challenge that resulted in last month’s favorable ruling for their client, and placed Renee, the Attorney General, and the DPP as respondents in that original challenge.

    Prosecutors first brought formal charges against Parris back in 2012. The multi-count indictment accuses him of stealing $3.33 million from CLICO International Life Insurance Limited between December 1, 2008 and April 27, 2009, and conspiring to defraud the company by inducing it to transfer the funds to law firm Thompson and Associates. Additional charges allege that between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010, Parris participated in a conspiracy to cheat the Commissioner of Inland Revenue by failing to file required tax returns and report 2009 taxable income, and that he engaged in money laundering activities involving the $3.3 million between December 2008 and April 2009.

  • Should The Abortion Option Be Available for Pregnant Teenagers?

    Should The Abortion Option Be Available for Pregnant Teenagers?

    As Belize marks its annual Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Week, a long-simmering ethical and policy debate over abortion access for pregnant adolescents facing unplanned pregnancy has reemerged, splitting public conversation over how the nation should address its youth reproductive health challenges. Advocates for expanding adolescent access to abortion argue that unplanned pregnancy upends the lives of young people, forcing many to end their education prematurely, confront crippling financial instability, and carry long-term social and psychological burdens that can follow them for decades. These proponents argue that denying abortion traps young people in circumstances beyond their ability to manage, calling for a re-examination of the country’s restrictive existing laws.

    But top health officials in Belize have emphasized that current national legislation leaves no room for abortion access solely on the basis of adolescent age. Dr. Natalia Beer, a technical advisor with Belize’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, clarified that the nation’s criminal code only permits legal medical termination of pregnancy in narrow circumstances, specifically when the pregnancy poses severe negative impacts to the pregnant person’s family. Adolescent pregnancy alone, she stressed, does not meet the legal threshold for a permitted abortion.

    Instead of expanding abortion access, Dr. Beer argues, public health resources should be directed toward proactive prevention strategies that reduce rates of unplanned pregnancy among young people in the first place. “Abortion can occur at any age, and adolescents are not exempt from that reality,” Dr. Beer noted in comments during the prevention week observance. “But no young person should ever need to resort to abortion if they have accurate information to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from unplanned pregnancy, and if they have unimpeded access to critical reproductive health services, especially contraception.”

    Global and national data underscores the urgency of addressing adolescent pregnancy in Belize, though official figures from different agencies vary. Worldwide, the adolescent birth rate stands at 44 births per 100,000 girls of reproductive age. The Statistical Institute of Belize’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) puts the country’s adolescent birth rate at 58 per 100,000, while data from the Ministry of Health and Wellness records a lower rate of 38.8 per 100,000. Discrepancies aside, both figures confirm that adolescent pregnancy remains a persistent public health priority for the Central American nation, as policymakers and public health leaders work to lower rates and support young people facing unplanned pregnancy.

  • Belize Joins Regional Fight Against Teen Pregnancy

    Belize Joins Regional Fight Against Teen Pregnancy

    Scheduled for observance in October 2026, Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Week has brought Belize into a coordinated regional movement aimed at empowering young people to overcome systemic and personal barriers and build more stable, promising futures. At the core of this campaign is the simple but powerful message: a single life choice can shape long-term life trajectories.

    Public health leaders in Belize emphasize that adolescent pregnancy extends far beyond individual and family disruption, creating ripple effects that undermine national progress. It correlates with lower educational attainment, reduced long-term employment prospects, and slowed socioeconomic development across the country. Through targeted public awareness campaigns, expanded access to evidence-based information, and strengthened links between young people and essential health services and community support systems, Belize is aligning its local action with global development goals that aim to improve public health outcomes and expand equitable opportunity for youth by 2030.

    Dr. Natalia Beer, Maternal and Child Health Technical Advisor at Belize’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, outlined the multifaceted case for proactive prevention in comments shared during the campaign launch. “Adolescence should finish at twenty-five years, not at nineteen, for many biological reasons. Studies that have been done on the brain demonstrating that by twenty you are still not able to make the best decisions for our lives. So definitely consequences are multidimensional. You lose educational years. There are health consequences, economic consequences that effect even the country and one thing we barely speak about is violence. Girls engaging in formal relationships early because they are still children, by definition. They are exposed to all forms of violence.”

    Dr. Beer stressed that existing community infrastructure does not need to be rebuilt from scratch to address the issue. Instead, all established community groups and institutions should integrate adolescent-focused sexual health information and services into their existing offerings. For young people who are already sexually active, Dr. Beer emphasized that families and communities have a critical role to play in ensuring unimpeded access to contraception to prevent unintended and unplanned pregnancies.

    “Adolescents need to focus on themselves, reach their educational goals, enjoy their lives before assuming adult responsibilities. Even sexual intercourse is an adult responsibility, much more having a child. No child should be having a child,” Dr. Beer said. She further recommends that women wait until the age of 30 to have their first child, to support better long-term health and socioeconomic outcomes for both parent and child.

    This report is a transcript of an evening television broadcast, with Kriol language comments transcribed using a standard spelling system for accessibility.

  • NTRC’s request for documents from Star FM began when ULP was still in office

    NTRC’s request for documents from Star FM began when ULP was still in office

    A sharp public dispute over the regulatory status of Unity Labour Party-owned Star FM has erupted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, after the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) released a detailed chronology of events that directly contradicts opposition claims the new governing administration is targeting the broadcaster to silence it.

    Former opposition MP and ex-information minister Camillo Gonsalves, who leads the Unity Labour Party (ULP), ignited the controversy in comments delivered on Star FM October 12, 2026. Gonsalves framed the NTRC’s recent cease-transmission order as an unlawful, politically motivated attack by the newly elected New Democratic Party (NDP) administration, which won office in November 2025. The lawyer and former lawmaker claimed the regulator had imposed extra-legal requirements on the station to block its licence renewal, and warned the move threatened freedom of expression. He said the ULP was prepared to sue over the issue, while also calling for a de-escalation to avoid a damaging public legal battle.

    But NTRC Director Apollo Knights pushed back against these claims in an official press release, publishing a full timeline of the licence renewal process that places the initial documentation request squarely during the period when the ULP was still in power, and when Gonsalves himself oversaw the NTRC as minister of information.

    According to Knights’ account, regulatory protocols require all FM radio licensees to submit renewal applications one year before their existing licences expire, with licences issued for five-year terms. Star FM’s previous licence was granted April 15, 2021, and was scheduled to expire April 14, 2026. The NTRC first sent the station a renewal request, including a requirement to submit a valid certificate of status from the Commercial and Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), all the way back on February 14, 2025 – when the ULP still held full control of government. Follow-up reminders were sent May 29 and October 31 of that same year, still months before the NDP’s election win.

    Star FM ultimately submitted its renewal application November 13, 2025. Just eight days later, on November 21, 2025, the NTRC – still governed by commissioners appointed entirely by the ULP, who remained in post through the end of December 2025 – requested an updated certificate of status, because the document the station had submitted fell outside the required six-month validity window.

    When Star FM finally provided an updated certificate February 12, 2026, it confirmed the station was not in good standing with CIPO, a mandatory requirement for all licence renewals regardless of ownership or political affiliation. The NTRC notified the station of the issue March 20, 2026, and sent three additional follow-up letters between April and June of that year. After Star FM’s original licence expired April 14, 2026, the regulator granted the station four separate extensions between May and October 2026 to resolve its outstanding status issues with CIPO, allowing it to continue broadcasting for nearly six months past the licence expiry date.

    The controversy became public after a letter Knights sent October 8, 2026 to Julian Francis, secretary of Star Broadcasting Corporation Ltd., was leaked to the public. In that letter, Knights informed the station that it currently held no valid broadcast licence or frequency authorization, and was required to immediately cease transmission on its 98.3MHz and 104.7MHz frequencies until the required documentation was submitted and approved by the minister responsible for telecommunications. Knights stressed that Star FM can resume broadcasting as soon as it resolves its CIPO standing and the minister issues a new licence.

    Telecommunications Minister Phillip Jackson, a member of the ruling NDP, dismissed all claims of political interference, framing the entire exchange as routine regulatory work. Jackson told listeners on the NDP’s own *New Times* programme on NICE Radio that the leaked letter was just the latest in a long chain of routine correspondence between the regulator and the regulated entity, noting the station had been notified of the renewal requirement as early as 2025 and received repeated reminders. He argued all broadcasting entities must be held to the same consistent standards under the law, rejecting accusations the administration was seeking to silence the ULP-owned station. He described NTRC staff as competent professionals, and said he was confident Star FM would meet the required requirements to have its licence renewed. Jackson confirmed the station had been operating without a valid licence for six months after its original expiry.

    Gonsalves offered a competing narrative, however, claiming the station submitted its renewal application before the deadline, paid all required fees, and provided every document the NTRC requested – even materials that he argues the regulator had no legal right to demand. He said the regulator first asked for a certificate of status, then suddenly upped the requirement to a certificate of good standing, applying rules that do not exist in the current legislation or standard licence conditions. He also disputed claims the station was operating illegally, noting longstanding NTRC practice has allowed broadcasters to continue operating while renewal applications are pending, even if processing extends past the original licence expiry date. Gonsalves called the cease-and-desist order unlawful, arguing the NTRC could not issue such an order without completing a formal investigation, notifying the station of specific violations, and proving continued transmission poses serious public harm. He also noted that only the minister has the legal authority to deny a renewal, following statutorily defined process.

    The former MP also raised questions about potential institutional bias, pointing out that NTRC Chair Benjamin Exeter previously ran as an NDP candidate in the 2015 and 2020 general elections, when Star FM openly criticized and mocked his candidacy. Gonsalves stopped short of claiming bias was proven, but said the connection demands public scrutiny.

    Interestingly, both Gonsalves and Jackson publicly praised NTRC Director Apollo Knights’ leadership. Jackson acknowledged he had not been involved in the day-to-day correspondence between the regulator and the station, only becoming aware of the matter when it took on political overtones. While Gonsalves said the ULP was prepared to file legal action, he also called for de-escalation, warning a prolonged, high-profile dispute could harm St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ international reputation and fuel unwarranted concerns about press freedom. He urged the NTRC to ease tensions and resolve the standing issue through dialogue rather than confrontation.