Witness protection
With murders up in Belize by almost a third and the opposition howling for decisive action, the Dean Barrow administration says it is putting in place what it hopes will be effective anti-crime measures. Minister for Public Safety, Dough Singh, says this includes the introduction of a witness protection programme. He says people who will be considered for witness protection “will have to be individuals who have provided information that will lead to the conviction of individuals”.
The minister said those people may have to testify in court and will be afforded protection if they feel at risk.
There have been 93 homicides in Belize this year, 22 more than for the same period in 2009.
Managing pensions
Jamaica is among Carib-bean governments acknowledging the difficulty of managing pension schemes.
The challenge of how to respond to the increasingly large share of older people among the population is emerging as a universal problem. Jamaica’s Labour Minister, Pearnel Charles, says the government in Kingston is paying out more in pensions than what’s actually coming in.
