Ms. Sherlene Sabal, a single parent who bought a upholstered sitting room set for Christmas from S.P. Home Depot only to find it padded with smelly, used diapers, has complained to the Reporter that she is getting the royal run-around from the store-owner.
“I was told that I sould take the sofa set to their shop in Orange Walk for repairs. They said if I do this they will take out the pampers and put in sponge, but it will take two weeks to do the work.”
“I did not buy the sofa set in Orange Walk,” Ms Sabal protested “I bought the set from S.P. Home Depot on Albert Street in Belize City. I cannot transport the set to Orange Walk because I am a single parent and I don’t have the money to pay for transporttion to Orange Walk.
“What will I do in the meantime when the chairs are in Orange Walk for two weeks?”
Ms.Sabal said she tried to call the owner of S.P. Home Depot, an Indian businessman named Arun Jami. He told her to bring the chairs to Orange Walk, but he refused to give her replacements or to make any compensation whatsoever.
“These people tek advantage of Belizeans. They sell me a chair full of smelly pampers and they don’t want to replace it.
“I no di put mout pan dem, but yu see one of their stores burned down last Tuesday in the Corozal Free Zone? God no di sleep!”
“What go ‘round come ‘round, and moe wa happen to dem,”she predicted. Ms Sabal was referring to the huge September ll fire in the Corozal Free Zone in which the SP Home Depot warehouse, one of the largest in the Free Zone, was utterly destroyed by fire.
Reporter checked in with the Bureau of Standards, at the Government Complex on Mahogany Street, to ask about consumer protection.
Mr. Luis Cho, the department head, explained that the Government of Belize maintains a Consumer Protection Office, but there is no Consumer Protection Officer. Since the last C.P. officer resigned a year ago, there has been no replacement.
Cho said that if Sabal lodges a complaint with his office (the Bureau of Standards) however, he will undertake to carry out an investigation. Read More

According to UNICEF, there’s been global and regional progress on infant mortality rates; global child deaths have reached a record low, falling to 9.7 million per year. But that progress has not been mirrored in Belize. After making steady gains throughout the nineties, since the year 2000, infant mortality rates have fluctuated. The under-five mortality rate in Belize for the year 2006 is 24.8 - below average among Latin American and Caribbean countries. UNICEF Representative in Belize Rana Flowers discussed the dip and the implications.
Rana Flowers, Country Representative – UNICEF
“We could point to perhaps taking our eye off the ball a little bit. I think we have become maybe a little bit complacent in terms of child health and maternal health. Both those areas affect the under 5 mortality rate and I think what it points to is a need for us to focus, to probably look a little bit at investment issues and access.
We need to go back and look at where the gaps are, look at where the problems are and start working out what we need to do to bridge those gaps. I think we need to give more support and probably more resources to child health areas because these deaths are occurring in the first year of life largely and they are preventable.
I think that if you have an under 5 mortality rate in a country such as Costa Rica, which is at 12, and Belie at 24.8 – and that is more than double. That is telling us that we can do more.
When we look at the situation of children, of young children, of pregnant women, I think anemia is definitely playing a role, micro-nutrient deficiencies are definitely playing a role, chronic malnutrition is featuring more and more and they are elements that we would associate with poverty absolutely.”
Jules Vasquez,
As we role out a national health insurance scheme, is this an area that needs urgent attention?
Rana Flowers,
“If you have a under five mortality rate that is not declining and that is one of the higher rates in the Caribbean, I would certainly be encouraged that this requires urgent attention. If you have children dying of preventable diseases, then I don’t see arguments for not making this a priority area.” Read More

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NOTICES/LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Friends in Need Fundraiser Events Help us raise funds for surgery for our friends, Drummer Dan Van Patten and  Chico Flores TODAY Saturday September 15, 10 a.m. until? at Road Kill Bar Yard Sale and   Laura's Famous Gumbo Dinner- BZ$10 Sunday September 16, 2 p.m. B.C.’s Beach Bar Auction Featuring an Antique Table 6 feet  long with 2 leaves that expand it to 10 feet Valued at BZ$6000 Starting bid BZ$800 We also have an Electric Pizza Oven Starting bid BZ$200 And many paintings, prints and framed pictures.

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THOUGHT OF THE DAY
I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates
the soul of the giver
                             Maya Angelou

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THE SAN PEDRO DAILY ARCHIVES

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