Opposition Leader reveals more sweetheart land deals

The House of Representatives met today for the last time before the summer recess. The first order of business was a call by House Speaker Emil Arguelles for respect of the House rules. And what started as much civility later turned rowdy when revelations were made about more land scandals. On adjournment, the Leader of the Opposition John Briceño told the House about a land grab involving the brother of the Deputy Prime Minister, and about three hundred acres of land being given out in the Mountain Pine Ridge area to three individuals. He also revealed that a thousand areas of land were given out to a few developers in Belize Rural Central. The Deputy Prime Minister, responded in kind with his own list and while he “spoke from the heart”, his response was more of an attack than an answer.

John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition
“We have right now in our hands three surveys of land that has been already approved, three persons of one hundred acres each, totalling three hundred acres of land with water frontage in the Mountain Pine Ridge area given to Arosadelia Gran and the reference number is CY1032009, Theresita Segura; serial 1022009, Dianela Castellanos; CY1012009. We have also been alerted because the people in San Antonio are in the area and they are seeing the surveys that are taking place in that area Mr. Speaker, but another ten plots are in the works that they are surveying, each for a hundred acres each, totalling to over one thousand acres of land that is being given out in the Mountain Pine Ridge area. I wonder if the honourable representative from Belize Rural Central is aware that one thousand acres of land has been given out in the Manatee River Area. And I am sure that we may not be aware of it. Well, we have tow Belizeans; one Mr Isaac Freezen and one Mr Abraham Martens, getting combined one thousand acres of land.”

Gaspar Vega, Minister of Natural Resources
“I will speak from the heart. Mr. Speaker, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, no one can come to me and tell me that I own the telephone company and all the cable companies. I know that he knows that that is not the truth. Mr. Speaker, I want to tell everyone in this honourable House and everyone who’s listening to me today, that I can swear on my mother’s grave that no title has been issued.”

[Gallery outburst…]

Emil Arguelles, Speaker of the House
“Members of the gallery, this is my last request.”

Gaspar Vega
“This is the list of lands that the P.U.P. gave in the reserve, not the ones that you sold for fifty dollars. I am talking about the reserve; thousands. In the Krooman’s Lagoon, you know you gave to Pollack, you know you gave to Jack Charles. You know you gave it to Jack Charles. You gave to Roe and Company, to Pappy Pena, in fact you gave the whole land on the side of the road. You give everything.”