More members of Montero family got compensation; Finance and Lands equally guilty

John Briceño

Andre Vega, the son of former Lands Minister Gaspar Vega and Sharon Pitts were taken to court for the return of over four hundred thousand dollars given to them as compensation for privately owned land near the Haulover Bridge in 2016. While Pitts is currently in mediation to see the funds given back to G.O.B., Vega case remains before the courts. Today, the P.U.P. revealed another land compensation scheme involving Minister Rene Montero’s family. Party Leader John Briceño says over one point four million dollars was issued as compensation to Montero’s sister and her husband, for approximately thirty-eight acres of land in San Pedro and the Prevassion Enclave/Mountain Pine Ridge area.  This revelation, he claims, confirms the payout of over seventy million dollars in compensation during Vega’s tenure as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources. Briceño further contends that this could have only been done with the consent of the Minister of Finance and Prime Minister Dean Barrow and his cabinet.

John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader

“This is the sister of Rene Montero, married to Mister Dacak, and if you look at the compensation agreement it seems that they live in Stafford, Texas…they don’t even live in Belize, if you look at the compensation agreement on the page behind. So it seems that we the poor people of Belize are helping to pay for their lifestyle over in the United States of America. We passed most of that land over to the Elijio Panting National Park. Now what Gaspar Vega and Montero did, they de-reserved a portion of the land and then sold it to themselves, including the representative…well Montero’s family was there, the Vega family, the Pablo Marin family and the Contreras family. Those are some of the prominent names that were issued land in that area. I don’t think these are market values that are being given to them; I think these are values that have been inflated. With the cajoling of the Minister of Natural Resources…so they can come up with any numbers and say this is the market value. When you go into these areas, there are hardly any developments in those areas so that is not the market values; the market values have been inflated. The point that I want to make is that Gaspar Vega couldn’t by himself pay out seventy million dollars; that has to be a decision of the Minister of Finance, who is the Prime Minister, and the entire cabinet because if he is given a budget say of six million and he spends fifteen million in one year, where did the rest of the money come from? Every month, the Ministry of Natural Resources sends a list to the Ministry of Finance…these are the people we have to pay and this is the quantum and the Minister of Finance then has to sign that approval, pass it on to the Financial Secretary and then the Financial Secretary would send over the monies to the Ministry of Natural Resources. It is unlike what the Prime Minister has attempted to explain that we approve the money and it goes to the Minister of Natural Resources; that is not true. Gaspar Vega could not pay out seventy million dollars on his own. The Minister of Finance and the cabinet would have had to approve that quantum; they would have to approve that money. So all of them are involved, all of them know about the scam that has been taking place in the Lands Department during the tenure of Gaspar Vega with land compensation.”