Government will subdivide Valle Nuevo, Harmonyville’s neighbor
Two weeks ago the Minister of Natural Resources, Gaspar Vega, promised to help the Belize Grass Roots Youth Empowerment Association (BGYEA) with survey costs and land distribution at Harmonyville. But according to a Cabinet release today, there’s now a change of heart. At its sitting, Cabinet agreed that BGYEA will now have to pay its way for subdivision and distribution of four hundred lots in a total of eight hundred. The decision came after remarks that President of BGYEA, Nigel Petillo, made in the media this morning to the effect that he was not prepared to accept that the government has apparently sectioned off Harmonyville for Belizeans applying for land and the adjacent community called Valle Nuevo occupied by Hispanic settlers. Cabinet also agreed that the government will subdivide Valle Nuevo and will allot fifty-two lots to settlers who already have structures in place and another hundred acres is to be subdivided. Petillo says BGYEA has not been informed of Cabinet’s decision and he will have to consult with the Board of BGYEA on the way forward.
Let Petillo be happy for what he has gotten and not paid any purchase price for-he is now the country boss for squatting? what does he need to consult for? and how and why is diane finnigan behind the scenes-she needs a pice of land and doesnt this show bias that her husband michale finnigan is on squatters side? this is sending the wrong message like government supports squatting.
My first taught about all of this (considering that I am a Belizean from birth) is that the Immigration Department should go through Valle Nuevo and then just to be fair Harmonyville. This will at least give the real Belizeans a chance to actually own land. We would (in a not so distant future) at least have something for our children to take up roots as we did instead of renting lands from wealthy land owners. Look at how marginalized we are becoming my Grass Roots Belizean people and it irks me so to think that we are being pushed in a little corner in our own country because politicians (and take your red and blue veil from over your eyes) on both sides need the votes of these overnight Belizeans. Listen to it good, the politicians need their votes, not our votes, their votes to further their never ending pillage of public funds earned by we the people by our very sweat and blood. All this makes me want to go to El Salvador or Guatemala or Honduras or maybe even the United States and just start clearing some land and building a house. I would just go to one of those places and any land I see fit I can just go to some Politician (either seeking to be elected or re-elected) and just say well if you give me my Social Security card (so I can collect $100 a month for nothing from SSB), register me to vote and give me bogus paper work saying I own the land then I won’t need to worry about not being able to actually own a piece of land in Belize. Then I would not have to worry about my kids renting land in his or her Mother Land. Life would be good… But we all know that the only place this can happen is good old Belize. Where the people are more concerned about who is going to win KTV Latino or Karaoke TV than who is going to win the next general election and rule un-questionably over a nation of mindless drones. Please especially trying that sh@t in those other Central American countries I would not make it back alive. Isn’t it ironic that Belize is a part of Guatemala (or so the Guatemalans believe and hell by looking around I am starting to buy into it) I would not even consider there as my first choice and I don’t think the Guatemalan government would take kindly to it either. But anyway all this business of land isn’t of real concern to you the reader when there are more pressing matters afoot like who won the game last night or what other platinum recording artists is Shyne bringing when he comes back to Belize and needs more of your money.
People we are worried just about the money being taking out of the central bank but not about the priceless resource being gifted away by the same people we entrust with our heritage. We have voted for the rats to mind the cheese and we do it over and over again no matter what color is in power. While I am on the subject of the rape of our natural resources… can the owners, operators and beneficiaries (excluding your silent political partners of course, the people of Belize could not handle the obvious truth) of BNE tell me how can a total “US$410,866,372 or BZ$821.7 million in revenues” (as of the end of September 2010) buy us a few little school houses, some garbage cans (as boldly marked on the sides) donated by BNE and a few crumbs from our master’s table? From what I can remember from our original constitution (not the bs the politicians shove down our throats) the natural resources of this country belongs to its people, collectively and not to a greedy few. So BNE (and the politicians in your employ) when can we see some of that revenue go into the Kendal Bridge (you know the one your trucks used to use before it washed away all the way back in 2008)? When will we see some of that revenue go into offsetting the cost at our gas pumps? When will we see some of that revenue go into our crumbling infrastructure and the same roads that your trucks destroy every day? Really I don’t care how you give it back to us just please stop giving it to our “elected officials” because that is like giving crack to a crack-head and telling him not to smoke it and it’s like the police giving my wallet to the thief that stole it and expecting him to return it; though with our competent (irony of course) police force I can see this scenario happening.
This is a clear as mud. Are the people being given land Belizeans? How many of them actually already have other real estate? What restrictions are we placing on resale after these people acquire title?
Who are these settelers Mr Vega and have you done background checks on them.So how does this work?Settelers first and Belizean Citizens last.
Ok!!!
We Belizeans can never go to Guatemala, Salvador or Honduras go squat but they can come here and squat and be given land.
Something Realy Wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cant anyone see this!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOB did wrong from the begining by legalizing Petillo as an “official squatter” and given certain rights….they have now created a monster who thinks he is the new minister of lands
its all about political gain my people.
politics is so dirty
I’m a born citizen of both born Belizean parents, I have a family to take care of I am in need of a land, I currently rent I see these people in the news come from different countries clear a piece of land and call it their own, some of which have been living less time that I have in this country and yet I cannot still own a lot. I’ll take my family clear out a piece of land right on the outskirts of belmopan or to make it even better right by Barrow’s house and call it my own.
We must recognize that many immigrants that come to Belize, have their house lots and farming land because they have paid for it. Similar to the chinese and other immigrants that move to Belize.
One of the key problems with us the “native” Belizeans is that we want land free. Acres upon acres are being subdivided near Armenia village and sold for 1500 – 2000 per acre (even have a payment plan). A road is being opened connecting Armenia area to Arizona/Teakettle Village. This land is privately owned and the owner is selling through some menoite people. Real estate is a good investment and it never depreciates.
We need to stop being dependant on the Government to give us our first land free. Plus when we pay for something, it feels good. Time to be more independent.
so Visitor you mean that they should go home or be given a different treatment even if they are legal residents? Tell that to the thousands of Belizeans living in the US… maybe you are one of them too
what in the world.. i guess only in belize can anyone come as immigrants .. they shall be first and we shall be last … now the pup and udp are playing the same game… and the blame game…i guess the gods of belize need the votes(ministers)…. while all my belizean continue to vote thier color blinded by their color … in belize when one of seem to aim high they belizean people will bring us down we are blind …while the politian play their game we suffer…we have lost belize…by the way my favorite co lor is green…i detest red & blue
@nigel. Spoken like a true belizean, we need to stop tolerate these radical behhaviors from foreign squatter on our soil, the immigration office should look into this… This reality have been happening ever since, from both parties. Will the pm look into this matter,no!!!! well said nigel but ur comment mean nothing on this page we need to take to the streets, stop this nonsense…
And in the good U.S. of A. no citizen by birth or naturalization can go and squat much-less illegal immigrants. Citizen squatters are evicted right away by force if neccessary and illegal immigrants are detained, serve 3 to 6 months in jail and then shipped to their country of origin. and give not a damn if anyone complaints even if it is HUMAN RIGHT WATCH. Do not misunderstand me. I am not against illegal immigrants because I have illegal relatives and friends in the U.S. but I always remind them to obey the laws of that country . Here in Belize illegals specially Guatemalans, set shop with the blessings of Belmopanese crooks. Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California were lost by Mexico not by the Mexican American War but by permitting waves of American immigrants in those territories and, that is how we will lose our country too. Guatemala knows that by force they will never annex Belize so, they have changed plans which is :to send colonizers. Believe me. P.U.D.P. govts. are fully aware of it.. I can see an armed revolution round the corner. Legitimate wars are fought of necessity and the need is here. We have tried the P.U.P. and the U.D.P. and both have failed us. However, let us be careful how we move, cause we do not want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire by changing one slave master for another and probably worst. BELIZEAN PATRIOTS ARISE. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU NOW. REMEMBER MR. GOLDSON: ” THE TIME TO SAVE YOUR COUNTRY IS BEFORE YOU LOSE IT”. GIVE BACK BY JEWEL OR GIVE DEATH!
And it will continue to happen because, instead of uniting together like the other ethnic groups and fighting for what they believe in, Belizeans are !$%#@ng cowards who talk, talk, talk, blog, blog, blog!!!! Serves their @$$E$ just right when foreigners come from afar and exploit our natural resources. GET OFF YOUR @$$e$ AND STOP WASTING YOUR BREATHS. STAND UP LIKE THE CHINESE. AS FOR NIGEL PETILLO, SERVES HIM JUST RIGHT!!!!! THE WORSE IS YET TO COME!!!!!!
This is truly some !@#$%^ up $#!%! Belizeans did this in Guatemala, Honduras, or elsewhere, we would be shot. GOB wonder why the youths, especially black youths, are vicious criminals, how the !@#$$ can they not be, when GOB and society seem to not give a $#!% about them. These people should go in there and start an all out war, they treat them like animals might as well they act like it….fight fi unu land guys, you tried democracy and it failed you
i agree with u Visitor. Send them back to where they came from and give the Belizean people a chance to own a land and build a home for their children.
I disagree with this decision and the reason why I do is because an investigation hasn’t been done into the background of these people to settle the issue of land ownership eligibility once and for all. I mean, if they were to have done this [“this” meaning a background investigation] first, then, at least we would know who is eligible to receive title to land and who is not. We would also know whether or not the situation exists to do something more to resolve this situation in a manner that is fairer.
I must also state that this land situation in general and the problems that it has created should cause many in the government to take seriously the idea that they have to:
1.) Enforce the land law in regard to squatting;
2.) Engage in a serious land reform programme;
3.) Reforming the immigration policy of the country as so to prevent the potentiality of people who aren’t Belizean citizens getting land that does not belong to them by virtue of the fact that they haven’t been naturalised or by virtue of the fact that they come from a country that happens to have disputes with the Belizean government in regards to the territorial integrity of the country.
If they don’t do these things, it is going to be harder to both engage in the general economic development of the country and to defend its national security and that, in turn, would also help to the contribute to the crime situation that currently exists.
This Grass Roots movement is wrong. They are trying to get land without any proper processing, i mean the poor Settlers of that Area have been working the land without the GOB help, and now this bunch of people come together form a Union just so that they can have a share of the land. But what productive plan are they doing with it? Is it for the benefit of the economy? Lets be real my fellow Belizeans this should stop,giving away land to some new org. What if a new group sprouts in the south or the west, reclaiming that they have the rights to a certain land due to the fact that the forefathers have been in that land for more than 200 years, what would happen then? And Being Hispanic doesn’t make a person foreigner. At the end all Belizeans are foreigners, i mean unless you can trace your last name to the time before the British Intrusion.
I believe our government is sending the wrong message; they are saying it is ok for immigrants to come into our country and squat and take our prime land – look at Belmopan most of the prime land have been taken by immigrant settlers now that Belizean citizens need land there it is almost impossible. We need to stop giving so freely our chidren, which is our future will not have anything. There is no way we could settle in another country; we need to make Belizeans first.
I thoughly agree with Nigel.
Its time all politians to quit taking money, we know they do it, and we know what departments of GOB does it, and it does not make any differences with it red or blue in power. We have corruption in all of the departments. And the oil trucks of BNE and all 18 wheelers need to pay a road tax, and, then we have to make sure that money goes back to the care of the road. Here they make road and then forget road and then go and beg or borrow more money down the road. lol
and where is our Forenics Lab, hum,, that should of been done long time ago, and what happened to dat money?
Storm: Let it be noted that most crimes in Belize are being done by our own creoles. It almost sounds like you are asking that no foreigner is allowed to own land. You must not forget that no way in our constitution is a foreigner denied the right to own land.
It is the fault of the government for selling out land in the first place.
To “Ochaeta”:
Firstly, the land that is in dispute was granted to the BGYEA organisation by the government for the purpose of them developing it into a planned agricultural community; the land in dispute did not end up being disputed by way of a situation wherein the BGYEA organisation came to the area and proclaimed their right to develop it without any legal basis. So, to say that they are “trying to get land without proper processing” is technically wrong as the BGYEA organisation was granted the right to develop the land in dispute by the government. Thus, if there’s anyone to be angry at, it is isn’t the people who are behind the BGYEA movement; rather, it should be the government for both tolerating the violation of the law in regards to squatting in general and for creating this situation in the first place by granting this organisation the right to develop that parcel of land without taking the necessary steps beforehand to prevent the manifestation of this type of discord.
And secondly, while it is the truth that Belize is “a country of immigrants”, the fact of the manner is that, since Belize was established in its modern form by way of British colonisation in the early 17th century, a national identity has gradually developed from that point onward and this national identity is the national identity that defined the country when it was granted independence from Great Britain on 21 September 1981. Therefore, it is in the interests of the Belizean government to defend that national identity from anything that erodes it, including all forms of illegal immigration, whether it’s Mestizo, Black or otherwise, because that [the national identity that defines Belize] is the “raison d’etre” of Belize’s existence; if it is eroded enough, then, let’s be honest with ourselves; there would no point of it continuing to exist as a distinct entity within the Central American and Caribbean sub-regions of the North American continent. Now, when I say this, I’m not saying that, because “Hispanics” or Mestizos weren’t the primary element that created this national identity, that “Mestizos have no right to be called Belizeans”, that’s, for the lack of a better word, ridiculous; rather, I’m saying that those who happen to be “Hispanic” or Mestizo and are in Belize illegally, like those of other ethnicities who are in it illegally, are foreigners and have no right to reside on lands within Belize that they do not have legal title to. Instead, they should follow the laws in regard to both land and immigration as to demonstrate to the resident population that they immigration will positively contribute to the development of Belizean society.
To “Proud Belizean”:
Firstly, in the third part of what I was suggesting to be done by the government to resolve the issue of land in the long-term, I wasn’t exactly saying that a foreigner shouldn’t own land; I was saying that the immigration policy should be reformed as so to root out those immigrants who aren’t naturalised and/or are from a country that disputes the territorial integrity of Belize if they violate the laws that currently exist in regard to land and I said that because, as it currently is, such people would further aggravate this issue, and, in the case of those that come from a country that disputes the territorial integrity of Belize, not only is that immigrant going to further aggravate this issue, that immigrant can be a national security threat in a time of conflict because he or she may still have lingering loyalties to the country from which he or she came and this would complicate (if not damage) defence efforts in that kind of a situation greatly.
And secondly, when I related the issue of land to the issue of crime, I did it because I wanted to demonstrate that a lack of legal firmness in regard to this can affect the issue of crime because if those laws are not enforced, then, the message that would be sent to the general population would be that the laws of the country are laws that have the potential of not being enforced some of time and that can help to create an environment of lawlessness.
To the readership in regard to the latter part of my response to “Ochaeta”:
I would like to make a slight correction to that part as so avoid a potential misunderstanding –
Instead of saying:
” And secondly, while it is the truth that Belize is “a country of immigrants”, the fact of the manner is that, since Belize was established in its modern form by way of British colonisation in the early 17th century, a national identity has gradually developed from that point onward and this national identity is the national identity that defined the country when it was granted independence from Great Britain on 21 September 1981. Therefore, it is in the interests of the Belizean government to defend that national identity from anything that erodes it, including all forms of illegal immigration, whether it’s Mestizo, Black or otherwise, because that [the national identity that defines Belize] is the “raison d’etre” of Belize’s existence; if it is eroded enough, then, let’s be honest with ourselves; there would no point of it continuing to exist as a distinct entity within the Central American and Caribbean sub-regions of the North American continent. Now, when I say this, I’m not saying that, because “Hispanics” or Mestizos weren’t the primary element that created this national identity, that “Mestizos have no right to be called Belizeans”, that’s, for the lack of a better word, ridiculous; rather, I’m saying that those who happen to be “Hispanic” or Mestizo and are in Belize illegally, like those of other ethnicities who are in it illegally, are foreigners and have no right to reside on lands within Belize that they do not have legal title to. Instead, they should follow the laws in regard to both land and immigration as to demonstrate to the resident population that they immigration will positively contribute to the development of Belizean society.”
I meant to say:
“And secondly, while it is the truth that Belize is “a country of immigrants”, the fact of the manner is that, since Belize was established in its modern form by way of British colonisation in the early 17th century, a national identity has gradually developed from that point onward and this national identity is the national identity that defined the country when it was granted independence from Great Britain on 21 September 1981. Therefore, it is in the interests of the Belizean government to defend that national identity from anything that erodes it, including all forms of illegal immigration, whether it’s Mestizo, Black or otherwise, because that [the national identity that defines Belize] is the “raison d’etre” of Belize’s existence; if it is eroded enough, then, let’s be honest with ourselves; there would no point of it continuing to exist as a distinct entity within the Central American and Caribbean sub-regions of the North American continent. Now, when I say this, I’m not saying that, because “Hispanics” or Mestizos weren’t the primary element that created this national identity, that “Mestizos have no right to be called Belizeans”, that’s, for the lack of a better word, ridiculous; rather, I’m saying that those who happen to be “Hispanic” or Mestizo and are in Belize illegally, like those of other ethnicities who are in it illegally, are foreigners and have no right to reside on lands within Belize that they do not have legal title to.”.
well this only shows that if you need something you take it by force. no jobs- rob , no land- squat so belizean people lets all go to the nearest land and fence it and claim it as squatters right. Mr Pm thanks for the lesson..Mr Vega, Mr Martinez, Mr Acosta, Mr Marin the other area reps i will not mention( i really dont know who they are) be aware people in your areas now know… oh and please send back those people working at Min Of Works. If the Pm cannt deal with them why should you…