P.U.P. Leader Says Transferring 17,000 Acres of Land without House Approval is Illegal

John Briceño

Weighing in on the matter was Opposition Leader, John Briceño. According to Briceño, under the National Lands Act, to transfer a large piece of land, such as the seventeen thousand acres in question, it must be approved by parliament. If not, he says, that the transfer is illegal.

John Briceño, Leader of Opposition

“For the government to all of a sudden say I am going to protect this so I am giving it to a foreign trust. It just doesn’t gel. Something fishy—if I may use the word; all pun intended—is happening here. Also, it is very important to point out that the transferring of seventeen thousand acres of land of the atoll is illegal under the National Lands Act. Under the National Lands Act on section six it says that even if the land is sold as a reserve, it must go to the National Assembly for approval. Next, under the Finance and Audit Reform Act section twenty-two, it also says very clear that land in excess of five hundred acres must go to the National Assembly for approval. None of that has been done, so this is an illegal act that the U.D.P. government has taken. But, as what they say, the inquiring minds want to know. Why is this government doing this? Why are they hurriedly signing an agreement a few months into an election?”