Chamber of Commerce Says Bullet Tree Chairman is Acting Illegally
Last week, we reported on the impasse between the chairman of the Bullet Tree Village and Livestock Producers who export informally to Guatemala. The Chairman, Sabino Pinelo, held a meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force on Agriculture Committee that farmers cannot expect to traverse through the village if they did not pay a toll. As we have been reporting, the livestock industry has been taking a hit and since the impasse three weeks ago, approximately one point eight million dollars have been lost with that figure potentially increasing to two point four million dollars monthly. Today, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry wrote to the Committee indicating that cattle farmers can either continue to feed the herd though a drought is forecasted or dispose of the animals since there are far more than can be locally consumed. The B.C.C.I. also calls the position of Pinelo to be in contravention of the Village Council Act, which does not give him authority to charge a fee at a time when the livelihood of four thousand five hundred cattle farmers is at risk. The B.C.C.I. also points out that the charge has not been taken as required to the National Assembly so the B.C.C.I. says Pinelo is unauthorized and acting illegally. The private sector is appealing to the committee to act soonest to allow exports to continue until the matter can be formalized. For context this is what Pinelo had to say:
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai, Member, COVID-19 Task Force on Agriculture
“What kind of benefits are you looking at Mr. Sabino, for us to consider?”
Voice of: Sabino Pinelo, Chairman, Bullet Tree Falls
“Well at least the benefits that the police officers are getting because I will be honest with you, several times, you know I’m a businessman here in the community, I travel through that checkpoint every minute and I see how those cattle trucks they just come and they take money into the compound of the police officers, you understand. And not only me, several persons have seen that.”
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“Okay, so you are saying that they are giving money to the policeman and you want the same benefit?”
Voice of: Sabino Pinelo
“Well the benefit is not for me, it’s for the community, right.”
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“Okay, how much… let us get to the bottom of this, how much money is the village council asking for, because we don’t have enough time you know, the pastures are drying up and we need to move on this.”
Voice of: Sabino Pinelo
“Well sir, I’ll be honest with you, if you don’t have time well I’m sorry.”
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“No, no. What I want to get is to the bottom of it.”
Voice of: Sabino Pinelo
“…to not agree to work along with the council.”
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“We want to work along with the council but we need to know what is it that you want exactly so we can propose right away to the government and they will tell us what to do. What is it that you are requesting exactly?”
Voice of: Sabino Pinelo
“At least for every truck that passes, at least they pay a fee for coming through the community, sir.”
Voice of: Jose Abelardo Mai
“What fee sir, what fee are you looking at more or less?”
Voice of: Sabino Pinelo
“Well right now I don’t have a figure, right but we can try and figure out with the council and see what will be the… Let’s say, like we decide, let’s ask them for every truck that passes, let’s say, for example, for every truck that passes let’s say we let them pay at least seventy-five dollars per truck. The community will benefit from it. That is an example, I am not saying that that is what we are going to charge, but I am saying it’s like a fee right. For every truck that passes at least pay a fee for the community. That’s my major point.”
