Land Issue Brewing in Jacintoville

On Monday, we showed you a land situation in Red Bank Village that has divided the village council and residents of that southern community.  Tonight, another land situation is brewing farther south in Toledo District where farmers in Jacintoville descended on a team of surveyors who were in the area earlier today mapping out parcels of land available for distribution.  The farmers are up in arms and contend that the land is being given away without the knowledge or consent of the village chairman.  This morning, our colleagues from PGTV headed out to Jacintoville and spoke with the incensed farmers.

Farmer

“None of them, from what I understand, none of these people are farmers, so what are they going to do with this land?  I can only assume that they will sell this land and we will never, ever, ever get back this land again.”

Reporter

“Anybody else wants to say anything?  Sir, we understand you have some land in this area too and have had that land for quite some time.”

Property Owner

“Well first of all, I want to say that I was chairman even before Mr. Jakes was chairman of Jacintoville, I was chairman of Jacintoville, so I am fully aware of this area.  I have my block of land not far away from here.  Now what is shameful and disgraceful, I as a farmer paid for the title for my land sitting on the minister’s desk.  The title is only to be signed for the past three years and they have not signed it.  As a farmer, everybody who’s getting land in this area right now they are not farmers.  Why are you going to give a man twenty-five acres of land, fifty acres of land and he’s not a farmer?  As a matter of fact…”

Reporter

“Do those people live here?”

Property Owner

“No.  As a matter of fact, the last election, every election, two, three months before election this happens.  One of the guys who’s getting land right now got fifty acres of land right beside me, do you know what he did?  That land was sold right after for thirteen thousand Belize dollars.”