Santa Cruz Village Council’s Land Woes Continue

Santa Cruz Village Council continues to fight to maintain control of the village’s land expansion project. Issues for the council arose back in January 2019 when they received word that the U.D.P. Stann Creek West Standard Bearer, Ivan William, was attempting to take control of the project. According to Chairman, Vincent Scott, that is still the case. Scott contends that many of the villagers have paid hundreds of dollars to survey the land and map it out. That, however, was not done with the authorization of the Lands Department but later gave its blessing for the project to proceed. Still the project has not been finalized since the Lands Department has not given permission for an official survey to be done. Well, that is what Scott and the villagers believe until they received word that Williams had reportedly gotten that permission without the council’s knowledge.

Vincent Scott, Chairman, Santa Cruz Village Council

Vincent Scott

“We are very concerned. The people who paid for the survey and the people who paid for the streets they are the people that we have already assigned to these lots and with someone getting the permission and without consulting with the village we are very concerned because we already have our project going on long before the standard bearer was there. Now I am hearing there is a permission to survey out there and nobody has told us anything. We are the ones who spend in that project. In that project we have like forty eight streets. We have done close to sixty streets in the village. We have done our part. Now for permission to survey to come out and then we don’t know anything about it, it really worries me.”

Hipolito Novelo

“But would you agree that it is elections time and land is used to barter for votes.”

Vincent Scott

“Exactly, that’s why I am concerned because coming in to our project we have worked very hard. We have been fighting and everybody knows it and I have come to the media already and presented my receipts.”