Was There a Land Grab in Mountain Pine Ridge under the Previous Administration?
The Caracol Road Project was always a divisive issue in the House of Representatives. The road is being done in phases – and the current administration has shared that they do not support the entire project. In the first week of January, Minister of Infrastructure Julius Espat told the press that he supports the first two phases, but the third portion from Blancaneaux Lodge to Caracol Archaeological Site hasn’t been awarded, and he would like to see the monies be used for something else. It’s left to be seen if that will happen, but one of the other government ministers who had always criticized the project is Orlando Habet, Cayo North East area representative. Habet says that he believes the project was pushed by the previous administration because of certain interests in the area. On our trip to the Chiquibul over the weekend, News Five has learned that hundreds of acres in the Mountain Pine Ridge are now allegedly owned by former government ministers. While Minister Habet has his views on the land and new road, the parceling of lands is also a concern for the co-manager of the Chiquibul National Park. Here’s what they had to say about the issue.
Orlando Habet
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“In this regard, especially with our trip here to the Chiquibul, we know – we don’t know who but we know that during the past few years a lot of land has been distributed up here in this area of the Mountain Pine Ridge. Certainly if we don’t put some controls on it and we don’t know what they are doing then further destruction can come out depending on the type of development. I was on during the past administration, at the House of Representatives had mentioned that I wasn’t in full approval of the construction of this road because there was an ulterior motive for construction of this road to Caracol. While we believe an upgraded road can be constructed, an all weather road, it wasn’t worth spending a hundred and eighty million dollars on this road when we have other priorities.”
Raphael Manzanero
Raphael Manzanero, Executive Director, F.C.D.
“We finished an advocacy strategy just four months ago and the recommendation there is that the government should put a freeze on all of those areas, particularly forest reserves, for the same reason that there has been more of subdivisions and de-reservations, even though the de-reservations might not have passed through proper guidelines and protocols; so the freezing is one of the key recommendations that has been provided and offered by the F.C.D. under this advocacy strategy.”
