Property Owner Says His Papers are Legit

News Five also spoke with the property owner, Hailu Hurrissa, who says that after being successful in a legal battle with another real estate developer over the tract of land, he has been planting oranges on the acreage.  He says that the cease and desist order was rescinded when it was discovered that he does in fact have ownership of the land.

Dr. Hailu Hurrissa

Dr. Hailu Hurrissa, Land Owner

“This land, three years ago, I started working on it, planting, cleaning, you know.  So for the last three years nobody said anything and then there was a time I went by the Commissioner [of Lands] under the previous government, signed two thousand acres for Mr. Meyers who is a real estate dealer in Placencia.  So we went to court with him and then I, we decided that he should pay me and then I will come out if that is for him.  So in the first place he agreed, later on I called him and he said, “Okay in one week time I will get in touch with you.  After that he disappeared.  So later, with my lawyer, they agreed out of court that I should continue and he will not bother me anymore.  So that is how it is that I continued working.  Recently with the government, still, my application is with the government and I was developing and continued working, you know, I invested a lot of money.  So the same people went to the Lands Office and brought some kind of paper and stopped me for a while and then I went there, I showed the paper I had and everything and they said, “Okay, you continue working.”  In fact, in the last two weeks the inspector of lands from Dangriga came and he inspected it and he saw that everything was okay and so he said, “They will process it.”  Then after that the letter came and the village council chairman, Vincent Scott came with the police and they stopped me.  I said I had papers to work, what happened, he said go and get a new paper that you will continue working on it.  So I went.”