Minister Hyde Weighs In On Maya Land Rights Situation

Cordel Hyde

The Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs was in Big Falls Village over the weekend to consult with residents on the Draft Maya Land Tenure Policy. A release from the ministry states that the consultation exercise was a success. The release noted that villagers gave valuable insights and perspectives. The community is viewed as one where most residents are against customary land rights. So, there was not much resistance to be expected. But, what does the minister responsible for lands think about the ongoing tensions in the Toledo District? He was asked if potential first time land owners that reside outside of Maya communities stand to lose as a result of these new policies and if he thinks these Maya villages have lost trust in the government.

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources

“You are right we are in the business of politics and people will say things and you cant be thin skin in this. You have to be motivated and challenged by criticism and try to do better all the time. I don’t know that is the position of the minister. I think she has done a lot of heavy lifting since she got in. She is met with these communities over a long period of time, almost every weekend they are down there trying to engage with the communities and reach some kind of consensus as to the way forward. Just know that this issue has been with us for ears and years. it is a vexing and difficult issue and everybody won’t be happy. She has a string and needle and it will be hard. The only way to get that done is by talking and discussing with each other, and give and take and try to compromise and see eye to eye. Ultimately it is about Belize. We are one nation, one people and we are trying to make sure we have agreement and that we move forward as one nation and people. We are going to have bumps along the way, challenges and we are going to disagree. But it is about sitting down and working through our disagreements. The Africans say we talk until we agree and I believe that. We have been talking. I have been down there with here. I have seen her talk. I have seen her engage. So, I know that she is putting her best foot forward. I know her team is working hard and other arms of government try to provide support so that ultimately in the shortest time possible we can reach to some agreement that everybody can live it. This is a draft policy we are looking at. This is in the infancy stages. We have some ways to go. This is not going to be tabled in the House next week, next month. There is a lot of work that the government has to put in until we are comfortable to say you know what, we have something that can work, that the Mayans can agree to and ultimately we emerge from this as a better nation as a more unified nation as difficult as that might seem right now. I believe we can get that done. There is no problem in this country where there is not a solution.”