Former government minister says he is vindicated
Former P.U.P. Minister of Government, Jose Coye has twice been taken to court since the change of government and in both instances he has felt vindicated. The most recent case goes back to February of 2008, immediately after the current administration took office. The Ministry of Natural Resources issued letters of caution on fifty-seven lots in a subdivision which Coye started developing while he was in office. The caution letters prohibited the sale or development of the lots which were subdivided from land originally belonging to the University of Belize. After Coye obtained development rights to the property, he began to fill the low lying land, build roads, drains and culverts. He also began to sell the lots for between forty and sixty thousand dollars each, using the proceeds to pay for the development costs. But when the Ministry’s letters of caution were sent out, all purchase arrangements for the lots were put on hold. And now that investigations are complete, the present Commissioner of Lands, Manuel Rodriguez, has written a letter to the Registrar of Lands, Marjorie Petzold, authorizing her to cancel the caution. Coye told the media he feels vindicated.
Jose Coye, former P.U.P. Minister
“I knew from the outset that there was no such thing as a fraud or no such thing as irregularity. There was nothing improper about the project and I couldn’t see how it could have happen if it did. Certainly, the title holders never one day had to make any approach to the Lands Department. None of the persons who were involved in this project had to make any contact with the Lands Department, I myself certainly was never involved in any sort of improper deal with the Lands Department so I found it strange indeed when the caution was placed and the then commissioner claimed that there was this reason to believe that there was irregularity or something improper. Up to today I know of no one in the Lands Department who was fingered for any irregularity. So at this moment, I myself not aware of any such—even at the hearing; when the hearing was held finally in October again there was no evidence brought forward, there was no detailing out of any irregularity that was committed. So I found it strange indeed why the caution was placed back then. I felt strongly that the affidavit that was put before the court by the then commissioner should have been rebutted. It was really unfortunate that it was not rebutted. That was a fault but again, that was the legal petition of the attorney; that there was no need to rebut it. If that affidavit had been rebutted, I think the Chief Justice would have seen it differently. He had to act on an affidavit and the assumption it had not been rebutted, it might have some truth to it. But what was in that affidavit was very, very untrue and that has been proven today to be untrue. The investigation has shown that there was no such thing as irregularity, there was no such fraud. As I said, there was no evidence to show that there was any such improper procedure or transactions that took place. In the beginning it was intended that the government would do the development of this project. But at the time, it was felt that they didn’t want to go to the parliament to seek any supplementary budget because the project was costed at two point four million. Therefore, it was decided that to put the group together and let the development begin just with the payments made by titleholders and the funding used to do the development. The land was bought by government and what was sold were the lots. The lots were sold in the very state that they were in and then the development took place. So the government had gotten the land back from the UB, subdivided it and sold the lots and developed it. That was never so, that was done deliberately I think in the campaign to have a flyer coming out to say that sixty-one lots were sold to me for four thousand dollars. That was very untrue.”
The title-holders who were issued letters of caution took government to court on the grounds that the letters were arbitrary. The Chief Justice found that the case was flawed and dismissed it. But those ten titleholders appealed to the Registrar of Lands challenging the cautions which were placed by the Commissioner of Lands, Manuel Rodriguez. And a press release from Coye today reveals that Rodriguez will no longer proceed. Coye feels the investigation was politically motivated.
Jose Coye
“I have no doubt that prior to the elections when a document was leaked out from the Lands Department which was in fact an error, where they said that sixty-one lots were sold to me for four thousand dollars. I suspected there and then that that document was given out with the intention to discredit me because one; no lots were sold to me, and two; there was no such thing as sixty-one lots for four thousand. They were four thousand each; the word each was left out. I found out after the elections, from my source, that that was deliberately done and that was done to try and discredit me. But it’s unfortunate that that could not have been the end of it. The elections brought its own propaganda, and I felt that after the elections that would have finished. But the then Commissioner apparently persisted in pursuing it for her own reasons I guess. So indeed I think it was really unfair to the titleholders, the people who bought these lots, for these many months were delayed in carrying out their plans.”
Marion Ali
“While you say you feel vindicated is there anybody you are thinking of taking to court for tarnishing your reputation, your name?”
Jose Coye
“I want to say this to those people in the government that I do have a great respect for many of them; I would never cast aspersion in a general way at the public service and I will include also members of the political directory. I happen to know that there are good public officers but there are public officers, and I think that this is what could get dangerous for our democracy, who at times believe that they want to do what they think the politician wants and they set out to do it thinking that that would favor them. That to me was what created this. And quite frankly the campaign for me in the last election was a campaign that was set out to try to discredit me and despair me. And all I can conclude now is that there are times when people will rise, not on their merits, but by pulling others down. But one thing I say to those is it will not be for long because they will come to be found out that they were not what they pretend to be and that’s what I think happened in my last—I would say my last phase of that political year.”
Marion Ali
“Did that campaign in that last election you referred to, did that discourage you from continuing in politics?”
Jose Coye
“I will never be outside of politics in the sense that I see politics as part of my life, it should be part of all our lives. What I do believe in, and I think I said it in the campaign and I’ll say it again; don’t ever believe that the future of Belize will lie in any political party, whether it’s the P.U.P., the U.D.P., the V.I.P. or any party. The future of this country, the upliftment of it will lie in the men and women who have the courage to stand up for what they believe in. And wherever those men and women are, is where the future will be. I intend to be among those men and women.”
We tried reaching the Commissioner of Lands this evening but we were told that he was out for the afternoon. Meanwhile, Coye says the project will now resume with the completion of streets, the installation of electricity and some planting of palm trees to make the area aesthetically pleasing. In the other case last year, Coye appeared along with his former driver, fifty year old Cornel Flowers on charges of Theft, or in the alternative, Obtaining Property by Deception. This came after allegations made by businessman, Alfred Schakron that Coye, through Flowers, had collected over a quarter million dollars from him for a piece of land which was leased to the Putt-Putt Bar on Newtown Barracks. However, those charges were withdrawn a month later when Schakron indicated to the court that he was no longer interested in proceeding with the matter.
