Port Loyola resident says area rep knocked down his home

A resident of Port Loyola is claiming that Works Minister, Anthony Martinez, gave him a major boot by dismantling his home.  The disgruntled constituent of Port Loyola claims he was victimized when Martinez’s Ministry of Works employees disassembled his small wooden structure which he had constructed near the riverside in the Belama Phase Four area of Belize City.  Allen Valencio told News Five that he decided to squat and build the eight by ten foot structure because he felt that his efforts to get a piece of land legally was not yielding any positive results.  Valencio showed us a copy of a letter from Prime Minister Dean Barrow which was addressed to the Minister of Natural Resources, Gaspar Vega, requesting that consideration be given to him for a piece of land in the area.  But Minister Martinez says that does not give Valencio the right to squat.  More serious than that, Valencio was squatting on a river reserve.  We heard both sides.

Allen Valencio, Claims victimization

allen valencio

“When I come home back fi lunch my house my house deh done. All my contents inna my house missing like tools and ply wood, zinc and two by four and soh. So I search fi ansa and when I gone to different people I get fi understand. First thing, I talk to my neighbor and my neighbor tell me dehn si certain people come inna—well, Boot’s personal vehicle, di white truck.”

Marion Ali

“Workers, who?”

Allen Valencio

“Yes, some employee ah Boots Martinez. So I gone and check certain people dah di place weh I know dehn located and dehn tell me yes dehn come through and dehn dismantle di house.”

Marion Ali

“They admitted that they did it right but you are on a reserve, you admit that as well?”

Allen Valencio

“I admit that I get fi learn that I am on a reserve.”

Marion Ali

“So you shouldn’t be here.”

Allen Valencio

“I shouldn’t be here but I expect dehn fi consult me and talk to me or try relocate me dah somewhere else you know.  I dah wah supporter ah di party I noh know why dehn di put dehn pressure pan me and di try get rid ah my place like dat.”

Marion Ali

“But nobody can squat on a reserve; especially squat.”

Allen Valencio

“They didn’t inform me that it was a reserve. I get wah letter signed by di prime minister. I understand he noh know di exact location weh I di squat and di letter basically di seh dat I could ker dis to di Minister ah Lands and den di prime minister di ask if di Minister ah Lands could assist me by getting my lease and I eena di process fi get permission to survey fi dis same piece ah land.”

Marion Ali

“When was this letter written?”

Allen Valencio

“Second of September, 2009.”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez, Minister of Works

anthony martinez

“Probably you have aired stories before about the problem in Jane Usher that otherwise where people were squatting on the road reserve and this is worse, this is the river reserve. Here is where our ministry is formulating a plan to deal with the entire drainage of Belama Phase Four right through here. This is the reserve for the government. The Ministry of Works is responsible for waterways and various things and to have people just come illegally and squat, that will not be tolerated.  Mr. Valencio work with the Belize City Council in the capacity as an inspector fi people weh must have permit to put up fence and people dat must have a plan to put up ah building. Furthermore to that, even his job description, he gone gainst ih job description.”

Marion Ali

“Okay, but in tandem with the letter that he showed me and as his area rep, again will you be helping him?”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“Apart from that, first and foremost, the letter is clear. If I give you a recommendation letter to go to the Minister of Natural Resources and seh kindly si if you could facilitate Mr. Valencio with a piece of land, that don’t mean Mr. Valencio can go and squat on any land or worse on the reserve. So the letter speaks for itself, the letter is obvious. But apart from he has been speaking to me and never one day he told me that he was squatting on a land in Belama Phase Four. He was to get back to me about a month ago cause he was asking about a piece of land and I told we were looking into it. But further into that, you don’t do thing in a lawless manner.”

Marion Ali

“He did claim that some items were stolen.”

Anthony “Boots” Martinez

“But nothing was stolen cause whatever we did, we did in tandem with the police. But nevertheless, here and there, I seh Mr. Valencia noh worry about it I will give you back some new plywood if dat dah di case because I have been helping poor people fi move out ah dis kind of situation into better situations. The Southside Project covers that kind of thing. And this is not appropriate for nobody to even start to think about live; you can take a look at the structure that is there. So but I think that was a ply to muscle government to immediately give him a piece of land. Ih noh work like dat. You can’t tek yoh illegal ploy and want to make it legal.”

Minister Martinez says he is still trying to facilitate Valencio with finding an adequate piece of land elsewhere.  Martinez also said that two other families who have squatted on the reserve have been notified that they too must relocate elsewhere.  Those families have indicated that they are in the process of relocating.