Placencia residents still say NO to cruise tourism
Hurricane Richard interrupted our coverage of other major developments such as the controversial proposal to introduce a cruise ship development port in the Placencia peninsula. As we reported in Tuesday’s newscast, the BTB sponsored a public consultation last Friday but interestingly, the consultation to determine if Placencia wanted a cruise port was held one day after the BTB published and launched its plan for the cruise port. Overwhelmingly, the feedback was that Placencia did not want a cruise port. Apparently, the discussions were ongoing at a high level for one year but the residents were only just getting some of the basic information. Residents queried how land was already being sold for the development yet nobody could tell them how many ships or cruise visitors would arrive in the peninsula. When asked about a last minute change in the wording of the BTB action plan to cover the fact that a tourism marketplace was being proposed before consultation with the villagers, Director of Tourism, Seleni Matus, responded it was done to “better articulate BTB’s intent”.
Stewart Krohn, Real Estate Developer
stewart Krohn
“I will start with Seleni because she just spoke. She talked about the action plan, well I want to know Seleni why that action plan on page fifty-seven talked about cruise tourism in Placencia as if it was a done deal. This consultation was supposed to be, I don’t have in front of me and I’ll tell you why I don’t have in front of me in a minute, that plan referred to this consultation as a consultation to figure out how people in Placencia could best manage cruise tourism as if it was a done deal. In fact when people of this village started putting up a stink and went to the media that plan which was released and sent out by email suddenly changed overnight, the night before you gave the presentation to now say this was a consultation about whether Placencia people want cruise tourism and that so I don’t think that honesty is being passed out there.”
seleni matus
Seleni Matus, Director of Tourism, BTB
“Stewart, that plan says that we will assess the viability of cruise tourism in southern Belize.”
Stewart Krohn
“That’s what the new, the revised version, says not what the original version said.”
Seleni Matus
“It says that we will help the community to identify those considerations that should be brought into decision making and you should know me and my background much better and the board as well. We are a board that comes with a professional background, a very strong grounding in conservation and we are very committed to keeping this place the same.”
Stewart Krohn
“So you are telling me that there are two versions of that page or what? Just answer the question, did it change overnight or didn’t?”
Seleni Matus
“Look, it was an internal document that was circulated. The consultant wrote a draft, we had extensive reviewing of that draft. If you go back to that document it is there. There is no removal of that specific section and it says the same with better articulation of what the true intent of this work is.”
Placencia has made its voice heard that it does not want cruise tourism there; however, BTB intends to continue its consultations in Dangriga and Punta Gorda and a final report submitted to Cabinet regarding cruise tourism development for the south of Belize. Channel 5 will monitor as this matter unfolds over the coming weeks.
These are the bullies and this is what they do-If you blink they would pull a fast one on you-The
People must stand together and keep there environment the way it is and profit from it the way they
have been doing–They own their businesses on the other side of the coin you’ll find servitude and
exclusion with a double barrell shotgun pointed at the old owners to get out..
They made plans and purchased land to go ahead with their project long ago because they believe that they are much more intelligent than the villagers and would be able to influence and persuade their way through whatever obstacles that came their way, I can see the villagers been able to benefit from the cruises if that’s all the cruise company was running but when they intend to capture every dollar spent by these tourist then there would be nothing left from these tourist to benefit the locals but to clean up the mess left behind by these short term visitors, I am with the villagers on this and I vote a resounding no to cruise tourism in placencia or any other village Eco tourism is a much better route to take keep all the mess in Belize city but keep the rest of Belize pristine that way we can truly classify it as a jewel.
Why don’ they go to San Pedro! Belize have so much to offer but we destroy something that has not been touched by the hands of greed. These individuals are just thinking about themselves and will get their way no matter what the people do. Belize will turn into the next Haiti. Prepare for it, as the government is right there doing the same. They will sell the property to outsiders/cruise liners and the Belizeans will not benefit from anything. This is all similar to where Haiti is and the reason why the people are suffering. We are getting close to this fact just watch our people.
All I have to say is remember “Cuba”, that is the reason why “Fidel” got upset with the way the poor cubans were treated by, people coming into his country and ruin it. The fat cats greasing the palms of the elected officials, and the poor people get poorer and poorer. Watch the greed “GOB”.
what a bunch of hypocrits…..environment…….hahahahah………stop the shrimp farm from discharging all the @#$% in the lagoon first…….
Concerned citizen,
No need to look to Cuba, the same has been predicted/prophesied (depended on political colour) several years ago for Belize:
“A nation of waiters” Rt Hon George Price predicted…..
How can they say Placencia has say no to the propose cruiseship when lets say 200 people were out there at the meeting, 150 of them are non-belizean. They have there own busines already and are living off there retire money . so they have no need to worry about job this industy will create. people need jobs, with out jobs we have thiefs, with thiefs we have crime and with crime we have proverty. Now i’m not saying we must accet it but leave it up to the locals and the born Belizean to decide what they want there village to be. If they want to distroy the beauty there generantion leave for them or if they want to preseve it. The one’s that come here sit around like voulture and wait until a local drop and cant pay there bill and they thay buy them out and put them to the back of the village then they go in an develop big resort and hire back these people. If it was the local who were developing these big building they would be the first 1 who want to be all up in your face for doing so cause we must not get ahead. If they want to make Placencia a retirement home go like in the jungle away from people but dont try to come into this village and try to rum it the way u want. You only come here not from here so let the 1 from here make the decission on this propose cruiseship for the south. The people here work 6 mpnths out of the year, we still got to live the other 6
I agree with the people of Placencia no to cruise ship, the only people that make money is the cruise ship company.