Louis Zabaneh

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Indigenous Affairs

“We met a few months back with landowners, because we wanted to ensure we understood the situation from all perspectives. These are called third parties in the case, meaning they are affected by any decision made where the delamination of Maya areas would cover private lands, whether it is tittle lands or lease lands. So, we had to meet with them and we did. We encouraged them to organize themselves and they did that in the past few week and they have legal representation now. And we met with them and their legal counsel. We have met with the Cabinet subcommittee to look at the concerns they raised through their attorney. And, that is in process right now, that discussion from the government side to be able to have a response for them in due course. We have a mechanism that was put in place, a pro-temp expert committee of the people in the ministries that forms the Cabinet Subcommittee. So, we have the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Attorney General’s Office, obviously our Indigenous Affairs office, the environment that has to do with reserve areas and of course we have from the Ministry of National Security because of the contention situation. So, we have experts forming this pro-temp committee and the first thing they looked at is persons around these Maya communities, non-Mayas who have been on hold in terms of being able to pay for their taxes for tittles and leases. That was addressed in the past couple of weeks. Now we are making progress. We wanted to address that serious concern where they were unfairly impacted, because they own this land. So you have other communities who are non- Maya and they cant use  their land.”

Gov’t Role Questioned in $40M Indigenous Climate Grant

The Indigenous communities of Belize are now in line to benefit from a major climate investment, forty million U.S. dollars unlocked this week by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center through the Green Climate Fund. The Julian Cho Society will lead the project on the ground, but that raises a serious question: what exactly is government’s role in making sure this money truly reaches the people it’s meant to help? Today, we put that question directly to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs.

                         Louis Zabaneh

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Indigenous Affairs

“I believe the ministry of economic transformation was the ministry responsible for the process. When myself and Minister Chebat were in South Korea where the headquarters for GCF is located, we had the opportunity to get an update from them, that was in November of last year. That is when I learnt how far they were with this. So, as we know, the Green Climate Fund gives assistance to various countries that are adversely affected by climate change. And this is in that spirit, to assist indigenous groups around the world who are suffering from extreme weather conditions that affects their agriculture or a coastline erosion that affects their village. So that is what I am aware of. We had a conversation with them about also considering the Garifuna community as well.”

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

Watch the full newscast here:

The post Villagers, Private Owners Raise Alarm Over Maya Land Rights first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Back in 2020, when the P.U.P. took office, government froze land payments amid claims that the U.D.P. was handing out parcels to voters. Hundreds of lots were later reclaimed, including some in Belama. But now residents are asking, was every piece returned? Turns out El Celaso Lane, a road that’s been blocked for years, has been privately owned since 2020. So, was it part of that land grab? We put the question to former U.D.P. Freetown standard bearer Orson Elrington.

Britney Gordon

“Is there a possibility that this land was included in those that were given out prior to the elections?”

                    On the Phone: Orson Elrington

On the Phone: Orson Elrington, Former U.D.P. Standard Bearer, Freetown

“It could be. I dunno, it could be I don’t know. I don’t know. That is a decision for the Ministry of Lands. But I can tell you definitively. What we can put on record is for sure that we absolutely tried our best to try to find parcels of land for, of course, parcels of land in ity are very hard to come by, so wherever it is that we found that there were available parcels of land, we tried to ensure that persons first time land owners had the opportunity to get parcels.”

Several residents claim that the U.D.P. campaigners, including Elrington, had assured them that opening the road would be a priority. He says he can’t recall whether that parcel was among those sold in 2020, but insists his focus has always been on helping first-time landowners secure their titles.

Britney Gordon

“You promised some of them that would’ve been a goal for you to open up.”

On the Phone: Orson Elrington

“I don’t recall that, and I don’t make any promises that I don’t intend to keep, so I wouldn’t be able to say yes or no to that. If it’s something people wanted, then we definitely would be able to lobby. But the question of whether or not something is open as a lane or not that I can’t say it at all. I know that was not a major thing for me. I was always interested in getting people parcels of land.”

In 2021, the P.U.P. administration launched an investigation into whether the right protocols were followed for the sale of land parcels under the U.D.P. Albert Vaughn, P.U.P. chairperson of Freetown, was a city councilor at the time. He says, to the best of his memory, the sale of El Celaso Lane never went through the full process. If that’s true, then why hasn’t the land been returned? That’s exactly what we asked him.

Britney Gordon

“If the process was not followed then is it necessary that the petition even be considered? Isn’t it a matter of just saying the process was not followed, the land must be returned?”

                    Albert Vaughn

Albert Vaughn, Chairperson, P.U.P. Freetown

“Those are my view. I don’t know. And so we would need to take the petition and actually look at how we could best address this. I don’t know. I am saying to you as a city counselor, if I’ve never come to the desk, this is my area. So had it come to the city council, I would’ve been the first one to stand up and say, Nope. Object. We do have problem with that, right? But in my view from 2018, that has not come, and this happened 2020. So we were at the city council. There was a UDP, central government, but the process is that it has to come to council for a no objection. In my view, that have not happened.”

Elrington maintains that he does not recall whether El Celaso Lane was a part sold with his assistance, stating that it would have to be processed by the Ministry of Natural Resources. We reached out to former Deputy Prime Minister Hugo Patt for a comment but did not receive a response.

Britney Gordon

“The sale happened just before the 2020 elections. So that would’ve been under the UDP administration. Do you recall these lands going up for sale in that area?

On the Phone: Orson Elrington

“That’s not, that doesn’t, we don’t have anything to do with sale. Sale or not goes through the Ministry of Natural Resources. As it is right there, it is marshland. It is as I would believe it is a reserve and only the only person that can de-reserve areas of land is the minister of lands. That is the only person who has the authority to de-reserve areas of land in Belize.”

Elrington added that, in his view, first-time landowners should always have the chance to buy land when it becomes available. But that raises the big question, were these parcels sold through the proper process, and did they really go to first-time buyers?

On the Phone: Orson Elrington

“While it is, I understand that persons would want it to be more convenient, I believe, my personal belief is that wherever there is an opportunity for first time land owners to get a parcel of land, I will always be in support of where there is a move for individuals to be able to receive parcels of land.”

Residents of the community are calling on the government to re-purchase the land and open the road they have been promised for years. Britney Gordon for News Five.

The post Was El Celaso Road Part of the 2020 Belama Land Grab? first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Take a look at this map, it’s Belama Phase Three. You’ll see three key streets: Marciana Fuenes, Vernon Leslie Crescent, and El Celaso Lane. Together, they’re supposed to make getting in and out of the neighborhood easy. But El Celaso Lane has been off-limits for years, despite repeated promises from the government. And now, residents have learned the land is private property. That revelation has crushed hopes of ever turning it into a public road.

                                     Sergio Alaya

Sergio Alaya, Belama Land Owner

“The street, El Celaso  lane has been taken away from us and we are here to take our stands to. Try to make sure that the street comes true because it is something that is very needed. Everybody says they have an issue, including me when I come, I have to reverse or turn in my yard. I don’t have a house, so I can do that. But if you have a house in your yard, you cannot do that. So that’s the biggest issue.”

According to residents, the land was sold in 2020 under the UDP administration, the same government that reassured them that the road would soon be opened. That’s created a major access problem, drivers now have to cut through private yards just to get out of the neighborhood, and residents aren’t happy about it. Derick Valencia has been living in the community for nearly a decade and has maintained El Celaso lane land for just as long, He says, when he first moved, he was told that land was not for sale but continued to clean for the benefit of the community.

                                   Derick Valencia

Derick Valencia, Belama Resident

“ When I get to land’s department, the woman told me and she say, this is a street. How can you come apply for a street? So after she told me this, okay, I understood. So I went back to work. So since that day, so I have been maintaining the land and since 2017, cleaning the land and I believe like 2020, somebody come and survey the land while they survey the land, I asked the person, Hey, I don’t want to call name. I asked the person hey, why you survey that land that is the street?”

The land may have been sold under a previous administration, but residents want this government to step in. They say the property went for as little as a thousand dollars—and if government won’t buy it back, they’re ready to do it themselves. P.U.P. Freetown Chair Albert Vaughan says the issue just came to his attention and, from what he knows, the sale didn’t follow proper protocol.

                                    Albert Vaughn

Albert Vaughn, Chairperson, P.U.P. Freetown

“I get to understand that was in 2020. October of 2020. If you can recall, the election was November. And so I was not aware. I have been a member of the Belize City Council from 2018, I served in the city council. In my mind is I’ve never bought to the city council because what would normally happen if somebody wants to purchase the street, then that request would come from Lands for us  to have a no objection. And once the council to say that we have no objection with it, then that process continue. If the council say, we have objection, then that process don’t go forward. That, in my mind have noy happened at the city council.”

Across the neighborhood, residents have posted several flyers and billboards condemning the sale of El Celaso Lane. That stands in stark contrast to the cluster of private property signs now posted throughout the area. Valencia explains that the issue does not lie with the owners of the land, it is the system that facilitated the sale.

Derick Valencia

“I’m telling you the truth, because the street is small. It’s not like wide as supposed to. That’s why his name is Leslie Crescent, Crescent means. So if land tell me, they told me that was the street, why didn’t they tell that person that was the street too? They have preference. And to this I tell you, you conscious man, we need the street. We need the street. We are not here to fight nobody. I’m not here to fight no person because just like this person applied for it, anybody could have applied for it too. So it’s not the person that we are fighting, it’s the system that they have in Belize.”

Now, residents have signed a petition, calling on the government to repurchase the land and open the road. Vaughn says that the next steps will be to discuss with Area Representative Francis Fonseca and the lands department what can be done to assist the community.

Albert Vaughn

“The residents are putting out a petition. We have to look at their petition and we have to take that petition to where it ought to go. My investigation told me that to acquire that street would cost a lot of money. And this is the game people play. This is the game. These people know exactly what they’re doing because if you gotta purchase, you gotta prepare for a hundred thousand. I don’t know if the government is prepared for that, but what we are going to do, our committee, we are going to look at their petition and we are going to see how best we can work with them to at least have the minister of lands on our accord, look at it and other people advise us how to go forward. So we are going to work with these residents. I think that the street is important.”

Land is one of the most sought after assets in Belize, however, this community is putting its foot down to say that public accessibility and safety come first.  Britney Gordon for News Five.

The post Belama Residents Lose Hope as Key Access Road Turns Private first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

                               Chester Williams

Chester Williams, Former Commissioner of Police

“I was the commissioner then who had wrote to the mayor making some proposal and indeed because of the increase of crime in the area we had sought to have the area cordoned off or blocked off to alleviate those concerns in the area. I think the mayor took the recommendation and that was done. I am not going to say that it is because of the police’s inability to police, because the police do have a huge responsibility. The police cannot stay in one community in Belize City and police that one community and leave the rest of the communities open. So, it is a matter the mayor dealt with based on recommendation I made to him, following the concerns people raised in the area to me.”

Britney Gordon

And when it was closed off did, we see the crime go down?

Chester Williams

“Certainly, it went down tremendously.”

The post Hangar Closure Sparked by Security Concerns; Ex-ComPol Says Police Are Stretched Thin first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Dr. Sade Thompson, along with two fellow American investors, says they’re pulling out of the Howler Jungle House and Cabanas project in Burrell Boom. They claim their Belizean business partners, Kenny and Shanna Williams, charged them way too much to build and manage three structures and other amenities on the property. Dr. Thompson told News Five that trust has completely broken down. She and her partners now want the buildings removed from the site altogether. But the Williamses aren’t staying silent. Their attorney, Andrew Bennett, is firmly rejecting the accusations.

Voice of: Dr. Sade Thompson, American Investor

“And then once we told them we gave them a thirty days notice and that is when  they completely blocked Jasmyn from the property. They decided she was not allowed for no reason. They said we have guest we don’t want to disrupt them. So, we gave notice. So, we sent it by email from our lawyer. They said, oh that is not enough.”

Jazmynn Tillett has been acting on behalf of the American investors in Belize. And Bennett says his clients did not block Tillett from the property without reason.

Andrew Bennett

Andrew Bennett, Attorney-at-law

“We want to be clear, because we anticipate this may lead to litigation. We have written to their attorneys and offered solutions in respect to the removal of these structures and that is still a live matter and we want to be careful.”

Back on September twenty-fourth, Morales and Company sent a letter to Courtenay Coye LLP suggesting that any relocation of the buildings be pushed to the tourist off-season, ideally May 2026. But Dr. Thompson isn’t on board with that timeline. She says they’ve already lined up contractors who are ready to move the structures now, even if it means taking a financial hit.

Voice of: Dr. Sade Thompson

“That is where we are all kind of at and where we have recognized the loses and it is really frustrating and that is why when Shanna came back and said May, we were just like why so long. Our plan is to get the buildings and have them ready by high season. 26they are a really good contracting company.”

Andrew Bennett

“These were built from scratch. It was so the removal and dismantling of these structures, as you noticed when we are coming in, the passage is not good for a mass removal and so within our conversation or communication we were told that they would dismantle and take out. But there are still little things that needs to be worked out as far as that is concerned.”

Basically, the Williamses don’t want Tillett anywhere near the property anymore; their working relationship has completely fallen apart. And back in June, the American investors made it clear, they ordered the buildings to be locked up and taken out of use. So now, those three structures have just been sitting there for months, untouched.

Voice of: Dr. Sade Thompson

“The main thing we want is to be able to take our property and move it. They even have a clause in the agreement is that if it is breached you guys can move according to the agreement and we believe that all the fraud we uncovered is a breach and we don’t want to work with them anymore.”

Andrew Bennett

“Imagine somebody comes and they want peace and tranquility and when they come they hear construction happening and the road access blocked. You don’t get the value and enjoyment of Belize because of that. This is the height of the tourism season. Doctor Thompson does not understand Belize tourism season.”

Legal tensions are heating up in the Howler Jungle House dispute, and the paperwork is under the microscope. Barrow and Williams LLP have flagged several inconsistencies in the lease agreement tied to the Burrell Boom property. In a letter to Dr. Sade Thompson, the firm warned that without proper legal structure, the current setup will continue to cause problems. One major issue? The land hasn’t been surveyed or subdivided as required by the Land Utilization Act. That step is crucial for transferring titles to each investor. The firm recommends a more formal approach, setting up a limited liability company where each investor becomes a shareholder. Meanwhile, the conflict on the ground continues. Shanna and Kenny Williams argue that despite claims from Tillett that she’s been locked out of the property, surveillance footage shows individuals entering and removing items in boxes. At this point, both sides will need to sit down, with their lawyers, and figure out how to move forward. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

The post Burrell Boom Investment Dispute Escalates first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

When construction started on this Burrell Boom property owned by Kenny and Shanna Williams, Dr. Sade Thompson was told her two-bedroom unit would cost about eighty thousand U.S. dollars. But somewhere along the way, that price shot up, skyrocketing to one hundred and twenty-four thousand. That’s forty-four thousand dollars over budget. So, did Thompson and the other investors ever receive detailed invoices and proof of where their money went?

On the Phone: Dr. Sade Thompson, American Investor

“We believed, like, this is what it would cost. They would give us an invoice, everything that we did, they gave us invoices that would break it down, the wood, the this… It looked very, very legit. And so, I thought, okay, and as I paying this, as I am paying the $124,000 [which] they said was going to be in phases, okay, phase one is thirty thousand US dollars… phase two… there were about five phases. And as we’re paying for these phases, there were other things coming up aside from the actual amount that we were supposed to pay.”

What specific upgrades justified these increases? Were there any audits or financial reviews conducted during the construction phase? Still, attorney Andrew Bennett, who represents the Williamses, argues that Thompson and her partners ended up with far more than they originally expected.

                         Andrew Bennett

Andrew Bennett, Attorney-at-law

“In our view, they got more than value for money. Look at this property, eco-friendly, untouched, natural setting, howler monkeys around. You don’t get that in America. You get that in Belize, and that is their capital injection. What Mr. Williams has done for them, at no cost, was to oversee the construction of these homes. So, talking about value for money, they have gotten more than. And that is a matter of dispute, so we will not get into the numbers.”

According to Thompson, they ended up paying rent and extra fees, plus meeting with contractors after costs kept climbing. Even though the price was higher than expected, they believed the luxury upgrades and promised returns would make it worthwhile, especially with a notarized agreement in place.

Dr. Sade Thompson

“We ended up paying rent, we ended up paying all these extra fees because they said that the people weren’t local. And so, I just kept on… We ended up going in person, so after we decided that we’ll pay the… we’ll do that amount, we met with the contractor, we had a Zoom meeting with the contractor. It was higher than we expected, but everything still sounded good. It was luxury so we’ll make our money back. They were telling us about returns on investments. And so, since they were doing an informal mortgage that, and we did see it, it was stamped and it was not stamp duty, but they did have like a notary do that agreement with them.”

At one point, Thompson and her partners realized they needed some expert guidance to keep the project on track. So, they brought in consultant Jazmynn Tillett to help steer the ship and figure out the next steps.

On the Phone: Jazmynn Tillett, Consultant

“You could have easily walked away from the situation safely, but you didn’t. Instead, you just became more greedy. You tried to ask them for more money rather than just saying, listen… All they had to do was just be accountable. For me, as a foreigner living here, too, it’s really sad to see people be ripped off over five hundred thousand dollars. The FIU has done nothing, the Ladyville police have not even allowed us on the property to do inventory and meanwhile on the cameras it’s seen that they are taking all their property. So we have these three cabanas that are being assessed by DFC at over half a million, or over a million dollars, and we can’t even get into them to simply put a camera or count how many dishes.”

Our investigation has raised some serious legal and ethical questions. Why did the Williamses maintain beneficial ownership while soliciting large investments? Does this raise questions about control and risk? Could the investors’ lack of familiarity with local business practices have contributed to misunderstandings? So, why were they kicked out?

Andrew Bennett

“There are two aspects of that. One: We have communicated to Courtenay Coye that the relationship between Jazmynn Tillett and my clients have soured and so she is no longer an invited person to be on this property. We have suggested that both parties work on appointing somebody who is amenable to both parties.”

We’ll continue to follow this story in our next newscast. Isani Cayetano for News Five.

The post Belize Jungle Retreat Turns Legal Battleground first appeared on Greater Belize Media.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

On August twenty-third, residents in the Home Park area applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources for provisional approval to subdivide the area known as Hangar. They essentially wanted to convert the public road to private property, after numerous complaints about the way visitors have been utilizing the area. The application lists several proprietors’ names, including Louis Leslie, Henry C Fairweather, JRD Holdings Limited, Kenneth Clifton Fairweather, Nicolas Hastings. The client names on the application are Allen McNab, Jules Vasquez, Managing Director of 7 News, Louis Leslie and Michael Fields. The names, Michael Fields, Allen McNab, Dhiraj Nandwani of JRD Holdings Limited and Jules Vasquez, are also featured prominently on a 2022 petition requesting that the Belize City Council close public access to the seafront area. That petition was initially denied.

In compliance with the Land Utilization Act, the subdivision application was submitted along with a detailed plan. According to that plan, the Hangar would be divided into five sections: one allocated to JRD Holdings, another to Louis Leslie, a portion for McNab, a parcel for Fields, and finally, at the far end, a section designated for Jules Adrian Vasquez. A highly connected source within the Ministry of Natural Resources provided News Five with details of the application, including details of the individual application. And each application repeatedly points to the fact that these residents intend to use the subdivision for residential purposes. Importantly, each applicant authorized Dhiraj Nandwani to act as their representative in connection with a request to purchase the parcel of land owned by the Government of Belize located in front of their respective properties.

So, we reached out to the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Natural Resources to find out about the status of that application, because granting provisional approval would likely spell the end of Hangar as a public road, stripped away from access to ordinary Belizeans. Well, CEO Thompson confirmed that the application was submitted with the hope that it would be before the Land Subdivision and Utilization Authority. But, according to Thompson, the application never made it that far, because he said it was, quote, instantaneously deemed a nonstarter. Thompson reasoned that applications to subdivide can only be made by the legal landowner, in this case the Government of Belize.

So, why was the application met with instantaneous disapproval and not elevated to the authority when, according to Section Ten of the Act, the authority must receive all applications for subdivision to do their investigation? Who made that call? Today, residents living along the seafront area issued a press release explaining why they applied to have the Hangar subdivided.

The release references longstanding concerns, such as safety, environmental and quality-of-life issues. The release also points to severe coastal erosion and rising sea levels, leading to street flooding. These residents say that if no action is taken the sea will reach its front gates within the next seven years. The release explains that after the 2022 City Council rejection, residents came together and decided to subdivide and acquire the land directly in front of their properties, with the intent to invest in the reconstruction of the seawall and responsibly manage the area.

But here’s what we’re asking: Who exactly are those residents? Which households signed on, and do they represent all seafront residents on St. Luke, St. John, and St. Edward Streets, or only a subset? When did the City Council reject the first proposal in 2022, and on what grounds? What does “subdivide and acquire the land directly in front of these properties” mean in practice, freehold transfer, lease, license, or easement? How many parcels and total square footage/meters were proposed?

But why not simply invest in the upgrading of the seawall for the greater good, instead of proposing to subdivide the Hangar? And, what about coming together to invest in increased security features within the area? Even more interesting, the failed 2022 petition was once again brought before the council, after the subdivision proposal was reportedly shut down. This time, it got the support of the Belize Police Department, with a letter written by former Commissioner of Police Chester Williams. The council approved the petition this time around and blocked off the Hangar to vehicular access. When we reached out to Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner today, he said “We acted on the request of residents who make their home in the area and that was done through a petition. Our action was to limit access to the area only by foot. That is the extent of our action”.  When we asked him if he is aware that the request for subdivision, he said, “I have no knowledge of this”. But would Mayor Wagner support a move to put the Hangar into the hands of private landowners? We asked him and he said, “Those sorts of request and undertakings has been requested in the past by many residents. And on some occasions based on the circumstances we have allowed. I believe we will see more of such request in the future.  Personally, I am for prioritizing quality of life for all residents of the city”.

The residents in the area are standing by their position on the matter. They concluded their release by stating that they are committed to working collaboratively with the City Council, Lands Department and other stakeholders. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

The post Inside the Hangar Controversy: Who’s Trying to Privatize a Public Road? first appeared on Greater Belize Media.