Why are Belizeans being prevented from settling at Ml 41?

For the past three weeks now there has been a stir at mile 41 on the Western Highway, prompted when a group of Belizeans who have invested monies to developed an abandoned piece of private land were ordered to “cease and desist” by personnel from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The land is owned by a Taiwanese businessman who left the country several years ago and is said to have passed away since.  His land taxes have soared with the years of abandonment and over the last few years, several families, including Belizeans and Guatemalans have squatted on the 1,300 acre property.

Originally called Capital Gardens, the immigrants who settled there renamed the area Valle Nuevo.  On Sunday the Belizeans who have invested on the land held a meeting to organize a way forward.  Headed by Nigel Petillo, the group has collected over 2,000 signatures of interested Belizeans who want to farm the land.  Petillo and his supporters, including surveyors, have been marking off portions of the land and assigning them to people whose names are on the list.  And now the Chairman of Cotton Tree Village where the area falls, Florentino Baeza, says he too supports the idea.  Baeza says he will write, if necesssary, to the Ministry to implore help for the people of his village.

Some of the Guatemalans who have relocated to the area say they were promised their parcel by Cayo South Area Representative, Ramon Witz, when he campaigned in the area leading up to the 2008 General Elections.  Since then, Witz has been a rare sighting in the area.

While the government maintains that the land will be distributed on a first come first serve basis, Petillo and the 2,000 supporters plan to hold another meeting shortly to continue their process of attaining their land.

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