The public consultation on the 6th amendment to the constitution bill
started an hour ago at the Holy Redeemer Parish Hall. The event is expected
to be lively as there is an escalating public relations battle over section
17 of the constitution which guarantees that a citizen will not be deprived
of his property. Under the proposed amendment, the section would make it so
that all mineral and petroleum rights will be the property of the government
and people of Belize. The government says it is only enshrining what’s
already in the law, but critics say, it’s going one step too far. Like
we said the issue has been exciting some public debate and that is expected
to continue tonight as the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee chaired
by Belmopan Representative John Saldivar holds its public consultation in Belize
City. Saldivar told us that his committee is open to comment.
Hon. John Saldivar,
“What we are attempting to do here is not to make any new law, it
is already the law that petroleum and minerals belong to the government and
people of Belize. What we are attempting to do here is to enshrine it in the
constitution so that it gives it an added protection of being in the constitution.
If we say that the oil does not belong to the individual land owner which is
what we are saying here, all we are saying is that you cannot challenge that
fact. If you want to challenge compensation for use of your land, for damage
to your land for loss of revenue because we are exploiting oil from your land
that is provided for the in the Petroleum Act and continues to be provided for
in the Petroleum Act.”
Jules Vasquez,
Because there is some concern that the way the constitutional amendment is worded,
it precludes the possibility, it stops you from going to court to make any challenge
of the government taking preemptory rights upon your land.
Hon. John Saldivar,
“It precludes you from going to court to say the oil belongs to you
and to say that the oil is your property, that is what the amendment is attempting
to do. It is not saying that you cannot be compensated for use of your land
for damage to your land and so on.”
Jules Vasquez,
We know this has become a quite high stake battle, we know that Mr. Barry Bowen
has filed a case in the Supreme Court challenging this constitutional amendment,
basically we know the lobby of the Landowners Association as I said to some
extent the Bar Association, as you enter this public consultation which I imagine
just population wise may be one of your largest, how open are you all to suggestion
to attenuation of adjusting this constitutional amendment?
Hon. John Saldivar,
“The government is always open to listen to reasonable and reasoned
criticisms or suggestions with respect to anything we do. However we’re
very clear in our mind with respect to what we want to do in this case. We are
very clear that it is something that is good for the Belizean people.”
One very outspoken critic of the amendment who won’t be there
is geologist and landowners’ rights activist Jim Cavanaugh, popularly
known as Jungle Jim. Cavanaugh had a heart attack while flying into Belize from
Houston a week ago. He was hospitalized in a serious condition and then suffered
another heart attack on Monday night. That one was fatal and he was pronounced
dead close to 9:00.
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