Last week Friday on the news - we interviewed the chairman and vice chairman of Cotton Tree Village - who explained why they were suing the government for giving away land within their village boundary. The villagers - bolstered by their PUP Area Representative Julius Espat - have retained attorney Andrew Marshalleck of Barrow and Company to challenge government for overstepping the local authority of the lots committee and the village council to decide who gets land in their village. The challenge comes out of a recently disclosed decision to give city residents 254 lots within Cotton Tree village. In the House of Representatives, it was alleged that all 254 lots are for Anthony Boots Martinez to distribute to his PORT LOYOLA constituents.
Well, Martinez tells us that not quite how it works. The 254 lots are to be shared amongst the eight UDP Area Representatives in Belize City - who will get 30 each. Martinez adds that the lands were not national lands but were acquired from a Chinese landowner who owns a large tract in the area. He said his cabinet colleague Wilfred Sedi Elrington negotiated the purchase of the land for a public purpose. He says the landowner has twice that volume of land to sell and he would encourage the villagers, or their sponsor Julius Espat, to speak to him about purchasing it.
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