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BGYEA and the Government agreed on an area nearing the highway which would remain untouched as road reserve. The problem is as the Land's Commissioner explained to us this morning, some 10 families are refusing to respect it:

Wilbert Vallejos, Commissioner of Lands
"When the Harmonyville development scheme was designed there was an area left or designated as the buffer between the highway and the development scheme and normally that is done for safety purposes and other reasons. It's a new approached in planning when you are developing development schemes. Before it wasn't done. Just for people to understand I am saying that. However when the distribution of the parcels, again, which was done by BGYEA. Administration or management of the development scheme was authorized to them by the government of Belize. The people who were about to occupy the buffer area were given lots to move from the buffer area so that they can have somewhere to go and develop. The persons decided however to stay in the buffer and move in after the area was designated and so the managers of the development scheme has been trying to remove them. When they first came to the department to request assistance from us, we told them that they are administrators that they should be the first ones to attempt to remove them and reason with them, explaining to them that there are parcels that has been identify for them to move."

"BGYEA has been having a difficult time in trying to remove them and so they came to the lands department for assistance and since the 29th April, we proceeded to give the occupants of the buffer area an eviction notice and desist order."

BGYEA and the Lands Commissioner both agree that these families needed to move, and so BGYEA allocated parcels of land in the community to relocate these families out of the Buffer area, and so far 2 out of the 10 families have complied. To the other 8 the Commissioner of Lands says the public notice serves as a warning that they need to move their houses, or else they will be forcibly removed on short notice. That removal could include demolition of their houses.

But, while BGYEA and the Lands Department agree on the fact that these families need to move, they don't agree on the fact that it should remain so untouched that it shouldn't receive any development. Today, Nigel Petillo, the President of BGYEA, explained that they want to plant corn on it to put together money to fund road development projects in the community:

Nigel Petillo, President - BGYEA
"We find ourselves in a situation with that buffer zone where the buffer zone is very big, its over 60-70 acres of land. We need to clean and maintain that buffer. The development does not belong to Harmonyville to BGYEA, it belongs to the government. The government has given us the authority to manage that buffer on the conditions that you don't put any permanent crop in there, you don't put any permanent structure in there. So we went ahead and clean down the buffer in an attempt to make some money off the buffer to push in roads that you the government is not doing for us and to do other investments on Harmonyville. So while we are cleaning the buffer, we are beautifying the community - you are beautifying the highway and country by extension. If it was just to leave the wild bushes that were there because like I said the government doesn't want to clean it, they tell us that it is us to clean it. They are telling us to clean it, but they don't want we go ahead and invest in it. What we are doing is planting corn and the 60 acres of buffer that we have there to have it plant out with corn means that its being maintain, its being beautified and at the same time the money that we will get back from that project will push back in roads that you the government should have done for us. The understanding I got from the commissioner is that the government is the owner of the buffer zone. However, we are the managers of the buffer zone. We are responsible for cleaning the buffer they said, but however we are not to plant corn in there. We could plant flowers, we could plant palm trees, coconut trees, but they don't want us to plant corn."

"The commissioner went to further stating that let us write a request in writing requesting permission to plant corn in the buffer. This is where we are at right now. We are going to write that letter. You are going to get that letter today Friday commissioner and we are hoping to get our response by Monday to Tuesday favorable yes. You can't tell us no because I don't understand why you would tell us not to plant corn in the buffer, no raise money to build your community, dent beautify your community. I don't understand what's your problem, but I am asking that you favorable respond to us with a yes and understanding what's taking place and come on board Mr. Commissioner and the Lands Department."

Petillo says that he will be writing to the Government of Belize asking for that permission to use the Buffer area for that farming initiative.