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King Has a Solution for Chetumal Street Squatters
posted (September 30, 2015)

About 100 squatters in the Gungulung area will have their own parcel of land. We have reported extensively on these squatters especially on those on Chetumal Street. Many had to dismantle their houses and relocate, others were removed from the premises. Now, the last time we reported on them, UDP Area Representative Mark King told us he would secure land in Cotton Tree for some of the squatters. Well, now, King has another solution that he says will have a greater impact on their lives. He told us about it today.

Mark King - Area Representative, Lake Independence

"As you know there is the squatters in the Gungulungs area who; fought me pretty well because I've said they were associated with rumours from the PUP that I was going to move them. I made very clearly on the television publicly that I did not lie to these people, that I was looking for land for them and I was trying to help them; but they were also illegally squatting. And so my only thing was to help them get a parcel of land. Nevertheless I have been talking to all the big parcel land holders, for example the Bradley estate, the foam factory estate and other estate land holder that holds acreage and acreage of land on the highway within the foam factory area, within the Chetumal street area, within the river side area of Lake I. We have some very good news, we have gotten almost all of the estates to soon come to an agreement with us to give back some of their land as a good faith to the government and to see how they can also assist the community in developing business on their land to hire the same Lake I people."

"But one that is very significant that I am here for today is the land at the foam factory. I think the owner, the ambassador Sarkis Bou-Nahra made a very important call to me last week to inform me that he will be giving me some of his land; giving government some of his land to give to the Belizean squatters in both the Gungulungs area and the foam factory area. This gives us now the opportunity to provide land or a legal piece of land in the foam factory area for those squatters who are Belizean in the foam factory area and also in the Chetumal street area."

Courtney Weatherburne

"Could we know how many acres the ambassador is donating?"

Mark King - Area Representative, Lake Independence

"The ambassador has about 13 acres. We don't know as yet how much of that we will get; for the simple fact that a subdivision will have to be done to see where the boundaries are in terms of what he wants and what he's giving."

Courtney Weatherburne

"When will that subdivision happen?"

Mark King - Area Representative, Lake Independence

"I have taken it to the ministry of lands. The ministry of lands have acknowledged that the ambassador is giving us this land to give to Belizeans in Lake I; and now I am asking the squatters in the foam factory area and the Chetumal street area to come in and apply immediately for their piece of land. Of course we will go and verify that it is those people who the ambassador wants us to give it to, that we are giving it to."

If you are squatting in the Chetumal Street area and the Foam Factory area you can go to the Lands Department and apply for a lease and take it to King's office. Ambassador Abu-nahra has not decided how many acres he will donate but when he does it will be subdivided and distributed. The Ambassador owns a total of 13 acres of land. Now, all this sounds like a sweet deal but was it packaged and delivered just in time for general elections on November 4th? When we asked him he insisted it was not political and that it just so happens that the deal was finalized this time.

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