It's only days to go before the municipal elections, and the PUP has been trying to rock - and hopefully turnover the UDP's boat - by releasing information pointing to UDP ministerial corruption. Last night you Minister Boots Martinez defend himself against the claims of contractor - slash- front man - Kirk Lamb.
Tonight, it's Rene Montero who's in the PUP's targets. The opposition leader held a press conference to detail 9 compensation agreements his family members got from the Ministry of Natural Resources between August of 2009 and 2011. This is for land they first acquired at the end of the 1998 Esquivel Administration - which the PUP then took away from them. Briceno claims the compensation was disproportionate and the product of insider trading:…
Hon. John Briceno - Leader of the Opposition
"Here we managed to get a few copies like this, there are many more in the Ministry of Natural Resources of the agreement that was signed by the family of Minister Montero. Yvette Montero got 7 acres of land 6 miles north of Ambergris Caye, she paid 3,080 dollars. Minister Vega the deputy prime minister and approved by the Ministry of Finance agreed to compensate Yvette Montero 245 thousand dollars. Miguel Montero got 10 acres again northwest of San Pedro for 4,400. 4 acres of land 4 miles northwest of San Pedro for 1,760 dollars and 20.13 acres of land at Prevassion Enclave in the Mountain Pine Ridge for 4,428 dollars. For those 3 parcells of land Miguel Montero was compensated 721 thousand dollars. The Montero family collection 1 million 778 thousand 352 dollars and to add salt to injury as you would say they were given 7 percent interest from the date of acquisition. So when you combine everything the interest is approximately 1 million 369 thousand 331 dollars. The Montero family have been compensated by we the taxpayers of this country a grand total of 3 million 147 thousand 383 dollars. This is a direct indictment of cabinet and the prime minster, the minister of finance. The Cabinet knew from day one what they were doing that is why the prime minister needs to get rid of Montero, he's to do something because if he doesn't do anything then the Belizean people are going to start to say maybe you are directly responsible for what has been taking place under your watch."
Briceno is central to the compensation case because he was the Minister of Natural Resources who took the lands away from the Montero family. He said the Musa Administration had to take back the lands for a public purpose:
Hon. John Briceno - Leader of the Opposition
"These lands were given 2 months before the general elections. For instance Jaime Montero got his land the 26th of May 1998 just before remember there was this fleecing of them giving away land before the general elections and then these lands were acquired back by the government and was a cabinet decision that these lands needed to be taken back into the hands of government for two reasons. One is that the Prevassion Enclave was an important watershed and the forestry department was against it from day one that it should have never been given out and they were asking that it be taken back and closed off for watershed protection. And the other one was this land on northern Ambergris Caye was not settled yet and you could have never worked out a compensation but they waited their time, they wanted to wait until their government go in then who do we have there Gaspar Vega and Montero."
Jules Vasquez
"Sir when you were the minister of natural resources where they any efforts by the Monteros to claim compensation for lands and were those resisted?"
Hon. John Briceno
"I could not answer because they never asked me for a meeting. Maybe they met with the CEO or the commissioner of lands I don't know but they never requested a meeting with me because if they would have requested I would have met with them and try to work out a reasonable compensation nowhere close to what is up there and for them it was an investment. Imagine you invest 3 thousand and 80 dollars in 1998 and you figure my government the UDP will go in and when they go in we will settle it so it's like you put that in the bank."
Jules Vasquez
"In 1998 you had to be a heck of an optimist."
Hon. John Briceno
"They knew eventually they were going to get there. 3 thousand and 80 dollars to 245 thousand dollars my boy I would have waited 10 years."
A Montero family representative told us that the lands which Briceno as Minster took back for a public purpose - he turned around and transferred to PUP cronies - including 75 acres in Pine Ridge and all the land in San Pedro. They say that is illegal because it was acquired for a public purpose. They add that a portion of the same compensation he is complaining about was given during his administration. They also add these are old issues which have been well ventilated many years ago.
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