The Krooman Lagoon, it’s a public reserve that sits at the south-western corner of Belize City between the Western Highway and Faber’s Road. It was declared a public reserve in 2007 and is a major wetland area in Belize City which serves as a major catchment area for the city’s drainage. But the truth is Krooman has been under development pressure for years- as for many expansionists like Papi Pena who owns a three acre slice of it – it’s just swamp waiting for an owner to claim it and tame it.

Now, another developer has gotten into the Krooman; he’s Jitendra Chawla, the owner of Xtra House. He already owned a four acre area of Krooman which he purchased in 2002 –- and now he recently purchased the adjoining nine acres from government at five thousand dollars an acre. The land is swamp and Chawla told us he’s put in four thousand loads of fill – at $130 a load, that’s almost half a million dollars – and that’s just to fill the first five acres.

Chawla says he plans to build a plantain chip factory that will employ 50 persons. And while that’s the straight story, right now, the real story is that: first, it’s become a highly charged political issue with the PUP claiming that it’s a land grab which disturbs a wetland reserve, also the only reserve in the city and it disenfranchises the poor people of the Collet division; second, the UDP Area Representative Patrick Faber has now had to weigh in with a controversial claim that as area representative, he was kept out of the picture by his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega. Tough talk, and he told us more today.

Hon. Patrick Faber, Area Representative –Collet
“I know for certain that there was a request made to Cabinet for some assistance for Mr. Jack Charles and his potato chip factory but that did not include giving land in any kind of way. So I can honestly tell you that I knew nothing about the land being given to him. The normal procedure of course is that when land is given out you need to get a recommendation from the Area Rep. I gave no such recommendation to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Now as I said this morning, I believe that the proper way to deal with that, before getting out here and spewing all kinds of things, is to ask in the Cabinet room where my colleague sits, that is the power house, to ask them what is going on, to see if indeed this is land that is given out that will block the Krooman Lagoon catchment area and to see why is it that this land was given out. If it is being given out in such a way that it may be to the benefit of this nation, while I can make the quarrel that they should have come to me there may be an explanation. I have asked for that explanation, I’ve gotten some of it on Tuesday, yesterday in the Cabinet room, but we are going to go back to the table again on Tuesday.

The other thing is that in the Collet area we did have plans for those lands. However far away or far fetch they might have been, and I say that because the kind of filling that is needed, that is now evident after Jack Charles put quite a bit of money down there, would say to whatever plans we have that it may not have been feasible.

The green area is the area primarily that is the Krooman Reserve. Where was the PUP when this entire portion that belongs to Polak was given out? As you see it spans the entire length of the lagoon. This is given out already. This is Jack Charles’ existing piece that we had nothing to do with, that almost extends all across the length of this reserve area, if that is what they are calling it. This is Pena’s piece. This is a piece given to Gordon Roe under the PUP. So they were giving out land left right and center here. Where was the We Dah Fu Collet people when this was being done? Polak has this portion going all the way back, it encompasses the entire length of the lagoon or the width of the lagoon. Jack Charles almost gets there so these are the two pieces that are in question and this is primarily the piece that he has filled up.

It should not have been done and it should not have been done certainly without consultation with the Area Rep. I can’t say without permission because the Minister has the ultimate power but certainly I would have liked to know and that is what I have taken to the Cabinet to ask for clarification and to find out. But for those who are saying yes Minister you don’t know, if that is what you’re trying to get out of me, I didn’t know, I had nothing to do with it, and I’m trying now to make sure that we get what is due to us in Collet.”

Jules Vasquez,
“Will you be able to access first of all and then develop any of those land for lots in the Collet area? We know that is an area where there is a great demand.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“Yes and indeed it would be my deepest desire to do so. But realistically, it may never happen. If it is going to take us half a million to a million dollars to fill, let’s say to get fifty lots then that’s, I don’t think it is going to happen. But you never know, something might work out. I want to make people understand that my push would be to get these pieces of land, since it is filled already, and again I am being, maybe I shouldn’t go there Jules but my deep desire is to get that land for the people of Collet. That has to be my only goal. That comes first to me before anything else; I want to make that plain.”

Jules Vasquez,
“But for that to happen the land would have to be repossessed from Jack Charles.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“Well it doesn’t have to be repossessed, as I am understanding it he doesn’t have title. The title has not been issued, I am assured of that.”

Jules Vasquez,
“So then they would have to find an alternate piece of land for Mr. Charles.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“Well that’s between the Minister and Mr. Charles.”

Jules Vasquez,
“You’re a UDP, you know Mr. Charles, he is a friend of the UDP. He can’t be easily pushed around.”

Hon. Patrick Faber,
“I won’t go there Jules but I will tell you that indeed if Mr. Charles spent his money on filling that lot, that I don’t think we will be able to get out of the whole thing and to say to him just take back the land but ff you want my opinion and if you want to know where I will go batting, it would be to make that land available for the residents of the Collet area.”

And while Faber is advocating the populist solution, that’s not good news for Chawla who says that he would have expected that as Area Rep., Faber would be pleased to have the chip factory in his division. We note that while Chawla has paid for the land, as Faber noted, he has not secured a title.