And in other investigative news, tonight, we can report that 7News has located the RECONDEV stone crusher that has been a topic of much recent social media speculation. But there's more to it than just a mystery machine, and finding it was just the first step. Jaleeza Roberts reports:
For weeks we've been hearing one trigger word on social media from several whistleblowers: "Stone Crusher"-and the mostly partisan fuss and furor about a stone crusher that was allegedly purchased by RECONDEV in 2023.
John Saldivar, Concerned Citizen
"Well, I know that a few years ago, probably three years or so in sometime in 2023, there was an announcement by RECONDEV that they had acquired a stone crusher. Um, they stated that it was to work with, uh, you know, developing and building and maintaining and repairing streets in Belmopan. Um, but after that, we have not heard, uh, anything. We have not heard any, any progress report. We have not heard any report about, uh, you know, what is, what has been generated from that stone crusher, um, what work has been conducted, you know, we haven't heard anything. And so, um, you know, I decided to write to find out."
So far that letter has gone unanswered, and so has our text query to the Mayor of Belmopan and board member Pablo Kawich.
But we did some digging ourselves, and after moving around Belmopan like Scooby-Doo in the Mystery Machine, we came upon the real mystery machine-the mythical RECONDEV stone crusher. We found it behind the Innovabel area at the end of a one-way road beside a hill; it was mining aggregate from a hill. Heavy trucks were constantly on the move with material.
So what is the mystery behind this machine? On whose behalf and for whose benefit is it extracting material? And under whose authority is it being used? Who's paying and who's collecting? And is the mining operation even licensed?
Saldivar has similar questions:
John Saldivar, Concerned Citizen
"So who is using the aggregate? Who is using what is being produced by the, uh, the stone crusher?"
Answers for which-if they ever come-may lead down a winding road to even more questions. Jaleeza Roberts, 7News.
We reached out to RECONDEV on two occasions to speak with the new Chairlady, Myrna Waight, but we were told she was not in office.
