It has provoked a good deal of controversy on the talk show circuit, but so far government has been mum about its decision on the plan by developers David Gegg and David Courtenay to develop 30 miles of the barrier reef as a private theme park. And while many have had unkind commentaries, the BTIA has offered an alternative. Today that alternative was presented to stakeholders. The new plan is spearheaded by Maria Vega, a BTIA employee who wants to see what she calls equitable access to the reef and its resources and the sustainable revitalization of the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute.
Maria Vega, BTIA Project Officer
"The national agency should have that managing and monitoring responsibility and that any user fees and any funds raised from that management should go to the agency that has the work to do. And that a neutral, independent, and capable agency is the best agency to do it and we would put our support behind the Coastal Zone Management Authority and the Institute."
Keith Swift,
Miss Vega you know that BTIA is not the best of friends with Belmopan right now so do you think this project will not get a fair hearing, not because of the merits, but because there is bad blood between government and the BTIA?
Maria Vega,
"I am not sure that there is bad blood between us but I believe that any differences that there are, if there are, that we can rise above them because we have the interest of the Belize barrier reef at heart. We have the interest of the fishing industry, the tourism industry, and other users of the coastal and barrier reef interests at heart. We need a national agency with responsibility for monitoring of everybody equally, not exclusively or to the interest of only one corporation or one entity. We prefer, and this is what we are proposing, that a more independent agency, a more technical competent agency, has the responsibility and that the agency also gets the lions share of user fees, of concession fees, and other things that can arise from the use of a national resource."
Vega says the new plan will be sent to Cabinet in time for next week's meeting.
