A clash between the new and old foreign exchange earners is happening right in the Belize harbor mouth, and it promises to be epic! Today the National Fishermen Cooperative got an injunction against a company called "Brown Sugar Market Place" Limited - the venture reportedly being spearheaded by businessmen Billy Musa and Bob Hotchandani, along with other partners.
As we understand it, that project will see construction of a cruise tourist shopping strip, much of it duty free, from the old Hofius Building beside the Fort Street Tourism Village number 2, right up to the Image Factory. The nucleus will be housed in the former BSI sugar storage building. And so that visitors can move freely in the shopping area, the developers are building a boardwalk that snakes along the backside of North Front Street. And that's the flashpoint for today's conflict. The National Fishermen Cooperative sits smack dab in the middle of that development and its loading area is right where the boardwalk would be. Or maybe we should say, "is going to be," because this weekend, the developers drove piles right in front of the co-op's berthing area.
Today though, that plan hit a snag when co-op members physically chased away construction workers and this afternoon, their attorney Rodwell Williams went before the Chief Justice to secure an injunction against the development. Just over an hour ago, we spoke to Charles Heusner, the chairman of National, and he told us his co-op's and its 500 members have been doing their business in that spot for 40 years - and they aren't about to stop to make way for a big money tourist development.
Charles Heusner, National Fishermen Co-op
"This injunction is an attempt to temporarily halt the construction of this intended board walk that the developers on both sides of us are trying to put in place. This boardwalk will hamper or will affect the delivering of products from our members into our receiving plant and what we are seeking also is a permanent injunction to actually stop this because we feel that these developers are trampling on our rights and our rights is directly going to be affected because this society has been in existence for over 40 years and it is not fair, it is not right for people to come in and want to impose their development or their level of thought on you. We have to learn to respect other people's rights.
We told them that in no certain terms what was our position but they figure that if they did a sneak move like this that we would have been unable to stop their intended project or their intended whatever you want to call it, work. So I figure they were trying to do a sneak move but luckily the weather and some of our board members were present and they actually got verbal and almost got physical with some of the workers. So the work was stopped on Monday and we applied and got the injunction and we applied for it Tuesday and we got it Wednesday so at least we see that the system is working, justice can be delivered.
It is regrettable that people stoop to these type of levels to try and get through their agenda. I figure we have to look closely at the moves after this because we got the temporary injunction but we don't know if it is going to be permanent but getting that, we figure that will send a message to people to learn to respect other people's rights.
National has been here for 40 years. From the inception of the discussions, we explained to these developers our position and we explained to them in no uncertain terms that they had to co-exist with National."
Alfonso Noble,
Are you here in the way?
Charles Heusner,
"In the way, progress and development. We have a membership of over 400 members. We are delivering service. We are delivering a way of life to four hundred people. Is that being a problem? Is being a food provider, is that being a problem? In itself it is not that we are against progress. I think progress has to redefine itself and come with a better approach and a better deliverance to people."
Today's hearing was ex-parte meaning that the Brown Sugar Market Place did not have representation. To continue construction, their attorney would now have to ask the court to lift the induction. The Ministry of Natural Resources has given the Brown Sugar Marketplace Group a permit to construct the boardwalk.
