Also laid on the table in the House Of Representatives today was a special report from the Auditor General. It covers the issuance of land titles in the Ministry Of Natural Resources and the environment between September 2007 and February of 2008, basically the five months leading up to the general election.
How much could go wrong in five months, right? Well, plenty! Or more like multitudes. The quite remarkable 417 page report details a lands department being run something like a fish market.
We've only had a chance to briefly scan it so far, but it is a catalogue of administrative malfeasance and wanton disregard for procedure.
Natural resources Minister Gaspar Vega was not at today's meeting but NEMO Minister Melvin Hulse did do a very cursory mention of a few irregularities:
Hon. Melvin Hulse, NEMO Minister
"On pages 7-15 Mr. Speaker. The Minister without any recorded reason, no commissioner of lands approval, no valuation report and no date on application, reduced prices. And to refer back again to the deduction of prices and the lack of an incomplete application, it's not the fact that people get land but the method and the lack of procedures and accountability in which these lands were issued. On page 24 it is further said, permission to survey after approval. On section 419 lease purchase without evidence of application being made by the applicant. An example was Eamon Palacio who got 50 acres on Turneffe Caye, no sketch, no application, no stamp, no information sheet given, a purchase price of $13,000 pay a total of $6,500 as evidenced in the audit report, yet was granted a title; title 131507 dated the 8/01/08."
Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"Yes the report shows that there were many shortcuts that were taken during this time. But there was in no instance any accusation against the Minister himself that he did anything wrong or that he did anything illegal so that he can benefit from it. The record clearly shows Mr. Speaker that during this 8 months that our government at that time was helping everybody, be it UDP or PUP, we were not at that time trying to victimize anybody. You had prominent UDP's like Mr. Singh who did come in and got a parcel of land, the present CEO from the ministry of Natural Resources Mrs. Castillo got a parcel of land and it is their right as Belizean. This report points out that during that short time hundreds upon hundreds of ordinary citizens got a parcel of land."
Hon. Melvin Hulse, NEMO Minister
"You miss the important part of what this is all about. Nobody want to fault anybody for trying to accelerate the system but accelerate the system does not mean that you boycott and bypass the system. You set up a system of where things can move efficiently and now we have penalized 1500 people because there is no application, no stamp, no signature, no inspection sheet, no nothing."
We'll have more on the report next week..
