And, while those salaries will stay cut, apparently so will relations between land activist Nigel Petillo and the Minister of Natural Resources.
Last night we brought you snippets of his Facebook rant against Cordel Hyde, high gas, prices and his allegations of the unending greed within the ranks of the Blu.
This morning we popped up uninvited to his home to ask the land activist whether he really expected anything different.
Cherisse Halsall "You have a lot of people behind you, people who have invested in some of these projects that you've put forward, how are they supposed to feel when they see you attacking the Minister. In their heads, they go now, well that means roads won't get pushed onto my property."
Nigel Petillo - Land Activist
"Why do people have to think so, is that how leaders behave? They will spite everybody who's with you know?"
Cherissse Halsall "That's the perception."
Nigel Petillo " Well, don't blame me for that. That's because you have seen that behavior there amongst the leaders, I am not one of those type of persons, I am fighting these leaders right now to make things better for you but if that's how the leaders are going to behave then we have to step up our game too. We have to show them how serious we are too, we don't need you to govern us, there's a lot of people out there who want to govern us. In fact we probably need to look among ourselves for leadership the grassroots people for people that are serious about leadership, leadership is not a guayabera wearing individual with a clean shave anytime come down out of an A.C. setting. Leadership is about the heart, people who willing to care and listen."
Cherisse Halsall
"So let me ask you this, Nigel, I think in your opinion you would be the most appropriate person to be the Minister of lands, why not put your name on a ballot?"
Nigel Petillo " That's your opinion, that not my opinion, I'm willing to work with anybody, I don't need to be a minister, I don't need to run into government, I'm already doing more than many ministers, put together a lot of them have never been able to do nothing as far as I've done already. One, two, three, I'm on my 3rd community, I've given land to thousands of people already, maybe the government might hold me back if I go mess with they bally deh. So I don't need to run in government, I am doing what ministers should be doing."
And after this latest attention grab, Petillo says he'll be off on another land grab, this time on the Coastal road. According to Petillo, that's where GOB has surveyed 25-acre parcels that they'll be giving to quote "their people."
But not if Petillo has anything to say about it
And in a post this afternoon he called out to the residents of Dangriga, Hopkins, Sarawee, Hope creek, and even Belize city writing quote: "Let's go and claim those lands...We are the owners of these lands...Putting together a team for next weekend whoever is serious and ready to stand up and take what's yours, link up... this is Government land and this is how you acquire government land, you go and take it then apply for" END QUOTE.
We reached out to Minister of Lands Cordel Hyde once again for comment, but as of news time he still hasn't responded.
