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Turning back now to yesterday's meeting of the Senate Special Select Committee Hearing, we have a look at the testimony from the afternoon session. That's when the Commissioner of Lands, Talbert Brackett took the stand. Jules Vasquez says it was a master class in the art of avoidance:
Talbert Brackett's appearance was a master class in civil service stonewalling - he was vaguely aware but didn't really know anything with specificity.
Bevinton Cal, Senator
"What is your knowledge when it comes to the particle and the definitive agreement?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"I have never delved into looking deeply into it or to make some sort of advice, or to chitchat about it. Because I listen and it's very -I wouldn't say political, but there are there are many different sides of it."
They wanted him to talk about these 17 parcels of land around northern lagoon transferred in day - all except one for $5,300 dollars and just one week before the 2020 elections - to parties related to Portico or its attorney David Morales.
Bevinton Cal, Senator
"At least in the media, we have seen several persons parcels of lands were issued in Belize City. And there are some numbers thrown out of the sale price. Have you heard anything, any of that? "
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"No, I hadn't I didn't heard about that sales price that was offered to them."
Strange that he didn't hear because the Prime Minister made such a hue and cry about it in the house 6 months ago:
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"Seventeen titles that were issued November 4th, 2020, as I said, noh, weh he refer to dehn, wahn rogue government? The UDP rogue government? They sold fifty point one acres of seafront, see it here, to one Key Star Ltd. for thirty-three thousand, one hundred and ninety-three dollars and twenty-five cents too, you know. Dehn collect di twenty-five cents." "See all of this is a package, because the definitive agreement is useless without land - all of these lands 4th November, 4th November, 4th November, 4th November - every single one of them. See, all of them. If you want, I could give you copies. And then you can ask your deputy leader, the minister of natural resources, the honourable member from Corozal North if he took this to cabinet and ask if he could sign it? They on the 4th November signed over 850 acres for a $117,993.00. And guess what, a few weeks later, a few months later, guess who buy the land, Portico. Thank you very much."
Kevin Herrera, Senator
"The Prime Minister in June of 2023 mentioned that there were 17 parcels of land related to - what I think they referred to them as the Portico lands. At some point those 17 parcels were issued to to an individual or individuals, and then they were transferred apparently to Portico. Would that be highly unusual for so many parcels to be transferred to one or two individuals? Have you looked at the the the trail of how those transactions evolved to where they became Portico lands?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"I would assume that had occurred before I took office as commissioner. And I would also assume that those might just be private lands. So I am not familiar with those transactions."
Kevin Herrera, Senator
"Lands related to the Portico project, you are not aware that those lands came from the department? They may have been private."
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"Not that I know of. It was before I assumed that office. So I'm not fully aware of."
Kevin Herrera, Senator
"You wouldn't have checked whether your predecessor would have been involved in the issuance of those?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"Well, I'm not fully aware of of the project."
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"You get an invitation from this Senate Select Committee investigating this, the definitive agreement. And you didn't think it would be relevant to look up what's happening with that area?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"I was out of the country on vacation. I just assumed office yesterday. So I wasn't fully aware of the letter. The letter was sent to me, but when I was told, I didn't have full email and what have you from work, so I…"
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"But even so, then how do you? Well, did you not have any involvement with the report that was referenced in the House in terms of the transfer of lands and, and references made to, to….?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"Not quite. Not quite. I didn't."
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"So who would have prepared that report that was written in the house? Are you aware?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"No. I'm not fully aware, I'm not fully aware. When was that, when was that?"
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"I'm gleaning that no one has asked you to do an investigation into those transfers?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"No, not quite."
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"Not quite. Almost?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"No, I didn't. I didn't. I wasn't involved with the with this Portico. None at all."
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"Are you surprised that nobody has asked you to look into this if there was, in fact, anything that would warrant closer inspection?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"Well, the way I look at it is, it was, it was 2020 and I am not sure how much, but our department, because….it's private land. So we don't really deal with private land."
Brackett was also deliberately vague on the acquisition of the seabed that this project would require:
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"Now, does the proposed developer on the seabed, has he already applied for ownership of the seabed?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"My knowledge of that is that they had applied, but it is still in process."
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"You can say which stage of the process?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"I would hope I could check and I could report to you. But they had applied."
Janelle Chanona, Senator
"And for how many acres had they applied?"
Talbert Brackett, Commissioner of Lands
"I wouldn't have that specific here, specific amount here, but I could recall that they had applied and it is in process."
We should note that Brackett was not Lands Commissioner during the period when the lands were transferred - that was under Wilber Vallejos.
