Tonight, the Caye Caulker village council is one step closer to controlling what happens on their seafront police station property - the now famous parcel 815. After a take-no-prisoners public pressure campaign, it seems government has given up on any designs it had on selling the prime property and cashing in on the value.
Area rep Andre Perez today confirmed that construction of the police station will resume, which means that any plan to sell it is D-E-D.
This comes after Chairlady Seleny Villanueva Pott met on Monday with the Prime Minister, the Police Minister and the Area rep in Belmopan.
She told us they offered her council a wish list - which the villagers rejected - which means they continue with their fight to get the land transferred into the village council's name:
Seleny Villanueva Pott, Chairlady, Caye Caulker
"PM made a proposal to the village council saying exactly what we knew which was, they had an offer, Minister Mira also made it clear that there was also an offer for the basketball court by the same company and they made a proposal that they could have given us 7 points, it's basically our wishlist for Caye Caulker, things that we've always wanted, or other properties in a trust."
"We said we'd come back with this list, present it with our community, and we did just that. We had a meeting on Tuesday. Of course the community out right denied that, we had a vote and it was a resounding no that they didn't want those 7 things. There was no negotiations as a matter of fact for parcel 815. What the community wanted was parcel 815 and the police station to be built there as that property was given from a private landowner to the Caye Caulker community and it should be kept for that purpose only."
"we really haven't stopped our fight. All of this week we've been having public meetings and we've been engaging the public. As a matter of fact, we had a discussion with the community at the community meeting and they've insisted that we continue with a second demonstration today so that will be underway shortly. The people are quite adamant of what they want, they want parcel 815 to remain a community property. PM did give his reassurance that it will be just that if that's what the community wants and I really hope that we have been given the PM's word."
"but we probably want that to be in the Caye Caulker Village Council's name, if it was given to the community it is only right that it is given to the entity that oversees the community, which would rightly be us."
And while the pressure continues until they get the land in their name, Villanueva Pott says that she's been given an undertaking that the work on the station at parcel 815 continues - even if the area rep put out a vague public statement on it:
Seleny Villanueva Pott, Chairlady, Caye Caulker
"I was assured by Minister Mira that construction will continue, this I was given a verbal assurance. I notice in Minister Perez's press release it wasn't mentioned, I don't think it was mentioned, I haven't analyzed it as yet but I am hoping - oh it didn't say - I was given that reassurance by Minister Mira and I'm hoping that that is the case. I somewhat feel like Minister Perez's, from what you read to me just now, it feels kind of empty, it's not giving me the reassurance I would have wanted, I would have wanted it to say parcel 815 will be given to the Caye Caulker community, we will transfer the land back into the Caye Caulker community, that was the kind of reassurance that we would have wanted. I'm not sure where we are with that but I will look into seeing if we could get some form of commitment from our area rep with that. I believe the area rep now know that parcel 815 is of great value to the entire Caye Caulker community."
Perez has since confirmed to Xtv that construction work will continue on the station.
