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Photo: RECONDEV documents show the land was sold to Kenny Zheng and Annie Zhu in 2018
Protest against Bangladesh government’s $6.9 million land purchase; National Chamber of Commerce threatens legal action
Belmopan, Thursday, August 22, 2024
Even before the news came to light that the Belizean government had purchased 14.7 acres of land for the construction of a public university hospital, and that the previous owner of these lands had only paid RECONDEV $610,000, and that the government had purchased the land only six years later for a whopping $6.9 million, Nigel Petillo had announced that a demonstration would be held this Friday in front of the Belmopan office of Prime Minister John Briceño.
The land purchase has now turned into a full-blown scandal for the ruling People’s United Party (PUP), with questions raised over the government’s decision not to use land on the University of Belize’s Belmopan campus that was slated to be the site of a new hospital. While government officials argue that the land, far from central Belize, would require millions in investment and more than a year to develop, many believe the development is worth it.
The growing controversy prompted National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) President Luis Luke Martinez and NTUCB Senator Glenfield Dennison to conduct a field investigation at the Department of Lands and Surveys of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Mines and Petroleum. Martinez revealed that the Asian duo, Kenny Zheng and Annie Zhu, from San Andres, Corozal Town, only paid $610,000 to the then UDP-managed RECONDEV (chaired by then Belmopan Mayor Khalid Belisle) for the land sales, which were completed on April 18, 2018, for Lot 11214 on July 31, 2018, and Lot 5624 on July 31, 2018.
Martinez, who himself often serves as the interim senator of the NTUCB, was so infuriated that he declared to the media that the government was “deceiving” everyone – the people of Belize, the UB and the Senate – to achieve its own ends. He described the entire farce of government officials trying to explain the decision to change the location of the university hospital as nonsense – a long and meaningless story. Martinez claimed in colloquial terms on Wednesday that a politician even had the guts “to say to people, ‘Technocrat!'”
“We’re going to court,” Martinez shouted, stressing that the $6.9 million parcel of land had not been developed in any way. “The government has to explain itself to the justice system,” he said. Martinez asked “which technocrat would give up free access to state university land for a piece of land with a shabby house.” He then expressed his great disappointment with Health and Wellness Secretary Kevin Bernard, who he said was “very brave to spread stupid statements to people.”
After visiting the land department, the two went to the Ministry of Finance to confirm whether the $6.9 million purchase price had been paid to Zhu and Zheng, as stated in the government’s only press release on the matter on August 14. This was because at this time of day, the land registry still showed that the land had not yet been transferred to the government, and Martinez’s ultimate goal was to have the deal reversed. However, we were told that the government blamed bureaucracy for not updating the registry, and by 5pm on Wednesday, the land registry had been updated to reflect the completed transaction. By then, we had confirmation that the full amount of $6.9 million had been paid to the two Asians, who were said to have good connections with members of both of Belize’s popular political parties.
NTUCB urges UB to hold Bangladesh government accountable for hospital location change
Taking the initiative, the NTUCB president wrote to Godfrey Smith, the chairperson of the University of Belize Board of Trustees and senior legal counsel, on Monday, August 19, asking the board to “take a proactive stance and hold the government accountable for this decision (to change the location of the university hospital)”. It is worth noting that NTUCB has a seat on the UB Board of Trustees; however, in the letter to Smith, Martinez wrote that the decision to change the location “was made without meaningful consultation with key stakeholders, including our organization”. The letter added, “We are deeply disappointed by this development as it undermines the principles of good governance and raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the management of public funds…NTUCB firmly believes that the University of Belize Board of Trustees must take a proactive stance and hold the government accountable for this decision and the recently approved loan motion.”
Martinez called for an urgent meeting of the board to discuss the issue and called on the administration to reconsider its decision to “build a tertiary hospital on the university campus or gift the site of the new hospital to the university to facilitate the development of the medical school.”
Smith responded to Martinez today and pointed him to minutes from a March 26 board meeting that outlined that he, Smith, informed board members that the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) “desired to construct the hospital on a site other than UB land.” He added that MOHW provided several reasons at a meeting “as to why it did not consider UB land suitable and informed the board that it was in discussions with the Department of Natural Resources to identify land that would provide the access and routes that MOHW required.” Smith continued, “You may recall that a robust discussion ensued in which several board trustees, including yourself, presented what seemed to me to be strong, intelligent arguments as to why the university hospital should be built on UB land.” Nonetheless, Smith told Martinez that the decision ultimately rested with MOHW and “as firm as we may be on that decision, it is not for us to make.” In response to Martinez’s call for the board to hold the government accountable for the decision and review its impact, Smith told Martinez, “That is the responsibility of the media, civil society organizations and the people of Belize.”
Smith then told Martinez that the board able Reiterating his commitment to building the university hospital on UB land, he asked the administration to seriously consider his (Martinez’s) proposal that if the construction of the hospital takes place on another piece of land, the administration should give that land to the university. Smith concluded the letter by saying that the matter will be on the agenda of the board of trustees meeting scheduled for September 11.
Nigel Petillo leads protest against $6.9 million land purchase
Land activist Nigel Petillo, now with real estate firm Ceiba Realty, led the disaffected in Friday’s demonstration, focusing on whether the government was getting value for money. Petillo insisted there was cheaper land near the purchased properties, citing as an example a private plot of land just off the road next to El Rancho that he said was selling for $150,000 an acre. “It’s less than a quarter mile from the Bangladeshi government land,” Petillo pointed out.
In urging the public to join the demonstration, Petillo commented that he has “begun to blame We the People, instead of the politicians, because the politicians have learned that we will just ‘let it happen.’ It will ‘blow by like a gentle breeze.’ We will go home and argue and complain to our spouses, neighbors and friends about ‘government this and that,’ but we never take action!”
Opposition leader Moses “Shain” Barrow said the United Democratic Party will join Friday’s demonstration. In an interview at a press conference on Tuesday, he said they will join members of civil society in expressing their anger. “It is not because you are a technocrat or you have a Masters or a PhD that you can fool people,” he added, responding to the explanation given by government officials. He declared that to avoid the original plan to locate the university hospital on the UB campus, “…can only be corruption…can only be the most abominable decision that can be made by those who are responsible for protecting the public purse.”
For its part, the NTUCB today invited members of its ten member unions to join the demonstration via a press release. “We will join forces with Nigel Petillo and various civil society organizations to advocate for a better future for Belize – a future free from corruption, malfeasance and kleptocracy…Together, we can make a difference. Let us march in unison, echoing the sentiment that “Only the people can save the people.” We believe that solidarity and collective action are powerful tools in our quest for progress and reform,” the NTUCB wrote. All citizens, NGO networks, churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the business community are also invited to join.
In addition to the demonstration, Petillo has organized a Zoom meeting with the Belizean diaspora that evening at 6:00 pm for those interested to discuss issues of national concern, including the controversial land purchase. The event will be live streamed on Facebook.
Aria Lightfoot, a Belizean living in the United States who holds an MBA with a concentration in real estate and is a licensed real estate agent, joined Petillo in the evening’s discussion. She stressed the importance of appraisals and affirmed that the claim that the Asian landowners planned to subdivide their land was only valid if the government took their land for a public purpose and compensated the landowners for the compulsory taking. She said that when buying land, the government should show a moral and fiduciary responsibility to ensure that “they buy it at a fair price and they buy it at the best price, but we know that’s not necessarily the case.” For Lightfoot, the important point in this case was whether the government had other options. She also questioned whether a bidding process was conducted. Lightfoot pointed out that any private landowner would submit a high price; but a good negotiator would say, “‘Hey! Your house is worth $9 million, but I can show you some properties nearby that are selling for much less, so I’m not going to buy it unless you lower the price.’”
Lightfoot said many Belizeans abroad own land in Belize and have a vested interest in what happens in their home country, especially given how inflated appraisals could affect land values and taxes.
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