Former Lands Minister Appears Before Senate Inquiry

Today, the Senate Special Select Committee resumed its inquiry into the Portico Definitive Agreement. Hugo Patt, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, was the first witness to testify before the committee. Patt was much more cooperative than his former lands commissioner, even though he did not see any of the questions relevant to the motion at hand or the committee’s terms of reference. Dean Barrow, the former Prime Minister, appeared as legal counsel for Patt. A majority of the questions posed by the committee focused on those November fourth, 2020 land transaction approvals at the Ministry of Natural Resources. This time, questions were focused on seven companies that reportedly received nine parcels of fifty-acre lands, and why all seven companies had the same director. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Hugo Patt, the former Minister of Natural Resources, testified during today’s Senate Special Select Committee’s inquiry.  Patt was the minister responsible for that department from 2018 up until the 2020 general election.

 

Hugo Patt, Former Minister of Natural Resources

“Whenever applications were submitted the process was very straight forward. Applications were submitted, made it through the process and eventually it ended up with me. As long as the application was recommended and it had met all the requirements then it was approved”

 

 

 

Kevin Herrera, Senator

“What would have been some of those requirements?”

 

 

 

 

Hugo Patt

“I could not get into the details but of my mind, as long as the person is a Belizean that person could apply and another important one for the ministry is that whenever a parcel of land was applied the ministry had to make sure it was national lands in order for it to be processed.”

 

The committee, as it did with the former lands commissioner, continued to pose questions related to more than a dozen land transactions that were approved on November fourth, 2020, days before the last general elections. Those lands, located in the vicinity of the proposed site for the Port of Magical Belize, were divided into fifty-acre parcels and many were sold for below five thousand dollars each.

 

Kevin Herrera

“Would you recall whether or not Portico had applied for lands under its own name?”

 

 

 

 

 

Dean Barrow, Attorney

“Madam Chair certainly the general questions that the Senator is asked, he tries to be helpful. But I must reiterate that once the questions become specific regarding Portico and any application made in the names of Portico for lands. I think that is outside the terms of reference.”

 

The committee noted that it had documents from within the Ministry of Natural Resources showing that four hundred and fifty acres of land within in the area in question were approved for sale by the Ministry of Natural Resources to seven separate companies on November fourth, 2020. The same director was listed for all those companies, businessman Sunjay Hotchandani.

 

 

Senator Bevington Cal

“While approving these lands, especially for companies, would it be a concern to have differn5t companies applying the same day and same directors, would that be a concern?”

 

 

 

 

Hugo Patt

“Senator, whenever applications were accepted it is because they met the requirements. Whenever applications met the necessary requirements those were sent for processing.”

 

Kevin Herrera

“Mr Patt, would you recall a company called Keystar Limited?”

 

Hugo Patt

“Senator with much respect I don’t see the relevance of that question, nether to the motion or terms of reference.”

Kevin Herrera

“Would you recall a company called Fire Sky Limited?”

 

Hugo Patt

“With much respect, I don’t see the relevance of your question so I will exercise my right.”

 

Kevin Herrera

“Same question, Vision Pro Limited.”

 

Hugo Patt

“I will reserve my right as a witness not to answer.”

 

Kevin Herrera

“Alkaline Limited.”

 

Hugo Patt

“I will reserve my rights not to respond to that question.”

 

Kevin Herrera

“Building Blocks Limited”

 

Hugo Patt

“Same Answer”

 

Kevin Herrera

“Kill Switch Limited”

 

Hugo Patt

“Same Answer Senator”

 

Kevin Herrera

“Build Zone Limited”

 

Hugo Patt

“Same Answer Senator”

 

Kevin Herrera

“The common director in all those companies is an individual Sunjay Hotchandani. Would you be familiar with him sir?”

 

Hugo Patt

“I don’t find that question relevant to the motion or terms of reference. So I will exercise my right as a witness to decline to answer, with much respect Senator.”

 

The committee further noted that three of those parcels were sold to Portico Enterprises. Two that were bought for five thousand dollars from the Government of Belize were sold off to Portico for fifteen thousand dollars. Interestingly, one parcel that Key Star Limited reportedly bought for thirty-three thousand dollars was also sold for fifteen thousand dollars.

 

Bevington Cal, Senator

“For the Belizean people to know, we got a document from the lands department that was shared to you that you don’t want to read, but I will read it for you. Coastal lands are usually sold at four thousand per acre and all of these lands issued at east of northern lagoon were sold at five thousand three hundred.

Mr. Patt with simple math, fifty point one acres of land on coastal lands is valued at two hundred thousand dollars. All of these were only sold for five thousand three hundred dollars.  To me that sounds like a lot of revenue lost by the government of Belize during your tenure.”

 

Hugo Patt

“While the question is irrelevant to the Definitive Agreement I will have to state for the record that the social rates the ministry applied then had been there for time immemorial. It is not something I instituted. But as the former minister of natural resources I saw it as my duty to ensure that each and every Belizean gets a portion of land at very affordable and social rates.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.