Minister Says GoB Working Towards Drafting Policy on Maya Land Tenure

News Five spoke via phone with Minister Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, the Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, who said that the government has been flexible, and liberal with the Mayas and that it does not want to come across as depriving the Mayas of land or putting them in a box. The minister said that there has been extensive consultation in the process and that it looks forward to coming to a final draft in due course on Maya land tenure.

 

On the phone: Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs

“Unfortunately, there was a twisting of the proposal that the government put and  quite erroneously it was put out there that government was only going to give a kilometer radius or a 2 kilometer radius and that is all the land that could be claimed by a village communally. But let me clarify. What we basically said is that we would be willing to recognize that area automatically without the village having to prove use on occupation because clearly their homes are there. No, beyond that.  What the villagers would have to do make with a auto shop, for example, or make with a mobile, for example, what they would have to show to apply for communal ownership of further lands beyond the radius is they would have to show. Use an occupation  of that land for about 30 years. We were using a reasonable amount of time, 30 years prior to the ruling of the court in 2015. so let me make it abundantly clear what was proposed at the time was not. Pending people into a 1 kilometer or a 2 kilometer radius, but to say that the government in its policy and legislation would be willing to recognize that area. Automatically without the village having to prove. I would not wish for it to be said, or to, or for it to be understood by any of the Belizean people that government is trying to put the Maya people in their villages into a little box and only give them, you Like, like, say, a kilometer or whatever, or a little bit of land as such, because we must respect again. I repeat, we must respect that. If there has been a ruling of the court recognizing my customary land tenure, the difficult job of government along with our partners and we view. The T. A. A. D. M. L. A. As partners, although it may seem adversarial at times, we view all of them as partners.”