San Victor Residents to Receive Land in Private Landowner’s Distribution Plan

Over the weekend, more than two hundred residents of San Victor village in the Corozal district gathered to find out about a land distribution arrangement being carried out by a private landowner. Village Chairman Martin Rivera explained that the landowner has around 80 acres which he has agreed to give to residents of San Victor, particularly young families who have never owned a piece of land. Rivera says that the villagers made the trip to the site on Saturday, so they could see the area firsthand and know where their plots will be located. 

Martin Rivera, Chairman, San Victor Village: “The owner of the land and his family visited my house as the chairman with a number of elders of the community to communicate the issue of the land and the elders and him decided that I need to investigate the land first s the chairman before we proceed. The land has been subdivided at San Victor but there is no documentation. So I asked also the owner if he can please the legal form for you if you can get any compensation for your product, for your crop, he said I have done that part but I am willing to give this land to the villagers of San Victor to all those couples that already have a family and living with their parents because there is no land distribution for many years here in San Victor and he decided to give us. He contacted me personally, we spoke, we had two meetings with the community and then the third meeting the community just decided to take over the land because we believe that is deserving to the people of San Victor. We have documents where the land was given to his father by another former minister you know as part of his token for this work that he has done for his party. There was a letter that was given to him entitling him to that land.”

Rivera says that, after the general elections, the villagers will be working on the processes with the Ministry of Natural Resources to ensure that all legal requirements are met for the recipients to get their titles./