Cordel Hyde Addresses Malacate Beach Land Scandal

Tonight, the Minister of Natural Resources is responding after reports of a land scandal in his ministry. Independence resident Sherene Garbutt claims twenty-two acres at Malacate Beach were sold out from under her, while she was still waiting on a lease. Who got the land? Charles Price from Orange Walk, reportedly the brother of the Prime Minister’s driver. Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde says connections shouldn’t disqualify anyone from owning land. Nonetheless, Price’s application made it to his desk, while Garbutt’s sat in inspection for nearly three years. Now, Hyde says Price is giving the land back to government, and it will be turned into a reserve.

 

Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources

“As I understand it in this particular case with this land, it is swampy land, not beach front land as people suggest. It is swampy land surrounded by bigger parcels of land owned by big landowners. It is deep swamp and so I have said to my people we should not have issued that permission to survey in the first place, because it is swampy land. And we should not have issued a purchase price in the second place. So, on account of that we have reached out to Mister Price and said to him please bring back the tittle and transfer the land back to the government. He has agreed to do that and is in the process of doing that today or sometime soon. And we will plan to make that land into some type of reserve, because it is entirely swamp and outside of its obvious benefit of having it stay in its natural state, it would cost a lot of money to full that land. We are talking about millions of dollars. So that is what happen. In the case of that application from Ms. Garbutt, I never saw that application. That never reached my desk.”

 

Paul Lopez

“The land commissioner told her it was on its way to the minister’s desk.”

 

Cordel Hyde

“The truth of the matter they tell everybody that. Everybody that comes to check the land, everybody at Lands tell them it is on my desk. My desk is full but it is not that full. They always say that. She got permission to survey in 2022. She got it surveyed very quickly and applied for lease after. But, when I checked that particular file was stuck at inspection for all this time. So you are talking about it being there for three years, it never reached my desk.”

 

Paul Lopez

“But, how is it that does not reach your desk, but the man how comes after his application reaches your desk. You approve the lease and sign a second document to approve purchase. His one seem to have been fast tracked.”

 

Cordel Hyde

“So, some people apply for lease and some people apply for direct purchase. In this case this person applied for direct purchase.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So a lease number was on the application to purchase, 680/2024.”

 

Cordel Hyde

“You are giving me more information than I remember. As I understand it, he applied for direct purchase. He got the purchase price. He paid the purchase price and got the title. Ms. Garbutt applied in 2022, Ms. Garbutt applied in March of last year. And, sometime earlier this year that file came in front of me. Often times, and it should be this case, when you apply for a land and multiple people apply for a land, then multiple files should come to me at once to make a determination who will get the land. In this case, that other file never reached me, only the file of Mr. Price.”