Two weeks ago, on August 14, news surfaced that Belizean football superstar Ian “Yellow” Gaynair, had been stripped of a piece of land in the Lake Independence area that had been given to him in 2006.
Gaynair’s lease approval for his house lot on Holy Emmanuel Street had been cancelled by the Lands Department and issued to someone from Corozal, who was in the process of getting a title for the land. Gaynair was of course disappointed, because he had made costly efforts to fill and develop the parcel, since it was originally swampland.
When the issue of the cancellation of the lease first aired on KREM Radio, Lake-I area representative, Hon. Mark King, took offense and threatened to sue KREM.
This was because King felt that the reports were insinuating that he had something to do with the land being taken away. It turns out that the land lease was revoked by the Lands Department because the celebrated football star had fallen behind in paying his taxes.
Today, in a fortunate turn of events for Gaynair, King presented him with the lease papers for a new parcel of land, along with a commitment that the land would be filled to his satisfaction.
Gaynair, who gladly received the new lease, told Amandala that he feels gratified that he has been compensated for his land. He said that he is very relieved that he has gotten back a parcel of land on which he can build a home.
The new parcel is reportedly in the same Lake Independence area, and the area representative has promised to eventually issue Gaynair with a title to the land to prevent another unfortunate lease cancellation from occurring.
Ian Gaynair works as a public officer at the Vital Statistics Unit’s office in Belize City. He scored the only goal for Belize Jaguars in the Gold Cup in July 2013, against the United States, in Belize’s inaugural match. He and nationally acclaimed goalkeeper Woodrow West also received international acclaim and recognition from CONCACAF and FIFA for turning down a bribe to fix the match.
As a matter of fact, Gaynair and West were even recognized today by the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Colville Young, who is the patron of the Belize Olympics and Commonwealth Games Association. They were presented with a citation and the Gilmore Hinkson Fair Play trophy.
The pair had blown the whistle on a potential match fixer who offered them thousands of Euros in an effort to fix their inaugural match against the United States. According to a release from the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association, their character exemplifies the aims and objectives of the International Olympic Committee.
The Gilmore Hinkson Trophy was established some years ago by the Belize Olympic Committee in memory of past secretary, Gilmore Hinkson.