The issue of exploitation to the Rosario Islands is not new, many years ago there had been complaints about the low figures charged for the lease of land, which it is presumed that the National Land Agency would be handing over by hand and without demanding the respective environmental requirements.
In addition, the land has had some questioned tenants, for example, Alaín Suaza, nicknamed as the “king” of smuggling, was captured while on his way to the Majayura Estate in the Rosario Islands, land approved by the National Land Agency for lease, a benefit granted by the entity's administration, which is under the direction of Campo Elias Vega, brother of national registrar Alexander Vega.
In fact, a couple of weeks ago, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic pointed out that, of the 128 leases on the vacant land of the Rosario Islands, 68 are overdue, 31 are late payments due to exceeding 90 days and 9 have not paid a single peso for more than 5 days years.
The funny thing about these cases is that the debts amount to more than 9 billion pesos, but, the Comptroller's Office denounced, that people are not being charged, in addition, the tenants listed in the contracts or the people who use some of the land, are registered as dead.
Caracol Radio stated that 10 years ago it reported that, at that time, 70 per cent of tenants in the Islands were not paying their rent, including that tenants would be profiting from the land and did not pay the respective taxes for the exploitation of resources.
How much does it cost to rent a land in the Rosario Islands?
According to Law 820 of 2003, the lease fee cannot exceed one percent of the value of the property, so the rental of the property depends on the total price of the property. The figures may vary depending on the total area of the land, services that the properties have, number of rooms, parking spaces, sector, among other factors.
Based on these data, experts calculate that the average lease value, per square meter, in Bogotá, for example, is 21,300 pesos, in Medellín 20,200, in Cartagena 19,900.
If we put these figures in a “more real” context, a 50 square meter apartment in Bogotá, regardless of the stratum, location, services and so on, can cost 1 million 65 thousand pesos per month; or, for example, in Cartagena, a city near the Rosario Islands, in addition to being the flagship of tourism in Colombia; that same 50-meter apartment can cost approximately 1 million pesos.
According to research carried out by W Radio, Berta Fajardo Urrea, former director of the Bogotá Botanical Garden who is one of the tenants, has contracted María Galante Island, a land of one hectare, ten thousand square meters, for a monthly payment of 594,000 pesos.
The list published by the media has 13 names of persons who are or have belonged to the national government, work for the State or have a direct link with it. In addition, companies and firms whose owners have the same conditions and even have a state contract.
In fact, Samoa Island is for sale, a situation that attracts attention since these lands are reserved for the nation, but this land, which is leased by the National Land Agency for 2 million pesos per month, is announced for sale, worth 6.5 billion pesos.
It is striking that these properties are subleased, to provide lodging and recreation services, for example, by consulting on the internet, to book a day at a hotel in Islas del Rosario, during Holy Week, you can find prices starting at 600,000 pesos, per night and/or per person. But, there are offers that according to portals like Trip Advisor, can be $5 million per night. We even offer the rental of complete houses where you can find prices of up to 10 million pesos.
Yesterday, 5 April, the National Land Agency issued a statement motivated by the scandal uncovered by the various media and the case of Majayura Island,
The paper presents 11 points where they point out:
1. That the administration has no contractual link with Alain Suaza.
2. The Isla Majayura property has all the legal requirements in force.
3. The first firm to lease the land was the extinct INCODER, represented by Fanny Alexandra Ballesteros Peña. They say that the property was never handed over to Alain Suaza.
4. The current administration presented the current regulations for the administration of properties in the Nuestra Señora del Rosario Archipelago in December 2019.
5. Lease agreements, directly, are given to people who have not had previous occupation in the archipelago. This, in order to mitigate environmental impacts to the area.
6. The current administration, in capital letters, has not held tenders for new tenants.
7. The ANT has 81 contracts in force which monitors them, with “periodic eye inspections”, to guarantee environmental and urban planning burdens.
8. Because they are under the Law on Guarantees, they cannot advance the realization of contracts for the premises, but, that the revisions of the requirements are advanced.
9. The ANT publishes on its official website all contracting processes, in accordance with the principles of transparency and publicity.
10. The publication of the list of tenants, assignments or sales is not authorized by the ANT, which could result in the unilateral termination of such contracts.
11. The ANT is available to the media and the general public to respond to requests through the email info@ant.gov.co.
According to Julia Miranda, representative of the chamber elected by the New Liberalism party, in a dialogue with the W, she said that the Colombian Institute for Rural Development, INCODER, ordered the recovery of the islands for the State, under the model of being vacant land that could be awarded to the nation.
This INCODER is currently the National Land Agency, and always, this institution has had the administration of the islands. At the time of the declaration, Representative Miranda points out, “owners” claimed to be owners of these lands, which led to complaints to the Council of State, which determined that the land “had no owners and that these wastelands were owned by the State”.
Those same “owners” agreed to the conclusion of leases, and that the resources of these fees should be received by National Parks. The idea was that the proceeds should be distributed to care for the park next to the Rosario Islands. But, that agreement was broken, so all the money comes to the National Land Agency, and they themselves are the ones who must follow up contracts and distribute the money collected.
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