Audit Could Expose Breach of Public Trust at Defense Ministry

The Ministry of Defense is supposed to protect the country, but tonight, it is defending its own spending decisions. Leaked documents and questionable contracts have raised serious concerns about who received public funds and whether political connections played a role. Now, Auditor General Maria Rodriquez says her office is preparing to examine the ministry’s financial records, with special attention to possible conflicts of interest. The findings could show whether this was poor judgment, or a deeper breach of public trust. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Auditor General Maria Rodriquez says her office intends to conduct a thorough and consequential review of the Ministry of Defense’s finances. The comments come while the ministry faces public pressure over questionable spending and contracts.

 

Maria Rodriquez, Auditor General

“All our reports create impact, we have not submitted a report that does not create impact. Go back.”

 

The priority is to look carefully at the purported conflicts of interest between public officials and the ministry’s suppliers.

 

Maria Rodriquez

“The constitution also ask that public officers do not engage in any perceived conflict of interest. So, it does not have to exist. If it is perception, then you also have to protect yourself from that perception.”

 

Under former Minister Oscar Mira, the ministry awarded supply contracts to several of his siblings and family-run companies. The prime minister’s brother also supplied the ministry. Former Defense Minister Florencio Marin, now on administrative leave, is also reportedly linked to Kukulcan Company Limited through his secretary. And Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie is a director and part-owner of RSL Group Limited, another company that received a ministry contract. But when we asked Prime Minister John Briceño about what appears to be a conflict of interest, he brushed aside the concern.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“And obviously when you see the amount of business they got, they were not getting any kind of special favors. So, sometimes we don’t think things through and so you can look back and say, shux I could have done things better, done things different. So, it’s a learning process for everybody.”

 

Prime Minister John Briceño says he is not ready to call it wrongdoing just yet. He says he will wait for the Auditor General’s report, even as leaked tender documents point to possible overpayments and inconsistent pricing for some products. PM Briceno attempted to justify hundreds of questionable below ten-thousand-dollar payments.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“But what happened is that when they sent the recommendations from the bids taking place, the ministry of finance took very long to respond. The ministry of finance may have their own reasons, but the point is that they were not responding and the BDF eat everyday. So, the only way they would be able to keep up with the food was by ordering these under ten thousand dollars.”

 

His comments suggest the Ministry of Defense may have bypassed the Contractor General and Ministry of Finance by dealing directly with suppliers through payments kept below ten thousand dollars. But there is one key detail: Briceño is also the Minister of Finance.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño  

“There is blame to go all around and we now have to find a more effective and efficient way to approve these things. And now that the CEO has a pretty good grasp on what the contractor general is expecting to approve these things, we will be able to move faster.”

 

The Auditor General’s report is expected by the end of September, and it could give Prime Minister Briceño the basis to decide whether Mira and Marin stay, go, or face further action. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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