Government Rental Deals Raise Transparency Questions

Tonight, we’re taking a closer look at how your tax dollars are being spent and what the government doesn’t want you to see. News Five filed a freedom of information request asking for all active rental contracts the Government of Belize has entered into. The Ministry of Public Service responded, but only partially. While they gave us a list of landlords, office locations, and which ministries are renting them, they refused to release the actual contracts. So, what are they hiding? Without those contracts, we can’t verify if taxpayers are getting value for money. But here’s what we do know: the government is currently renting one hundred and sixteen office spaces across the country. Belize City tops the list with twenty-nine rentals, followed closely by Belmopan with twenty-eight. Some landlords appear multiple times, raising even more questions.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

In a partial response to News Five’s freedom of information request, the Ministry of Public Service informed us that they are unable to provide a copy of every active tenancy agreement or contract that the Government of Belize has entered into. We requested this information, in the interest of the public, to determine whether taxpayers are getting value for money. But the government has refused to provide these contracts, citing section thirty of the Freedom of Information Act. This section states that a document is exempt if its disclosure would be contrary to the public interest because it would have substantial adverse effects on the national economy. Well, News Five’s request for these contracts is in the public interest. But the government’s rationale is that releasing copies of these rental contracts would increase rental prices for the ministries and consequently increase the annual budget. In their response, they even quoted former Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, a proponent of the Freedom of Information Bill. They quoted Barrow saying quote, “the ministry can refuse to release those documents because people would have an interest in knowing the location, for example… because land prices in that area will go up… these are the sorts of exceptions that are absolutely well recognized”. But, when we reached out to the former prime minister, he informed us that he was referencing national lands and not rental contracts between the government and private landlords. So, we will keep pushing them to get those contracts, because it is important to verify if what the government is renting is worth what they are paying. The Ministry of Public Service did, however, honor two of our requests with new information. It provided a list of all landlords it has entered tenancy agreements with, the locations of those buildings and the government agencies utilizing those buildings.

Here is what we observed on the surface:

Between June 2024 and June 2025, the Government of Belize has been paying rent for one hundred and sixteen office spaces.

Belize City leads as the municipality with the most government rentals, a total of twenty-nine.

Belmopan follows closely behind with twenty-eight government rentals. The remainder are scattered across the country, with Punta Gorda seeing the third largest number of government rentals, with eleven.

Interestingly, the names of some landlords repeat on the list provided by the Ministry of Public Service. Take, for example, Belize City, where H.D. Thompson Limited, is renting the government four spaces, three for the Ministry of Health and one for Immigration. Dinesh Bhojwani shows up twice for rental spaces on Regent Street, while Victor Awe appears two times for three floors on North Front Street.

 

In Belmopan, the government is renting three separate spaces from Fuk William Tam, while Geev Abadi’s name shows up twice on the list for rental spaces in that city. Of equal note is the fact that the National Security Directorate is renting property in Belmopan from former ambassador Alexis Rosado.  In Punta Gorda, William Maheia is renting to Labour and Rural Development, while in San Ignacio, Karim Adle, a known ally of Cayo North Representative Michel Chebat, is renting a property to the Human Service Department. And we are just beginning to scratch the surface of the landlords on the list and their properties.

 

Now, when it comes to a breakdown of the ministries and departments with the most tenancy agreements, the Election and Boundaries Department takes the lead. It occupies twelve rental spaces across the country. The Post Office comes closely behind, occupying eight rental spaces. The Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour and Local Government rounds out the top three.

 

But again, are Belizean taxpayers getting bang for their buck? One of the primary ways to determine that is through those tenancy contracts that the Ministry of Public Service, upon the advice of the attorney general, has declared exempt documents. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.