Contract Shift Keeps Spotlight on Mira Family Ties

A fresh round of scrutiny is falling on government contracts linked to the Mira family. While a familiar name is missing from this year’s Ministry of Defense list of successful bidders, another relative of Belmopan Area Representative Oscar Mira has stepped into the spotlight, landing a lucrative supply deal. The move is raising eyebrows and reigniting concerns over transparency and political ties in government contracts. News Five’s Shane Williams takes a closer look.

 

Shane Williams Reporting

Belmopan Area Rep Oscar Mira is under growing scrutiny over government contracts linked to his family. The controversy centers on a shift from multiple local vegetable suppliers, who once delivered directly to nearby military bases, to a single contract awarded to Jenny Mira. Critics are now questioning the decision and its impact on smaller suppliers. Highly placed sources within the Belize Defense Force tell News Five that the new system delivers supplies just once a week to Price Barracks. From there, the military redistributes the products, sending them to bases in Orange Walk and Cayo on Wednesdays, and down to Punta Gorda on Thursdays.

 

This year’s tender results show a key shift: Jenny Mira, at the center of the Mira scandal, is no longer supplying the Ministry of Defense. While one Mira is out, another is in. News Five can confirm that another sibling of Minister Mira, his brother Stanley, was awarded the contract for grains, rice and beans.

 

Previous procurement records indicate that the ministry spends upwards of twenty thousand dollars every month on rice and beans alone. As scrutiny over the contracts intensifies, Oscar Mira has largely avoided questions from the media. Hoping to get answers, we traveled to his constituency office in Belmopan. The office sits on San Martin Road, a street that itself is part of the conversation surrounding government contracts.

 

Just months after Mira was elected in November 2020, the roadway was rehabilitated by Fast Construction, another company that has come under scrutiny because of its reported ties to members of the Mira family. According to Facebook page transparency records, Fast Construction created its social media presence on March thirty-first, 2021. By July of that same year, the company was posting images of completed works on San Martin Road. We then visited Belmopan City Hall where current Mayor Pablo Cawich says the road rehabilitation took place before he assumed office. The council, nonetheless, is in the process of auditing that time frame when Mayor Palacio was in charge.

 

Pablo Cawich, Mayor, Belmopan City

“When we came into office, we met with the auditors, the same auditors from previous administrations and we ask them these audits need to happen. So whatever it takes, let us know and we will do whatever is needed to ensure that these audits are completed. So in 2024, we were still trying to finalize the execution of audits from 2017. I can say that we are presently working on the audits from 2022 to 2024 and we are hoping to have those ready around December of this year and we are hoping to have those ready around December of this year and that will also include the first year of administration.”

 

Cawich says he maintains an open and collaborative relationship with the Belmopan area representative. However, he says no member of the Mira family is currently providing services to the city council.

 

Pablo Cawich

“Minister Mira and I have been meeting on a monthly basis. We have tried to ensure that we collaborate on projects together because we need to show that unity and we need to ensure that we’re both looking after the people of Balmopan.

 

Shane Williams

“Can you say if there are any contracts on the municipal government to Mira family related companies?”

 

Pablo Cawich

“I was searching. I think I can say very clearly that no contract exists from the council for the Mira family, from the Belmopan City council.”

 

But the contracts don’t stop there. Other government departments are still doing business, and it’s unclear whether the shift from Jenny Mira to Stanley Mira will spark even more public concern. What’s clear is that questions about government contracts, and family ties, continue to follow Oscar Mira. Shane Williams for News Five.

 

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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