‘Audit Will Clear My Name’: Mira Breaks Silence on Audit and Family Payments
Oscar Mira may have stepped away from Cabinet, but he insists he is not stepping away from public service. As questions continue to mount over millions of dollars in government payments linked to his family members and family-connected businesses, the Belmopan Area Representative says the audit now underway will prove he did nothing wrong.
In an exclusive interview, Mira told News 5 that his focus remains on serving his constituency despite taking administrative leave from his ministerial duties.
“I did not get elected as a minister. I am an area representative, and I am not on leave from area representative duties,” he said. “There is a lot of noise, but I block out that noise because that will not deter or slow down the work we are doing here in Belmopan.”
The government audit will examine taxpayer-funded contracts made through the Ministry of Defence to businesses linked to Mira’s family while he served as Minister of State and later substantive minister.
“I welcome the audit; I want to make sure that whatever is there in that audit I am confident I was not involved in anything,” Mira said.
Mira defended his relative’s eligibility to work with the government by saying, “My family is a hard-working family.”
He added, “They as Belizean citizens, are entitled to apply… I don’t subscribe to the notion that if you have anyone in government then you are not supposed to apply and get any work done in the government.”
Despite remaining on administrative leave, Mira confirmed he still has use of his government-issued vehicle. When asked whether he is still receiving a ministerial salary, he replied, “I have not checked.”
On the payments to family members and family-linked businesses during his time at the Ministry of Defence, Mira defended them without hesitation. “My family is a hard-working family. I believe that if they got payments it was for services provided, professional services provided. I don’t see how anyone of them would be getting paid for anything they have not done,” he said. He also rejected the idea that relatives of elected officials should be barred from government contracts. “They as a Belizean citizen are entitled to apply for a job like anybody else,” he said, adding, “If the work that you provide is to the standard and if it is competitive, then I don’t see the reason why.”
Pressed on whether he could guarantee goods and services were delivered, Mira was unequivocal. “And to a very high standard, yes.”
But when asked whether he is still collecting his ministerial salary while on leave, he could not answer. “I have not checked,” he said.
The audit will determine what the payments actually bought. Mira said he is convinced it will vindicate him.