Chamber to PM: Fix the System, Not Just the Scandal

The business community says the Smart Stream scandal should not just end with an investigation. It should trigger a cleanup of the entire system. In a letter to Prime Minister John Briceño, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed government’s decision to investigate irregularities in procurement and payments. But the Chamber says Belize cannot keep waiting for problems to surface before acting. It wants safeguards built into the system now, before public funds are approved and paid out. The B.C.C.I. is calling for urgent upgrades to the Smart Stream accounting platform, including automatic fraud alerts, checks for duplicate payments, stronger invoice verification, and tighter controls over who can approve and process payments. The Chamber says these tools could flag suspicious transactions in real time and close the gaps that allow public money to be misused. It is also pushing for stronger audits, quicker release of audit reports, and real consequences when recommendations are ignored. According to the Chamber, many of these fixes do not need to wait on the current investigation. In short, the Chamber says: accountability cannot be an afterthought. Good governance depends on secure systems, strong institutions, and a culture where public officers know that every dollar can be traced.

 

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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