PM Orders Procurement Overhaul as Pressure Mounts Over ‘Mira Millions’
Prime Minister John Briceño has ordered mandatory procurement training for senior government officials and launched a review of Belize’s procurement laws as his administration faces growing calls for stronger financial oversight following the “Mira Millions” controversy.
The directive came during a special Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that brought together all ministers and chief executive officers for presentations by the Financial Secretary, the Contractor General, and the Auditor General on procurement best practices and legislative compliance.
According to the Office of the Prime Minister, the session focused on strengthening governance, improving transparency, and ensuring compliance with the country’s procurement laws. Officials also discussed the Finance and Audit Reform Act (FARA), the Stores Orders, and ways to improve internal controls and reduce procurement irregularities.
Among the immediate decisions announced was the creation of a mandatory, continuous professional development programme on procurement procedures for ministers, CEOs, financial officers, and senior procurement staff. The government will also establish a technical working group to review existing procurement legislation and recommend changes aimed at strengthening safeguards against malpractice.
The announcement comes after the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged the government to undertake sweeping reforms to its public financial management systems in the wake of procurement concerns highlighted by the “Mira Millions” controversy.
In a June 29 letter to the prime minister, the Chamber proposed a ten-point plan that includes upgrading the government’s SmartStream accounting system or introducing automated monitoring tools capable of detecting irregular payments before they are processed. The recommendations include supplier transaction limits, anomaly detection, duplicate payment alerts, stronger approval controls, and enhanced audit trails.
The Chamber argued that many of the proposed safeguards could be implemented immediately without waiting for the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the procurement allegations.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Briceño has also announced that Cabinet will soon consider establishing a Central Procurement Unit, developed in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank. The proposed system would require every government ministry to conduct purchases through a single electronic procurement portal, including transactions below the current BZ$10,000 threshold.
According to the prime minister, the portal would improve transparency, maintain a registry of pre-qualified suppliers, centralize purchasing across ministries, and introduce multiple layers of oversight to monitor compliance and auditing. Briceño has described the initiative as a “game changer” for government procurement, while maintaining that the reforms are separate from the ongoing investigation into the “Mira Millions” case.