Are Statutory Bodies Following the Law or Flying Under the Radar?
As the Mira millions controversy continues to unfold, attention is now shifting to statutory bodies and whether they are following the rules on audited financial statements, budgets, annual reports, and public disclosure. Public Service Union President Dean Flowers says the country is overdue for a serious review of these agencies, many of which are legally required to report to the National Assembly and, in some cases, publish their records in the Gazette. And according to Flowers, what has surfaced at the Ministry of Defense may only be the tip of the iceberg.
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“I think that ever since taking office, I have been saying to the Belizean people. I have appeared on multiple talk shows. I’ve read out the list of almost thirty-odd or forty-odd statutory bodies that are handling millions, in some cases hundreds of millions of dollars and not reporting back to the Belizean people. If unnu think the Myria scandal bad, wait till the veil is lifted in these statutory bodies. Wait until the veil is lifted in other government ministries such as the Ministry of Health, which juggles hundreds of millions in procurement. Of course, we can’t forget the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Works. These are the largest ministries in which hundreds of millions of dollars are not necessarily being accounted for through reporting by the Auditor General. And so hopefully the day will come when Belize will become serious, when government will become serious to get the necessary assistance we need to really delve into these ministries and expose the corruption that has been occurring in them over the last two or three decades.”
The Belize Tourism Board is now under the spotlight. Our checks found no audited financial reports tabled in the National Assembly for more than six years, and none posted on the BTB website, despite reporting requirements under the BTB Act.
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