Could a Belizean Anti-Corruption Commission Be Next?

Could Belize benefit from a specialized anti-corruption body with the power to investigate high-level crime and political wrongdoing? It’s a model that transformed Guatemala’s political landscape, helping expose major corruption schemes and bringing down some of the country’s most powerful officials. As concerns about transparency and accountability continue to surface at home, News Five asked Prime Minister John Briceño whether his administration would consider a similar approach for Belize.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño 

“IF you were to talk to Guatemalans the CICIG is not working like it should. And, they are having a lot of problems. But we are working with that. Remember we have passed a law for unexplained wealth and just a few weeks ago we had people from the FIU came in to explain to us what it is they are doing and what they can do potentially in the near future. So we are working on all these things and these things take time and we have to ensure that whatever we have in place works well and cannot be used for political purposes but it is to be used to ensure we can protect the assets of this country and the assets of people and so we need to make sure we can do it properly.”

 

The Briceño administration is also working on legislation to protect whistleblowers and laws that increases coordination between governance oversight bodies.

 

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.

 

Watch the full newscast here: