Five Years In, PM Briceño Shakes Up Cabinet

Prime Minister John Briceño has made some major moves in his Cabinet. Tonight, five senior government ministers have seen a complete shift in their portfolios. This Cabinet reshuffle comes exactly five years since the Briceño administration took office in November 2020 and eight months into their second term. So, what do these shifts mean for governance in Belize going forward? News Five’s Paul Lopez takes a closer look at the Prime Minister’s latest appointments and what may have led to them. Here is that report.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

It’s a big political milestone today, five years since the People’s United Party ended the UDP’s thirteen-year run and took the reins of government. The Briceño administration has now completed a full term and is eight months into its second. And tonight, the Prime Minister is shaking things up in a big way. PM Briceño announced a Cabinet reshuffle that’s already drawing attention. One of the biggest changes is Kareem Musa out as Minister of Home Affairs, a post he’s held since his appointment back in 2020. Here’s a look at Musa just days after stepping into that role five years ago.

 

Kareem Musa, Former Minister of Home Affairs (File: Nov 17^th, 2020)

“Part of our manifesto is to increase the rank of police department.  It might not be overnight but certainly in the coming years, we want to take it to three thousand as an initial step and thereafter to four thousand.  So definitely we do need more boots on the ground because we are understaffed as is.”

 

During his tenure as Minister of Home Affairs, Musa increased the rank of the police department by just over eight hundred recruits, across four squads. His tenure has ended, and the Prime Minister has tapped him to head one of the toughest ministries, a department long plagued by allegations of hustling, administrative hurdles, and inefficiency. In his place, Henry Charles Usher will now take charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Enterprise. Usher Kept his post at the Ministry of Public Service for the past five years, though there have been changes in other ministries he oversees.  Tonight, Usher takes Musa’s place as the Minister of Home Affairs. He steps into the role amid mounting public pressure for answers in the Joseph Budna case and rising gang tensions in Belize City.

 

Another notable shift sees the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology going back to Minister Francis Fonseca. It is an interesting decision, because Fonseca was juggling these portfolios along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs just ahead of the 2025 general elections. He noted in February that it was only meant to be short-term.

 

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Foreign Affairs (File: Feb 20^th, 2025)

“I don’t see that happening in another term of government. Ideally you want a minister responsible for education and culture and you want a minister focusing on foreign affairs and foreign trade.”

 

This time around, in a new term, Minister Fonseca will have two ministers of state by his side. But why did Prime Minister Briceno decide to bring Fonseca back to education? Only eight months ago, Oscar Requena, a career educator, was appointed to serve as the Minister of Education, a ministry with the biggest budget.

 

Oscar Requena, Former Minister of Education (File: Mar 17^th, 2025)

“I feel over the last twenty-four years that I served I have learnt a lot. I come prepared, certainly I will make use of professionals and people in the field to support the work that we do at the ministry of Education.”

Just eight months later, Prime Minister Briceño is moving Requena back to the Ministry of Rural Transformation, the same portfolio he held during the first term. So, does this reshuffle signal dissatisfaction with Requena’s performance at Education? That decision comes only days after teachers were up in arms over delays in salary disbursements and miscellaneous deductions from their pay.

 

Florencio Marin is now on his third ministry in five years, marking another key change. He first served as Minister of National Defense. He moved to the Ministry of Rural Transformation earlier this year, and now Marin has landed at the Ministry of Public Service and Disaster Risk Management. It’s a challenging role, as the minister must navigate tough negotiations with the joint unions. Smaller yet significant adjustments see Enterprise combined with Home Affairs, and New Growth Industries partnered with Agriculture. Additionally, the Ministry of Governance and NEMO has been done away with. Five years in, the Briceño administration makes its mark. But which ministers were promoted, and who took a step back? Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez