Is Government Shutting Out Its Financial Watchdogs?

Who watches the public purse, and what happens when those responsible for tracking government spending lose access to the very tools they need? That question is now at the center of a growing dispute between the Public Service Union and the government. The union is sounding the alarm over a decision to restrict financial officers’ access to key government software, warning that the move could weaken oversight and make it harder to detect questionable spending. The controversy comes as allegations of financial misconduct within the public service remain under investigation and confidence in government accountability continues to face scrutiny. Tonight, the issue goes beyond software access. It raises a much bigger question: is government strengthening its financial controls, or quietly removing an important layer of oversight? News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporitng

For more than twenty years, SmartStream has served as the government’s central system for managing and tracking public finances. But the Briceno administration has made a major change, limiting financial officers’ access to the system. The Public Service Union is now raising concerns, warning that the restriction could make it harder for those officers to monitor how public funds are spent.

 

Dean Flowers, President, PSU

“Finance officers were able to simply view, it was a view only, it was not being able to scrutinize invoices. It was simply to view payments that happen across ministries. And it is because of a responsible finance officer that the Belizean people were exposed to the corrupt and irresponsible behavior of certain line ministries.”

 

The PSU says finance officers can now view transactions only within their assigned ministries. The restriction follows the “Mira Millions” leaks, which exposed millions of dollars in questionable split payments and alleged conflicts of interest at the Ministry of Defense. Those claims are now under audit, but the union is questioning whether the new limits are meant to prevent further disclosures.

 

Dean Flowers

“This is what we are paying these people for, to mismanage and to hide how they are enriching themselves and their families. This is what we are paying for and if we are not upset as a people on what is happening and the new steps by the Briceno administration who promised us greater transparency and accountability, who promised us that the auditor general ministry will be strengthened, who promised us that the integrity commission would be properly staffed so we can go after corrupt elected public officials. If we are not upset then I don’t know what.”

 

The PSU says government cannot promise to protect whistleblowers while restricting access to the system that could help expose wrongdoing. The union argues that the SmartStream limits contradict the Briceno administration’s commitment to introduce whistleblower protection laws. The bill has remained unfinished since 2021, a delay Union Senator Glenfield Dennison highlighted several weeks ago.

 

Glenfield Dennison, Union Senator

“Yo sih how they are victimizing or want to victimize the people that leaked the screenshot on the Mira Millions, that is what that is there to protect. So lets get that out ni the next ninety days. I am ready to debate that in the Senate. Senator Chanona you ready to debate that? So let us get the whistleblowers bill.”

 

The bill has gained some traction since then, but PSU President Dean Flowers is questioning whether that progress will lead to meaningful change.

 

Dean Flowers

“So it is only when you have this blatant act of corruption when you have financial officers or public officers who have access see the need to act. And why would you want to restrict that when you hypocritically just had the director of good governance right to the NTUCB to say we want your final input on the whistleblower legislation so that we can take it to the House. How hypocritical can these people be. These people are sick, the only thing that comes to my mind is, sick puppy.”

 

As the union pushes for greater transparency and stronger protections for those who expose wrongdoing, questions remain over whether access to information is being treated as a safeguard, or a threat. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

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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