“You Cannot Leave Public Service to Politicians”: PSU on SARA

Tax officers met with the Public Service Union today to review the proposed Revenue Authority Bill, discuss its implications and raise concerns before the legislation advances further through the National Assembly.

The consultation came just hours after Prime Minister John Briceño introduced the bill in the House of Representatives, describing SARA as a major reform to modernise Belize’s tax administration. Under the proposal, current employees would have the option to join the new authority, remain within the wider public service or retire while retaining their accrued benefits.

PSU President Dean Flowers said the union wants frontline public officers to play a direct role in shaping the legislation. “You cannot leave public service to ‘po-lie-ticians’ in this day and age because what we will get is more and more of what we already knew existed, but now what is being demonstrated publicly through the Mira Millions,” he said.

Flowers said the goal is to influence the legislation before it is finalised, whether that happens by October or whenever the government meets the demands of the officers who will ultimately run the new system.

“There’s a sense of pride in the union at this point in time because the turnout today is a demonstration of a group of public officers who understand that the public service needs to be shaped by public officers,” Flowers said. “The people who are responsible for the delivery of public service must be part and parcel of the decision-making processes in public service, or it’s not going to work.”