With Prime Minister John Briceño set to begin personal leave tomorrow, questions about the Ministry of Defense’s controversial spending continue to follow him. We caught up with the PM today at Price Barracks during the Belize Defense Force’s recruit pass-out ceremony, where we pressed him for answers on the ongoing investigation into suspicious ministry transactions. The scrutiny comes after leaked Smart Stream invoices appeared to show the prime minister’s brother and his business associates receiving payments from the Ministry of Defense through a series of questionable invoices valued below ten thousand dollars. Adding to the concerns, Briceño’s brother is also a shareholder in Hugo Engineering, a company reportedly paid to supply food produce to the ministry. With the controversy still unfolding, we asked the prime minister whether he has spoken to his brother since the matter surfaced and what, if anything, he has learned from those conversations.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I have spoke to him and there is nothing more to add.”
Paul Lopez
“What updates can you give us at this time about the audit. Is there anything you can tell us, four weeks now?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“No, I can’t, I can’t talk about the audit. I do not talk to the auditor general. She is independent and doing her own job. She is going meticulously through; it is a lot of files. There are invoices, the Pos, purchase orders, and the contracts, it is a lot of work and they are compiling them. That is the last I know from the CEO and whenever she has her report she will make it available.”
Paul Lopez
“You indicated that the audit will go back to 2015, has this resulted in a request from the office for additional time than the initial three months?”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I think it is important for Belizeans to know that we are looking at what has happened during our time, but it is also important to take a look back. I believe we can take a look back on 2015. I don’t think that has been officially said to the auditor general, but I will ask the Financial Secretary to speak with her and ask that we go all the way back to 2015. A lot has been said and there is this impression that this money has been paid and the soldiers are not getting food. If you want to be objective, every soldier will tell you that today they are eating way better than they did before we came into government.”
No Suspicion in New Companies Getting Government Contracts
As scrutiny intensifies over Ministry of Defense spending, another question is coming into focus: when did many of the ministry’s suppliers enter the picture? Records show that several companies receiving government business were established after the Briceño administration took office, prompting questions about their emergence and access to contracts. Today, we put those concerns directly to Prime Minister John Briceño. The PM says he sees nothing suspicious about newer companies securing government work, arguing that the real test is whether they deliver value for taxpayers.
Paul Lopez
“How does it strike you knowing that multiple of these companies were established after your administration took office, Kukulcan, MP Farms, A&Y etc.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“You have to ask them, that is not something I can comment on
Paul Lopez
Does it raise any suspicion for you?
Prime Minister John Briceño
“It is not a matter of suspicion. It is suspicious if any wrong was done and I think the auditor general when they finish the audit if anything wrong was done. Nothing is wrong if you want to start your business to be able to supply or to provide a service or good to the government. There is nothing wrong with that. It is about getting value for money. And that is most important.”
Reporter
“A former commander of the BDF Services and Support Battalion told us that after 2020 even basic procurement was sent to Belmopan and taken away from them.”
Prime Minister John Briceño
“That is not true. That started in 2015 when there was a problem with the very same procurement within the BDF. And what that person is not. If that person would have been fair enough he would also tell you that even the things we buy, it is in consultation with the soldiers. The soldiers tell you what they want.”
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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