Fighting corruption takes more than speeches and policy papers. It also takes money, people and political commitment. But according to Director of Good Governance Cesar Ross, Belize’s push to fully implement UNCAC has been slowed by limited resources. The Briceño administration created the Good Governance Unit in 2022 to help lead that effort, but the question tonight is whether government has given the unit enough support to carry out its mandate, or whether the slow pace says something more about political will.
Cesar Ross, Director of Good Governance
“Because it is a new unit, just established in 2022, the administration was looking at recommendations to the budget. So, the budget was developed based on how this unit would establish itself. What is requested every year is that we look at what we have, what we need and any special projects we can submit. So when we look at those areas, the budget for simply the unit being operational is one. But for each project we have to develop a separate budget for that and as we take them on we understand the nature of what it costs for each project. So we are doing it slowly as we take on project by project, because it is a relatively small team. But there are several stakeholders assisting in making this possible.”
The unit operates under the Ministry of Public Service, Constitutional and Political Reform.
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