The clock is ticking on the audit into the Ministry of Defense. It has been about three weeks since Prime Minister John Briceño ordered the review, following the controversy that placed Oscar Mira and Florencio Marin Jr. under intense public scrutiny. The Prime Minister says the audit should take twelve weeks, meaning there are roughly nine weeks left before Belizeans get a clearer picture of what investigators found. But already, questions are mounting. What will the audit reveal? And could Mira and Marin return to their posts? Today, UDP Leader Tracy Panton weighed in on what she expects from the process and whether she believes reinstatement is even on the table.
Tracy Panton
Tracy Panton, Leader, United Democratic Party
“ And you will say in every interview I give, that we first must hold ourselves to account, before we can hold a government to account. Today is a new day. Today is a new dawn for this country. The dam has broken and the power to make Belize the Belize we want it to be, the power to change things, to correct things, to ensure the people of this country get what we work for, because I hope you know the money that is being stolen from the public purse is your money. 6:01
Reporter
“What happens if when the Audit comes out the prime minister says nothing was found and these ministers will be reinstated. What happens then?”
Tracy Panton
“That is not going to happen. Do you think the Belizean people will sit back. He can say that, if he wishes. But I think he has a little more intelligence than that. I don’t think the prime minister can get away with telling the Belizean people nothing is happening and I will share with you that what is in the public domain today, is only the tip of the iceberg.”
Panton and the United Democratic Party say they will release more leaked government documents in the coming weeks, and we will continue to follow the story.
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