President of the Public Service Union Dean Flowers is calling out the Office of the Contractor General. After seeking answers through a June eleventh Freedom of Information request tied to alleged payment splitting in the government’s Smart Stream system, Flowers says the response he received falls short. The office replied that its role doesn’t extend to how those payments are processed or monitored, but Flowers isn’t backing down. In a detailed five-page rebuttal, he points to provisions in the Contractor General Act that he believes gives the office clear authority to investigate, and he’s now calling for exactly that. Today, we caught up with Flowers as the dispute continues to unfold.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“I think what is key is under section sixteen two, the Contractor General may receive and investigate complaints or information from an employee of a public body, concerning the possible existence of an activity constituting a violation of laws, rules and regulations. Clearly there has been the violation of rules and regulations or mismanagement, gross waste of funds, fraud corruption, those things will be discovered in an audit. And so she cannot simply say I want to be a support to any other office who wish to investigate. By law you have a duty to investigate. I want to point out that the contractor general, the auditor general, these are persons fairly new to their office. And I hope they understand that they are not politically appointees and they are people who were hoping they have the requisite competency to carry out the functions of those offices.”
Oversight Agencies Reject Flowers’ Push on Smart Stream Data
And the Office of the Contractor General is not the only oversight body that has provided a less than favorable response to Flowers. In response to a Freedom of Information request, the Office of the Accountant General informed Flowers that it will fully cooperate with the Office of the Auditor General as it carries out the audit ordered by Prime Minister John Briceño. Meanwhile, Flowers continues to press for the release of records tied to Smart Stream payments, insisting they be made public.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“As I am conducting this interview, I received a response from the Accountant General who is saying absolutely nothing in her response and I will share that as well. She is essentially passing the buck to the Auditor General. She refuses, in her response, to say whether she will be going through the Smart Stream system, identify that pattern of payment by financial officers and providing me with that information and the names of those finance officer who engage in those practices. And clearly, I would have to assume it is the AG Ministry advising them, the Auditor General and the Contractor General, they resemble the same. And in essence the Auditor General is also saying to the union and in their response, we cant say anything that is prejudice to this investigation. If you are considering the evidence as facts, it does not matter who have a hold of those, you have them in your possession. If I have those it does not prejudice the audit in any way, shape or form.”
Flowers Backs Audit, Calls It “Only Comfort” in Mira Scandal
So, what’s Flowers’ take on Prime Minister John Briceño’s call to audit the Ministry of Defense accounts? He says it’s the only real source of comfort right now for those demanding accountability in the Mira scandal. Here’s how he explained it.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“That is the only comfort we can hold on to, that the Auditor General will carry out a comprehensive review. I think this thing is simple, the Accountant General has real time access to the information. The Accountant General can come out to the Belizean people and say, when I look at these thirty-plus ministries I am seeing these patterns of behavior in them. These are the evidence, the screenshots of the different entries. I can say to you of all the finance officers involved, these are their names, the people that held these ministries. That is the start and now we will have to wait and see what the audit uncovers to ensure the procedures set out in all the rules and regulations were followed and where corruption may be uncovered or any breach in those rules and regulations, then we expect recommendations will be made to the commission for disciplinary action to be taken against these officers.”
News Five reached out to the Integrity Commission for answers, but got no direct comment on the case. Instead, the Commission said it only launches investigations when it receives a formal complaint, which is then reviewed under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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