Nearly five and a half years after first vowing to crack down on systemic public sector corruption, Belize Prime Minister John Briceño has taken formal action to open a full audit of the Belize Defense Force’s (BDF) financial records, responding to long-standing misconduct allegations tied to the previous administration.
The announcement, made public on Thursday, marks a key milestone in the People’s United Party government’s commitment to root out graft — a promise Briceño first laid out in the House of Representatives just weeks after his party took power from the United Democratic Party (UDP) in January 2021. During that initial address, when introducing the landmark Good Governance Motion, the prime minister committed to full investigations and legal consequences for any public official found to have engaged in corrupt practice.
Speaking in the legislature, Briceño reiterated that promise to the Belizean public in Kriol, saying: “We promised the Belizean people that we are going investigate and who wrong gwen dah jail fi we find them guilty.”
He emphasized that 13 years of UDP rule left a pattern of systemic embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, and holding corrupt actors accountable through the judicial system is the only way to end this pattern. “The only way this type of corruption and stealing that happened under thirteen years of the UDP administration is going to stop is that when you hold the people that plunder the treasury and rob from the Belizean people, that we hold them accountable and they have to go to a court of law,” Briceño said.
The prime minister also framed the crackdown as a warning to current sitting officials, noting that it sends a clear message that any public servant who deviates from ethical governance will face the same consequences. “And it is important to that because I can tell my colleagues also, see what happened to them. If you don’t walk a straight line, you are going to end up like that,” he told opposition leader in the house.
Briceño stressed that the investigation is not a politically motivated personal attack, but a necessary step to restore public trust in government institutions. “It is not personal. But this is the only way we are going to stop the stealing and the plundering of the Belizean people money,” he said.
The BDF audit, Briceño confirmed, is only the first phase of uncovering the full facts surrounding what are known as the “Mira corruption allegations.” This report is a transcribed excerpt of an evening television newscast, with Kriol language remarks reproduced using a standardized spelling system for public accessibility.