It has been nearly 30 years since Said Musa’s administration cemented the Office of the Ombudsman as a cornerstone of Belize’s public accountability framework. First established under a previous government led by Manuel Esquivel, the legislation creating the independent oversight body sat unused for five years, until the People’s United Party (PUP) won office in 1998 and followed through on the policy, appointing Paul Rodriguez as Belize’s first official ombudsman.
Decades later, this institution once hailed as a critical pillar of transparent and responsive governance is facing an unprecedented leadership vacuum. As of this September 2026 report, the post of ombudsman has remained empty for nearly a year — a gap that former Prime Minister Musa argues has severely weakened a key institutional check designed to protect ordinary Belizean residents.
In an interview, Musa did not mince words describing the situation, calling the prolonged vacancy nothing less than a national disappointment. “It is a damn shame to put it that way, because the Ombudsman is a very important arm of the nation,” Musa said. “And it need not be progovernment or anything. In fact, it is independent of government. In fact, it is there to protect the people. In other countries they call it defender of the people.”
The former prime minister also noted that the current vacancy arose after the previous ombudsman came into conflict with the sitting administration, a dispute that Musa says he still finds puzzling. “I cannot understand it to this day. I guess we have to move beyond that now,” he added.
This report is adapted from a transcribed segment of an evening television news broadcast, with all quoted statements preserved accurately to reflect the speaker’s original comments.