BELMOPAN, June 17, 2026 — Facing growing public and political backlash over lucrative government contracts awarded to his immediate family members, Belize’s Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira has delivered his first public address on the simmering controversy, emphatically distancing himself from any wrongdoing or improper influence over the procurement process.
News Five reporters caught up with Mira on Wednesday afternoon at a scheduled police awards ceremony in the nation’s capital, where he addressed mounting questions about the multi-faceted scandal that has dominated political discourse in recent days. From the awarding of contracts to leak payment records that have raised new conflict-of-interest red flags, the minister has pushed back against every allegation, arguing he has never held a seat on any government procurement committee and has never attempted to sway procurement decisions made by the Ministry of Finance’s independent bodies.
“I don’t know if there is an ongoing public criticism, but let me just make clear: as the minister, I sit on no procurement committee. I have never been a member of those procurement groups, which are led exclusively by the Ministry of Finance,” Mira told reporters. “I have no say, I have no influence, and I have never in my ministry, or any other ministry, tried to influence the decision of that committee. They have a job to do, and they have done their job professionally.”
When pressed to explain how multiple members of his family ended up winning profitable government contracts through the public tender system, Mira framed the process as fully open to any eligible applicant. “Tenders are published in the newspaper. Any interested persons can apply and pay for that tender. They then go through a lengthy evaluation process,” he explained. “I had no say, I was not part of those committees. If they applied and won contracts, they did so on their own, not with my influence or anything to do with me. Everybody who reads the newspaper and wants to be a supplier can go ahead and participate. This is standard process across every government ministry, and I was never part of the decision-making committee.”
Critics have argued that regardless of formal process, the awarding of contracts to a sitting minister’s close relatives constitutes an obvious conflict of interest. When confronted with that argument, Mira doubled down on his denial of any involvement, noting he was not aware of how many bids were submitted for the contracts in question. “I do not ask nor did I ask anyone who applied. There are many people who applied. That is just one company who applied. I was not a part of it. So I don’t even know how many people applied. It is not me who makes decisions. It is a committee who sits together and makes the decision on who gets contracts. Those are done by buying tender packages and going through the requisite qualifications for what needs to be supplied, and I had nothing to do with that.”
The controversy has expanded far beyond the initial awarding of contracts, following the leak of screenshots from Belize’s Smart Stream public payment system that have raised new questions about fragmented payment trails to companies linked to Mira’s siblings. When asked if he found any of these transaction details suspicious, Mira again disavowed any connection to how government contractors are paid, maintaining that all payment processes fall under the exclusive purview of the Ministry of Finance.
Even as public calls for accountability grow louder, Mira characterized the entire ordeal as a “learning experience” for his tenure in office. “I don’t have anything to do with how government pays their contractors or suppliers. I have nothing to do as minister with how the Ministry of Finance handles payments. That is not my decision,” he said. “I really do not know how those payments were structured that way. If you go through the full procurement process, pay for your tender package and all required paperwork, and you are awarded a contract, I think you should be paid for the service you have given. Is there a better way? I believe there is. But that has nothing to do with me as Minister of Home Affairs. I believe every crisis you learn from, and I am trying to make sure I learn from this.”
The entire scandal traces back to a complaint Mira filed to police against social media commentator Alberto August over critical comments he made online, which ultimately led to August being detained by police overnight. That detention triggered a broader backlash, prompting former Belmopan Area Representative John Saldivar to begin publishing the leaked Smart Stream payment records that have brought the contract controversy into the public spotlight.
When asked if he regrets filing the initial complaint that opened the door to the current scandal, and whether additional critics could face similar police action, Mira clarified his role in the initial incident. “I did not levy any charges. I did not ask anyone to levy any charges. I am not a policeman, I cannot levy any charge. I did not file a criminal charge either. What I did was I made a complaint as a citizen,” he explained. “I made a complaint because based on legal advice, I felt it was what needed to be done. You don’t try to get cheap political mileage out of a tragedy that impacted the whole community of Belmopan, the medical community, and a grieving family that lost a beloved community member. Those were not my words he attributed to me, so I went to the police department to make that clear. He was afforded the exact same process as any other citizen would be.”
As for whether he will file additional complaints over the widespread critical and defamatory commentary about the controversy across social media and news outlets, Mira said the matter is now in the hands of his legal team. “I will not discuss that, because I have given all those things to my attorney. My attorney is looking at those, he will advise me on the way forward. Many defamatory statements have been said and reproduced by many news outlets and other people. My attorney is going to give me advice, and that is in his hands now.”
This report is based on a transcribed broadcast from News Five.