Amid mounting public and industry pressure for greater financial accountability following the controversial ‘Mira Millions’ procurement scandal, Belize Prime Minister John Briceño has announced a series of sweeping reforms to the country’s public procurement system, including mandatory training for senior officials and a full review of existing procurement legislation.
The Prime Minister’s directive was formalized during a special Cabinet meeting held Tuesday, which gathered all government ministers and agency chief executive officers to receive briefings on procurement best practices and regulatory compliance from the nation’s top financial oversight bodies: the Financial Secretary, the Contractor General, and the Auditor General.
Per a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, the closed-door session centered on three core priorities: strengthening institutional governance, boosting public sector transparency, and guaranteeing full adherence to Belize’s existing procurement regulations. Attendees also conducted a deep dive into the provisions of the Finance and Audit Reform Act (FARA) and the nation’s Stores Orders, while exploring actionable strategies to reinforce internal controls and cut down on recurring procurement irregularities.
Two immediate policy changes emerged from the meeting. First, the government will roll out a mandatory, continuous professional development program focused on proper procurement procedures, required for all ministers, agency CEOs, financial managers, and senior procurement staff across the public sector. Second, a dedicated technical working group will be convened to audit current procurement laws and draft amendments designed to close loopholes that enable corrupt practice and mismanagement.
Briceño’s reform push comes in direct response to growing calls for action from Belize’s leading business advocacy group, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), which demanded sweeping changes to public financial management after the ‘Mira Millions’ controversy brought widespread procurement vulnerabilities to light. In a formal letter dated June 29 addressed to the Prime Minister, the BCCI put forward a 10-point reform plan that includes upgrading the government’s existing SmartStream accounting system or deploying new automated monitoring tools capable of flagging irregular payments before they are processed. The group’s recommendations also cover setting caps on individual supplier transactions, building automated anomaly detection systems, creating alerts for duplicate payment requests, tightening multi-level approval requirements, and expanding detailed audit trails for all public transactions.
The Chamber emphasized that the majority of these proposed safeguards can be implemented immediately, without waiting for the conclusion of the ongoing criminal and administrative investigation into the ‘Mira Millions’ procurement allegations.
In addition to the training program and legislative review, Briceño also announced that Cabinet will soon consider a proposal to create a centralized Central Procurement Unit, developed in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank. Under the proposed new framework, every government ministry will be required to process all public purchases — even transactions falling below the current BZ$10,000 threshold — through a single, unified electronic procurement portal.
Briceño highlighted that the centralized portal will deliver multiple key improvements: it will boost transparency by centralizing all procurement data, maintain a public national registry of pre-qualified suppliers, standardize purchasing practices across all government ministries, and embed multiple layers of independent oversight to monitor compliance and facilitate external auditing. The Prime Minister characterized the centralized portal initiative as a “game changer” for Belize’s public procurement system, while stressing that the broader reform package is a separate effort from the ongoing active investigation into the ‘Mira Millions’ case.