Amid growing public scrutiny over potential preferential treatment in government procurement, the top leader of Belize’s Ministry of Transport has publicly pushed back against accusations that his department unfairly favors a single auto parts supplier for official vehicle maintenance and inventory restocking. In a press briefing held July 17, 2026, Chief Executive Officer Chester Williams directly addressed circulating concerns that Special Effects Performance Auto Parts has gained an improper inside track to Ministry of Transport contracts, calling the claims unfounded.
Williams explained that the ministry follows a strict competitive bidding process designed specifically to cut public costs and avoid favoritism. Under the protocols he has mandated, procurement teams are required to solicit price quotes from at least three separate auto parts vendors before making any purchase. Regular suppliers that the ministry routinely reaches out to include Special Effects, Westrac, Caribbean Motors, Belize Diesel and Belize Estate, he confirmed.
“My instructions to my people is, when they are going to get parts, they are going to get invoices from three different locations. I will look at the one that is more cheaper and I will direct that they get it from the cheaper one,” Williams told reporters. “If we are getting parts from Special Effects it simply means that the parts there is cheaper and sometimes the parts are the same. My interest is to save the government money and ensure I do not spend it unreasonably for things that you can get cheaper at other locations.”
When pressed by a reporter on whether all ministry auto parts contracts are steered exclusively to Special Effects, Williams rejected the assertion outright. He pointed to multiple recent purchases from other competing suppliers to back up his denial. “That is not true. We have also procured parts from Westrac. We have gotten parts from Belize Diesel, Caribbean Motors, Belize Estate. So it is not true to say that we only get from Special Effects, that is not true, no,” he emphasized.
This report is a transcribed version of an evening television newscast, with all non-standard Kriol language adjusted to adhere to a standardized spelling system for published distribution.