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As an ongoing review of the effectiveness of Belize’s government accountability mechanisms continues, a former head of one of the country’s key oversight institutions has raised urgent alarms about chronic underfunding. Retired Major Gilbert Swaso, who previously served as Belize’s Ombudsman, revealed in a recent public interview that the Ombudsman’s Office is consistently ranked among the lowest-priority items in the Government of Belize’s annual national budget allocation.

While the country’s existing Ombudsman Act explicitly grants the office the legal authority to submit requests for extra funding to support active investigations into government misconduct and systemic failures, Swaso says the real challenge emerges long after the request is filed. During his tenure leading the office, Swaso documented multiple instances where formal funding requests for critical investigative work were completely ignored by government financial authorities.

“Statutorily, we have the right to put forward requests for additional resources when casework demands it. The problem isn’t the ability to ask – it’s what happens after we ask,” Swaso explained. “On more than one occasion, those requests went unanswered. That’s where the core challenge lies.”

Even though Belize’s constitution and national Ombudsman Act formalize the office’s independence from executive branch interference, Swaso points out that the office still relies on approval from the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Secretary, and the National Assembly for any additional budget beyond its base allocation. When the Ombudsman’s investigative priorities do not align with the ruling government’s policy and political agenda, requests for extra funding are routinely sidelined, he says.

This systemic mismatch creates a hidden threat to the office’s core mandate: holding government institutions and public officials accountable to the public. Swaso warns that when funding is only approved for investigations that fit the government’s own priorities, the independence that makes the Ombudsman’s oversight work meaningful is severely undermined. The interview marks the latest contribution to a broader public discussion about whether Belize’s oversight bodies have the resources and autonomy they need to fulfill their legal responsibilities.

A brewing political controversy over government defense procurement has sparked allegations of favoritism and insider dealing in the current administration, with a leading union leader calling for a full, transparent audit to uncover potential wrongdoing.

The scandal centers on a key observation: a substantial number of private businesses that have recently secured lucrative defense contracts from the Ministry of Defense were only incorporated after the Briceño administration took office. Dean Flowers, president of the Public Service Union (PSU), argues that this coincidental timing is no accident, and instead points to a systemic pattern that advantages well-connected new entrants at the expense of fair competition.

In comments delivered to local media, Flowers laid out the core of his accusation, urging the public to scrutinize the founding dates of contract-winning firms and examine whether transactions involve politically connected related parties. “Create a company, submit a bid and we will ensure you get a bid or part of a bid,” Flowers said, outlining the alleged scheme that he says relies on advance insider knowledge of upcoming government procurement needs.

Flowers has raised questions about opaque government contracting practices since he assumed leadership of the PSU in 2021, repeatedly calling attention to what he claims is the emergence of a new class of politically connected wealthy individuals benefiting from public spending, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector. He went on to argue that most of the companies founded after the administration took office would be unable to survive commercially without exclusive access to government contracts, given their explicit founding purpose to capitalize on political connections.

To date, no concrete, tangible evidence has been made public to confirm Flowers’ claims of insider dealing and favoritism. Despite this lack of proof, Flowers is pushing for procurement investigators to include the timing of company incorporations as a core line of inquiry in the ongoing official audit of the defense ministry’s contracting activities.

This report is adapted from a transcribed broadcast of a local evening newscast, with localized Kriol language statements preserved using standardized spelling conventions.

On a routine working trip to cover an unrelated story in Mesopotamia, a reporting team from News Five stumbled across an unfolding public dispute centered on voter registration activities, that could now land a local opposition party operative in legal trouble.

The confrontation broke out Tuesday at the intersection of Iguana and Bocotora Streets, when a registration officer from Belize’s Elections and Boundaries Department arrived to update voter rolls. Brian “Yellowman” Audinette, a long-time operative for the United Democratic Party (UDP), stepped in to block the process, claiming that the individuals attempting to register did not actually reside at the address in question.

“That noh fi happen. That noh wah happen under my watch,” Audinette told reporters on scene, asserting that he was acting to prevent what he calls illegal voter registration – an offense that carries penalties including fines and even jail time under Belizean electoral law. “Unu noh wa register nobody ya like that. Unu noh wah come with no illegal registration ya.”

But Chief Elections Officer Josephine Tamai clarified that while Audinette had every right to challenge questionable registrations, he chose the wrong approach. Belize’s Representation of the People Act lays out a clear, formal process for voters to raise objections to any entry on the voter rolls, Tamai explained. To file a formal challenge, an elector must submit a written notice of objection on the official Form 14A, outlining clear grounds for their challenge, by the 25th day of the month in which the registration takes place. Once a challenge is submitted correctly, a revision court overseen by a sitting magistrate will be convened before the end of the month to hear evidence, review the case, and issue a binding ruling on whether the voter’s name stays on the list or is removed.

Instead of following this formal legal process, Tamai noted, Audinette chose to interfere directly with the registration officer’s official duties, an act that itself violates electoral regulations. The Elections and Boundaries Department is treating the incident with significant seriousness, Tamai emphasized, stressing that no private citizen is permitted to obstruct public officials as they carry out their legally mandated election work. “Any person who wishes to object must follow the process for objections as the process is clearly written in the Representation Of the People’s Act and action will be taken against anyone who interferes or obstruct officers from carrying out their duties,” Tamai said.

Many independent political observers in the country note that this incident is not an isolated case tied to one party, pointing out that operatives from both major political parties in Belize have a long history of attempting to block voter registrations in competitive constituencies through extra-legal means. They argue that any enforcement action taken against Audinette should prompt a broader review of such tactics across all political groups, to ensure all parties are held equally accountable for violations of electoral law. This report was prepared by Shane Williams for News Five.