Home Affairs Ministry Still Without Permanent CEO Weeks After Shake-Up

Twenty-five days after former Chief Executive Officer Sharole Carr was removed from the Ministry of Home Affairs and following the appointment of Oscar Mira as the new Minister, there is still no substantive CEO named to lead one of the country’s most critical security portfolios.  The vacancy has drawn increasing public and political attention, given the ministry’s oversight of the Belize Police Department, the National Forensic Science Service, and several key security and enterprise functions. While an acting CEO continues to manage the day-to-day operations, stakeholders have been looking to the government for clarity on who will fill the post permanently.  On the margines of today’s House Meeting, Prime Minister John Briceño confirmed that the vetting process is ongoing and revealed that several individuals were under consideration for the high-profile role. 

John Briceño, Prime Minister: “I’ll make the announcement on Monday. We’re pretty much there but I don’t want to jump to the gun until when I meet this individual. There are several people that were in the race including Admiral Bennett and even former Commissioner Chester Williams. Different, there are about four or five different persons that were brought up.” 

In the interim, CEO Francis Usher is holding over in addition to his main portfolio of Border Security and Defense.