Oscar Mira Reflects on Border Security Tenure in Exit Interview

Minister Oscar Mira, who up to last week held the portfolio for Border Security and Defence gave Love News an exit interview yesterday.  Mira reflected on the accomplishments in the ministry despite him only serving as a Minister of State.

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs and Enterprise: “While I wasn’t the substantive minister before, I think that I put my share of what happened at the Ministry of National Defence for the last eight to ten months that I was the minister, substantive minister. We worked very hard in making sure that we built on the morale of our soldiers, the infrastructure that was for so many years neglected. I’m proud to say that we now boast brand new dining facility at Price Barracks. We also have a brand new accommodation building in Price Barracks. Many of the buildings that were dilapidated we are not working, as we speak, the project is still continuing to rehabilitate most of those buildings at Price Barracks. In Fairweather Camp we have two big projects that are coming on stream very, very shortly. One is the Medical Center and another dining facility through CABEI Funds as well as the battalion that’s in Belisario there will be two projects there as well. It’s going to be an office for the battalion headquarters and accommodations for senior NCOs and officers. So two projects in the west that are going to be very, very shortly coming on stream.”

According to Mira, from his experience, the challenge has always been to uphold the morale of the BDF soldiers and the Belize Coast Guard.

Oscar Mira, Minister of Home Affairs and Enterprise: “It’s not an easy task to keep up the morale of so many soldiers that work every day at the Coast Guard and at the BDF. I think we have done well. I work hand in hand with my CEO, Major Usher ensuring that we do what was possible and what was within the budget for the BDF and the Coast Guard. As I look back on those eight months or thereabouts of being the minister, yes, I sometimes wish that I could have stayed and seen some of the projects that we started accomplished. Those are things that as a human being, you know, you want to make sure you follow up and you finish.”

Oscar Mira is now the Minister of Home Affairs and Enterprise