PM Briceño cautions his Cabinet to ensure that they operate above board 

PM Briceño has been forced to give his Cabinet the same talk former Prime Minister Dean Barrow gave his ministers back in 2013, when Elvin Penner’s name became embroiled in allegations of wrongdoing at the Immigration Department. At the time, Barrow said he had repeatedly raised the issue with his Cabinet, warning that while he had no proof against anyone, “if you are doing it, for God’s sake, stop it!” The remark has since become one of the most memorable lines from that administration.  This morning, Prime Minister John Briceño told the media that he has spoken with members of his Cabinet, amid the continuing controversy surrounding former Minister of Home Affairs Oscar Mira and payouts from the Ministry of Defence.  The PM says ministers must understand that their conduct must be above board at all times, particularly where public perception can raise questions about the integrity of government.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “We’re going to deal with it. And I’ve said to the cabinet from last week and this week I repeated, we don’t only have to do the things right, we also have to appear to do the things right. I mean for instance what I’ve been told when it comes to the Miras it gives the impression as if you know they were only getting money and they were not delivering goods but the goods were delivering. But it gives it really leads into question whether you’re just giving it to one person. So that’s the point I was making that you can’t only do things right you also have to appear to do it right.”

The comments come as the Oscar Mira matter continues to attract public attention, following disclosures involving government payments to companies associated with several of his siblings.  While government officials have maintained that no wrongdoing has been established, there are questions of conflict of interest, transparency, and the standards expected of elected officials.//