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The employment contract of Director of Procurement Rey Guerrero has turned heads and raised eyebrows, with his two-year compensation package totaling approximately three hundred and ninety thousand dollars. A memorandum dated August 24 reportedly shows that Guerrero’s contract was renewed at an annual base salary of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. He also receives nearly thirty-three thousand dollars a year in housing, vehicle and telephone allowances, along with a twenty percent gratuity upon completing the contract in 2028. The gratuity amounts to sixty-four thousand dollars over the two years. It is calculated on his base salary and does not include allowances. Prime Minister John Briceño was asked about the package and defended Guerrero’s compensation.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “That is something that we’re working with the IFIs, with the IDB and the World Bank, and Mr. Guerrero manages over 300 plus million US dollars worth of projects. And they have set some very stringent requirements as to how we do about going about with procurement. That is why there is frustration sometimes within the government service or the ministries because of the demands that we’re making for them to be able to set out the contracts. Many times contracts are returned and we have to do them all over again. So that is a part of the agreement that we have. Now Mr. Guerrero has a Central Execution Unit but also apart from that he’s also in charge of the procurement unit. So he has double the amount of work. But he is not the only one that has that position. We also have one in the Ministry of Education and MIDH and I’m told that there’s one that’s paid even higher than more than what he collects.”
Reporter: That’s one of the concern is the size of that compensation package are probably even higher than yours.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “No, but I understand my one. The point I’m trying to make that we have another one that is being paid even more than Mr. Guerrero. But until we could be able to get the real professionals, people to be able to have the qualifications, the ability to do the work, we’ll never be able to move ahead. It’s important that we can meet the issues or the requirements of these IFIs or else we’ll never be able to move forward. And it is to be able to pay these people requires a certain amount of money for them to do the job.”
The government has promoted the Procurement Unit as a key part of its effort to improve how public money is spent on goods, services and works. /
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