PSU Pushes Back Against Government Over SARA Transition

Tensions are escalating between the Public Service Union of Belize (PSU) and the Government following the Ministry of Finance’s response to concerns raised over the proposed transition of the Belize Tax Services Department into a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority, commonly referred to as SARA.  In a letter dated December 18, 2025, Financial Secretary Joseph Waight informed the Union that Cabinet has already taken a policy decision to proceed with the transition to SARA, and that ongoing engagement with the PSU would focus strictly on implementation matters affecting employees, rather than revisiting the policy decision itself.  The Ministry further stated that internal working papers, technical advisory reports, and draft analyses prepared for Cabinet are not subject to external circulation. According to the letter, draft legislation and transition frameworks would only be shared with the PSU once they reach sufficient maturity, and implementation of SARA would not occur before October this year.  It is quite a bold letter, essentially telling the PSU to butt out of matters not directly impacting the public officers.  PSU’s President Dean Flowers didn’t take the letter lightly, and responded in kind, telling the FinSec that such a policy would not be accepted.  Flowers spoke with Love News on the matter.

Dean Flowers, President, PSU: “We are also looking forward to seeing how best we can address the situation at the Belize Tax Services Department, which continues to be a live issue for the PSU. It continues to be an issue that we believe the Government of Belize has not justified and quite frankly do not believe that they have to justify such decisions to the Belizean people when in fact they are the servants of the Belizean people. I can tell you that shortly you will hear of a very strong response that we will shortly issue to the Ministry of Finance in regards to a letter in which the government, through the Financial Secretary would have explicitly said to the union, we don’t explain anything to you all and you all have the right to look after employees welfare but when Cabinet meets and makes policy decisions you sit like a good child and you take that like every other citizen of this country and we will try to emulate the characteristics of Donald Trump. That is in essence my takeaway from that letter sent to us prior to the Christmas holiday. But like I said we’ll get into that I’m pretty quite sure later on in the course of week or thereafter as this matter does not sit well or the government’s position does not sit well with us. So that would be an ongoing dilemma which has implication on the wider Belizean people and will have implication on the wider Belizean population.” 

In a separate public statement issued this evening, the PSU reaffirmed its demand for access to the economic analyses and reports that guided Cabinet’s decision, including the CARTAC report, and called for the immediate formation of the promised joint working group. The Union maintains that transparency is essential, not just for public officers, but for all Belizeans who will be affected by changes to the country’s tax system.  The Government has not yet publicly responded to the PSU’s latest demands, as the standoff over transparency and consultation in the proposed SARA transition continues.