By: Omar Silva

Editor, National Perspective Bz DIGITAL 2024

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

 Belize City: Tuesday, 15th October 2024

In an era when transparency, accountability, and governance should be the bedrock of any democracy, Belizeans are being forced to witness a disturbing erosion of these very principles at the hands of our own government. The latest slap in the face? The appointment of a contract worker as Auditor General,   a move that not only defies constitutional precedent but reeks of an insidious agenda to cripple public accountability.

The Auditor General is meant to be a bulwark of integrity, a guardian of public funds, and a watchdog that ensures government spending is carried out with the highest degree of responsibility. Yet, instead of ensuring this position is filled by a qualified, independent, and career public officer, the government has opted for a contract worker—someone who can be easily manipulated, pressured, and even dismissed at the whim of those in power. What does this mean for you, the people of Belize? It means the government has turned the very office that should protect the public purse into a rubber stamp for their unchecked spending.

Where is the Accountability?

Let’s not mince words: this is a deliberate effort to erode public oversight. It is a calculated manoeuvre to place a muzzle on the Auditor General's office, ensuring that uncomfortable truths about government spending remain buried. This government, which rode into power promising transparency and reform, is now quietly dismantling the very systems that ensure they are held accountable.

What happened to the autonomy that the previous Auditor General, Dorothy Bradley, had been pushing for? Why has the government failed to enact the necessary reforms to protect this vital office? And more importantly, why have we, the people, allowed this blatant disregard for accountability to continue?

It is not just the Auditor General’s post that is under siege. The entire fabric of our governance structure is unravelling. Consider this: while Belizeans continue to grapple with sky-high cost of living, a crumbling health care system, and rampant crime, this government is playing a dangerous game with our future—one that risks plunging us further into chaos and debt.

A Track Record of Betrayal

This isn’t the first time the government has pulled a fast one on the Belizean people. Remember the uproar over the Stake Bank Island land deal? While the Prime Minister smiles and waves for the cameras, backroom deals continue to be cut, with the public kept in the dark about the true beneficiaries. Or how about the $6.9 million that still hasn’t been fully accounted for? The unions have been crying out for an audit, yet the government has conveniently placed limitations on the Deputy Auditor General's ability to execute such investigations.

And where is the outcry over the government’s abuse of the State of Emergency (SOE) powers? Our constitution demands that no individual should be detained for more than 48 hours without charge, yet under the guise of gang roundups, Belizeans—many of them innocent—are being held for months, stripped of their basic rights while the government expands its grip over our freedoms.

A Government Auditing Itself?

Let’s get real: a government auditing itself is like leaving the fox in charge of the henhouse. And by placing a contract worker as Auditor General, they’ve essentially handed the keys over to a puppet, one whose strings they can pull at any time. This isn’t governance. This is a mockery of governance.

If we allow this to happen, what’s next? Will they appoint contract workers to head other constitutional posts? Is the Chief Justice next? The Director of Public Prosecutions? Will they contract out the very soul of our democracy? Are we willing to stand by as our country is sold off to the highest bidder while we, the people, are left picking up the pieces?

The Need for Public Outrage

Belizeans, the time has come to stop being passive observers to our own downfall. It is time to speak up, demand answers, and refuse to accept the breadcrumbs of "progress" that the government tosses our way. We cannot afford to be complacent while the powers that be systematically dismantle the very institutions that were created to protect us.

What happens in the Auditor General’s office matters. What happens behind closed doors in our government offices matters. And what happens to our country’s governance and financial future definitely matters. It is time to hold this government accountable. It is time to demand transparency, not just in words but in actions.

Enough is enough. Belize belongs to its people—not to the politicians, not to the business elites, and certainly not to contract officers beholden to the whims of their political masters. If we do not stand up now, we risk losing everything that makes us a free and sovereign nation.

The question is: will you let them get away with it?