Minister Chebat Says Taxpayers Have Right to Know How Public Money is Spent

Minister of Public Utilities, Logistics and Energy Michel Chebat has weighed in on the controversy surrounding government payments made to businesswoman Jenny Shubra Mira. Chebat says that whenever public money is involved, the public has a right to know how those funds are being spent.  The controversy began after screenshots from the Government’s SmartStream payment system were leaked. The records reportedly show that Mira received 497 payments from government between 2020 and 2025 for the supply of goods, including produce reportedly purchased for the Belize Defence Force and Belize Coast Guard.  Questions were raised after an examination of the records showed that nearly all the invoices fell below ten thousand dollars, the level at which additional procurement requirements may apply. The leaked information also reportedly showed multiple invoices being processed on the same day. On September 14, 2023, for example, twelve payments totalling more than one hundred thousand dollars were reportedly made.  There were also questions surrounding a supplier listed as “Ghost Dot,” which appeared four times in the records. Officials have since said that “Ghost Dot” was not a separate business but a description connected to transactions involving Mira.  Mira is the sister of former Minister of State Oscar Mira. While the records have generated concerns about procurement procedures, the payments themselves are not proof that any law was broken.  Speaking on Friday, Minister Chebat said transparency must be central to the handling of taxpayers’ money.

Michel Chebat, Minister of Public Utilities: “The allegations being raised are very serious allegations and they must be treated very seriously. Public funds do require public accounting. There’s no way of getting around that. And I think cabinet and prime minister understands that and I think we’ve now taken the necessary steps to make sure that this happens. So I have every faith in the process that we’ve undertaken and I am sure that the Belizean people will see that and will understand the work that we have have been trying to put in place. You know, and let me tell you this, I don’t think what is happening can define the work that this government has done. We have done tremendous work in terms of education, in terms of housing, in terms of healthcare. And so you need to look at the whole picture to tell the story of this government. And as I said before, these are serious allegations and they require a serious investigation.”

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Reporter: Do you consider that the threshold for payments, not procurement, because the government can’t purchase in whatever amount it wants, it’s just the accountability and transparency aspect that it should be increased above $10,000? 

Michel Chebat, Minister of Public Utilities: “I think what you need to have are checks and balances because at $10,000 or at $100,000 there can be abuses and so what needs to be put in place are checks and balances.”

The controversy has led to calls for greater scrutiny of the transactions and the procurement process used to approve them. Public Service Union President Dean Flowers has called for an audit, as well as the opposition and the National Trade Union Congress of Belize./