By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): There is a new minister in charge of Belize’s police, and he says it is a job he never wanted but could not turn down.
Julius Espat, who currently serves as Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, has been appointed acting Minister of Home Affairs, taking on the ministry that oversees the police force in addition to his existing portfolio. It is an unusual mix of responsibilities, pairing roads, bridges and housing with national security and policing.
The appointment follows the decision by Oscar Mira to take a leave of absence from Cabinet duties. The move comes as the Auditor General conducts an audit into procurement processes linked to a period when Mira served at the Ministry of Defence, after media reports raised questions about those transactions.
Prime Minister John Briceño ordered the review, which is expected to take about three months. The Prime Minister said concerns about ministerial conduct are taken seriously, and that the duty of government is to secure value for taxpayer dollars and ensure compliance with procurement rules.
Mira has not been found to have done anything wrong, and he himself requested the leave of absence while the audit is carried out.
Espat said the Prime Minister called him on Saturday evening, and after a long conversation, he agreed to take on the additional role. He did not hide the fact that it is a daunting assignment.
“It’s not something I wanted, it’s not something I dreamt of, but I’m a team player,” Espat said. He compared it to being called off the bench in a big game. “If you’re in the World Cup and the coach asks you to go in and you’re a member of the team, what will you do? Not go in because they’re beating you up ten nil? You have to participate.”
Espat described the post as the last ministry anyone would want, but said stepping away would have been a disservice to the government and the party. “We made a decision and commitment to serve, and that comes with the positive and the negative,” he said. “There is no way we can say no, well we can say no, but I didn’t.”
He now takes on the ministry at a difficult time, with the country facing a spike in violent crime and several unsolved murders. Espat said he plans to seek a full briefing on the ministry’s operations and chain of command before making any major moves.
The post Espat steps into the hot seat as Belize’s new police minister appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): There is a new minister in charge of Belize’s police, and he says it is a job he never wanted but could not turn down. Julius Espat, who currently serves as Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, has been appointed acting Minister of Home Affairs, taking on the ministry
The post Espat steps into the hot seat as Belize’s new police minister appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
