Miss PUP? Bella Zabaneh defends ‘party of love’ amid ‘Mira Millions’ scandal; ‘$10,000 procurement threshold is too low’, ‘We are not afraid of any other party or media propaganda’

By Breaking Belize News Staff: In a twist, reigning Miss Belize, Isabella Zabaneh, has come out in full support of the embattled People’s United Party Government at its Party Council meeting on Saturday in Dangriga as it faces mounting public scrutiny over the ongoing “Mira Millions” scandal and calls for tightened oversight of seeming abuse of the $10,000 procurement threshold for ministries.

Adding political pundit to her resume, Zabaneh said the $10,000 figure, which ensures that payments made by ministries above that threshold must be approved by the Ministry of Finance and which many argue has been abused by Governments present and past, is too low. Zabaneh said 30 years ago that threshold might have been appropriate but argued that presently, that figure is “simply too low”.

“It’s micromanaging everybody from the top down to the bottom. We need strong oversight but $10,000 is too low in this economy,” she argued, adding that it burdens the office of the financial secretary to be micromanaging all of the ministries.

“We are not a party of thieves. We are a party of love. And we are not afraid of any other party or the media propaganda that they will push,” she closed off by saying.

In response, Prime Minister John Briceño commended Zabaneh for “being so brave”. The PM agreed with Zabaneh, adding, “$10,000 is really not a lot in the grander scheme of things.”

The PM also noted that GOB has been working with the International Development Bank (IBD) to draft new legislation to establish a Central Procurement Unit portal for government contracts with enhanced reporting and oversight but he added that the $10,000 threshold is likely to be increased.

After the official party council meeting, Bella spent the rest of the night Punta-ing away in full PUP support.

The post Miss PUP? Bella Zabaneh defends ‘party of love’ amid ‘Mira Millions’ scandal; ‘$10,000 procurement threshold is too low’, ‘We are not afraid of any other party or media propaganda’ appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.