Last night, we showed how the Ministry of Finance gave its approval for the Ministry of Health and Wellness to purchase 6 vehicles from Belize Auto Zone for $357,000 dollars.
The Caribbean Motors dealership questioned the legitimacy of the award of this contract. The Ministry of Health and Wellness delivered a scathing response, saying, quote, "It is unfortunate that Caribbean Motors, who has been the beneficiary of Government contracts would seek to defame the MOHW and denigrate a small Belizean business in this manner." End quote.
It has since become public knowledge that the owner of Belize Auto Zone, Nigel Espat, is a close political ally of Health Minister Michel Chebat and a relative.
And that connection is among the reasons why a group called the "Belize New Car Dealers Association" is calling for the contract to Belize Auto Zone to be canceled.
In a late evening release, the Association - which we've never heard from before - sent out a press release saying, quote, "The… BNCDA hereby registers its strongest dissatisfaction with the current Ministry of Health and Wellness vehicle tender. We call for this tender to be cancelled and an immediate investigation launched into the irregularities surrounding it…
On behalf of the BNCDA and the people of Belize, we demand answers to the following questions:
Why did the Ministry of Health vehicle tender not follow proper tender protocols?
Why was the tender approved for a manufacturer's authorized dealer on March 4th and re-issued to an associate of the Minister on March 11th at a greatly inflated cost?
What is the Minister's relationship with the owner of Auto Zone?The BNCDA and the People of Belize are crying out for good governance, accountability, and transparency, nothing more and nothing less." End quote.
Of Important note is that this association's membership includes the dealers: Belize Estate, Belize Diesel, Bravo Motors, Motor Solutions, Kings Motors, Universal Hardware, and Caribbean Motors, which wrote to the Contractor General on this same contract to Belize Auto Zone.
