The Deputy Commissioner of Police Bart Jones was caught in a fender bender in Belize City this evening. He was driving a 2023 Ford Ranger at the corner of Vernon Street and Cemetery Road when he crashed into a passing vehicle. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
It's one more repair for a police department whose vehicles are always in the shop. The Ministry today confirmed that the 2024 -2025 expenditure for vehicle repairs for the Belize Police Department is 2.5 million dollars.
That is a steep price just for repairs, and for months now - we've been hearing complaints from police here in the city that police needing repair should be taken to a mechanic shop on the Phillip Goldson highway. It's supposed to be more efficient and cost saving, but is it just a come up for a favored political operator?
We looked for answers:
Eastern Division police vehicles are sent here to RX Auto, formerly "Hulse" on the Phillip Goldson Highway.
Previously, vehicle repairs were subject to a rigorous approval chain - from mechanic assessment - like this, to quotation, to commander authorization, and finally to accounts verification before any payment was made. Every step provided a measure of accountability.
But, police tell us that when RX Auto was introduced it was a one-stop direct delivery system, originally with no invoices and no receipts, where those multiple checkpoints have been replaced by a single streamlined process. The ministry pays the bill directly, without the involvement of the Eastern division formation that actually uses the vehicle. The change, presumably designed for efficiency, effectively wiped away the built-in oversight that once protected public funds from misuse.
Though we saw repairs going there from as early as June, the company was formally registered in August of this year With Sole Proprietor Nyasha Pandy. Figures seen by 7News show that in two months it racked up payments of more than 54 thousand dollars from the Ministry of Home Affairs for Eastern division police vehicle repairs.
Cops we spoke to said the prices were an overcharge and that they had lost the required level of oversight and transparency. They also complained that repairs were taking too long to come back. And multiple sources told us that a key political operative had a direct day to day involvement with the operations of the company.
We put those questions to the ministry and they sent this statement saying, quote, "we must find efficient ways to get the vehicles to be road worthy and back on patrols. It is not unusual for mechanic shops to do repairs on vehicles for the Belize Police Department. This practice has occurred for years."
But, again, and we stress, multiple sources confirm, not like this with all the levels of oversight and checks and balances removed.
But, the release says "Following the recent national tour and examining the excessive costs associated with vehicle repairs, RX Auto was identified as one of the more affordable and efficient service providers to carry out vehicle repairs to the Belize city fleet due to wastage. Streamlining and centralizing the repairs allows for cost savings and greater efficiency."
So, is it a favored company? Well, the ministry's release denies that. It says that "no one from the Ministry of Home Affairs and New Growth Industries is affiliated with the service provider RX Auto."ENDS.
Police tell us that after August - when RX Auto was registered - they were then provided more paperwork. But, sources tell us that just this week - in a small act of rebellion - Belize City police - citing frustration with the new arrangement and what they see as profiteering - had a meeting and set out a plan to revert to doing their own repairs at the Queen Street station as they had in the past.
