Of course, it's a red herring to mention duty because everything GOB imports is duty free.
But, even if the prices are comparable, the fact is the provision of boots did not go to tender, and a contract for hundreds of thousands of dollars was executed without going to the Contractor General as required by law.
And what about the warning letter exposing the red flags being ignored? The PM claims he just passed it down the line but he should have read it. Jules Vasquez obtained a copy of that 2021 warning, and here is what it says:
On 25th March, 2021, the local agent for Altama boots, KSBJ Fashions, wrote to the Prime Minister to bring to his attention irregularities with the handling of this public tender for BDF uniforms.
It says, quote: "we feel that it is of interest to you and the people of this country to procure items using the right procedures and prices We have since verified that the items were in fact imported and no tendering was done.which would make it illegal and brings into question the integrity of the parties involved."
They also asked him to review the procedure and, in the public interest, correct what had been done incorrectly.
But, the Prime Minister did nothing. Those boots were purchased for substantially more than the best available local price.
When asked about it yesterday, the PM said, "what letter?"
Reporter
"Did you inquire or take any action?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I really don't remember the letter, that's 2021 I mean, I get thousands of that. I'm not trying to deflect but whenever it's something like that would happen I would pass it on to the Ministry for them to deal with. They are the ones that look after that so but I genuinely don't remember. I haven't seen that letter."
A clear and explicit warning of irregularities which would result in soldiers and taxpayers not getting the best value for money and the band played on.
That pattern of acquisition with the same supplier continued for years - we saw boots being purchased for those inflated prices as recently as 2025.
