And later, Sanchez spoke specifically on the fact that many of these contracts were awarded to politically connected companies. He explained that it definitely raised questions, and he agreed that GOB's habits wouldn't fly in the private sector.
Giacomo Sanchez, President, BCCI
"Just off the cuff, it is highly questionable. Just because of who we know are heading the respective ministries and so on. And it goes without saying that you wonder if it's some sort of abuse of power and position and that kind of thing. So until the final audit is completed then we'll know for sure exactly what determinations can be made by the government."
Reporter:
"Are you confident that when they put in place this Central Procurement Unit that it's going to resolve a lot of these concerns that we have?"
Giacomo Sanchez:
"I think it's a wait and see."
Jules Vasquez:
"What do you make of this consistent pattern of government acquiring high value items from middle men for inflated prices?"
Giacomo Sanchez:
"If we have a proper procurement process, and I think it should be underscored that it should be price driven in that at the end of the day whatever sits in the consolidated fund, we should try to stretch that as much as possible as most every Belizean do at the end of the day with their pocket books, so I think from a global perspective, we need to ensure that the proper procurement processes are there and that we're getting the best prices, otherwise it raises questions of any type of shenanigans that might be occurring."
Jules Vasquez:
"Would these practices pertain or persist in a private business?"
Giacomo Sanchez:
"Absolutely not."
