Government Addresses Backlog in Payments to Retired Public Officers

The issue of retired public officers not receiving monies owed to them by the Government of Belize has become such a pressing issue that many people have complained to the Office of the Ombudsman.  It is a matter that Ombudsman, Retired Major Gilbert Suazo, documented in his recent report released in August.  The matter, however, is nothing new as when this administration had taken office, the Ministry of the Public Service had alluded to the backlog in cases to be addressed.  Fast forward today, and the Minister of Public Service, Henry Charles Usher says the situation is being addressed. He explained that the problem with the payouts boils down to issues with the paperwork for retired public officers. Usher said that it has been an issue that the Ministry has been grappling with since the Briceno administration took office. And while some strides have been made in fixing the problem, there is still more work to be done. 

The Ombudsman, Retired Major Herman Gilbert Swazo appeared on Love FM’s morning talk show earlier this month, explaining that the process for calculating payouts for retired public officers should begin the year before an officer reaches retirement age. Swazo said that there are systematic failures within the Ministry that have affected these processes that need to be urgently addressed.