The Belize constitution guarantees the Auditor General a “cast iron” security of tenure to safeguard his independ- ence and integrity. He or she is appointed by the Governor-General, acting on the recommendation of both Houses of the National Assembly, and can be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of the office or for misbehaviour.This does not, however, excuse the Auditor General from auditing the finances of the government in a timely fashion or from submitting reports to the Minister of Finance. For many years now,we in Belize have had the difficulty of the Auditor
the amendment provides that any failure or undue delay by the Auditor General in this respect will be treated as a failure to perform the functions of the office for the purpose of removal from office. These amendments are designed to
ensure that the Auditor General’s reports on the government accounts reach the National Assembly expeditiously to enable the Public Accounts Committee to effectively perform its functions as a guardian of the public purse.
Looking ahead The constitution (Sixth Amendment) Bill marks the first milestone on the present government’s drive to eradi- cate corruption and bring about a
(ii) A bill to regulate campaign financing;
(iii) A bill requiring all elected officials to prevent conflict of interest, nepotism and other like practices;
(iv) A system to allocate funds fairly to all elected representatives, whether government or opposition, to enable them to better serve their constituencies;
(v) A measure to remove govern ment control of public statutory bodies and place them under the control of social partners. These reform proposals are not
the result of some Utopian ideas, but rather represent principles that were born out of the national experience
Prime Minister Barrow speaking at the Budget debate.
General not furnishing reports timeously, and even where the reports were submitted, the Minister of Finance failing to lay the same before the National Assembly as required by the constitution.To address this perennial problem, the new constitu- tional amendment imposes a duty on the Auditor General to submit a copy of the report direct to the National Assembly in the event the Minister fails to lay it on the tables of the House and the Senate. Furthermore,
social order based on honesty and integrity in public life. During the next four years, the government intends to introduce or adopt several new measures to fulfill its manifesto commitment, among them being:
(i) An Unjust Enrichment Bill under which the Ministers and elected officials would be liable to be called to account where they are seen to be living beyond their visible means;
304 The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue Four
which in my view saw wild borrow- ing, profligate spending, disregard of the voice of the people and a captive Legislature.We are committed to never again allowing the pulveriza- tion of our democratic process.We intend never to lose sight of the guiding principles enshrined in our manifesto — honesty, integrity, good governance, transparency and accountability — but to hold them ever aloft as the bedrock of United Democratic Party governance.