Beauty queen sparks political firestorm over $10,000 threshold

By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): Former Miss Universe Belize Isabella “Bella” Zabaneh has found herself at the centre of a raging public controversy, and it has nothing to do with pageantry. Instead, it is all about politics, and the now-infamous $10,000 procurement threshold.

Zabaneh attended Saturday’s National Party Council Meeting as a proud People’s United Party (PUP) supporter from Stann Creek West. From the floor, she made a statement urging the government to raise the $10,000 ceiling on transactions that a Ministry’s Finance Officer can approve, a limit at the very heart of the ongoing procurement controversy.

As widely reported, the government has been dogged by a building scandal involving thousands of sub-$10,000 transactions approved for politically connected companies. According to the reporting, the transactions were kept under the threshold and approved by the Ministry of Defence Finance Officer, in what critics allege was an effort to avoid scrutiny from the Ministry of Finance. It is important to note that the matter remains under audit, with no findings made at this stage.

Undeterred by the swirling allegations, which she dismissed as “media propaganda,” Zabaneh made her case directly to the Prime Minister. “I would like to urge the consideration of a lift of the threshold from $10,000 to a higher number,” she said. “What matters is value for money, and $10,000 is simply too low for ministries to be allowed to spend.”

She argued that the current limit amounts to micromanagement, placing an undue burden on the Financial Secretary’s office. “We need strong oversight, but $10,000 is too low in this economy,” she said, suggesting the figure may have been appropriate decades ago. Invoking the language of leadership, she added, “Great leaders are remembered for making hard decisions, so I urge this administration to consider making a hard decision. We are not a party of thieves; we are a party of love, and we are not afraid of any other party or the media propaganda that they will push.”

Prime Minister John Briceño responded by commending Zabaneh for her recommendation. “I want to commend Bella for being very thoughtful and to be brave to make such a recommendation considering what we are going through,” he said. However, he stopped short of endorsing the idea, pointing instead to work already underway. “We have been working with the IDB for over a year coming up with new legislation where we want to set up what you call the Central Procurement Unit.”

Since the remarks were posted online, the backlash against Zabaneh has been fierce. Many Facebook commenters have condemned her, arguing that her call effectively defends corruption.

The criticism grew heated enough that the PUP’s United Women’s Group stepped in to defend Zabaneh, who is the great-grandniece of national hero George Price. In a release, the group said she had faced “unwarranted criticism and harsh attacks,” and condemned what it called “attempts to silence a young, articulate female voice in the political discourse,” describing the reaction as “malicious backlash.”

The episode has become one of the most talked-about political flashpoints in recent days, blending a high-profile public figure, a party in the spotlight, and a scandal that continues to unfold.

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