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It is a panicked memo from Financial Secretary Joe Waight to CEO's of all Ministries - and it is reported to say, quote:

"We are being overwhelmed with requests for reallocations and dereservations of "savings" identified in various accounts. These are illusions as the reality is that there is no money in the bank. As it is we will likely have to issue more T -Notes to meet the early end of (fiscal) year payday next month. Our debt is already at 100% of GDP and rising. If we continue on this path we will certainly crash. I am appealing to all to instruct your finance officers to just stop trolling through their books to find unspent funds. The money is simply not there."

Now that's a mayday if ever there was one, and government tried to counter it with a very rare Sunday afternoon press release. It says, quote: "The Ministry of Finance wishes to clarify emphatically that the Government of Belize's annual budget is achieving its broad goals, allowing all obligations to be satisfied in a timely manner, including payroll. There is no requirement for the Government to access any financing whatsoever outside of the budgeted and approved sources.

...certain statements made by the Financial Secretary in an internal document sent to accounting officers are being interpreted to suggest that the Government is broke and may have to resort to borrowing to meet the end of March payroll. The statement made by the Financial Secretary was the standard financial year-end instructions given to Accounting Officers so as to restrain overspending and encourage senior public officers to remain diligent in the pursuit of budgetary objectives."

So, basically - as the holder of government's purse strings - Joe Waight was telling everyone to hold it down on the spending as the fiscal year comes to an end.

The Leader of the Opposition says he spoke to Waight personally, but the message coming out of the memo is clear - and alarming:...

Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"He has confirmed what we have been suspecting all along. That now that the Belize debt to GDP, despite the fact that the government had, with grand fanfare, renegotiated the super bond and said that we are now on solid grounds and we are moving ahead. It is now at 100% of GDP. And whilst I spoke to the Financial Secretary and he tried to allay my fears. We will see what is going to happen next month if they would be able to make their salaries without having to print more money in effect in issuing treasury bills."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir you said you spoke with the Financial Secretary. Are you able to divulge any details of that conversation?"

Hon. John Briceno
"I spoke to him and whilst not going into any detail, he tried to assure that they think that they have things under control. That's as much as I can say."

Jules Vasquez
"Do you believe him?"

Hon. John Briceno
"I have great respect for the Financial Secretary, but what is going to happen next month, I don't know."

Reporter
"The explanation of the government is that that leaked WhatsApp message from the FinSec is the usual message that's sent out at this time of the year when the budget is being prepared. You've been in government. Does that sound true to you?"

Hon. John Briceno
"The government is very skillful in how they lie, because yes, a part of it is true. But I have never seen a memo that will alert the CEOs in the different ministries of government telling them 'well stop spend money. You can't continue spend money, because we don't have any more money, because debt is at 100% GDP and we may have to print treasury bills next month so we could pay our bill.' I've never seen that part. I've seen when they say we are freezing all accounts so we don't spend what is there. But I have never seen one what they include that the debt is at 100% of GDP."