Belmopan, Belize 29 November (Belizean.com) Belize's Telecommunications industry seems headed for some turbulent times as the two elephants of the industry face off for what promises to be a long term confrontation. As the old Swahili saying goes, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers and the grass in this case, are the thousands of Belizeans who rely upon the services provided by these two companies for their daily communication needs.
After an apparent unsuccessful bid to wrest business away from Smart using propaganda and business promotions, BTL decided to pull off the gloves and play dirty. The gist of the whole matter is that Prime Minister Dean Barrow realizes now, that BTL cannot possibly survive in an atmosphere of fair competition. From the outside, it looked oh so easy and rosy but having grabbed that tiger by the tail, the Barrow Administration now seems unable to let go or hold on.
In his presentation to the House upon springing his surprise, Prime Minister Barrow made a number of promises that now seems little more than hot air. The first promise and primary reason given for the takeover was that litigation problems would go away. What a joke! Seems that Michael Ashcroft can now remind Dean Barrow of the very comments that he, Barrow, made when he stated in the House, "he doesn't know the friend that he is dealing with." Ashcroft is no patsy and is not likely to go quietly into the night as Barrow was obviously hoping for.
After an apparent unsuccessful bid to wrest business away from Smart using propaganda and business promotions, BTL decided to pull off the gloves and play dirty. The gist of the whole matter is that Prime Minister Dean Barrow realizes now, that BTL cannot possibly survive in an atmosphere of fair competition. From the outside, it looked oh so easy and rosy but having grabbed that tiger by the tail, the Barrow Administration now seems unable to let go or hold on.
In his presentation to the House upon springing his surprise, Prime Minister Barrow made a number of promises that now seems little more than hot air. The first promise and primary reason given for the takeover was that litigation problems would go away. What a joke! Seems that Michael Ashcroft can now remind Dean Barrow of the very comments that he, Barrow, made when he stated in the House, "he doesn't know the friend that he is dealing with." Ashcroft is no patsy and is not likely to go quietly into the night as Barrow was obviously hoping for.
The second promise that Barrow made was that the government would not hold onto BTL but would find other investors to assume ownership. Right! Which investor in their right mind would be so dumb after seeing what happened to Michael Ashcroft? As Yogi Berra once said, all this "seems like déjà vu all over again." Many will remember when in 2004, government heeded the cry of a dissenting public who insisted that BTL be reacquired from Ashcroft. The Said Musa government then obliged but being faced with the same situation now facing Barrow, had to lap tail and crawl back to Ashcroft. Realizing the atmosphere in which he would have to operate, Ashcroft demanded a fifteen percent return on his investment and the rest as they say, is history.
The third promise made by Barrow to Belizeans might have been the most appealing and was swallowed hook, line and sinker. Rates would go down and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) would be restored. We are waiting! Interestingly enough, this brings us to the very reason for the present state of hostilities between these two elephants. Smart has been offering lower rates and cheaper overseas calls using the same modern technology that allows for VOIP and cheap internet access.
In 2002, BTL bought into the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (Arcos-1) Project which connected Belize to a submarine fiber optic cable that connects the US, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Speaking of undersea, something seems a bit fishy here. Should this international cable, which in reality is 88 percent owned by a company based in the Bahamas, be dominated by any one company in any one country? Belize through BTL actually owns a mere one percent of the shares in Arcos-1. Just a thought, but could not the government, instead of jumping into the fray of private competition, had instead assumed control of the access to Arcos-1 and then charge both companies access fees or better yet, free it up for open competition?
Now there is one promise that Barrow did not make to Belizeans but is evidently gung ho on making come true. This is the one to transfer BTL's debts to taxpayers. What Barrow apparently did not take into consideration, and given Barrow's reputation for being brilliant this is truly surprising, is that upon assuming BTL's assets he would also have to assume their debts and liabilities? There is a mistake common to many.
We look at business people and believe that they are living large and rolling in wealth. What we do not realize is that along with the perks and profits comes the responsibilities, the debts and the commitments. BTL looked hugely profitable on the surface but was apparently operating to a large part, on mortgages, debentures and consignments. Ashcroft apparently has the money and credibility to back these up while the government of Belize does not. In particular when many of these debts and debentures are owed to banks owned by the very man on whom Barrow is trying to lay his "bukut". What a tangled web he did weave....
When it became know last week that Prime Minister Barrow had arbitrarily decided to burden Belizean taxpayers with BTL's US $45 million debt, even prominent government apologist Godwin Hulse had to weigh in his discontent. It is obvious to all what the Prime Minister is trying to do. He cannot unload BTL to any serious investor given the huge debentures attached. The Prime Minister then decides that he, on behalf of the Belizean taxpayers, will assume the debts and sell the assets free of debentures.
Dean Barrow is exposing himself more and more to be egregiously deceitful. First he claimed to know nothing about the agreement to guarantee Ashcroft a fifteen percent return and then he now claims to know nothing about the agreements signed between BTL and Smart. Interestingly enough, during the time when both these agreements were drafted and signed, guess who was Ashcroft's lead and local attorney? It is obvious then that not only did Barrow know but was most likely the chief architect of both propitious documents. There are two possible scenarios that come to mind. The first is that the Prime Minister really believes that we are all fools. The second scenario, and this one quite perturbing, is that we are all indeed the fools that the Prime Minister believe us to be. I pray GOD that it would not be the latter.
-- G, Michael Reid
The third promise made by Barrow to Belizeans might have been the most appealing and was swallowed hook, line and sinker. Rates would go down and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) would be restored. We are waiting! Interestingly enough, this brings us to the very reason for the present state of hostilities between these two elephants. Smart has been offering lower rates and cheaper overseas calls using the same modern technology that allows for VOIP and cheap internet access.
In 2002, BTL bought into the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (Arcos-1) Project which connected Belize to a submarine fiber optic cable that connects the US, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Speaking of undersea, something seems a bit fishy here. Should this international cable, which in reality is 88 percent owned by a company based in the Bahamas, be dominated by any one company in any one country? Belize through BTL actually owns a mere one percent of the shares in Arcos-1. Just a thought, but could not the government, instead of jumping into the fray of private competition, had instead assumed control of the access to Arcos-1 and then charge both companies access fees or better yet, free it up for open competition?
Now there is one promise that Barrow did not make to Belizeans but is evidently gung ho on making come true. This is the one to transfer BTL's debts to taxpayers. What Barrow apparently did not take into consideration, and given Barrow's reputation for being brilliant this is truly surprising, is that upon assuming BTL's assets he would also have to assume their debts and liabilities? There is a mistake common to many.
We look at business people and believe that they are living large and rolling in wealth. What we do not realize is that along with the perks and profits comes the responsibilities, the debts and the commitments. BTL looked hugely profitable on the surface but was apparently operating to a large part, on mortgages, debentures and consignments. Ashcroft apparently has the money and credibility to back these up while the government of Belize does not. In particular when many of these debts and debentures are owed to banks owned by the very man on whom Barrow is trying to lay his "bukut". What a tangled web he did weave....
When it became know last week that Prime Minister Barrow had arbitrarily decided to burden Belizean taxpayers with BTL's US $45 million debt, even prominent government apologist Godwin Hulse had to weigh in his discontent. It is obvious to all what the Prime Minister is trying to do. He cannot unload BTL to any serious investor given the huge debentures attached. The Prime Minister then decides that he, on behalf of the Belizean taxpayers, will assume the debts and sell the assets free of debentures.
Dean Barrow is exposing himself more and more to be egregiously deceitful. First he claimed to know nothing about the agreement to guarantee Ashcroft a fifteen percent return and then he now claims to know nothing about the agreements signed between BTL and Smart. Interestingly enough, during the time when both these agreements were drafted and signed, guess who was Ashcroft's lead and local attorney? It is obvious then that not only did Barrow know but was most likely the chief architect of both propitious documents. There are two possible scenarios that come to mind. The first is that the Prime Minister really believes that we are all fools. The second scenario, and this one quite perturbing, is that we are all indeed the fools that the Prime Minister believe us to be. I pray GOD that it would not be the latter.
-- G, Michael Reid
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