BELIZE-Cabinet meets with stakeholders amid concerns over sale of Speednet.

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Prime Minister John Briceño says the Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) has been asked to explain why it believes its acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited is important to it and, by extension, to taxpayers of this country.

Briceño and members of his Cabinet met Tuesday with officials of BTL, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and the Social Security Board regarding the sale.

“As you know, Cabinet discussions are confidential,” Prime Minister Briceño said, adding that “what we have decided to do is we asked BTL to come in and to give a deep dive into why it is that they believe that this merger is important for BTL and, by extension, taxpayers of this country.”

Speednet Communications Limited, the provider operating the Smart brand in Belize, is primarily owned by the Waterloo Group Charitable Trust, which holds a 77.5 percent stake, with other minority shareholders.

Last week Tuesday, BTL, whose majority shares are owned by the government, said that its board of directors had approved the proposed purchase “of 100 percent of the issued share capital of Speednet, subject to the satisfactory completion of continued due diligence and the negotiation of appropriate representations, warranties and other contractual protections for BTL as the buyer.

“Once negotiations advance to the definitive agreement stage, the Share Purchase Agreement will be submitted to the Board for separate review and final approval before execution,” BTL said.

It said that the proposed acquisition represents a “strategic investment in Belize’s digital future” and it is intended to reduce “unnecessary duplication of telecommunications infrastructure, strengthen network reliability, accelerate digital inclusion and redirect resources toward modern technological modernization and connectivity for underserved and unserved communities”.

BTL said, importantly, that the transaction will allow BTL to borrow and “will not require additional investment from the Social Security Board”.

BTL chairman, Markhelm Lizarraga, speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, said he thinks “Cabinet has quite a bit of concerns as to the questions, specifically the misinformation that has been circulating in the media by certain people, and we addressed those.

“We repeated that we are in a continuing process. The board basically decided that what we have seen so far merited continued due diligence. And we are on that path. We are still a ways to go.

“We still have to land in our own due diligence. We still have to get concerns from the PUC, which we are addressing, about competition …and through other means of ensuring the public that their concerns about increasing costs or BTL taking advantage of them are unfounded and there are mechanisms in place that will address those concerns.”

“I think it was just about giving our side of the story as to what we are willing to do. BTL has agreed to a three-year pause on rates, and after that we have agreed that we have to justify any changes in prices,” Lizarraga said.

Prime Minister Briceño said that Social Security was asked to explain how they gave “the green light for their members to be able to proceed with approval at BTL.

“But as they made out, the point is that they can’t decide for BTL as a board of directors at the site,” he said, adding that the PUC was asked to explain the regulatory framework “and to point out whether this merger should proceed”.

Prime Minister Briceño said a meeting is being planned with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), which are also opposed to the sale.

“Hopefully they can come in on Thursday, and for us then, so we can hear their views as to why they believe that the merger is not in the best interest of Belize and, by extension, the taxpayers.

“The next step then would be on Tuesday, when Cabinet will deliberate to see what they believe is happening after getting all this information for them to make an informed decision,” Prime Minister Briceño said, adding, “I have informed Cabinet that on Tuesday, whenever that deliberation will start, I will step out of cCabinet

“As you know, it’s no secret that my brother is one of the founders of Speednet and, as such. I don’t believe it’s appropriate for me to be in the office. And so pretty much that’s what we have. So that’s as much as I can say,” he added.