The government of the Central American state of Belize has put forward legislation that will allow it to re-acquire Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL), the fixed-line operator and ISP.
Iin late June, Belize’s court of appeal ruled that the state’s acquisition…
The government of the Central American state of Belize has put forward legislation that will allow it to re-acquire Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL), the fixed-line operator and ISP.
Iin late June, Belize’s court of appeal ruled that the state’s acquisition of BTL had been unconstitutional.
The government, which originally acquired the company in 2009, argued previously that it was only acquiring 94% of the company that it said was held by interests controlled by the British businessman and politician Lord Michael Ashcroft.
The appellant, the former chairman of BTL, Dean Boyce, has argued that the government had wrongly believed Ashcroft to be the majority owner of the company.
The government is appealing this ruling. In addition, it is putting forward new legislation that will allow it to re-acquire the assets.
In a speech to parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow said that the new legislation was intended to entrench the government’s majority ownership in utilities, including telecommunications.
He said that the new bill would deal with the objections of the court.
He argued that utilities “ought not to be the subject of unbridled privatisation” and that the government should be the dominant partner in BTL “in order to ensure that the interests of the consumer are always looked after.”
The BTL Employees Trust, a group that indirectly holds a stake in BTL for the benefit of the company’s employees, has reportedly come out against the ruling.
The local news and music website LoveFM reported that the trust argued that even if the new amendment went through parliament, the original takeover of BTL was still unconstitutional.
Lord Ashcroft could not be contacted before the press deadline.
