And according to him, the move to Smart was also strictly business. The Belize Communications Workers Union issued a release on Wednesday, condemning the government for the move, saying BTL has already lost 3 million dollars, which will have an adverse effect on the wider community. But the PM re-emphasized today that Smart simply had a better deal and that negotiations with BTL hadn't gone well, which is why the government decided to make the switch. He also stressed that the decision wasn't his call.
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I have absolutely nothing to do with that. There is no policy to move from BTL to SMART, but what the union need to do is to ensure that they can provide better customer service and that BTL needs to change its mentality from a monopoly to a mentality to a market where you have to compete and you have to provide good customer service. We know that BTL has become a white elephant, the monies that all of us have paid for BTL it will never be paid back, but we need to do as best as we possibly can to work with BTL so that they also can change their mindset and to be more customer driven. that's what we need to do at BTL. I understand their concerns and I do not condemn them for that."
Reporter
"But as the national communications provider couldn't the government sit down and negotiate something with them rather than just jumping ship?"
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"That's what the departments are doing, they sat down and negotiated with BTL and they probably refused to reduce. That's a matter that a department got up and say well I am going to the competition. They met both BTL and SMART as I am told and that is how they ended up going somewhere else because they got a better deal."
Speednet, SMART's parent company is 77% owned by the Ashcroft Alliance - the remainder by the Briceno family.
