Tonight the pressure is on again for the BTL board of directors - which - reports tell us - is being pushed to give at least provisional approval to the acquisition of Speednet at a meeting early next week.
A lot of this depends on the three directors from the Social security Board - who have still not agreed to vote in favour of the acquisition. And while they are also under pressure - so is the Chairlady, Chandra Cansino - who has not called a meeting to get the Social Security approval. We are told the board is still awaiting information.
Pressure may also come down on another government appointee to the board, Deputy Chairman Michael Coye. Of course, that could also come under scrutiny for a conflict of interest since he is the Chief Financial Officer of the Belize Bank - which is part of the Ashcroft Alliance. The Waterloo Trust, which owns 77% of Speednet, is also part of the Alliance. So, we'll see where that goes, but in the meantime, a new group has emerged to challenge the company.
They are called the Belize Communications Workers for Justice described as an alliance of over 130 former employees of BTL who are demanding that the company pays severance payments owed to the group. A release says, it is quote "call(ing) out BTL and its government-appointed Chairman for treating the matter lightly while moving ahead hastily with the pending acquisition of Speednet (SMART). The group…will also break down for the Belizean public why the purchase of SMART will benefit only a very few and the rich..." End quote.
