Government continues to be tangled with Telemedia on multiple legal fronts and there's no resolution in sight. But something has to give – because by Telemedia's count, arbitration damages against the government continue to accrue into the tens of millions. On the other hand, government has already stated that it has exhausted all hopes of a negotiated settlement with Telemedia. So the lines are drawn: an immovable object and unstoppable force, something's gotta give. This morning the PM discussed the options including the possibility of Digicel (this one spelt with one L) – the largest mobile phone operator in the Caribbean buying Telemedia. Thing is, while Digicel is prepared to buy the phone company without the accommodation agreement – it would do so at a far lesser cost, which doesn't sit well with Telemedia.
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Digicel has indicated it is not interested the Accommodation Agreement but clearly there may be any other potential purchasers that are interested in the Accommodation Agreement and BTL will naturally want to sell for as much money as it can get. I really don't see that there can be any resolution of this impasse between government and BTL."
Jules Vasquez,
However something dramatic will have to be done at some point because the strategy of enduring litigation is getting you nowhere.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"You're perfectly correct. It's not only not getting me anywhere, it is costing me far too much and this cannot continue indefinitely. I am hoping that BTL, that Telemedia will recognize that ultimately the government has the power to do whatever. No sane government will act precipitately, no sane government will act without taking into account all the ramifications and I agree with you and I say it deliberately, I say it calculatedly: the time is fast approaching where government will have to cut the Gordian knot, where government will have to do something dramatic and final in terms of putting this issue to bed."
It's left to be seen what that "dramatic and final" solution will be but the PM indicated that he is reluctant to give a license to a new operator because while he feels rates would go down, it would also force job losses.
