The news broke last week that some Government ministries have been switching over to Smart, the phone company owned by the Prime Minister's family.
That's surely what happened at the Labour Department which has announced that all its cell phone numbers have been switched over from BTL to Smart numbers.
Well, the PSU today sent out a release saying expressing its disappointment with the Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labour and Local Government, quote, "on their decision to switch Government paid and Government owned cellular phones for all labour and employment officers from the nationalized and Government majority owned Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) to the privately owned Speednet Communications Limited (SMART). The PSU…questions the logic, ethical and social responsibility of the individuals behind this decision… The PSU is equally disturbed to confirm the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also contracted with SMART for telephone services for the Ministry's newly constructed Leigh Richardson Building. It has now come to the Union's attention that similar discussions are occurring within certain units of the Ministry of Economic Development for a switch from BTL to SMART to occur. The PSU views these decisions as politically nepotistic, unpatriotic and a direct attack on a national investment of the workers of this country." End quote.
The release goes on to say, "the fact that the Government of Belize has majority ownership in BTL versus the fact that SMART is owned by the Prime Minister's family, forces one to conclude that such a decision is not only contrary to the Government's best interest, but also has the appearance of a conflict of interest facilitated by Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and approved by Ministers of Government nominated by the Prime Minister."
The release adds that Public Officers and other labourers of this country via the Social Security Board alone, currently have an investment of Eighty-Five Million Dollars ($85,000,000.00) in Telemedia.
The release concludes, quote, "Any economic attack against BTL, by way of competition or otherwise, is therefore a direct attack on the people and Government of Belize…"
