And while the PM won't even offer a word to explain why the BTL board he appointed has decided to acquire for 80 million dollars a company partly owned by his family, tonight there are murmurs of dissent in his Cabinet. Some Ministers don't like it one bit, according to reports.
Julius Espat has been one of the most strident critics of an acquisition leading to a monopoly, and today we reached out to him for comment.
Espat told us he is recovering from COVID but referred us to his comments made on February second of this year and told us his position has not changed. Here's what he said at that time:
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development & Housing
"Consultation is never enough. And I think there's a misconception that you have these privately/publicly owned companies and they believe that they don't owe, they don't have to consult with the Belizean people, that I have a serious problem with. You either own it or you don't own it and we own it so if we own it, then you have to come to us to ask our opinion. And that's why Cabinet was reluctant in making a position because it was waiting for all the consultations to happen, including with the media. The media is extremely important in this. The concern that the media has. If you have a monopoly and it can affect them in the future, is something that has to be addressed and it has to be put in place before an agreement is done. It's just my point of view and that we need competition? Well from the day I was born, that is what I believe in, in having competition. And the reason that you have two telecom companies is because the concept of competition was there from the beginning. So I have listened to what BTL has had to say. And as a company, any company wants a monopoly. Channel Seven would want it; Channel Five would want it; PlusTV would want it. Everybody in the business community would love a monopoly, but that doesn't mean that it is in the best interests of the consumers. And that is where I believe we have to be looking at. And considering."
In a text message to our news director today, Espat added, quote, "I also do not believe the true owners have been properly consulted. The people of Belize own BTL." End quote.
He added that he is not able to say more at this moment until after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.
