G.O.B., Ashcroft purge Prosser from B.T.L. board

The enabling legislation was passed by the National Assembly earlier this month and today the government finally used it to erase any lingering presence of former owner Jeffrey Prosser from the Board of Belize Telecommunications Limited. According to a press release issued late this evening by newly appointed Chairman Keith Arnold, the B.T.L. board today held an emergency meeting at which it decided that the two directors appointed by Prosser as the holder of the special share can no longer hold office. That leaves the board comprised of Arnold, Ediberto Tesecum, and Philip Zuniga, while the other three seats are occupied by appointees of three companies controlled by Michael Ashcroft. They are Rocky Reef Ventures, Shire Holdings, and Seascape Holdings. Day to day management of B.T.L., according to the release, will be in the hands of a four-man executive committee consisting of Arnold and Tesecum, along with Ashcroft consigliore Philip Osborne and former B.T.L. C.E.O. Dean Boyce, who will sit in the chair. It is clear that Boyce, who also serves as deputy chairman of the board, will in fact be occupying his old position as the man running things at B.T.L. Gaspar Aguilar, who served as C.E.O. from the time government repossessed Prosser’s shares in February, will return to his old job as head of finance and human resources. News Five understands that Wilman Black will no longer serve as company secretary but remains in B.T.L.’s legal department. We have not heard a reaction from Prosser, but if past behaviour is any guide, we can expect this latest move to be quickly contested in a multitude of courtrooms.