Belize Business Bureau says govt was hasty with Telemedia

But while Hulse says he feels he did the right thing, the Belize Business Bureau does not support his position. President of the Bureau, Misael Flores, told News Five today that while the Bureau is of the view that government was too hasty in making the decision – one that could have some serious implications for investor’s confidence in Belize.

Misael Flores, President, Belize Business Bureau
“We would have liked to maybe have had the opportunity to have an input and if we felt that that was the only way to go, then we would have supported it. But without knowing any details, we cannot say whether we support the matter or not. We did not have a discussion with the Senator prior to him making his vote, but we would have expected that he having seen the statement that the Chamber had put out, that he would have either abstained from supporting or would have voted no. Taking over or nationalizing a company or a private enterprise in this manner sends a wrong signal to the investment community internationally because then no investor would want to come to Belize and invest their money with the fear that at any point in time the government can take such actions, so it does not send a good signal. We believe that it may have been possible to have arrived at some negotiated settlement in the same manner that it was done a couple years ago when the government felt that it was in the best interest of the Belizean public to nationalize the Belize Water Services. It was done through a negotiated settlement. And so, we don’t really know what transpired and if we had been consulted or more involved in this matter, we would have been able to make, take, a position.”

The Belize Business Bureau represents over three hundred businesses over the entire country.