Was Prosser caught by surprise in BTL grab?
Government continues to hold its cards close to the chest today following Wednesday’s decision to take back majority ownership in Belize Telecommunications Ltd. Reports indicate that the company’s operations remain unaffected as longtime financial controller Gaspar Aguilar slid over into the CEO’s chair. Apparently there were no ugly scenes in the corporate suite as, coincidentally, Aguilar’s immediate predecessor, John Vondras, was leaving yesterday on a previously scheduled trip to the United States. Whether the well liked Vondras, a Jeffrey Prosser appointee, will ever return to his office is a question that cannot be answered at this time. This afternoon News 5 spoke to Prosser’s visiting P.R. chief, Rene Henry, who told us that when he arrived yesterday on his regularly scheduled rounds, he was–to put it mildly–surprised. According to Henry, although there were some rumours floating around, it was not until watching the evening television newscast that he knew that his employer no longer ran things at BTL. Henry told News 5 that Prosser is not going to make any sudden legal or publicity moves in reaction to GOB’s actions, instead prefering to sit down with the Prime Minister to see how they can work through their differences. Henry said ICC has the financing in place to complete the BTL purchase and is eager to proceed with the deal, citing what he believed was an excellent working relationship with government, a highly skilled and motivated staff and strong long term prospects for Belize’s longterm growth.
Henry noted that ICC had already invested roughly sixty million U.S. dollars in the purchase of BTL, including twenty-seven million dollars to buy the assets of the bankrupt Intelco.
And while it is believed that Jeffrey Prosser will seek a sit-down with the P.M. it is not known what kind of reception he will receive from Mr. Musa. Circumstantial evidence suggests that Michael Ashcroft is making a play to repurchase the fifty-seven million U.S. dollars worth of shares he originally sold, but if history is any guide, the price–both stated and unstated–may be steep. The public’s sentiment seems strongly in favour of Belmopan retaining the shares and gradually selling them to Belizeans…but we all know that in the end, money talks and cash strapped governments often walk. One thing for certain is that the three men involved in this drama: Jeffrey Prosser, Michael Ashcroft and Ralph Fonseca are veteran high stakes poker players who are not easily panicked nor easily deterred from getting what they want. Chances are this particular game will take a good while to reach a conclusion.
