Intelco says “soon come”
It’s a sales pitch we’ve heard before: Don’t worry…soon, soon; we’re coming; we’re ready to compete. But since its last press conference in December, we haven’t heard a peep out of Intelco and more importantly, the service that it promised would come on line in March, has yet to arrive. This afternoon, Intelco’s eternally optimistic C.E.O., Juan McKenzie, met with members of the press to categorically state that Intelco is, quote, not a bogus company, despite recent reports to that effect in the press. McKenzie says so far Intelco has made an investment of sixty million U.S. dollars and estimates they’ll spend at least thirty million more getting ready for the Belizean consumer. Despite evidence presented in an ongoing lawsuit that suggests Intelco was created on paper for the sole purpose of selling out to B.T.L., McKenzie is sticking to his guns, maintaining that there are no plans to do anything but provide the Belizean public with better telecommunications.
Juan McKenzie, C.E.O., Intelco
“I don’t know the inside and outside of it because when I came in, what I did was to pick up everything that was circulating around and turn it into one company and say this will be a telephone company, it not only will provide service for the park or things like that…if there was a negotiation in that moment and it didn’t come out good, it’s not my responsibility today. That was a specific negotiation and it was against LGS and it was with Gemini.”
Janelle Chanona
“But that’s not what the affidavit or Mr. Ashcroft says…”
Juan McKenzie
“Well if it don’t say that, he is not saying absolutely the truth. I come in here two years ago and I can swear to God that in those two years the first thing they asked me and I remember it was Rosalie Staine, the first week I came into this country to assume the responsibility of this company, Rosalie Staine in activities that the University of Belize organised, they call it “In the Eye of the Storm”, I remember it like today, she ask me, “Mr. McKenzie, is it true that you guys are selling?” And I looked at Rosalie, I didn’t know her that moment, I said, “Lady, please read my lips, we are not selling nothing. Maybe in the future we will be buying things then, but today and tomorrow we will not sell nothing.” So that is basically the truth. If they want to take things that happened before and mix it up with what happening today, I don’t have the responsibility. But I am telling you what really happening today.”
“I have all my equipment buy already, I’m putting up the system now. Something can happen my good friend. I am not saying it can’t happen, I’m not God. What I am saying is that I have my equipment here; I’m saying that I’m trying to put it up for an exact day; I am saying I don’t have logistics problem today. Now my problem will be how fast I get each thing to happen and I’m saying let’s go and see that I am putting it up.”
“I have a date in my head, and I don’t want to say it yet, because I don’t want to create frustration. I will tell you what is my major problem to not give a date today. I have a meeting with my provider who will carry down south the fibre, because we are throwing the fibre that goes from Belmopan to the south. I am asking him to do it in fifteen or twenty days, he’s saying he can’t do it in fifteen to twenty days, he want a little bit more. When I have that defined, and that can be defined tomorrow. So what I can compromise with you is to formally send a note before Friday next week, giving you guys that come to the meeting, not the ones that didn’t come to the meeting.”
“And I want to take this opportunity to tell the people of Belize that I’m really sorry for it. I know it’s not only frustrating for me; it’s frustrating for the people of Belize. I meet people out there and sometimes I bow me head because sometimes they say, “When are you coming in, I’m still waiting.” I make me feel good that the person has sufficient confidence in me, but I make me feel bad because I am a little delayed with this thing. I’m really delayed.”
“What we don’t want to happen is the real reason, because people say government give Intelco… the real reason is not the relation that somebody this company could have with the client. The real reason why B.T.L. lose this client is because he did not look on him as a client. That is the real reason. If you have a good service you never, never change over your service, never.”
According to McKenzie, Intelco will announce the date of its official launch of service on Friday, July eleventh. We won’t hold our breath.
