Former Board immediately takes back control of telephone company
So what’s next? Well, the Prime Minister has already said that he will appeal that decision. But immediately after the court ruling, Dean Boyce and attorney Godfrey Smith headed to Telemedia’s main office on Saint Thomas Street. The first board meeting was convened with members of the previous board including attorney Phillip Zuniga, Edilberto Tesecum and Jose Alpuche. The Board was apprised of the ruling and began and then moved on to administrative matters. Attorneys say that while further legal action is expected, the hurdles to overcome today’s ruling are formidable.
Eamon Courtenay, Attorney
Eamon Courtenay
“The shareholders and management would have to go back into the company and to see what has happened. If indeed there has been any damage suffered by the shareholders then they would have to consider their position. The prime minister had indicated that they would appeal so I would anticipate that he is going to take the case to the Caribbean court of justice. In so far as a stay is concerned, there are formidable obstacles that the government would have to overcome if they were to try to get a stay. I don’t know if they are going to do that but it would be a very difficult thing. What they would in effect be asking a court to do is, notwithstanding the fact that the law is unconstitutional; they would be asking the court to stay that situation, i.e. to maintain an unconstitutional position. I think that is highly unlikely to happen.”
Godfrey Smith
Jules Vasquez, 7 News
“So who will be running BTL on Monday Mr. Smith?”
Godfrey Smith, Attorney
“Well, if you were to ask me to make a guess I would say Dean Boyce and whoever his management team were, will be running BTL on Monday.”
Jules Vasquez, 7 News
“So what should employees expect, regular employees?”
Godfrey Smith
“I can’t speak to that. Obviously, Mr. Boyce will have to what employees should expect.”
So as it stands tonight, Belize Telemedia’s acquisition is nullified and up to news time, the board was still in meeting. In respect of the shares that went on sale last year, when the company was in government control, the Social Security Board invested fifty million dollars in twenty percent of the shares and a few thousand others were acquired by small shareholders.
I smell more troubles are coming for Belize.
Government should forget “ownership”. Introduce competition, reduce regulation, cut costs to the public. We should not be among the dearest countries in the world for telecomms.
Worse pm and gov. Of Belize ever every aspect of life is in the toilet march my people march on this useless pm and gov..
At least Barrow is off his high horse right now, but the stubborn fool will find a way to circumvent the law, as he always does, to suit his ends. All this GoB(GoUDP) cared about was the total control of everything, even if it is in the hands of private investors. It is plain to see that Barrow has no intention of giving up on his Telemedia adventure as of yet, and bring it under his guises yet again. The court has made the right decision, and even if this goes to the CCJ, they will see nationalizing Telemedia was a contravention of our Constitution, and was rammed through by a man, who considers himself “Absolute Belize”, and this ruling will hopefully set the precedent that private companies cannot be taken over without appropriate compensation, and cannot be taken without good faith.