A move to block issuance of Telemedia dividends

Dean Barrow

The B.T.L. Employees Trust has applied to the Caribbean Court of Justice to stop the payment of dividends to shareholders at the upcoming annual general meeting or that alternatively government put the money in escrow pending cases before the courts that seek to return the telephone company to its former owners.  The A.G.M. is planned for September twenty-eighth and a video conference hearing has been granted for next week. On arrival the prime Minister was asked about the application before the C.C.J.  He responded as follows.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Well, I’m sure the business of the AGM is more than that, but I suppose it is principally that.  We’ll just have to wait and see. I can’t presume to judge how the CCJ will rule. I am aware that an application has been filed; I was not aware that in fact a date for hearing by video conference has actually been fixed. Clearly, that—you’re dealing with courts, you’re dealing with judges; you have to say we simply must wait and see.”

In its application to the C.C.J., the Trust refers to the Government’s high credit risk due to its decision not to make the Superbond coupon payment, and that B.T.L. is rushing through this A.G.M. so that dividend payments can be made to themselves. The Trust also points out that the last court ruling confirmed that the second nationalization of B.T.L. was null and void.  B.T.L. will be reporting a drop of thirteen million in revenue at the A.G.M., an eight percent decrease over last year.