By 2001 the Government of Belize had facilitated 52% of the 55% of the shares the government owned in BTL to Michael Ashcroft and his companies.
For the bulk of the shares, the price was artificially fixed when a fake offer to purchase at $2.30 per share was circulated to all shareholders. A few weeks later the Government sold to Ashcroft at $2.31.
The Government gave up some $6 million in dividends and the dividends earned by Ashcroft attracted no tax.
I was furious about this. I attended a private Christmas gathering shortly after this sale and I told the Prime Minister, who was also at the gathering, that this sale was wrong, wrong, wrong and bad for the people of Belize.
In December 2003 the Government purchased back 52% of the shares from Michael Ashcroft. This was the Government’s opportunity to hold on to the BTL shares. A second chance that we seldom have, or so I thought. But not so. The Government decided to sell this 52% to Jeffrey Prosser for a promissory note. No cash. And in breach of the BTL’s constitution. This was undoubtedly pre-arranged between the Government and the Ashcroft group, designed to ultimately present Ashcroft BTL lock stock & barrel.
I say this because even before the Government sold to Prosser, it had signed an agreement with the Ashcroft Group, promising Ashcroft that, in return for Ashcroft selling Government his shares, the Government would sell all of the Government’s shares and the SSB and the DFC, the Central Bank Pension Scheme shares and the Special Share, to one selected person – Jeffrey Prosser.
In addition, this Government agreed with Ashcroft that if Prosser did not pay, the Government would sell the shares back to Ashcroft.
And that is exactly what happened. Government bought from Ashcroft at a certain price, and when Prosser did not pay for all of the shares, this Government turned around and sold to Ashcroft at a lower price.
I repeat, it was all a set up designed to deliver BTL, lock stock and barrel to Michael Ashcroft. And it violates BTL’s articles of association.
BTL was intended to be owned by Belizeans, by the tens of thousands. The plan was, as conceptualized and by Manuel Esquivel and Nestor Vasquez, in March 1988 for the Government to gradually divest itself of controlling shares, incrementally, in amounts that people could absorb, and to keep the Special Share. The Special Share carries the right to have 2 Directors on the BTL board.
Telecommunications is the life blood of any economy. The Special Share was designed to be the Government’s way of protecting our national security and Belizean shareholders. BTL uses a substantial spectrum of frequencies that the country of Belize has for its own national security. By giving away the Special Share the Government has given up its ability to always input how BTL uses that resource.
This present Government is bad for Belize. In May 2007 this Government passed the Vesting Act which, basically, gave Michael Ashcroft BTL. The Government is hell bent on shackling Belizeans into economic slavery. Instead of Belizeans owning the wealth generated by telecommunications, this Government has facilitated a foreigner in taking it away from us.
And now this Government is doing the same thing with St. Francis Xavier Credit Union. It has legislated so that a Government appointee, namely the Governor of the Central Bank, can take over the credit union. No responsible, good thinking educated government should use its legislative power for personal motives.
Business people of Belize, I have said it before: today Jeffrey Prosser and St. Francis Xavier, tomorrow you and me. It’s as simple as that.