The announcement this week that the government has reached an agreement with the Ashcroft Group and a Panamanian law firm on the buyout/takeover of Belize International Services Limited (BISL), is concerning due to the amount of money we have to pay out from our meager resources, but it was a move that had to be made. We took over the company; we had to pay for it.
BISL, which managed the International Merchant Marine Registry of Belize (IMMARBE) and the International Business Companies Registry (IBCR), had led our flag into international disgrace, seriously jeopardizing both our dignity and our capacity to do business abroad. In 2013 Belize was blacklisted by the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee, on allegations that a number of ships flying our flag were engaging in unscrupulous activities. Also, according to the Amandala, a major bone of contention was “Belize’s open merchant ship registry, administered by IMMARBE, which allows foreigners, including Europeans, to be able to register their vessels in Belize and land products in the EU under tax-free status, using IBCs (International Business Corporations) registered in Belize.”
The situation was intolerable, and the government of 2013 (UDP) under Prime Minister Dean Barrow, to clean up IMMARBE, and also to address the contract of BISL, which it believed had not been properly gotten, took it over.
A PUP government had renewed BISL’s contract in 2003, for 10 years, to 2013, at which time a new government would have decided if it wanted to continue the relationship, pursue a relationship with another group, or take over the company. But the 2013 government (UDP) found that a PUP government, in 2005, had gone ahead and extended BISL’s contract, to 2020.
In 2005 it was clear that the PUP government that had allowed the Ashcroft Group so many opportunities would lose its mandate in 2008, or whenever the next general election was called. It appeared that the PUP might have had to call the general election early, either out of respect for the British parliamentary system we inherited, or because of severe pressure from the people. The leaders of the day would have to explain why in 2005 they made the giant leap of giving BISL an extension to operate from 2013 to 2020.
Putting aside the legal aspects of the matter, it ended with the CCJ declaring that the government of 2013 (UDP) was in the wrong when it took over BISL. This week, the present government (PUP) says we came off the better after arriving at a “discounted” settlement, US$38.25 million. PM Briceño said many negative things about how the Barrow governments did business, but from his report, it is clear that since taking over BISL, our country has done very well on the bottom line.
On Monday night, Belizean educator, historian and activist, Ms. Sandra Coye asked the hosts of Love FM’s Monday night business show, if they knew what our government would be giving up for this “discounted” settlement. Neither knew. What we know is that since the takeover, our flag is a lot more respectable on international waters.
From blocking VoIP to blocking KREM and Channel 7
Former Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, insists his government didn’t pay too much to get back BTL. Briefly, the saga began when a PUP government allowed Lord Michael Ashcroft and his group to gain controlling shares in the company, and the Ashcroft Group proceeded to use the company as a cash cow, with no regard for the development of the country.
Apart from failing or refusing to help the PUP fulfill its manifesto promises in the area of telecommunications, BTL under the Ashcroft Group forced out many small shareholders, and moved to ensure that BTL remain a monopoly. With its monopoly control, BTL was able to block Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), solely in the interest of profits. From the perspective of a private company, that was understandable, but it was wholly intolerable for the country and its development, especially considering that BTL, like the Port of Belize, was a creation of our government and people.
Blogger Steve Ellis, in his story, “The History of VoIP Solutions: How it Revolutionized The Modern Business”, said “Just like how the telephone, a massive achievement in human history, fundamentally changed the way we communicated as a species, so did VoIP for the modern business.” Ellis said that by 2003 a quarter of all voice calls made was via VoIP, and this occurred because it made an expensive endeavor, long distance/international phone calls, into “an inexpensive activity so long as a stable internet connection and basic communication hardware is present.”
The people of Belize got VoIP on April 30, 2013, after a Belize government (UDP) had taken full control of the company. Too many Belizeans either don’t know or have forgotten what it was like before our country got back control of BTL. Ignoring employees of the Ashcroft Group, who understandably express regret that BTL was taken from his control, those who think the government overreached or are noncommittal need to do some research, to separate themselves from their ignorance. The story of BTL under the control of the Ashcroft Group is that it wasn’t interested in the development of the country, only in profits for its shareholders.
PM Barrow has said that over time Belizeans will come to realize that the price we paid to get back BTL wasn’t too high. As it relates to our dignity, no price was too high to get back the company, and as it relates to the development of our country, probably no price was too high either, though we could have gotten a much better deal if the Barrow UDP hadn’t treated the company much like their very own private property.
The Ashcroft Group didn’t stop at blocking VoIP; it moved on local television stations, KREM TV and Channel 7, blocking them from usage of the fiber optic cable. According to the Amandala, KREM TV was told by cable operators that the Ashcroft Group wanted the station to run free ads for BTL, in return for usage of the fiber optic cable.
The Amandala said KREM TV’s manager, Mose Hyde, described the Ashcroft Group’s attack on the station as “ludicrous”, that it amounted to asking local networks to pay for the expansion of the cable companies, to pay for HBO, Showtime. Hyde said, “This argument about us paying is hogwash. The day this thing broke, the boss of CBC … admitted that BTL requested KREM and Channel 7 not be put on.” Prior to the Ashcroft Group blocking KREM TV on cable, it had blocked KREM’s streaming service off the Internet without notice.
History shows that BTL, prior to privatization, had been growing from strength to strength; it was our nation’s flagship, a company that was focused on the development of our country, a company we could all be proud of. And then, with it falling into private hands, it became an instrument for profits for its shareholders, and a company that trampled on our dignity and the businesses of local entrepreneurs. Those are the facts.