It is amazing how often things change; and then, just as quietly, they change back; and thus give credence to the saying, “the more things change, the more they remain the same”.
It used to annoy me, even disgust me, in days gone by when BTL-Telemedia was under the grip of Mr. Ashcroft (thanks to the PUP), that, while waiting in line to pay my phone bill, I had to miss out on the hot morning talk shows, especially WUB.
Instead, they would have on a foreign TV station. Of course, there were, and still are, local business establishments that refuse to put their television on KREM; but at least some of them will air other local stations in the mornings, when all the interesting talk shows are taking place.
Well, a few weeks after the UDP government “took over BTL,” I went to pay my phone bill; and, boy, was it like “liberation day”! The BTL TV was on KREM WUB; imagine that! Let freedom ring!
Lately, there have been some controversies in the news regarding the BTL workers union and a supposed “employees trust” fund, that Aschroft claims he had set aside for the good workers of BTL.
How kind and generous of Mr. Ashcroft. Yeah, right.
Now, some of the workers are reportedly agitating against the new owners, government, about this supposed “trust”. There is confusion surrounding the issue; and now we are left wondering, who is really on the side of the workers?
We might say, “Well, that is their problem”.
But this morning, when I went to pay my phone bill, around 8:30 a.m., and a very interesting discussion about KHMH, our government hospital, was on KREM WUB, but the BTL TV was set on CNN. And this is our month of patriotism.
I, half jokingly, remarked to one of the BTL employees that, “What’s this with foreign TV at this time”?
To my surprise, the worker immediately lamented that he/she would also much prefer have the TV set on KREM WUB, which had on “a very interesting discussion about KHMH”.
So? Well, he/she quickly added that “management” insisted that they not tune in to the local TV stations. Imagine that!
This time I was not only disappointed, even disgusted; but, as a Belizean whose government supposedly now owns BTL-Telemedia, I felt personally insulted. The more things change…. PUDP…