Who’s in the Dark on BTL Deal? Almost Everyone

Imagine waking up to find out a major decision about your phone and internet service was made, and even the people you elected didn’t know the details. That’s what’s happening in Belize right now. A proposed buyout of BTL has been in the works for months behind closed doors, and even Cabinet members are only now hearing whispers about it. Immigration Minister Kareem Musa admitted this week that Cabinet hasn’t been fully briefed, and when they finally met, the discussion barely scratched the surface. Meanwhile, frustration is growing among the public over the secrecy surrounding a deal that could change how the country stays connected. On Tuesday, we asked UDP Leader Tracy Panton about why Cabinet, and the public, are being kept in the dark.

 

Tracy Panton, Leader, United Democratic Party

“Let me say it this way there is absolutely no accountability and people continue to laugh when I say there is none. When a prime minister cannot seek the input of his executive. When his own members of Cabinet have mot been briefed yet, with the suggestion that might come today, when a board, had there not been a foiled attempt at that meeting, to rubber stamp a deal that no one in this country knew about, not even the members of the board itself. Miss Cansino resigned on a principled position and she should be acknowledged because that could not have been easy and there were other members of the board who were not prepared to go that far that did not attend the meeting. They simply removed themselves because they were given nothing to examine.”