Here’s What PM Briceño Thinks of Panton’s Meeting with Ashcroft
Prime Minister John Briceño has weighed in on Opposition Leader Tracy Panton’s recent meeting with Lord Michael Ashcroft. He said political leaders have a responsibility to engage with investors but suggested that the setting of the meeting raised questions.
A few days ago, Lord Ashcroft clarified that he has no economic interest in the Waterloo Group Charitable Trust, which owns 77.5 percent of Speednet Communications. Ashcroft said the Trust exists solely for charitable purposes and stressed that the sale should be fully transparent and able to withstand public scrutiny. The deal values Speednet at BZ$80 million, with BTL paying BZ$10 million in cash and the remaining BZ$70 million through loan notes over four years at 4.5 percent interest. Ashcroft also noted that the sale is not linked to any other acquisitions and that the Trust has no involvement in other proposed transactions.
According to Ashcroft’s statement, the merger would boost BTL’s cash flow, cut duplicated costs, and allow full control of inbound roaming rates, which could generate tens of millions of dollars for Belize. It also projects major savings in capital spending, faster rollout of new technologies, and stronger competition against global players like Starlink, while promising no disruption to consumers and the possibility of lower prices under PUC oversight.
Meanwhile, Briceño told News 5 that “Every leader has a responsibility to meet with anybody, especially in the business community or in any way. I think it’s their responsibility.”
He added that while such meetings are part of a leader’s duty, the optics matter. “Meeting on a yacht, that kind of makes you question the judgment. I think he could have met somewhere else,” he remarked.
Still, Briceño made clear that the engagement itself was not improper. “I think there’s nothing wrong with the opposition to be able to meet with Lord Ashcroft for any investor in Belize,” he said.
Panton, meanwhile, pushed back against criticism of the meeting in a lengthy social‑media post, defending her decision and stressing the importance of engagement with major investors. “Dialogue is not endorsement. A meeting is not surrender, and conversation is not compliance,” she wrote.
She said the narrative around the meeting was “selective and absurd” and pointed out that engagement with Ashcroft has been standard practice for both major political parties over decades.
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