Julius Espat: “The People of Belize Own BTL”

Cabinet Minister Julius Espat told News Five that “we were not even informed that the vote would have been done by BTL this week.”

News Five contacted Espat for his thoughts on BTL’s proposal to acquire SpeedNet (SMART) for eighty million dollars.

Espat says he’s not convinced the people who actually own BTL were properly consulted either. In his view, BTL doesn’t belong to the board that approved the acquisition or even to government alone. He says it belongs to the public.

“I do not believe the true owners have been properly consulted. The people of Belize own BTL.”

His comments add to a week of mounting pushback on the deal, from union leaders who walked out to protest a lack of public consultation to the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has called the transaction a foregone conclusion pushed through ahead of proper regulatory safeguards. Minister of Education Francis Fonseca, meanwhile, has said he’s withholding public comment until Cabinet receives an official briefing on the matter.

This week’s Cabinet brief does not make mention of the proposal.