Susana Vanzie Dismisses Exit Rumors, Explains NBC Role

The sudden leadership shift at Belize’s National Bus Company continues to raise questions, but former CEO Susana Vanzie says her exit was always part of the plan. Vanzie is dismissing speculation, explaining that her role was meant to be temporary from the start. She says she stepped in at a critical moment, not just as a shareholder, but as someone willing to take on the challenge of launching a national operation from the ground up. According to Vanzie, the early days were never going to be smooth. With competing expectations, political pressure, and the sheer scale of the project, she says the job demanded full commitment and she gave it, stepping away from everything else to help get the company off the ground.

 

Susana Vanzie, Former CEO, National Bus Company

“When I took it on, it was agreed with the minister that it would be an interim and if you listened to the minister earlier, he said it was interim. So, I think a lot of people missed that. And it came to a surprise to a lot, and I think people came to their own conclusion. I have been in the bus industry as an operator, and I am a shareholder in the company. So when I was asked to be the CEO I jumped on it because I wanted to be a part of making it a reality and I know how difficult the first few months of starting a business can be and something of this magnitude with people coming from, different people having different expectations, you need to know the path and have the strength to continue on that path, despite the noise that comes with something new and something that can be so politically polarizing. So, I wanted to give my pound of flesh, and I knew early on that I was not going to be able to commit long-term because I had other responsibilities. But from the time I asked I literally dropped everything, because there was no half in, half out, I mean the magnitude of this is so tremendous.”

 

Former CEO Urges Patience for National Bus Company Turnaround

 

Tonight, a key voice behind Belize’s National Bus Company is speaking out, making the case for patience, belief, and long-term vision. Former CEO Susana Vanzie says she’s still invested, not just financially, but in the idea of the NBC itself. Despite early setbacks, she chose to stay on as a shareholder, convinced the concept can still deliver. But she’s also acknowledging the rough start. Vanzie says the company inherited an aging, mixed fleet, buses of different brands, some decades old, bringing serious mechanical and operational challenges from day one. And beyond the equipment, she admits communication with staff may have fallen short, with some employees feeling left out during the transition.

 

Susana Vanzie, Former CEO, National Bus Company

“I strongly believe in the possibilities. As a shareholder that was not an automatic thing. As a shareholder you had a choice. You can remain as a shareholder, or you could cash out and leave, and my brother and I decided to remain a shareholder because we believe in the concept and the possibilities. Your questions of having seen the challenges. We inherited a fleet of various brands, various ages, mechanical issues and the ages of the buses, just taking that into consideration, you have six seven brand of buses, or even more and the age of the buses, some are twenty-years-old, some are thirty-years-old and the challenges that come with that, having inherited that, I also think that perhaps as operators, we could have done a better job of communicating with our staff as to what was taking place. I heard that some of our staff felt excluded, that is the word I have heard. I think the picture I hope I am painting is because it is the way I see it. We have a vision of where we want to go. We know it is the electric buses, the brand-new buses, things work smoothly and we started somewhere over here.”

 

Still, Vanzie says the goal is to create a modern, efficient system powered by new, and eventually electric, buses.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: