The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News.
By Delroy Cuthkelvin: “If you think about it, the only one in Belize who has ever stood up to Mr. Ashcroft is Rt. Hon. Dr. Manuel Esquivel.” (From the Publisher, Amandala, December 21, 2005)
That declaration by Amandala publisher Evan X Hyde just over 20 years ago might not have been the Gospel but, by all accounts, the Truth, at least up to that point. The editorial went on to explain, “This took place during Mr. Esquivel’s UDP administration of 1993 to 1998.”
It was during that term, I am pleased and proud to acknowledge, I worked for Sir Manuel Esquivel as Director of Communication, after managing the UDP’s media campaign in the lead up to the 1993 snap general election called by the overconfident PUP administration of George Price with Ralph Fonseca as his powerful Minister of State for Finance. To this date I am proud, and will forever be, to associate myself with Sir Manuel Esquivel, who was a man of unimpeachable integrity.
Of historical importance is that it was under Sir Manuel Esquivel’s stewardship as Prime Minister in the first ever UDP administration (1984-1989) that BTL was established to manage telecommunication services in Belize.
It was a brilliantly crafted model, combining the efficiency of privatization with the security of retained majority public ownership. This was guaranteed through the company’s articles of association which stipulated that no individual or entity other than the Government of Belize, or a “permitted person” appointed by and on behalf of the Government, could own more than 25 percent of shares in BTL. (The articles of association also established the Golden Share which gave veto powers to the Government regardless of the percentage of shares it held).
When the PUP won the 1989 general elections, Michael Ashcroft quickly emerged as a super-influential, predominate business force. When the UDP returned to office less than 4 years later, Prime Minister Esquivel and his administration were greeted with a letter signed by outgoing PUP Prime Minister George Price dated June 30, 1993, the very day the PUP got voted out of office, purporting to designate Michael Ashcroft as a “permitted person” authorized by the Government to hold more than 25 percent of shares in BTL.
Notwithstanding, Sir Manuel Esquivel and his UDP administration doggedly resisted Ashcroft’s takeover of BTL, on the principle and basis that the “permitted person” designation, as spelt out in the company’s articles of association, was never intended to enable any private interest to assume for itself control of BTL, that, on the contrary, it was to guarantee, at all times, majority control by the Government of Belize, or some entity representing the public interest.
It was not until the PUP returned to office in 1998 that the business interests associated with Ashcroft consummated their takeover of BTL. There were many more twists and turns thereafter, until BTL was re-nationalized in 2009 under the succeeding UDP administration (2008-2020), which later passed legislation (2011) to enshrine in the Belize Constitution majority public ownership of BTL and other essential utilities. But, for the purpose of this essay, that succinct summary will suffice.
To his credit, that public acquisition occurred under Dean Barrow’s leadership as Prime Minister. Yet, there are fair questions as to whether Barrow’s skilful maneuvers in this regard could ever be equated with Esquivel’s steadfast stand against Ashcroft interests which, to put it mildly, have never seemed to coincide with the Belizean People’s interest. (Where Mr. Barrow is concerned, some have specifically taken issue with the eventual, pre-election, negotiated settlement and compensation package for the Ashcroft Alliance).
Fast forward to 2026. And, again, for the purpose of our principal thesis here, we need not recount the entire story of Smart/Speednet which, somewhere along the way, entered the telecommunication sector, presumably to provide necessary competition to BTL when it was a fully private company under Ashcroft related companies.
The most relevant fact, in this regard, is that, as it turned out, as we always suspected, and as is now confirmed by Lord Ashcroft himself, the majority owners of that company (roughly 77 percent) are interests allegedly once associated with ‘the Lord’. “Allegedly once associated”, we have to say, because, strictly and legally speaking, Ashcroft now disclaims and dissociates himself from any economic interest in Speednet. And, we will have to accept his word, since we have no proof to the contrary.
Ashcroft, nevertheless, in a recent press release, appears to be making a fervent appeal in support of the grossly unpopular, proposed buyout of that company by BTL, which would greatly benefit those majority owners (of Speednet) as well as family members of the current Prime Minister, the Bricenos, who Ashcroft’s release acknowledges own the remaining shares in Speednet Communications Limited.
Now, the revelation by the new Leader of the UDP, Tracy Panton, that she and the Party’s Chairperson, Sheena Pitts, have since met with Michael Ashcroft in particularly cordial confines, makes us more than a little nervous, we must concede. Although, to her credit, she did make the valid point that, as she put it, “The next leader of this country must be open to meet with all investors.”
Notwithstanding, there are two things about the revelation that we find considerably troubling. First, the acknowledgment that such a meeting did happen, came only after a pointed probe and the posing of a leading question by a member of the press. Second, and more substantively, the UDP Leader’s position now expressed, which is that (and I’m paraphrasing here) an argument could be made for the proposed buyout of Speednet by BTL, seems a little too close for comfort to that of Michael Ashcroft.
Lest we be accused of misrepresenting her exact position, let’s reproduce here a portion of her actual remarks on the matter: “There might be room for consolidation if there’s an imminent threat of an external provider that will further compromise the investments that have been made by the government and Social Security…in terms of telecommunications…In democratic countries with a population size that we have, there’s room for monopolies because we have a small market to share.”
We will not accuse the UDP Leader of pandering to any Ashcroft interest, economic or otherwise, which in any case he asserts he does not currently have in Speednet. What we are saying, to reiterate, is that the combination of facts surrounding the secret meeting and the position now presented by the Opposition Leader, particularly in the current context of the public outrage over the proposed deal, is troubling, to say the least.
There’s much about her leadership that Belizeans find promising, but it is our hope that going forward she would move in a way that allays our fears particularly on matters relating to the British Billionaire whose investment style in Belize most citizens don’t have the most “charitable” view of.
The 2005 Amandala editorial, which we quoted at the start, re-iterated, “In conclusion, based on what we know in December of 2005, I must tip my hat to the Rt. Hon. Dr. Manuel Esquivel. Like most men, I admire courage wherever it is manifest, and Mr. Esquivel was a brave Belizean to confront Lord Ashcroft. Straight.”
Indeed, Sir Manuel Esquivel established, not only the golden share in BTL, but the gold standard for courageous and fearless defense of Belize’s national interest. By all indication, it’s a record that remains unbeaten, and unmatched.
The post Troubled by Tracy Panton meeting with Lord Ashcroft appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News. By Delroy Cuthkelvin: “If you think about it, the only one in Belize who has ever stood up to Mr. Ashcroft is Rt. Hon. Dr. Manuel Esquivel.” (From the Publisher, Amandala, December 21, 2005) That declaration
The post Troubled by Tracy Panton meeting with Lord Ashcroft appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
