Nearly two weeks after the Belizean cabinet formally rejected Belize Telemedia Limited’s (BTL) planned takeover of competitor Speednet, the fallout of the failed deal has shifted focus to the BTL board of directors, who are now facing mounting criticism from former company employees over their endorsement of the ill-fated transaction.
The Belize Communication Workers for Justice (BCWJ), an advocacy group representing former and current BTL workers, is demanding that the full board publicly answer for its role in advancing the acquisition that was ultimately blocked by national policymakers. BCWJ organizer Emily Turner, a former BTL management staffer, argues that the controversy extends far beyond the collapsed merger, raising fundamental questions about the board’s decision-making judgment, its institutional independence, and whether its leadership is prioritizing the long-term interests of the company and its workforce.
In scathing comments delivered during a recent on-air interview, Turner called out one senior board member for being dramatically out of touch with on-the-ground realities at the telecommunications provider. “He’s not reading this environment at all because for some reason he believes that he can just proceed with this. And then he changes the statements that he makes every time he is asked something,” Turner said.
When asked whether the current board has demonstrated a track record of making choices aligned with BTL’s best interests, Turner raised sharp questions about the board’s lack of rigorous oversight of management actions. From her personal experience working inside BTL’s management structure, Turner said the board only reviews corporate proposals at a superficial high level, often missing critical details that are obscured in the materials presented to directors. “I think that the board is not as thorough as I would have wanted them to be when I was there. They basically look at things on a very high level. Maybe it’s intentional how it’s presented. There are many things that in my experience they have missed when management presents it to them,” she explained.
Turner also called out a questionable board appointment, saying a relative of the BTL chairman was transferred to the board from the country’s Social Security Board (SSB), creating an obvious conflict of interest. She described the appointment as a clear case of nepotism, noting “if conflict of interest was a person, that would be that business bureau guy.”
The controversy has also spilled over to the SSB, whose directors voted on the Speednet deal. Turner commended the two SSB directors who broke ranks to vote against the acquisition, but noted the remaining eight who supported the transaction are widely seen as political cronies. She is calling on the two dissident directors to publicly disclose their rationale for opposing the deal, to bring greater transparency to the controversial process that has thrown BTL’s governance into question.
This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television news broadcast, with original Kriol language comments standardized to written English for publication.