In a growing showdown over corporate governance at Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), the country’s leading communication workers union has amplified its calls for sweeping leadership changes, demanding the immediate exit of three sitting board directors following the recent ouster of chair Markhelm Lizarraga. The escalating standoff, which has drawn backing from the nation’s main opposition party, centers on long-simmering concerns over questionable deal-making and conflicts of interest tied to multiple major acquisition proposals.
Harrison August, General Secretary of the Belize Communication Workers Union (BCWU), framed Lizarraga’s pending removal as just the first step in a broader push to clean up BTL’s leadership. In remarks to reporters, August called for the resignations of directors Moises Cal, Arturo Lizarraga, and Eric Eusey, laying out specific criticisms for each appointee.
Addressing Cal’s tenure, August noted that the director, a well-known diplomat and political figure, carries unresolved public allegations tied to Panama that have lingered online. “For someone holding a critical board seat at BTL to have such dark clouds hanging over his reputation is unacceptable,” August said. “This is not the standard of leadership we demand for one of the country’s most important telecommunications providers. He deserves a vote of no confidence.”
On Arturo Lizarraga, August pointed to what he calls excessive overlapping positions: the director holds seats on both BTL’s board and the Social Security Board (SSB), while also serving as president of the Belize Business Bureau, a post he has held for roughly 20 years. August questioned the transparency of his long tenure in the business group leadership role.
August reserved particular criticism for Eric Eusey, the board’s appointed representative for small BTL shareholders. He accused Eusey of voting in favor of BTL’s proposed acquisition of Smart without any consultation with the small stakeholders he is meant to represent.
The opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) has already thrown its support behind the union’s demands, issuing an official statement backing the immediate removal of Chairman Lizarraga. The party noted it was the first major political group to call for Lizarraga’s departure immediately after the BTL board approved the controversial acquisition.
Union Senator Glenfield Dennison, who brought a formal vote of no confidence against the BTL board, added that the current standoff is not rooted solely in the Smart acquisition proposal. His opposition stretches back to an earlier, even more problematic $90 million plan for BTL to purchase two local cable companies, a deal he opposed from its inception.
Dennison argued that the current board composition that approved the Smart acquisition was originally assembled to push through the cable deal, revealing deeper conflicts of interest at the top of the company. “My no confidence vote isn’t just about the Smart-BTL acquisition,” Dennison explained. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that this same board was put in place to approve a $90 million purchase of two cable companies owned by Mark Lizarraga’s brother and the prime minister’s brother. If people think the Smart deal is problematic, the cable deal was far worse.”
This report is adapted from a transcript of a televised evening newscast, with Creole-language remarks preserved using standard spelling conventions.