作者： admin

A proposed $80 million acquisition of rival telecommunications provider Speednet by Belize’s BTL has cleared a key internal hurdle after BTL’s board of directors officially signed off on the deal, but the approval has sparked growing pushback from the country’s top business advocacy group and independent media voices, who warn the transaction is moving forward without critical consumer protections.

The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has emerged as a leading critic of the accelerated timeline, arguing that necessary legislative and regulatory guardrails have not been put in place to protect Belizean consumers before the merger of the country’s two largest telecom providers. BCCI President Giacomo Sanchez told reporters that the rushed process has left far more questions unanswered than it has resolved, calling the logic behind the $80 million price tag fundamentally flawed.

Sanchez emphasized that the BCCI does not oppose private sector mergers as a general rule, but this transaction carries unique public stakes due to the Belize government’s significant financial interest in BTL, including a major equity stake held through the country’s Social Security program. Following multi-stakeholder consultations held in recent months, the BCCI remains unconvinced that the acquisition delivers public value, or that a functional regulatory framework exists to prevent consumer exploitation after the merger is complete.

“What we have done is essentially put the cart before the horse,” Sanchez explained. “We should have put in the proper legislative safeguards and guardrails and then we can see the proceeding of a fluid transaction. However, there was a rush and I honestly don’t know why there was a rush in concluding. To me it was more of a seller driven transaction, rather than a buyer driven transaction which is not good for the people of Belize.”

Sanchez added that the $80 million investment would deliver far greater long-term value for BTL and the public if it were directed toward upgrading BTL’s existing digital infrastructure, particularly in emerging cloud-based services that position the company for future growth, rather than purchasing declining assets from Speednet.

While BTL’s board has approved the deal, final authorization still rests with Belize’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC), the independent regulatory body legally tasked with determining whether the acquisition serves the best interest of consumers. Critics are now raising urgent questions about whether the PUC’s upcoming review will be thorough, independent, and centered on public needs, or if the outcome has already been predetermined.

Sanchez said the BCCI cannot draw conclusions about the PUC’s position until the agency releases a formal, tangible decision. But he warned that the BTL board’s early approval signals the deal is already a foregone conclusion, with PUC approval widely seen as just a procedural formality. When pressed on whether he distrusts the PUC to prioritize public interest, Sanchez declined to comment until the agency issues its ruling, but noted that legal maneuvering could be used to bypass the PUC’s mandatory regulatory approval required under Belize’s Telecommunications Act.

“From a BTL standpoint yes, it is a done deal. I don’t think this will go back or reversed. It is just the nature of things,” Sanchez said. Following the board’s approval, the BCCI executive held meetings this week with its social partners to map out the organization’s next steps to address the acquisition and broader related governance concerns.

Independent opposition to the deal has also come from Senator Louis Wade, owner of Belize’s independent media outlet Plus TV, who argues the merger poses an existential threat to independent journalism in the country. Wade says he has more to lose than any other public figure if the acquisition moves forward, as a consolidated telecom monopoly would directly threaten his media business and its operations. While he did not join other senators in walking out of this week’s vote on the matter, Wade reaffirmed his longstanding opposition to the deal, emphasizing that his opposition is rooted in public interest rather than personal financial gain.

“I stand to lose more than any of them. I own a media house, Plus TV and any monopoly is a threat as it has been in the past to what we do. So, I have my entire investment that comes at risk. But I was not there to represent Plus TV. I was not there to represent my own interest. I was there to represent my constituency, which is the church,” Wade explained, noting that he helped coordinate a unified opposition position among independent senators that was formalized before this week’s board vote.

Wade added that he stands by his opposition and would take the same position again if given the opportunity, as the merger remains clearly against the interests of all Belizeans.

As controversy continues to swirl around the multi-million-dollar Mira scandal linked to Belize’s Ministry of Defense, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has stepped forward to push for sweeping regulatory changes to rein in unsupervised public spending. On August 5, 2026, the leading business advocacy group convened a dedicated media roundtable to lay out its comprehensive good governance policy agenda, centered on four core pillars: enhanced government transparency, strict accountability for public officials, robust independent oversight, and the strengthening of state institutional frameworks.

During the question-and-answer segment of the event, reporters pressed BCCI leadership on whether the current $10,000 public procurement threshold should be raised to streamline government purchasing. But Kim Aikman, the chief executive officer of BCCI, pushed back on the framing of the debate, arguing that the root of systemic corruption in public procurement is not the monetary threshold itself, but the individuals and weak processes tasked with managing public funds.

Aikman drew a clear contrast between public sector practices and private sector safeguards to illustrate her point. “We do not advocate for raising the $10,000 threshold — that limit is perfectly reasonable as long as established processes and procedures are followed,” she explained. “In the private sector, any spending over $10,000 requires additional layers of approval before a transaction can move forward. Many private firms even use automated monitoring systems like Transvision, which automatically flags any transaction exceeding a set amount or any purchase processed without formal approval. Those flagged transactions cannot proceed until all required documentation and authorization is secured. That is the standard we need to see in the public sector, not a change to the spending limit.”

William Neal, an executive councilor of BCCI, expanded on the criticism, calling on the Belizean government to eliminate the informal, questionable approval practices that have allowed the scandal to unfold. Neal highlighted a critical flaw in current government protocols that allows ministers to approve purchases via verbal instruction, with no formal written documentation required to process the transaction. This gap, he argued, allows public officials to abdicate personal responsibility by claiming they were following orders, with no paper trail to hold any party accountable for improper spending.

“What we need is clear, codified systems that define exactly what counts as valid authorization for any public purchase,” Neal said. “Right now, technical staff are often left in positions where they can act on a verbal order from a minister, then later claim they were just following instructions to avoid personal accountability. Without formal, documented approval requirements built into every step of the procurement process, the door is left wide open for the kind of misspending that we are seeing in the Mira scandal.”

This call for reform comes as the Mira scandal continues to develop, with growing public concern over the misallocation of millions in public defense funds. The BCCI’s agenda marks one of the most prominent calls for systemic change from Belize’s business community since the scandal broke, framing improved governance as critical to protecting public trust and supporting sustainable economic growth.

On August 5, 2026, top leaders of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) have broken their silence on the controversial split-payment invoice scheme currently under public investigation, issuing unflinching criticism of the practice and calling for urgent government intervention to root out deep-rooted institutional flaws.

In interviews with local outlet News Five, which first launched an investigation into the questionable invoicing practice, BCCI President Giacomo Sanchez did not mince words in describing the scheme, labeling it nothing short of deliberate abuse of public financial systems. A certified public accountant with decades of experience in private sector finance, Sanchez drew a clear line between governance standards for private and public entities, noting that similar practices would never go unchallenged in private companies.

“In the private sector that would not be permitted. That would be an immediate red flag,” Sanchez explained. “If a board of directors or senior management tried to split payments to line their own pockets or avoid oversight, that arrangement would be shut down immediately. What’s critical to understand is that while some flexible practices may be standard for fully privately owned businesses, public and public-linked entities are held to a far higher standard of transparency. They owe that scrutiny to the public that entrusts them with taxpayer resources.”

BCCI Executive Councilor William Neal, who brings decades of experience in international public finance from previous work with UNICEF and the Inter-American Development Bank, expanded on Sanchez’s criticism, arguing that the issue is not an isolated case of bad accounting but a systemic failure that requires immediate government action – even before a formal audit of the scheme is completed.

Neal outlined the standard procurement protocols that should govern all public spending, requiring three competitive quotes for all contracts, an independent review committee that evaluates bids based on both quality and value for public money, and full paper documentation at every stage of the process. When these rules are followed correctly, he noted, there is no room for opaque or manipulative payment arrangements. The problem, he emphasized, is not the rules themselves but the lack of consistent enforcement and proactive reform to close loopholes that allow manipulation.

“There are no wrong outcomes when you follow the mandated process and meet all the system’s transparency requirements,” Neal said. “The issue is how bad actors manipulate gaps in oversight to get away with improper practices. What we have been saying all along is that there has been no serious effort to overhaul the system to implement regular preventative checks that stop this kind of abuse from happening in the first place.”

This report is a transcript of an evening television broadcast from News Five, with Kriol-language commentary transcribed using a standardized spelling system for accessibility.