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In a coordinated pushback against a major proposed telecommunications industry consolidation, Belize’s largest trade union umbrella organization has launched the first phase of a public opposition campaign that will kick off this Friday. The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) has issued a public call for workers, union affiliates, and all concerned citizens across the country to wear black clothing this Friday as a peaceful, visible protest against Belize Telemedia Limited’s (BTL) planned acquisition of rival telecommunications provider Speednet.

Branded under the campaign slogan “Wear Black. Stand Together. Let Our Voices Be Heard,” the action encourages participants to document their participation by posting photos to social media platforms with the hashtag #BlackOutBTL, amplifying the movement’s reach beyond in-person gatherings. NTUCB President Ella Waight confirmed that Friday’s public demonstration is only the opening step in a sustained campaign against the proposed deal, with further actions planned depending on public response and developments in the acquisition process.

Union leaders emphasize that their opposition extends far beyond a simple business transaction between two private telecom firms. The NTUCB has raised a broad set of concerns that the merger will have far-reaching negative ripple effects across multiple sectors of Belize’s economy and society. Most pressing among these worries is the potential for significant job losses among communication sector workers, as consolidated companies often implement cost-cutting restructuring that eliminates duplicate roles. Beyond employment impacts, the union warns that reducing competition in the country’s telecom market could lead to higher service prices for consumers, discourage future foreign and domestic investment in the sector, and limit innovation in digital and communication services for Belizean households and businesses.

This news report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television broadcast originally published online, with original Kriol language content transcribed using standardized spelling conventions.

Eight months after a contentious split between the Belizean government and former Ombudsman Gilbert Swaso, the position that is meant to serve as a check on state overreach remains empty. The public fallout of that separation has thrown long-simmering, structural flaws in the country’s 32-year-old Ombudsman institution into sharp relief, sparking urgent discussions across political circles about sweeping reforms designed to give the office real power to hold government accountable.

Belize first established the legal framework for the Ombudsman Office back in April 1994 during the second administration of Prime Minister Sir Manuel Esquivel. However, the office did not begin operations for more than five years, with Paul Rodriguez sworn in as the nation’s first Ombudsman in August 1999. Widely nicknamed “the poor man’s attorney”, the role is tasked with investigating public complaints of maladministration, corruption, abuse of power, injustice and harm committed by any state authority.

For ordinary Belizeans like cattle farmer Richard Cal, the office is the last resort when government actors inflict harm. Cal was resting on his own property in Pomona when three armed plainclothes men approached and ordered him to surrender. Fearing for his safety, Cal fled, only to be shot in the leg by the men — who only identified themselves as police after opening fire. To date, authorities have offered no public explanation for why the officers were on Cal’s farm. Left with a crippling hospital bill, months of required physical rehabilitation, and no ability to return to work, Cal’s case is exactly the kind of injustice the Ombudsman was created to address — but the office currently lacks the power to deliver meaningful resolution.

Cynthia Pitts, who served as Belize’s Ombudsman from 2009 to 2012, told reporters that complaints against police were the most common cases her office received. But from her first days in the role, she encountered the crippling limitations that have hamstrung the institution for decades. “The limitations are from the offices that you seek to really address the complaints: you wouldn’t get answers and responses,” Pitts explained.

The core flaw of the current system is that the Ombudsman’s investigative findings and policy recommendations carry no legal weight. Under existing law, the maximum penalty for a state authority that refuses to comply with the office’s requests is a $1,000 fine, a penalty too minor to force cooperation. Former Ombudsman Swaso noted that current law does not allow the office to compel testimony or hold uncooperative officials in contempt, even when there is clear evidence of willful neglect of requests.

Proposed reforms would change that, giving the Ombudsman enforceable legal authority by making its recommendations binding under law. Under the draft plan, non-compliance would carry a penalty of up to $5,000 in fines and a maximum two-year prison sentence. The reforms would also expand the office’s scope: currently, the Ombudsman can only open investigations after receiving a formal, specific complaint from an affected citizen. The changes would allow the office to launch proactive investigations into systemic corruption and widespread public concerns, such as the long-standing issues plaguing Belize’s Lands Department — a agency widely criticized for years of delays, missing documents, and alleged corruption.

Pitts recalled the dozens of complaints her office received from Belizeans traveling from southern districts like Toledo to file land claims, only to be turned away repeatedly after spending time and money on overnight trips to the capital. “I’ve been there eight times. I travel. I can’t see who I should see. I have to spend the night because I can’t go back and come back,” Pitts recounted of common complaints from members of the public. Hundreds of such unaddressed grievances are logged every year, but the office currently lacks the authority and capacity to resolve systemic issues.

Beyond enforcement power, the proposed reforms address another major structural flaw: the office’s lack of independence from the very government it is supposed to oversee. Currently, the Ombudsman has no guaranteed budget, no authority to set its own staffing levels, and cannot secure independent legal counsel without government approval. Pitts described the resource shortfall as debilitating during her tenure: “The office was not resourced as it should. We were a very small office, [with] no staff, and those were the limitations.”

Under the reform plan, the Ombudsman would gain full control over its own budget and hiring decisions, requiring lawmakers to publicly justify any cuts to the office’s funding in writing. Opposition Leader Tracy Panton has thrown her support behind the changes, arguing that all state oversight bodies — including the Ombudsman, Integrity Commission, Contractor General, and Auditor General’s office — must be granted autonomy and sufficient resources to carry out their mandates. “We have to find ways to ensure that these entities can function with autonomy and with having the appropriate resources to do the job that they’re expected to do,” Panton said.

The proposed reforms draw on best practices from other CARICOM member states, including adding a non-renewable seven-year term limit for the Ombudsman to insulate the office from political retaliation, granting explicit authority to lead asset recovery efforts for ill-gotten public funds, and enshrining the Ombudsman’s constitutional status to protect it from political interference. Even with these sweeping changes, however, stakeholders note that the reform package will be meaningless until Belize fills the currently vacant Ombudsman position with a leader of proven independence and integrity.

As Belize enters its eighth month without a serving national ombudsman, the country’s only woman to ever hold the accountability-focused role is speaking out about the critical responsibilities of the position and the non-negotiable traits any successful occupant must bring to the job.

Cynthia Pitts made history as Belize’s first and only female ombudsman, serving a three-year term from 2009 to 2012. Far from the sedentary bureaucratic role some might assume, she describes the post as a hands-on position that demands constant engagement with marginalized communities across the country, persistent scrutiny of public officials, and a willingness to challenge powerful government departments when citizens’ rights are violated. In her three years in office, Pitts handled hundreds of public complaints, many of which put her in direct opposition to sitting political leaders. She now says that for the ombudsman’s office to fulfill its core purpose as a check on state power, it must remain independent, unflinching in the face of pressure, and rooted in unwavering personal integrity.

Pitts shared one early example of her hands-on approach while advocating for citizens caught up in bureaucratic land disputes, recalling how she pushed land management agencies to cover living and travel costs for displaced residents forced to repeatedly travel across the country to resolve their claims. “You really have to be strong and independent if you really want to serve your citizens,” she emphasized in a recent interview.

Contrary to common assumptions, Pitts notes that complaints against law enforcement, not land disputes, made up the bulk of the cases she handled during her tenure – and these cases often required extraordinary flexibility and commitment outside standard working hours. “My friends used to say, ‘Why you have these people coming to your house at two in the morning?’” she recalled. “Some grandmother would call and say, ‘They have my grandson locked up,’ and so on and so on. And then you go. The police don’t think you will go, you know? And that’s the kind of job. When you took on the job, you knew what you were getting into.” On multiple occasions, she even used her personal vehicle to transport detained individuals who needed medical care when police had no available transport.

Pitts stressed that unwavering integrity and independence are non-negotiable for the role, regardless of political pressure. During her term, she frequently faced pushback from politicians who objected to her impartial investigations. “I have experienced politicians telling me, ‘That is the thing with you. You, this and you that.’ And I would say, ‘But I am not a politician. You are the politician, but I am not.’ And so I deal with anybody who comes. I don’t care which party you are from,” she said.

Pitts’ reflections come at a time when Belize has been left without an ombudsman for nearly eight months. The vacancy opened in late 2025, when former ombudsman Major Gilbert Swaso was notified on Christmas Eve that his contract would not be renewed. To date, the government has not named a permanent replacement, leaving the country without its key independent accountability institution for citizens seeking redress against state misconduct.

This report is adapted from a transcribed broadcast evening newscast, with original Kriol language renderings preserved in their standard spelling form.