Senate President confirms BTL’s invitation for all senators to a consultation

While the independent senators came out publicly to say they were not invited to consultations with Belize Telemedia Limited, Senate President Carolyn Trench Sandiford doused that fire rather quickly.  Earlier today, her office issued a thorough timeline confirming that BTL’s request to address the Senate was delivered in early February.  The controversy emerged after BTL Chairman Mark Lizarraga said the company had invited the independent senators to a briefing on the proposed acquisition of Speednet Communications Limited, but they did not attend. The independent senators subsequently denied receiving an invitation.  In a statement issued today, Trench Sandiford confirmed that BTL Chief Executive Officer Ivan Tesecum wrote to her requesting an opportunity to brief senators on what was then described as a strategic proposal concerning Speednet. The request was received on February 6 and acknowledged by the Senate President on February 10.  Trench Sandiford said she consulted with the Clerk of the National Assembly and decided that BTL’s request would be granted. However, the acquisition process was being paused at the time, pending approvals from the boards of Social Security and BTL, as well as the eventual submission of the proposal to the Public Utilities Commission.  The Senate President therefore decided to monitor the process before setting a date for the briefing. The Senate’s workload, other National Assembly commitments and the approaching recess were also taken into consideration.  BTL’s request was subsequently placed on a list of matters awaiting scheduling. Once a date had been agreed upon with the company, all senators would have been invited in accordance with established practice. That stage was never reached. The clarification, however, draws an important distinction where BTL requested an audience with the Senate as a whole, and not just for the independent senators.