By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
ADMITTING that government’s attempts to take back BTC’s majority shares have not gone the way he would have liked, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the current budget constraints would not allow the move in any case.
This latest development follows a number of different statements on the issue by Mr Christie.
Last December, Mr Christie told this newspaper that Cable and Wireless had no intention of selling their shares and negotiations were deadlocked.
A few weeks later, the Prime Minister then told reporters that the talks between the government and the company were far from over.
Speaking to reporters yesterday outside the Cabinet office, Mr Christie said that up to this point, CWC has resisted the government’s intentions. He believes that a turn of events that saw CWC’s CEO David Shaw announce his resignation from the company had some affect on the current state of the negotiations which are led by businessman Franklyn Wilson for the government. Mr Wilson is the chairman of the state-appointed committee.
“From the outset,” Mr Christie said, “I sought not to have an adversarial relationship, but one where we were able to sit and discuss amicably the intention of a government to acquire an additional two per cent.
“That has not gone in a way that I would have liked it to go.
“There was obviously resistance to the idea and as I have indicated to the negotiating committee there will come a stage when they will have to report to me that they have gone as far as they could unless there is some significant movement by Cable and Wireless and representatives.
“We thought there would have been, but something what happened to Mr David Shaw and seemed to interrupt what I anticipated was going to take place. So again it’s now a question of reviewing where we are.”
As it stands BTC is 49 per cent owned by the public and 51 per cent controlled by CWC.
Last week, “take-back” negotiation chief Franklyn Wilson claimed that his team had come across several “shocking” details of the BTC deal about which the Bahamian people should be informed. However, Mr Wilson has yet to reveal those findings, although he urged the Prime Minister to have a House select committee appointed to investigate them. When asked about the “shocking revelations”, Prime Minister Christie confirmed that he had seen them, but was not surprised by them. “I’m in politics,” he told the reporter, “I find nothing shocking. I have to deal with what I find.”
FNM Chairman Darron Cash has since urged Mr Wilson to stop wasting the Bahamian people’s time with empty promises about BTC.
Comments
242 11 years, 1 month ago
The CEO resigning is the reason why he can't get BTC back lol. WoW. Not surprisingly he didn't blame the former government because it will confirm that he made a bogus promise.
jackflash 11 years, 1 month ago
OK,
Let's move on now PM to things like CRIME - another thing you promiced to curb!!
And - what about selling some shares to the people them - that was in the plan with the FNM.
This lot can not be trusted!
I would like to know what this whole excercise costed us.
MartGM 11 years, 1 month ago
I agree!! What the heck happened to our SHARES?????
242 11 years, 1 month ago
Yet he preaches that he want to get ownership into Bahamian hands. The public won't be able to get shares anymore but Perry and crew will divide it up among themselves (and maybe Tal)
TalRussell 11 years, 1 month ago
'Tis simple. PM Christie needs to forget all bout Comrade Frankie and himself call up the the foreign 51% owners of what they must have known they bought from the 'sole' direction of but one red shirt, that the Bahamian people are demanding the return of a 2% ADDITIONAL ownership back, and since you only paid $220 million for the 51%, you are only entitled to whatever that 2% works out to be PERCENTAGE WISE of the $220 million you paid. But did you really pay $220 million when you take into consideration not only the two year monopoly you were granted by the red shirts...plus the millions the public treasury was left to pay retiring BTC employees?
And, guess what. You best try to forget that early termination clause compensation, cause you were never entitled to it.
What say you offer the Bahamaland's sovereign government one ya EZ Pay the 2% plans?
by TalRussell
jackflash 11 years, 1 month ago
TAL,
You really miss that ' one Red Shirt' - don't you....?
A contract is a contract. And only a fool would think that the PLP could force them into giving up the majority shares - and why would they do that? So the PLP could fill it with no good party supporters who don't do nothing???
Big waiste of time and money.
And they still killing on the streets...... fix that PLP - afterall you promiced it on the election trail.
Now do it...
TalRussell 11 years, 1 month ago
It doesn't take long for readers to notice that some on here and Hubert's fools are still drinking the same drink of illusion?
by TalRussell
clawdad 11 years, 1 month ago
it time for all of yinna to see that you been had,lied to,hoodwinked
spoitier 11 years, 1 month ago
It is common knowledge that politicians lie a lot, but in the Bahamas they take it to another level, the lies that they tell is like they are talking to children who would believe almost anything.
242 11 years, 1 month ago
lol but they do believe
Philosopher_King 11 years, 1 month ago
The only reason one year later we can't afford to buy back 2% is that we sold it for far less than the real value and now CWC demanding the true value to get it back. Once again you send PLP/FNM simpletons to negotiate on your behalf you get taken to cleaners every time. Let's face it we got swing, so time to move on and allow the obvious next competitor Digicel partnered with some local usual suspects with only a token interest to come in next year and clean their clocks like they did in every other country in the Caribbean where the two compete.
concernedcitizen 11 years, 1 month ago
i don,t know 210 million for 51 % of an overstaffed , company that was running a broken down non compatable , not even 1G network ,,sounds pretty good to me
Philosopher_King 11 years, 1 month ago
Concerned BTC had a strategic state of art cable connecting us to US they just spent $125M completed a year before the sale that was worth more than 1/2 that amount. It alone gave them more negotiating power in the deal since no other Caribbean country had it and it completed CWC Caribbean and Latin American backbone linking them directly to the US. We also got stuck with most of the severance cost and debt related to the operation. The mobile system was already had 3G in place and needed minimal upgrade $30million is pittance in the industry. 4G although is a nice addition most user can’t afford could have waited until 2013-14 roll out like most global carriers not in the US are doing. Believe me once they finish with their build out and Digicel comes in to this market they’ll be looking to sell the whole Caribbean operation now completed by the BTC purchase for an astronomical price in the next 5 years. I work in the mobile consulting industry this was a poorly negotiated deal, driven primarily by the psyche of making sure the PLP’s cronies didn't get their hands on or a piece of this potential cash cow.
242 11 years, 1 month ago
What should have been the true value of BTC?
PKMShack 11 years, 1 month ago
Tal and PLP supporters, can't see a swing if they was swinging in it. Another lie swept under the rug....LOL Use your brains and just admit ya boy is full of it,,,,Again
John 11 years, 1 month ago
If it was in Cartro's Cuba , he would re-nationalise BTC and take control of it not paying one single red cent to BTC to take control...and if they ressit he would take over the whole corporationadkick C&W out of Cuba. On top of that he would prevent them from doing any further businesss with his country. If it was Pindling he would Bahamianise BTC, declaring that it would be in the national interest for BTC to be majority owned by Bahamians. He would negotiate a price and then legislate taxes that equal the value BTC would want to buy the shares back. Then call it an even trade to get control of the company. But if it was Perry Gladstone Christie...listen!
PKMShack 11 years, 1 month ago
@ johnLOL but putting it back in our hands will put us back in the 0 G network like it was before. I'm just saying. If it was not sold we would still be there without any changes. Offer me some shares like they did with the port, and the brewery.
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