NTUCB calls for the removal of BTL Chairman Mark Lizarraga and other board members

The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) is calling for the immediate removal of BTL Chairman Mark Lizarraga, along with several members of the company’s Board of Directors.  The demand was made this morning during a press conference at the BNTU conference room. The presser was held instead of the demonstration that had initially been planned for today over BTL’s proposed acquisition of Speednet Communications.  NTUCB President Ella Waight says the controversy exposed serious concerns about the leadership and decision-making structure at the government-controlled telecommunications company.  With that said, Waight says Lizarraga and the directors who supported the proposed acquisition should be removed from the board immediately.

Ella Waight, President, NTUCB: “We call for the immediate removal of Chairman Mark Lizarraga. Our position is based on a loss of confidence. We believe the chairman has not been sufficiently honest, transparent, and forthcoming with BTL workers and the Belizean public and therefore has lost confidence of many employees at BTL, workers and Belizeans. When BTL lost business to Smart he took a nonchalant attitude. He advocated to pay $90 million for cable companies and industry that has long since been dying. And his insistence that he wanted to go through with the purchase of Smart and Speeded. Other board members from BTL whose role in accountability should be reviewed and eventually we will ask for the removal, Moises Cal, Arturo Lizarraga and Mr. Eric Eucey who represents the small shareholders and Sister Caliz will touch on that later on when it comes to the small shareholders how that process will work through. And the timeline for that is immediate.”

The NTUCB is also demanding that any newly constituted BTL board follow a tripartite structure, allowing government, labour and the business community to participate in the company’s oversight.  Waight says this would broaden representation and reduce the possibility of major decisions being made without sufficient consultation.

Ella Waight, President, NTUCB: “The people’s telecommunications company must include the people in BTL. We therefore call for what has been established at many other organizations and boards, the tri-paratite structure at BTL. The timeline is 90 days. It can be done. It’s been done at Social Security Board, the University of Belize Board, many other boards in this country that allows for accountability transparency. And once we have BCCI, the employers representative and the workers representative NTUCB we know that we can then gain back that trust in these organizations. 90 days timeline.”

Waight says the demands were drafted following a meeting yesterday involving the unions and social partners from the churches and the Belize Network of NGOs. She said the groups agreed that changes are needed to strengthen accountability and transparency within BTL.