BTC unions lose court battle to block the sale of 51 % stake in Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC)... [Ordered to pay costs]

BTC unions lose court battle
By KEVA LIGHTBOURNE
Guardian Senior Reporter
kdl@nasguard.com



Supreme Court Justice Neville Adderley yesterday threw out a court action filed by Bahamas Telecommunications Company unions seeking to block the sale of a 51 percent stake in BTC to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC).

The Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) and the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union (BCPMU) were seeking an injunction to stop the government from selling BTC.

Attorney Maurice Glinton, who represented the unions, confirmed to The Nassau Guardian that they plan to appeal the decision. He could not say at the time when the necessary documents would be filed.

In his ruling, Adderley said the BCPOU and BCPMU and their trustees lacked the legal capacity to institute and maintain the action in their own names.

“Hence the action is a nullity and so the granting of an injunction pending its hearing does not arise,” Adderley said.

“Alternatively, the evidence has not disclosed that any of their private legal rights are being infringed or threatened or need to be enforced or declared, as they have not established an interest recognized by law as being direct and substantial enough in the subject matter of the action to give them locus standi to commence the action to claim the remedies set forth in the writ.

“For the foregoing reasons, I strike out the writ and dismiss the action.”

Adderley also ordered that the unions pay costs in the matter.

In their writ, the unions contended that the government has no authority to sell BTC because an act of Parliament made the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BaTelCo) a self-owning and self-sustaining entity.

Their claim is that consequently the divested assets are now held by BTC in trust for BaTelCo.

Adderley said there is no express power in the Industrial Relations Act that gives unions the capacity or power to sue for declarations outside their statutory objects.

Adderley said even if they had the capacity to sue for the matters in question, he considered whether they had a legal interest to sue for the relief claimed.

Last week, the government signed a shareholder’s agreement and a share purchase agreement with CWC, and Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham tabled the memorandum of understanding between the two entities in the House of Assembly along with related documents.

Yesterday, BCPOU President Bernard Evans said the ruling has in no way halted the union’s efforts to stop the sale of BTC.

“We never really rested all of our efforts on this court case, even though we knew we had good grounds and it is a landmark case. But we never wanted to leave any stone unturned. We will continue to do our stuff because this is not over by a long shot,” Evans said.

“We are going to fight this on all fronts. Whatever it takes, we are going to take our time and get to it.”

Evans shot down claims by the Free National Movement that the majority of Bahamians support the sale of BTC to Cable and Wireless.

“I saw in the paper where the FNM government believe that they have the majority of the people, they keep putting us in the minority. Well the day of reckoning is coming when we will know who has the majority,” Evans said.

The deal between the government and CWC calls for the shares to be sold for $210 million, as well as a stamp duty of $7 million. Eventually, 25 percent of the shares in the company will be offered to Bahamians, the government has said.

2/15/2011

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International

Allow Bahamians To Buy 100% of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) and Let Competition Reign!

By Dennis Dames


About eleven years ago, my wife, along with hundreds of BaTelCo employees, accepted the company’s severance package; the deal was, according to my understanding, to prepare the entity for privatization.

That was sometime in 1999. This is now 2011, and the people’s government of the day has selected a candidate to purchase a 51% stake in the ailing BTC.  The masses should be delighted about the good news; but ruckus has clouded the issue at hand and the nation has become bitterly divided over this simple matter.

Okay, let Bahamians buy the entire BTC (100%) and liberalize the market forthwith.  Let competition reign!

No one in this 21st century Bahamas should have a problem with that.  After selling BTC to Bahamians and giving other Bahamians a chance to compete with it, I wonder what the noise in the market would be then.

Let’s go that route, and give the consumers an immediate choice as to which telecommunication company that they would prefer doing business with; just like the local radio stations that we choose to patronize.

We have had a fax-line problem at our office lately, and it took five different technicians from BTC, on five separate visits to remedy the problem.  What a national disgrace!

This is what the unions are fighting to keep; pure incompetence alive at the public’s expense.

It’s time for The Bahamas government to divorce itself of this ineptitude 100% as far as BTC is concerned.  So, sell it to Bahamians with money to burn and liberalize the market simultaneously for other Bahamians to capitalize on BTC’s uselessness.

I can’t wait to see the unions demonstrate against Bahamians and competition.  Then we shall see their real motives clearly; and that is to protect their lot of backward comrades.

The Free National Movement - FNM Wants Bahamas Telecommunications Company - Batelco Sold

FNM Wants Batelco Sold

Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

23/04/2004

 

 

 

Saying that it is concerned about the state of affairs at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company, the Free National Movement lashed out at the government Thursday for failing to privatize BTC by now.

 

Meanwhile, State Minister for Finance James Smith told the Bahama Journal that several companies have expressed an interest in acquiring the 49 percent shares of the company, even though no bids are being accepted at this time.

 

The FNM said in a statement that under an FNM government, the company would have been "sensibly privatized" already.

 

"The privatization exercise, under the indecisive and stubborn PLP, has not only slowed to a crawl, but continues to cause the stakeholders - the Bahamian people - headaches and frustration," the FNM said.

 

The initial attempt to privatize BTC started more than five years ago under the FNM government, but ended abruptly several months ago, when the final bidder in the race, Blue Telecommunications, was rejected.

 

The Government of The Bahamas reportedly spent around $160 million preparing the company for privatization.

 

"By this time, had the PLP government continued the privatization process they found in place, the matter would have been resolved and Bahamians and businesses would today have access to a modern system."

 

Speaking to the Bahama Journal earlier in the week, Minister Smith said privatization is "not off the table."

 

"The rules for privatization which led to the short listing of the bidders and then the rejection of all bids, I think that part of the chapter must be officially closed," he said.

 

"We now have to look at a new model which could be talking to any companies that are still interested.  Several companies are saying that they are interested in purchasing BTC or becoming a partner in that process, but I think to be able to do so legally and effectively, we have to bring a formal end to the initial privatization process and I think we will be doing that and then we will continue to look around."

 

Blue is one of the companies pushing the government to sell, indicating that it is prepared to offer $350 million for minority ownership in the telephone company.

 

Asked if the government is taking this particular offer seriously, Minister Smith said, "We take all offers seriously and all serious offers seriously.

 

"The point is Blue was a part of the initial process and we have to bring that process to an end and then we are free to talk with Blue and any other company."

 

In the interim, he said, there is a need to continue to upgrade BTC in terms of its management structure and governance.

 

"There are a number of things that I think will be happening shortly with BTC," Minister Smith projected.

 

But the FNM insists that BTC is in a mess.

 

"Not only are BTC subscribers tired of poor basic services while the company claims it has enhanced modern technology, but local Bahamian business persons are increasingly angry over the fact that nobody in BTC - by extension in the government - seems to care about their welfare," the FNM statement said.

 

"These are Bahamians who, once BTC launched the quick cell programme in late 2001 and opened doors of business opportunity for the sale of cell phones, accessories, phone cards, etc, made arrangements to capitalize on those opportunities," it continued.

 

The FNM blasted BTC for setting up Cyber World shops in Nassau and Freeport "in direct competition with small Bahamian business persons, pushing mercilessly into the retail market, and effectively squeezing these people out."

 

The party also pointed to BTC's extensive advertising of the stores.

 

"That cannot be right," the statement said. "That cannot be fair. That cannot be just.  That cannot be what the PLP on the campaign trail in 2002 promised would be help and hope for Bahamians."

 

The FNM said that the bottom line is that while BTC, steered by the PLP government, is going up and down the country promoting the introduction of GSM telephone service in The Bahamas, the fact is that the service is still currently unavailable for popular use."