The Odd Protest against the Sale of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC)

Protest against the sale of the BTC is odd
By RICK LOWE



ACCORDING to news reports, 800 to 1,000 people blocked Bay Street last week to protest the sale of BTC to Cable and Wireless/LIME and it all seems odd.

Some people were saying that rights are being violated by selling BTC. But what rights are being violated?

Yes, sometimes Mr. Ingraham can be brash, but does that mean he is uncaring, a dictator, or corrupt, or violating rights as alleged? It's doubtful.

Using emotive language and trying to rile people up as some are doing could violate rights for sure.

What the protesters are missing is BTC is not owned by Bahamians. That's an illusion. A political construct. It is owned by the Bahamas Government.

Over the years successive governments have led us down the garden path by wasting and borrowing beyond the country's ability to sustain, and the sale of BTC might help keep the Bahamian dollar stable and reduce some of the debt that we all have to pay one way or the other.

The Opposition seems shameless on this one, after trying to sell BTC themselves under similar circumstances to a company called Bluewater, now it would seem that some are trying to incite people.

Another turnabout by the Opposition was the Constitutional Referendum of 2002. Both parties agreed in principle in the House of Assembly, then one campaigned against it, confusing the electorate.

The latest reason not to sell is there are complaints about LIME posted on the Internet.

If you research every company in the world online it seems you will find bad comments. We survey some of our clients, and last quarter we had an 84 per cent approval rating (our goal is 85 per cent), but the one client that complained, really complained, bringing the results of all the good comments lower. Is that what is happening with CWC? We also find that often it's people with complaints that fill the survey out. Those that had no issues, do not take the time to respond.

Are there similar complaints about BTC going around on the Internet?

Could the government have been more open? No doubt. Both the FNM or PLP governments over the years could have been more open. Promises of a Freedom of Information Act have been made by each of them. Let's see who passes it into law. That might help with government transparency in the future.

There were apparently no dissenenters before BTC was sold, at least publicly. So why the dissent now? The government corporations should be sold if for nothing more than to get politics and politicians out of it.

All this protesting is odd. When you dig a little deeper unseemly politics appear to be at work?

March 01, 2011

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