Prime Minister Dean Barrow headed to Guatemala City this morning. It was left for the acting Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega to head the team to oversee the transition assuming control of the Belize Electricity Limited. Vega, Board Chairman, Rodwell Williams and the new C.E.O., Jeffery Locke, who has worked in the citrus industry and is a member of the Banks and Financial Institutions Appeals Board, pulled up to B.E.L.'s office this morning. The Board includes new faces but the first order of business was to deal with personnel and administrative matters. News Five's Jose Sanchez reports.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
The nationalization of B.E.L. took place on Monday in the capital. After eleven thirty this morning, the Deputy Prime Minister drove onto the compound to initiate the takeover of B.E.L.
Jose Sanchez
"Can you tell us exactly what the government will be doing this morning?"
Gaspar Vega, Deputy Prime Minister
"It will be the official takeover and we gonna have our first board meeting."
Jose Sanchez
"Do you have any idea who all will be placed on the board?"
Gaspar Vega
"Not yet."
Vega is the acting Prime Minister since Dean Barrow announced on Monday that while in Guatemala for a security meeting, he would be speaking to Mexico's President about B.E.L.'s relationship with CFE.
Dean Barrow
"There is a regional security summit and President Calderon of Mexico is going to be there. I have already confirmed a bilateral meeting between the two of us and of course the reason for my requesting that bilateral meeting is to talk about CFE and what Mexico and the president can do now to assist us given the public takeover of B.E.L."
Dean Barrow
Jose Sanchez
"What happened when you went in just a short while ago?"
Gaspar Vega
"Basically I just went there to assure them the government is in full support of such a big challenge that they are undertaking."
Jose Sanchez
"I know one of the main things you're looking into would be the books over the past few days? Is that something that anyone would be looking at right now?"
Gaspar Vega
Gaspar Vega
"I'm certain that that is priority; the signatories for the bank-that is something that they will be looking in to for sure. I am certain that the people that have been appointed to the board have the capacity to jump in there like is aid earlier. I don't think it is going to be easy, I think they are quite aware of that and they can take that challenge, I'm certain."
Jose Sanchez
"Who would be the new board members?"
Gaspar Vega
"I'm not certain of all the board members. I know the C.E.O. will be Mr. Jeffrey Locke, the chairman, Mr. Rodwell Williams. There's other board members that I know but I wouldn't want to make mention of some and not all of them."
Adele Ramos, Amandala
"Could you outline what changes take effect as of today since the government is not in control of B.E.L.?"
Gaspar Vega
"Basically the board. Rodwell Williams was the chairman before and he will remain as the chairman. I think there were some board members that were already there that will be kept on the board. So it's only going to be an addition. I think, let me see, Mr. Luis Liu, the C.F.O., Mr. Anwar Flores, a board member, Dr. Carla Barnett."
During the House presentation of outstanding debts to CFE, international banks and BECOL, concern was raised about the Belize Sugar Industries BELCOGEN plant which is also owed millions by B.E.L.
Dean Barrow
"BELCOGEN’s sole reason for being is to convert bagasse into energy for sale exclusively to B.E.L. Without B.E.L. as a buyer in good standing, BELCOGEN would ultimately also collapse. And because of the cross-default clauses, if the BELCOGEN loans are called the BSI loans are also called. It was therefore critical, in my view, that BELCOGEN should be able to assure its creditors that it will be able to collect for its electricity sales to B.E.L. Otherwise, exit now the entire sugar industry and forget everything Government had already done last year by way of rescue. The six thousand cane farmers and their families would never forgive us; the nation would never forgive us."
Gaspar Vega
"Definitely BELCOGEN has to be on the top list because as you know BELCOGEN is tied up to BSI which is an industry that is very sensitive at the moment. We had, late last year, to come up with come ten million dollars to assist that industry and we wouldn't want them to fall into any added problems because of nonpayment from B.E.L. for sure."
Job security is still on the minds of the current employees. However, the only sign of a government takeover was the removal of the Fortis and B.E.L. flags, only the Belize flag remained on one flag pole. All indications are that B.E.L. will remain a local business entity.
Gaspar Vega
"I don't think that they need to worry about that. The government is quite certain that the people that are working for this country have the best interest of the company; they have been here for some time. We definitely don't expect to have any changes unless they themselves want that."
Dean Barrow
"We would certainly want to talk to S.S.B. about S.S.B.'s making a further investment in B.E.L. We would have no difficulty at all with selling shares other than to S.S.B. to the Belizean private sector. Clearly you're not going to succeed in doing that right at the start because everybody knows the state the company is in, but for down the road; absolutely. What we don't want is for it to go back into the hands of foreigners. We've see where that road has led us. We do not need to retrace our steps in that regard at all."
Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
Late this evening B.E.L. issued its first release since the takeover and gave a full rundown of board members, which also includes Dennis Jones, John Mencias, Anthony Michael and Dylan Reneau. As to the former C.E.O., Lynn Young, when we spoke to him today he confirmed that he has transferred to BECOL, which is one of the suppliers of electricity to B.E.L.
Channel 5
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