Cabinet to decide Speednet deal Tuesday, but Chebat says information still missing

By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): The BTL-Speednet acquisition is heading into its decisive week. Cabinet spent this week taking input from advocates of the deal, opponents and the regulator, and is set to take a final decision next Tuesday. Yet coming out of Cabinet, Minister of Public Utilities Michel Chebat acknowledged the file is not complete.

“I think they made a very comprehensive presentation but we are still waiting on some additional information before a final decision is made,” Chebat told reporters. Asked whether he was satisfied with what Cabinet heard, he noted there were three separate presentations, “all of them were good,” before repeating that additional information remains outstanding.

Pressed on whether he stands by his February position that the acquisition would not create a monopoly, Chebat offered a technical defense. “I said that in reference to the data,” he explained, adding that the current system provides for MVNOs, mobile virtual network operators, “and so that would also deal with the monopoly in terms of telecommunications.” The argument is that even with Belize’s only two network owners merged, other companies could still sell mobile service by leasing capacity on the combined network.

Asked directly whether he is prepared to decide, the minister hedged on the timeline his own Cabinet has set. “Hopefully by the time Tuesday comes around we will have enough information on which a decision could be made,” he said. And asked what exactly is lacking, Chebat declined: “No, not at this time.”

The exchange leaves the country watching a peculiar countdown. The social partners spent weeks demanding financial statements and valuation reports they say remain pending, the independent senators questioned the deal’s legality, and now the minister responsible confirms Cabinet itself is awaiting information days before its self-imposed deadline. What arrives between now and Tuesday may decide more than the vote.

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