The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company is doing all it can to ensure it has a positive working relationship with the government, CEO Geoff Houston said yesterday.

Speaking with The Tribune following a press conference to announce the company's lower rates per minute for post paid customers, Mr Houston said their main objective is to ensure the company can work well with whichever government is in office while providing the best services it can to customers.

He said: “We are here primarily to do the best we can for our Bahamian customers and hopefully by focusing on developing that good customer experience we will facilitate good returns for all the shareholders of BTC.

Mr Houston was responding to questions about the company’s relationship with the newly-elected PLP government, which participated in several protests against the sale of the formerly publicly-owned company.

Before leaving office, former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham revealed to parliamentarians that BTC had been privatised at a cost of nearly $28 million. He further stated that the bidding process for the company was abandoned after two of the four short-listed bidders pulled out and the offers from the other two were found to be unattractive.

The privatisation has been hotly discussed and contested ever since it was finalised.

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Perry Christie reiterated to parliamentarians his administrations commitment to "exploring all lawful means" to recover majority ownership of BTC from Cable and Wireless for the Bahamian people. The declaration was one of the PLP's major political promises leading up to the May 7 general election.

Mr Christie said: "We will very shortly arrange a timetable for discussions that we propose to undertake in this regard with the present owners of the majority stake in BTC and other interested owners."

He further explained the government's position on the matter: "The reason why I indicated that we would announce a timetable for discussions is because, quite frankly, I can't cause a discussion to take place before I sit with those persons who represent the owners of the majority shares."

Since making the announcement of its impending plans, a London based financial analysts told The Tribune that it would not be in the best interest of the Bahamas for the newly elected PLP government to move forward with the renegotiations.

The previous Ingraham administration had planned to make available to the Bahamian people a $37 million IPO (initial public offering) of a 9 per cent stake in BTC.

Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said the shares would have been sold to the public at the same price sold to Cable and Wireless, he encouraged Bahamians to take advantage of the shares as he said they were a good investment.

The present government has not yet said if the offer will still stand.