Since Hurricane Richard hit - we've been showing you the storm's impact - predominantly in Belize City.
Today Monica Bodden left the Yabra area that she's been embedded in and visited a pair of communities in the Belize district that were all storm damaged. We'll have that story coming up shortly.
But first, to other news….
Today the Social Security Board was supposed to take a momentous vote on whether the board will invest workers money in BTL. The investment committee had already recommended an investment of 50 million dollars, which would give Social Security a 20% shareholding in the phone company.
At the time, the unions and the chamber of commerce voted against it. Since then, there's been meetings between the Prime Minister and those partners trying to bring them around to a 'yes' vote for when the matter goes before the Social Security Board of Directors for final approval.
That meeting and that final vote was scheduled to take place when the board met today. But, it didn't happen. There was no meeting and no vote. And that's because the two representatives of the national trade union congress did not attend. The law states that both the unions and the business sector representatives must be there for a meeting to proceed.
The business reps were there, but the unions sent a notice of absence for their two representatives at the last minute. And while absences do happen, Chairman of the board Lois Young told us this one was a deliberate, calculated act to sabotage this important vote:….
Lois Young, Chairman of the board
"I read it total as creole say bad mind. Me personally I think it's an attempt to undermine the board, undermine what we are doing and its strange you know Jules, here you have the union talking about democracy and by boycotting the meeting they have effectively stop the other board members from voting the way they want to vote. At least the chamber representative turn up to vote however he thought he should vote. The Belize Business Bureau representative turn up to vote however she thought she should vote and democracy should prevail."
Jules Vasquez
"You use the term bad minded. So are you saying they are trying to specify that in an english sense, are you saying they deliberately absented themselves with the purpose of scuttling or sabotaging..."
Lois Young, Chairman of the board
"Of course that's exactly what I am saying, of course."
Jules Vasquez
"I mean it's a serious allegation of breach of responsibility that you are imputing upon them."
Lois Young, Chairman of the board
"I think its a breach of their fiduciary duty to the fund by not showing up and by sending a letter at 12:30 when the meeting was not sprung upon them at the last minute, this is a meeting that they knew about from the time it was set which was two meeting ago, they knew that this meeting was coming up and I said we even got a cake for Mr. Reneau's birthday. The chocolate cake is right there, so it's not as though it's some surprise. So now tell me, so now we get a letter at 12:30, I think any rational would say they was an attempt - that letter show an attempt to scuttle the meeting to undermine the process. I am sorry but that's how I see it."
Jules Vasquez
"If that is the state of play, how then do you proceed if one of your integral essential partners without whom you cannot proceed with this vote?"
Lois Young, Chairman of the board
"Let me answer that but let me say something first. Why I think it's so egregious move on part of the union is because they know that there is 24.96 million dollars at the central bank that was getting 7% interest and the interest has been reduce to 2.7%."
Jules Vasquez
"Social Security money."
Lois Young, Chairman of the board
"Social Security money that Mr. Reneau who represents the union - sorry to keep calling his name and Ms. Elena is on it. Having saying should be earning more. We got two letters from central bank long before this thing with shares blow up, telling us we are reducing the amount to 2.7%; take it or leave it. They prefer to leave it there at 2.7% than to move it and invest it in BTL where they will fetch 15% in real terms. I don't understand it Jules but to answer your question about what do we do going forward? We'll see I will call another board meeting, listen I will give the benefit of the doubt. I haven't really publicly but let's just say I'll call another board meeting and we'll see, we'll call another one and they will get a notice and we'll see what happens, it's not the end of the world. I know they think sits the end of the world and they are doing somehow doing somebody some great damage."
Jules Vasquez
"But there is a practical impossibility you now face if indeed your interpretation is right that they are intentionally scuttling this process. If indeed that is the case, how then do you proceed if an essential partner refuses to cooperate. It takes more than one hand to clap."
Lois Young, Chairman of the board
"Yeah and it takes one hand to fix it and it will be fix."
Union Representative Dylan Reneau declined comment when we called him this afternoon.
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