Edward Hutcheson
First published in The Tribune, Tuesday, December 14, 2010 and posted here with the kind permission of the author.
The public dialogue for BTC is long overdue, but the fact that it is taking place in a climate of economic uncertainty is not helping this exchange.
The "overdueness" of this particular privatisation exercise has been clouded by the selective disclosures of some of the information that the public should be privy to.
I have my own reservations about BTC and surprisingly enough they have nothing to do with politics, although the blame for most of the missteps have to be placed at the feet of those who attempt to fool the public on a daily basis.
BaTelCo has one enemy, and it is the compression factor that is caused by the passage of time and progress of technology; which has resulted in BTC being between a rock and a hard place.
All of the other noises we hear have to do with the lack of preparation and planning by those who were charged with stewardship of one of the nation's "treasures", which up to now has only been a "treasure chest" for some.
What could have been a very progressive company, a major communications hub off the eastern seaboard never developed to the extent that it should have.
It was not so long ago that BaTelCo was "rolling" in money and its revenue outstripped all the other utility companies. I know that hindsight is 20/20 but what was done by Cable Bahamas should have been carried out by a technology arm of BaTelCo.
You do not have to be a genius to see that the rate at which Cable Bahamas is expanding is closely linked to the progress of technology previously mentioned. CB is a testimony, indictment, picture of what could have been done through BaTelCo.
Where do we go from here? BaTelCo still has a chance to do what it is mandated to do, but it cannot be seen as a cocoon or safe place for the 1200 or so employees employed there – technology will not allow it.
The communications component must be seen for what it is, relentless, unforgiving, resourceful, paradigm-changing and most of all evolving, and this will become more evident when the market opens up and the protections afforded to what has been a complacent sector, removed.
It has not occurred to some that we must be able to do locally what we can do abroad.
The ease and efficiency that Bahamians experience in their business dealings outside of this country must be experienced in the Bahamas – one way or another.
There is no time for "political anything", the fact that the value of BaTelCo has been reduced by almost 50 per cent during the course of this privatisation should be a wake up call for all of us who say we are concerned. Presently there are businesses and persons who do not use BaTelCo for anything – not even local calls and as technology evolves and the "compression factor" increases, BaTelCo will feel the competitive crunch long before the protections it has are removed.
The fact that as long as a computer is on the options on how one communicates and does business, multiplies, and for some of us landlines are already obsolete.
Who was it in the Wizard of Oz that made the remark "we are not in Kansas anymore"? It was a wise remark and Bahamians may have to see that remark in a global context and exercise wisdom, because technology has its own rules in this ever evolving global communications market.
The socio-economic cocoons that we have allowed through political expediency will not survive as technology progresses.
December 12, 2010
Sir, you are absolutely right on all points. Your submissions highlight the fact there must have been deliberate castration of BTC’s potential by the policy makers. This is and was not a party issue either, its a generational one and there is not much I see which says that the incoming generation has any intention of reversing it.
BTC is not alone in facing this type of situation. Look around the world and you can find many examples of telcos that need to make significant investments but now is a bad time to try and do that.
There are many in the private sector who could change for the better the way ALL government corporations and departments operate. They are staffed mostly by political cronies and totally inefficient. They think that their jobs are secure since the “vote” is their meal ticket. It appears that Prime Minister Ingraham is making some decisions similar to what was suggested after the win in ’92 and ’97. If he is successful in 2012 I believe Bahamians will reap the benefits of these tough decisions today. We must all remember that what benefits the MOST people is what is best for the country. What the opposition is doing is totally immature. While they should be looking out for the best for ALL Bahamians they using these situations as a political football. They should come clean on what they were intending to do prior to the 2007 elections.
Most Bahamians can care less about the global text. For example, John Templeton pioneered global investing and was based in the Bahamas. Until a few years ago, 30/40 years after John Templeton started global investing, Fidelity was just allowed to start an international fund.
I don’t doubt that the PLP would take whatever benefit they can from this situation but I doubt that they have any real strategic role in this. After all they were about to sell BTC as well when in fact the whole idea of selling never made much more sense that it does today and was originally an Ingraham initiative which he was unable to complete. So if the union’s idea is that it should not be sold at all they should be against the PLP just as much as they are the FNM.
Thanks Ken.
Can you outline the reasons BTC should not be sold?
I’m curious.