BELIZE- AMANDALA NEWSPAPER DISSECTS FAILED SOCIAL SECURITY INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

Amandala newspaper dissects failed Social Security Board Investment committee meeting.


Midweek Amandala newspaper had some good analysis of the makeup and votes of the private sector and government members on the SSB investment committee.

The big fuss, is that the Union people didn´t show up. They said the vote on BTL shares was without sufficient notice for them to go to their different memberships for voting direction. Without a quorum of the Board, the resolution to spend a million dollars of Social Security money, on BTL inflated priced shares didn´t take place. The price viewed by the public to be set to requirements of the political machinations of the UDP party and not in the interests of good business, or governing.

Interestingly enough, Amandala article stated ALL the PRIVATE SECTOR SSB investment committee Board members could vote against any resolution. It would not though change anything, as the Government controlled votes, controlled the passage of resolutions by the SSB Investment committee. Basically the private sector were a SOP to the voters. The whole thing was a charade about any institutionalized independence of the SSB. When the FINANCE MINISTER speaks, the Social Security Board must listen and OBEY. If they disobey it still didn´t change the outcome.

The discussion was about the wisdom of the purchase of a million dollars of BTL shares at $5 a share. The Unions were asking for an ESCROW ACCOUNT to be set up, to hold monies from sale of BTL shares until the lawsuits of legitimacy were finished. In case BTL had to pay back wrongful sale of shares in BTL. A situation created by the BARROW nationalization. That sounded very good. Should that be done, the escrow account would allow BTL share prices to bounce back up again. As right now they are being discounted because of the perceived risk.