Last week, four groups ﾖ out of eight that paid the initial $10,000 fee ﾖ submitted bids to buy 49 per cent of Bahamas Telecommunications Company. Of those four, three included Bahamian partners.
It is understood that the bids ranged from $100 million to over $240 million. And analysts say that, in today’s economic climate, anything along these lines is a good deal. But there is little doubt that had the government moved swiftly to privatise Batelco years ago, they could have raised hundreds of millions more.
It is not known whether a minimum reserve price was set. And we don’t even know if the government will actually go through with the sale at all, though some say the treasury is so desperate that we are almost forced to sell to the highest bidder.
Sources say the government’s advisers, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, was paid $100,000 a month, in addition to a performance bonus. So who is watching DMG on behalf of the Bahamian people? In fact, shouldn’t this contract be a part of the public record?
And how does the government intend to use the funds they raise from this sale? We have a right to know.
One thing is clear, this is not the end of the privatisation ordeal. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
