By: Omar Silva I Editor/Publisher

National Perspective Belize Digital 2025

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City: Wednesday 26th June 2025

In what is fast becoming a spectacle of elite warfare, Speednet Communications Ltd.—parent company of SMART and closely aligned with some of the highest-ranking figures in the Briceño Administration—has filed a lawsuit against the Government of Belize over its controversial ConnectEd internet contract, which was handed—without tender—to the state-owned Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL).

But this is no ordinary procurement dispute. It’s a power struggle between political and economic elites, masked behind a national development project. And caught in the middle, once again, are the Belizean people—excluded, exploited, and left with no voice.

According to legal filings, Speednet accuses the government of unlawfully bypassing a fair bidding process. Yet, what remains unsaid in court documents is common knowledge in political circles: key shareholders of Speednet sit within or around the Cabinet table.

On the other side is BTL, controlled by the Government of Belize—a company that continues to benefit from closed-door contracts and taxpayer bailouts, all while failing to bring down internet costs or deliver universal service.

“This isn’t a fight for justice or fair play—it’s a turf war over millions in public money,” said one veteran economist. “And Belizeans are just spectators to their own exploitation.”

The ConnectEd Program, promoted as a digital leap for Belize’s schools and public spaces, has now become a battleground for private wealth disguised as public interest. The absence of a competitive tender, the silence of regulatory agencies, and the secretive handling of the contract are just the latest reminders that state capture in Belize is not theory—it’s standard practice.

No Tender. No Transparency. No Shame.

Legal observers warn this case could either expose the rot within Belize’s procurement framework or become another example of institutional paralysis and elite protectionism.

Meanwhile, neither the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Utilities, nor the Office of the Prime Minister has issued a public statement defending the decision or acknowledging the concerns raised.

And as two power centers—both linked to the ruling party—duke it out in the Supreme Court, Belizeans are left asking the real question:

Where are the people in this mess?