Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works and Utilities John Carey attacked the management of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) today saying that the technical experts and management should resign if they cannot live up to the demands of the Bahamian public.
“If they cannot give us a solution plan for the efficient running of BEC they ought to do the honourable thing and resign forthwith,” Mr. Carey said.
He said that there are no excuses that are acceptable to the Bahamian people for the constant power outages that they are subjected to.
“As a servant of the Bahamian people I do not tolerate and I won’t accept it,” he added.
In an interview with the Bahama Journal, Mr. Carey quoted the late Sir Lynden Pindling, saying, “If you can’t fish you should cut bait. If you can’t cut bait, then you should get out of the boat.”
Residents throughout New Providence experienced an islandwide blackout around 6am today.
BEC Chairman Alfred Jarrett spoke to the Bahama Journal shortly after the blackout occurred. He said that he was contacted by BEC officials at Clifton Pier and was told that the power outage was due to the failure of several electrical plants at that station. Mr. Jarrett also said that an official statement would be released later in the day.
ļ¾ Reports also surfaced that part of the electrical problems was due to an automobile crashing into a utility pole near the Blue Hills power station.
Mr. Carey said, however, that in spite of Works Minister Bradley Roberts’ instructions and chastisement of BEC officials, the electricity supply problems continue to prove burdensome for the Bahamian people.
He said that Bahamians criticise and complain about politicians’ lack of will to make things happen but he shifted the burden saying that in many cases delays are caused by technocrats.
“When your technical people who are charged with the responsibility of making recommendations to the political leadership so that the correct decisions can happen so as to avoid things like power outages. Then it is clear that there is a failure in the management,” he said.
The island has been experiencing constant power cuts for the past ten years, he pointed out.
BEC General Manager Bradley Roberts could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Roberts did make a statement prior to the summer that; the Electricity Corporation had more than enough capacity to meet the requirements of the Bahamian consumer.
Mr. Carey suggested that The Bahamas take a page out of China ‘s book. During a recent visit there, he said that he met with the National Utilities Chairman who revealed that they have not had power outages there in 15 years because of efficient practices that have been put in place.
Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
