The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

The Bahamas Christian Council wishes to express its support and encouragement to the government of the Bahamas as they undertake and continue the process of settling and making a final decision regarding the very important task of privatising the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC).

The Council has observed the comings and goings and public statements by key players and decision makers such as Ministers, KPMG Advisors, the Chairman of BEC, BEC management, and the general public via print media, radio talk shows, and newscasts. The BCC wish to state that our primary objective is to seek support that caters to the betterment of our members and the Bahamian people at large.

The Council is of the opinion that lower electricity cost is a tangible and real means to create a positive economic impact for every single Bahamian citizen and business establishment in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. If executed in a manner that puts the people first, the BEC reform process has the capability to create thousands of sustainable Bahamian jobs and provide the catalyst for tourism growth in a manner that attracts favourable foreign direct investments.

Unreasonably high electricity costs are like an albatross around the necks of the Bahamas and its Caribbean neighbours. Hence, the Council sees electricity reform as a task that the Government of the Bahamas should not delay or avoid.

Moreover, we are convinced that based on our research, consultation with experts and general commonsense that there is available to the government a sound, reliable and affordable set of technical and financeable solutions which currently sits atop the government’s “decision table”.

The Council urges the Prime Minister and his government to “Act”. The cost of delaying and/or sidelining this very important and needed decision that is capable to create a shift in our economic status and create business opportunities for “new Bahamian investors” is a price too high to pay.

The proposed electricity reform and complete overhaul of BEC, as articulated by the Prime Minister, depict a bold step, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a “gift horse” that has come to the doorsteps of the current government through the vision of the Prime Minister and we support the spirit of that vision.

Nevertheless, any contemplation and strategic mid-stream abandonment of this ongoing process can be viewed as an unfriendly vehicle and means to satisfy influential special interests in a manner that promotes the status quo of high fuel guzzling equipment, unreliable power generation, outdated and unprotected transmission and distribution systems, and an appeasement of the current practices that line the pockets of a chosen few – including, but not limited, to fuel suppliers, equipment providers and financial institutions as previously articulated by current BEC Union president Paul Maynard.

It is our humble opinion that the bungling of this decision can set Bahamians backwards to a point of stunted economic growth and financial hardship in years to come.

We believe that the Prime Minister and his government has a duty to act. It is disheartening to see elderly widows, the downtrodden and the poor, such as single mothers and up and coming young newlyweds, daily burdened by astronomical electricity cost to a point of choosing between sleeping in the darkness versus buying food to eat. Electricity is like a second mortgage.

The citizens of the Bahamas can take no more economic pain. We now live in a society where young families paying rent cannot set something aside to save for the purchase of a lot to build a home. Disposable income has literally dropped to nil. Affordable family recreation has become a thing of the past and the list of financially struggling Bahamians continues to grow without abatement.

We still have a chance for servant leadership to take its place within the governance of the Bahamian people. Government is an instrument erected by God. I did not say that the governments are elected by God. Governments are elected by the people. God established the institution of government for the welfare of civil society. A former President of the United States reminded us that “Government is elected of the people, by the people and for the people”.

This government has specifically campaigned on “Putting Bahamians First”. Putting Bahamians first can only be reflected in an economic and social programme that positively affects and improves the lives of Bahamians from Abaco to Inagua. Moreover, Urban Renewal 2.0 a wonderful social programme.

The BEC reform programme has the potential to positively impact the lives of every single Bahamian and investor coming to the Bahamas. It is the single most important decision to date within the shores of the Bahamas. The Council is of the opinion that the BEC decision following the referendum on the “Number house” is the second most important decision that our Prime Minister and our Deputy Prime Minister will have to make during this five-year governing tenure.

This electricity reform decision has the ability to impact and bring about:

Lower electricity costs; create thousands of new jobs annually; create a more affordable tourism product; create investment opportunities for Bahamians; create equity ownership of key assets by private Bahamian citizens and clean up our environment and protect marine life.

The Council is advised that BEC has been supplied by Bunker-C fuel for the last 30 years by local interests. However, our research tells us that Bunker-C is the worst of the worst fuel to use in modern power generation. This Bunker-C is a dirty fuel type that does not bode well for the land and marine environment at Clifton Pier and around the Bahamas where it has been used. Based on our research and the previous destruction at Clifton Pier by Bunker-C we cannot continue to support this type of fuel as a fuel source and we urge the government to enact policy which prohibits the use of it as a fuel type by government agencies around the Bahamas.

We are advised that Bunker-C sludge and direct spillage of fuel types has literally destroyed the grounds and marine life at Clifton Pier to the tune of needing tens of millions of dollars to clean up the area to an acceptable standards. Additionally, the emissions from smoke stacks at Clifton Pier has caused tremendous damage to the air quality, buildings, and vegetation in southwestern New Providence.

Scientific research suggests that Bunker-C is known to be one of the leading causes of ozone erosion that exposes people of our world to many health issues and dangerous diseases.

NASA Research predicts future greater danger for island nations such as the Bahamas due to the proliferation of using Bunker-C type fuels in developing nations and major countries in Third World Asia. Based on these findings, it is our hope that the government will agreed to abandon the use of Bunker-C and makes a firm commitment to change fuel types to more friendly fuels such as natural gas and biofuels. The Council is in full support with the government to alternative energy programmes such as power generation by wind, solar and waste-to-energy, etc.

We understand that there are existing proposals that are capable of producing savings to BEC customers that are excess of 45 per cent when compared to what BEC customers are paying today. Moreover, we feel that the reform programme must transition to an affordable, reliable and modern-type generation system that is infused with the best and most available technologies available for power generation and transmission/distribution electrical systems.

The Council pledges its support to transparent, carefully planned and justifiable conclusions that the government may choose to conclude the BEC reform process. The Council believes in changes that put Bahamians first. The BEC process allows for making a better Bahamas. Our members are depending on the government to make the most prudent and technologically sound decision and we stand in unison and ready to champion this vision of our Prime Minister.

In the past, our Christian culture married the concept of an abstract conscientiousness which led to a misunderstanding of its purposes as the salt of the Earth, and light of the world, and indeed its mission to collectively work together. The Bahamas is now at the crossroads and we must now make fundamental changes that can improve the lives of ordinary citizens.

Collectively, we have a duty to work together man’s redemptive process. We now live in an emerging Bahamas that must adapt to new technologies, new management systems and new socio-economic endeavours that spread wealth and knowledge across the board to all Bahamians and all walks of life.

The government should not commit itself to ineffective indecision that harms the welfare and prosperity of its citizens. The access to equal participation for Bahamians must never be blocked or sidestepped for the proliferation of favours to unscrupulous foreign or local businessmen and their lawyers.

Our country must never sign off on business transactions that create job favours for foreign workers while at the same time deny reasonable work opportunities for Bahamian citizens. The BEC reform gives the government an opportunity to put Bahamians first.

The Council is in total disagreement and opposes any reform process that seeks to create jobs for foreign workers to do work that Bahamians are capable of doing.

God has established the Christian church as a statutory instrument, the principal that forms the delegated or secondary power by which God chose to direct his moral and social affairs in the earth. Through the Church, God delegated his governance respectively, and it is observed in morality, ethics, honesty and justice.

THE PRESIDENT

Bahamas Christian Council,

July 16, 2014.