The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance Leader Branville McCartney yesterday questioned if the government has “some interest” in Renew Bahamas, charging that there are frequent dump fires because “there are people in high places benefitting from it”.

Mr McCartney also criticised Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett for being “derelict in his duties” and becoming “content to pass the buck on Renew Bahamas” to deal with the remediation of the landfill. He called on Mr Dorsett to reveal what Renew Bahamas’ responsibilities are as it pertains to the dumpsite.

Mr McCartney also criticised Renew Bahamas, the company with responsibility for managing the New Providence landfill, for blaming the dump fires on acts of arson, calling such “excuses” unacceptable.

Mr McCartney’s statements were made during a press conference at the Harrold Road Landfill yesterday morning.

The press conference came almost two weeks after a massive fire broke out at the Harrold Road site, the second fire in a week at that time.

The fires left constituencies surrounding the landfill blanketed in smoke for several days.

“We are told that there may be some interest that this government may have or members of the government may have in Renew Bahamas, another special interest group,” Mr McCartney said yesterday. “And that’s why nothing is being done, or that we’re being allowed to suffer as a people because there are people in high places benefitting from it.

“The question is, is the minister of the environment willing to speak to what in essence is the content or responsibilities of Renew Bahamas? Is the minister of health who is quiet on the issues willing to talk about this matter and how it is affecting our people in this country? Lastly is the prime minister willing to step in to do something about it?”

Mr McCartney also criticised Renew Bahamas for its handling to date of the dump fires, charging that instead of resolving the “historical problems”, the company has only “offered many of the same excuses we have always heard.”

Renew Bahamas was engaged by the government in 2014 to manage the landfill and help address the matter.

“…We have not heard anything or we don’t know whether or not they are responsible for the fires, containing those fires or otherwise,” Mr McCartney said. “The only thing we hear from them is that it’s arson.

“Well it’s been arson since they’ve started, and that’s unacceptable. We are calling on Renew Bahamas to find out what is indeed their contract with the Bahamian people regarding this dump. We don’t know.”

To that end, Mr McCartney proposed that should the DNA become the government, it would seek to remediate the fires by constructing a fully functional waste-to-energy plant that would use the trash and refuse as fuel.

He also said the DNA would seek to put out a request for proposal (RFP) for the construction of a new “state of the art scalable megawatt waste-to-energy facility” starting at 85 megawatts.

The deal, which would be structured in the form of a public private partnership (PPP) with a local initial public offering (IPO), will allow for the government to recapture full ownership of the waste of energy plant by Bahamas Power and Light after a determined period, he said.

“Over time, these very simple steps would see the entire dumpsite and landfill sanitised and can be, in part, turned into a green zone that no longer poses real health risks for Bahamians,” Mr McCartney said. “Doing so would ensure proper management of the site, keeping it clean and producing cheap energy supply and finally eradicating the uncontrolled and toxic fires.”

On Wednesday, the spokesperson for a local environment awareness group told The Tribune she is contemplating leaving the country to avoid “struggling” with “major” health issues brought on as a result of the recurrent fires.