The Tribune

THE current Christie administration rose to power on a theme of Bahamians first but when it comes to appointing people and awarding contracts, the track record has been anything but Bahamians first.

The reality is that foreigners have been hired for nearly everything, from creating a Stronger Bahamas to providing legal counsel for the government itself.

Now the Prime Minister has a real problem on his hands and we believe the time has come to let Bahamians prove they can solve it.

The problem is that the dump is on fire, not for the first time. The dump on Harrold Road has been burning off and on for decades, but Sunday’s blaze fuelled by high winds was among the worst. On the ground, residents of Jubilee Gardens and Flamingo Gardens were scurrying and fleeing in panic, searching for safer ground just to be able to breathe, some tragically leaving pets behind. Volunteers tried to reach the elderly who could not escape the billowing, choking smoke on their own. Rescues bordered on heroic. The scene was one of terror.

People who left with nothing but the clothes on their back wondered what they would come home to at the end of the day or however many days it would take until they could return. Many left with little but the hope that their homes would not be scarred beyond repair by smoke damage. If they lost everything because a dump had been mismanaged for decades, where would they live? What would they do? They left in a hurry filled with fear and trepidation.

That was the scene on the ground.

In the air, incoming flights with hundreds of passengers aboard were not simply shocked at seeing what looked like an island on fire. They could have been in danger. Landings were compromised and difficult with large commercial jets having to crab just before landing to put down safely because of the gusting, high winds. Pilots could be heard radioing air traffic control pleading with them to open Runway 9 that had been closed for more than a week (maybe longer) for repairs. Pilots who could barely see through the thick, billowing, black smoke were being forced to land on a runway that would have been difficult even with full visibility because of the wind direction.

Nearly crosswind landings with winds coming straight at the side of an aircraft are dangerous at best. Crosswind or broadside landings under extremely poor visibility are far riskier than any pilot wants to experience. One small plane skidded off the runway, causing the airport to close for about an hour at midday on a busy Sunday. Another plane bounced back up before landing safely. Commercial airline pilots pleaded but to no avail.

We do not have enough information to address the problems with Runway 9. But we do know there are solutions for the dump.

A local group who have spent their lives dealing with trash and waste management have come together to form a consortium to manage the dump and convert it into a proper landfill. They represent companies with a total of hundreds of staff members committed to the Bahamas. Many of those staff members live in the very areas impacted by underground fires that explode in recurrent blazes and choking smoke at the dump.

The companies who are forming the consortium have the wisdom to do what needs to be done and they should be given the opportunity. This is the business they have been in and are in today. They use the dump daily. Their livelihoods depend upon its smooth operation. Further, they have the willingness to do it and they are not going anywhere else if things don’t work out. Unlike the last two foreign companies brought in, they will not sell out to another company weeks after a contract is awarded and then desert the dump and vanish because it is too tough a job or does not generate the kind of revenue they were hoping.

Bahamian companies will be in it for the long haul. One of the companies is publicly held and Bahamian shareholders could participate depending upon the business plan.

The Prime Minister knows he has to get the dump problem solved before Baha Mar opens. Photos like those that appeared in both daily newspapers yesterday could drive away business as fast as threats of terrorism. Business that goes away is a lot harder to win back than new business is to lure. We believe the solution is right in front of his eyes if only he will open them to see that Bahamian companies can achieve and perform with expertise.

We urge the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment to prove Bahamians first and let the Bahamian consortium take over the dump effective immediately, allowing for that consortium to bring in any other foreign expertise, should they deem it necessary, to assist with a remediation programme. There is precedent for this. In Grand Bahama, the landfill is so clean it is said you can eat lunch at the site and, though foreign-owned, the Grand Bahama landfill is fully managed and operated by Bahamians. If they can do it in the Second City, why not the First? Surely the Prime Minister cares about the health of those on the ground, the safety of those in the air.

Awarding a contract for the management of the Nassau dump to the local consortium is clearly the least expensive solution at hand, the most practical, the most promising and incidentally, allows the government to keep its promise. Bahamians first.