The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I remember in the past, light bills were issued every three months. As time progressed it changed to every month. But what came to mind immediately was that the bills for one month were far more than what it was for three months.

Bahamians are a people who, by their very nature endure much.

We are a “long suffering people”.

We normally do not protest and people from other lands come here, take advantage of us in many ways, but we believe that we should “Leave it to the Lord”.

We are usually a people who talk much and do little to express our displeasure.

The light bills have been suffocating us for decades. We struggle to pay it, even though we all complain under our breath that it is next to impossible to keep up.

But the greed by the oil supplies increases.

Over the many years, the price of oil per barrel fluctuates, but the price of oil here in the Bahamas not only stays the same, but in many cases increases, while the authorities say not a mumbling word.

Recently the price of oil fell to an all time low for many years, yet the price of gasoline in the Bahamas did not move.

Again the authorities did nothing and said nothing.

Today, with the price still at a reasonably low level, the fuel surcharge on our light bills have steadily increased and the insatiable greed by the oil suppliers is through the roof.

There is absolutely no explanation by BPL as to why they have allowed the surcharge to reach such unbearable and alarming levels, especially if they want to pretend to be acting in the best interest of the people with their “half baked” public relation exercises.

Ray Charles can see that BPL are in full agreement with the strain that is being placed on the backs of the retiree who has to choose between paying the light bill or buying “life saving” medication.

This raping of the Bahamian people by the oil companies through BPL must stop.

It is unconscionable how they have been allowed to systematically drain all of the money from our pensioners and single families with little income. God cannot be happy with this “highway robbery”.

I call on The Right Hon. Dr. Hubert A. Minnis in his quest to bring relief to the Bahamian people and to cause an immediate investigation as to why BPL has been allowed to slowly “bring this country to its knees” with extremely high fuel surcharges.

The country is depending on someone with a heart to buck the status quo and derail the train of “business as usual”.

It doesn’t matter who the company is, someone in it must be humane. Money cannot be the only thing that drives them.

For God’s sake, stop humiliating the people, our people. It is simply nauseating to see the level many of us have come from the burden of high power bills.

The fuel surcharge cannot be allowed to continue as is.

On another note, why is there any long talk about the direction we should go for power.

Sensible, civilised, developing countries and progressive governments are going, or have gone green.

We boast of sun, sea and sand, but what we did not elaborate on is that we have hot blazing sun about twelve hours per day.

There can be no explanation by anyone for not using solar as an alternate source of energy unless we allow the oil suppliers to interfere in the process from a position of greed.

So, Dr. Minnis, I strongly believe that you would put the people above the oil companies and move with haste to make sure that solar be implemented regardless, no matter what and in spite of.

Then and only then, would the Bahamian people believe that it is “The people’s time!”

IVOINE W. INGRAHAM

Nassau,

October 22, 2017