The Tribune

By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Editor

jsimmons@tribunmedia.net

A former FNM MP for North Andros yesterday denied that Wednesday's protest over Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) woes was political, asserting: "I live here too."

Carlton Bowleg, who represented the constituency during the Minnis administration's term in office, spoke out after his successor, Leonardo Lightbourne, its current MP, warned residents against "making this a political matter". It was thought this was sparked by Mr Bowleg's presence at the demonstration.

The latter, though, said the protest was fuelled by mounting frustrations over the lack of banking facilities, unreliable Internet service and frequent power outages on North Andros. The situation has only grown worse since last month's fire that destroyed BPL's generating plant for the area, and Mr Bowleg added that protest organisers were simply concerned business owners and residents who joined forces to press for a resolution.

He said: “It's something that has mounted up. We are experiencing no banking being here in North Andros. Also, the Internet service is very bad here. A lot of people depend on their devices to do a lot of transactions because there are no banks. With the power outages, it's just a lot of frustration built up that led to what took place yesterday.

“And you know, I must say again, this was not anything political because I live here and hear the concerns. I had no affiliation whatsoever with that. As a matter of fact, we are not on the same political divide. We are different. We have different opinions. But people are just getting frustrated and they are coming together and are now looking out for North Andros over anything else.”

Mr Bowleg said electricity supply stabilised when the temporary generators were initially installed, but things went "haywire" soon after. He added that residents protested because they are frustrated at being left without electricity for up to 12 hours per day with no explanation for the outages or a timeframe for electricity to be restored.

The former MP said: “It was it was really rough at the beginning, and it started to ease up a little once they got the temporary generators. Then, after that, everything just went haywire.

“Living here and being among the people, you hear their concerns. They start talking and they're saying they have no way of getting answers as to what's going on. Power is just going out and there's no reason or updating as to why, and people are going without power sometimes 10 to 12 hours. They get frustrated, and they start asking questions and that’s what led to that.”

Mr Bowleg vehemently denied that the demonstration was politically motivated, and maintained that residents on both sides of the political divide were being "hurt" by the island’s electricity woes. “For the first time since I've been living here, and that's all my life, I’ve seen people from both sides of the political arena come together and voice their opinion," he said.

“This is everyone. This isn't an FNM thing, this isn't a PLP thing. This is North Andros because FNMs are getting hurt from it and PLPs are getting hurt, and that's why they are standing. They're not into politics. They're upset over their power and their appliances being burned out inside their houses. They want their stuff to be replaced.

“If my people have concerns, I'm going to listen to them and I'm going to address it if I have to, but I'm not going to stand by and let people talk about a political divide and that it's something that was political because, honestly, it was not.”

Mr Bowleg explained that rising electricity costs, loss of inventory and a slow response time from BPL has pushed many business owners across North Andros to breaking point.

He said: “My light bill increased by $60 to $70, and I don't use much electricity because I love natural breeze and I have an energy efficient AC that really cuts back, but [the electricity bill] increased. I heard other consumers talking and one said this must be the hotel bill because my bill cannot be this high. So it is increasing and people are complaining.

“Yesterday, that was one of the biggest concerns for those protestors out there. The business owners' other concern is they're losing a lot of their perishables and a lot of their meat. Those are their biggest concerns. And the lack of information and updates is fuelling the frustration that they are getting right now from the residents of North Andros.

“So, it isn't a matter of who is FNM and who is PLP. These are business owners who are frustrated and letting their voice be heard after complaining, and they are not getting any result as far as what's going on.”

Mr Lightbourne, in his statement, said he was aware of the demonstration held by residents and that staff at BPL have been working "assiduously" to resolve the electrical issues. He added that residents' concerns are a priority and that he will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to find a resolution.

He said: “Finally, to the residents of North Andros, this matter is being treated with the highest level of urgency and it will continue to be addressed as such. Also, we remain in dialogue with all stakeholders as we try our best to bring resolve to this vexing load shedding in North Andros. Please do not allow individuals with other agendas to make this a political matter because it affects all of us and goes beyond the political boundary lines.”