The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Would you be kind enough to allow me a little space in your paper to lodge my complaint, concerning BEC and the way they are treating the people of Sea Breeze, especially Sea Grape Avenue block.

Let me start off by saying that we have been living in Sea Breeze 28 years, and just about from day one, we started having electrical power cuts.

Over the years, it has gotten worse, and I mean worse. We kept calling and lodged complaints after complaints, but to no avail. When it got so bad, one of our neighbours lost their computers and other items, by then I wrote a letter to The Tribune, and got the fire off.

One of the top personnel at the plant, he gave me a call, and wanted to come and have a talk with me. We arranged a meeting and he came and we had a talk. After that it got a little better, but not much – it started up again.

We were told that it was faulty transformers, when I told them that, they wanted to know where I got that information from, but I did not reveal my source. They finally changed the transformers, and it was a little better.

Still some power cuts, but I kept on complaining, but nothing got better. When 2014 came in, it started to worsen, but to no avail.

I could not get any sense from BEC, they kept telling us so many different excuses. Every time I started calling a Mr Sterling Moss, leaving messages after messages, but I did not hear from him. He knew who I was, so he gave me a call, and he said that he was going to come and see me the same night – but no show.

But now it was going off from 4, 6, 8 times a day. It was really terrible, we started to keep a record starting April 14, 2014, right up to the present time - September 6, 2014.

In the meantime, I was still calling Mr Moss and leaving messages, but did not hear from him.

The next time I called I left a message for Mr Basden, the General Manager, Mr Sterling Moss, Mr Leslie Miller, the Chairman, and last, but not least, Hon Hope Strachan, who represents Sea Breeze. The only person who returned my call was the Hon Hope Strachan, and I told her my complaints at that time.

It was 88 times, and she agreed that we had a problem and that she was going in a meeting with her boss and will let him know what is going on.

I never heard from her since, because lightning hit my phone, and it was out for a week. Don’t know if she called back or not.

By now, it has been off 130 times, since April 13, 2014, to September 6, 2014. Believe it or not, but that is the truth.

Here is the proof. April 13 to April 30 – 8 times; May 2 to May 30 - 19 times; June 3 to June 27 - 26 times; July 2 to July 29 - 22 times; August 4 to August 30 - 28 times; September 6 to 27 - 27 times.

So you see only 6 days in September has gone and already 27 times, we have been cut. What is our Bahamas coming to? I cry shame, shame on our Government. It seems as if we are not going to get any relief anytime soon.

Instead of them trying to discuss about BEC and getting the electricity straightened out, all they want to do is argue with one another. Now they tell us that when Baha Mar opens that they can’t carry the load. We need a new plant.

Well listen, you are supposed to be smart members of Parliament. You should have known from day one, that a project that big, that the problem should have been discussed.

By now it could have been ready to go, by what the Chairman told us, it would take 18 months to build a new generator, but nobody had the brains to think of that back then.

What is more important VAT, Referendum or BEC. I really don’t think that this government does not know, that they are like a chicken without a head, shame – shame on you.

Get BEC straight first, you want to spend nine million dollars to bring a Carnival here, take that and put it towards BEC, we need lights. it seems as if you want to make The Bahamas like Bourbon Street, New Orleans.

What has happened to our Christian values, it seems as if this government is not listening to the people,they are doing what they want to do.

Wake up Christian Council, let us hear your voice on the Carnival. We want lights, not Carnival. We want lights not VAT. We want lights not Referendum. You say you believe in Bahamians, put your words where your mouth is and stop fooling the public. This is all that you are doing.

WHAT A DISGRACE. We Want lights - we want lights - we want lights!

Thanks a million for your time and patience.

KIRTLAND BETHEL

Nassau,

September 6, 2014.