The Tribune

AS the grim landmark of the nation’s first death from coronavirus was confirmed yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis tried to make the country realise the scale of the problem facing us.

As he pointed out, it’s a problem facing the whole world. “The world has closed its borders,” he said. And he’s right. But other parts of the world aren’t as dependent on tourism as we are. When the world can’t travel, there is no tourism.

He laid out clearly the two parts of the problem ahead of us. “We have a medical crisis,” he said, “but soon we will have an economic crisis.”

The first part of that included confirming the diagnosis of coronavirus in the death of Bimini resident Kim Johnson-Rolle, and the announcement of six new cases, including a hotspot for cases in eastern New Providence. This is part of the surge that was predicted.

An announcement from the US hasn’t helped the government in that regard – with talk of sending sick patients from cruise ships to the country the ship is registered in. With many cruise ships from the Florida region registered here, goodness knows how many people the country would be expected to take in. We expect that decision will prove politically unpalatable for the countries the crew and passengers hail from – what country would abandon their own citizens at sea? But the threat is there and the government has to spend time addressing it at a time when its concentration would be best placed elsewhere.

The second part saw him acknowledge the rise in joblessness. Gone are the plans and budgets from November, now we’re sailing far rougher seas than expected. Dr Minnis talked of the need to make major changes to the economy, for us to “change our attitudes, change our behaviour” and that we must make this a “crisis of opportunity”.

That may be true – but it must also be true for all Bahamians.

On Page 3 of today’s paper, read the story of Kamille Adderley. Laid off two weeks ago with only two days’ pay, she is struggling to pay her rent or feed herself and her two-year-old child.

To get assistance is a challenge. She has no way to apply online without a computer, she has no car, there is no public transportation, so how does she get to NIB to get help?

How many others are in the same position as Ms Adderley? How many are falling through the holes in the safety net?

This will hit the poorest the hardest. Those living pay cheque to pay cheque. Those without the ability to carry out transactions online. Those who may have limited banking facilities. Those whose only form of transport now is their two feet.

In a moment of brutal honesty, Dr Minnis asked Bahamians to provide him with their ideas. The Prime Minister is forming an advisory group to chart a path forward – we strongly urge him to include representatives among that group who understand the difficulty of those living on the edge.

We absolutely need to chart a path forward for the nation, but in doing so we must ensure that we leave no Bahamian behind.

Another fine mess at BPL

If there is one thing that the coronavirus outbreak is showing us, it is where the weaknesses in our society lie.

It might be the failure of an employer to make NIB payments – and with it the failure of NIB to keep a close check on those businesses who have not met their requirements.

It might be the problems of a healthcare network that has to meet the needs of the most inhabited island and those that are sparsely populated.

And yesterday it was a long-standing weakness: Bahamas Power & Light.

After a brief stop in disconnections, BPL announced a resumption yesterday. With its online payment system down, that led to long lines of people outside BPL trying to put money on their bills to stop being cut off. Crowds at a time when crowds aren’t needed.

As The Tribune tried to cover this, BPL’s spokesperson, Quincy Parker, told reporters to leave, saying the location was private property and the media needed permission to gain entry.

Not so – as the minister responsible for BPL, Desmond Bannister, quickly confirmed. He went on to press BPL to stop disconnections once more – which they did.

What a mess.

We understand the company’s ability to cope with the loss of income following the coronavirus outbreak – but that is the consequence of living on the edge for so long. It needs to be fixed. For good.