The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Electricity Corporation’s (BEC) chairman yesterday renewed calls for a total ban on copper exports, charging that scrap metal operators were knowingly purchasing stolen material from thieves.

Leslie Miller said hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of copper was being stolen from BEC on a yearly basis.

“These copper thieves today believe they are the owners of these establishments. We are going to stop these scrap yards from exporting copper out of this country or we are going to be finished. Businesses are going to be closed down and it’s going to affect the lives of the ordinary Bahamians that work in these enterprises,” said Mr Miller.

“It’s very simple, you know. Just do it, ban the export. We know the scrap metal fellas will raise hell, but they should be locked up for buying from thieves because they know these guys are stealing. If they had any concern for the average worker in this country they wouldn’t be buying from thieves. They know these guys are stealing the stuff, stop buying it. The only way to do that is to stop giving them license to export.”

The Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers Act 2011, which was enacted by the Ingraham administration, set out operational guidelines and regulations for pawn brokers, ‘cash for gold’ operators and scrap metal dealers.

Under the provisions of the new law, business owners or dealers engaged in the export of scrap metal will have the duty and responsibility to verify the identity of customers and to maintain records of all transactions.

While Mr Miller lauded the police for their efforts in trying to curb copper theft, he said they did not have the necessary manpower to curb the problem. “Who is going to go out there all day with a police officer to monitor the junk yards?” Mr Miller asked.

Supervalue’s owner and president, Rupert Roberts, said copper thieves were wreaking havoc on businesses and getting “pennies” for the material, while the scrap yards were making the real profit on the exports.

“Copper thieves seem to have the Government and the police on their knees, and they seem helpless to do anything about it. Merchants feel like the Government and police are not doing anything to help. For the past five years copper thieves have been disrupting homes, businesses, government agencies, especially BEC, BTC, ZNS and others, by ripping out equipment and taking the copper,” said Mr Roberts.

The Supervalue chief noted that last Wednesday copper thieves completely disabled his Wulff Road store.

“They cut and stole copper tubing from the chill and frozen food systems,” he added. “Fortunately tubing can be replaced overnight, but when they steal the valves and electronic equipment with the tubing it takes months to replace.

“Thieves at different times have disabled most of our stores. When thieves steal equipment it can close a store for months, putting 40-50 people out of work, and if it is not caught in time you can lose up to half a million in perishables for lack of refrigeration.

“The police can catch the copper thieves in action or when they are selling it to the junk yard, and catch the junk yard operators when they buy it. Copper thieves are receiving pennies while the junk yard is making the real profit. We are appealing to theGovernment to put a moratorium on the export of copper to stop this intolerable practice of copper theft the way they have done around the other Caribbean islands.”