The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama businessman Kendal “KC” Colebrook is opposed to the ban on the import of certain categories of vehicles into The Bahamas, saying it will significantly affect the livelihood of auto-body technicians and an industry that is growing in Freeport.  

Mr Colebrook, the owner of an auto-body garage/business, spoke to The Tribune yesterday following his arrest on Monday for illegally demonstrating at the Harold DeGregory Government Complex, where he and others voiced their disapproval of the ban.

The government has banned the import of wrecked/damaged cars without proper or clean titles and vehicles older than ten years from entering The Bahamas.  

“We have to fight for our livelihood and will continue to fight for it,” said Mr Colebrook, who is also a well-known radio talk show host in Grand Bahama. “It will directly affect everyone, not just auto-body technicians.”

Mr Colebrook cited the cases of women who sell lunch to people who work in those garages, the landlords who rent/lease space to technicians and poor working Bahamians who cannot afford to purchase new vehicles.

“There are many young people getting into auto-body work; they are good at using their hands, and if they cannot find something to do with their hands, what do you want them to do? It’s affecting their livelihood; there are families depending on this,” he stressed.

Mr Colebrook said that he and others went to the government complex to let their voices be heard. “We really want the Minister for Grand Bahama to understand that his job is to serve his people. He is a great man, his hands might be tied, but we need him to stand up for us as never before,” said the activist, who is outspoken on many pressing issues in Grand Bahama.

“Where are the representatives that we voted for and we supported, to fight for us? We in GB we have had enough.”

Despite his arrest, Mr Colebrooke said he wanted to send a message. “In the House of Assembly, they say they are going to allow ‘Rebuildable Title’ to come in, and that is an accomplishment. But it still does not help us because those vehicles are a lot more money and the persons cannot afford it,” he said.  

“Most persons employed in Grand Bahama are either contract workers or barely making minimum wage – they cannot get a loan, they have to scrap and save every dollar.”

Mr Colebrook said that the insurance companies in the United States have a title scheme to classify vehicles – clear, destructible certificate of title and rebuildable title. 

He explained that if a vehicle is involved in an accident and there is an insurance payout on it, the vehicle is given a destructible certificate of title, which means that it cannot be repaired and driven again on the streets in America. It can only be used for parts or export. 

“The government said they are doing this ban for environmental reasons and they say that any vehicle that is unable to drive in America will not be imported. What about the vehicles coming out of Japan and Mexico? They can’t go to America so why are we allowing them to come to The Bahamas?”

Democratic National Alliance leader Branville McCartney said the ban will have far-reaching effects in The Bahamas.

“We are not only talking on behalf of those in the auto-body field, we are speaking on behalf of their spouses and their children. This government is taking bread out of their mouths, they are causing economic hardship on the people affected by this policy,” he said last week.

“It has failed to take into consideration what is good for the people, and we are also talking for the public at large who this policy will affect.”

Mr Colebrook said he is expecting Mr Moss and other local MPs to stand up and speak out for hotel workers at Memories Resort, and residents in settlements affected by industrial plants. “Many have been diagnosed with cancer and have died, and there have been assessments done and reports have never been released.”