The Tribune

By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

OPERATIONS at the General Post Office were suspended for the second day yesterday, despite a promise from Transport and Local Government Minister Frankie Campbell that issues in the building will be resolved "in the shortest period of time".

In an interview outside Cabinet, Mr Campbell told reporters the government is aware of the situation and his ministry is "redoubling our efforts to ensure that Christmas cards are delivered on time".

However, Bahamas Public Services Union (BPSU) President Kingsley Ferguson said after eight years of waiting on the government to fix the problems at the main post office building, he is not "trusting anyone's word".

He said the employees will not return to work until the problems are fixed.

On Monday, nearly 100 employees at the "rat and mould" infested General Post Office demonstrated, demanding the government make the building inhabitable or move them out completely.

Mr Kingsley told The Tribune the workers will demonstrate every day until the government pays attention to their concerns.

In response, Mr Campbell said his ministry is "working" to move the employees out of the building but admitted it will take some time.

"We are advised that a part we were seeking for months is about a week away. It has been shipped, it's in Florida and we are advised once it's here, installation should take three to five days and that will resolve the air condition and ventilation problems," Mr Campbell said.

"The rodents, since I became the minister, I have sent the Environmental (Health) Department there and we will send them back. That is a continuous problem that is caused by our bad habits but they will go back and resolve that issue. Also there is a question of poor lighting in the general mail sorting area, so we will seek to remediate those pressing issues to make the place tolerable until such time as a permanent location is identified and addressed... In the meantime we will address the urgent matters, we want them to know that help is on the way.

"We didn't want to have a knee jerk reaction and do something that won't be sustainable. So, yes, we looked at a number of relocation sites and we are still not at a point where we want to make an announcement because we don't want to make a premature announcement. However, we are in an advanced stage. We will redouble our efforts to ensure that the Christmas cards are delivered on time," Mr Campbell said.

However, Mr Ferguson said he is not satisfied with the minister's answer.

"It's not good enough for me. He still didn't give a timeline or say when these things are going to happen," Mr Ferguson said.

"So we will stay out here until things are fixed in there. There is mould that needs to be removed, we have a water situation that needs to be fixed, we have carpet that plants are growing out of because it is so nasty, so what about that stuff? It has been eight years. We have had enough."

Earlier this year, then-BPSU President John Pinder threatened industrial action if the government did not immediately relocate employees from the "unsanitary" building. At the time, he said his members were forced to work in a mould infested building with rats, termites and a leaking ceiling.

Since then, Mr Ferguson said things have got progressively worse and despite employees only working half days, many of them have reportedly developed respiratory issues because of the toxic environment.

In October, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce CEO Edison Sumner said reduced operations at the General Post Office are negatively affecting businesses, adding the chamber sees "no end in sight" to the problem.

The Christie administration, through a public private partnership, gave the green light to a project to relocate the General Post Office to the Independence Drive Shopping Centre off Tonique Williams Darling Highway.

However, the Minnis administration halted that project, expressing concerns it was approved without due diligence.