The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

What a week of revelations this has been. According to reports, certain parliamentarians go for what must be years without paying their electricity bills. Other reports suggest some go for what must be years without paying their water bills. And (if that weren’t enough) other ‘privileged’ individuals are ‘lucky” enough to have big-time government contracts land in their laps even when it is claimed they should be given to other legitimate bidders.

Shall we begin?

Abuse of Privileges

Yes, the headlines in the dailies were quite shocking this week. Not shocking in the sense of unexpected, but shocking in the sense of the absolute brazenness it takes to sit up in the “honourable” House of Assembly and pretend to be an upstanding representative of the people knowing full well you are “ducking” your bills and relying on your position as a Member of a Parliament to ensure your lights don’t get disconnected for non payment.

Over the years, there has been robust public debate about the cost of utilities in this little country. Thousands upon thousands of Bahamians have been “cut off” from the electricity grid because they cannot make payments so large they might as well be mortgage payments. Others have been cut off because they cannot make payments as little as $200, because they simply didn’t have it.

When the list of present and former MPs who owe tens of thousands of dollars to Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) was made public, it was confirmation on what many had suspected for years; many politicians abuse their power and use their positions to enrich themselves on the backs of hardworking Bahamians.

What else would you call running up an electricity bill of 30 or 40 or 50 thousand dollars? I mean, how much “AC” are you sucking up to run up a bill like that? How much of a lavish lifestyle are you living to even have a bill like that in the first place?

And then to sit there, in parliament, and watch as Value Added Tax is put “on erryting” and not say a word? Not object to any of the backbreaking taxes we have been saddled with? Not object to the dirty, polluted air we suck up in order to go about our business of absorbing costs for your free AC? Not object to the incompetence, and wastefulness, and fraudulent transactions at government corporations that further robbed Bahamians of our treasure?

I understand there is a similar list of “privileged” politicians who are on a “do not disconnect” list at the Water and Sewerage Corporation. Does Bahamasair have a similar list of freeloaders who have been allowed to travel (along with their family, friends and lovers) on the public dime?

What about BTC? Was there political pressure to maintain a ‘do not disconnect’ list there? And since we have a stake in the company, what about NewCo? Where else have these greedy politicians been abusing their privilege to shirk their responsibilities? Banks? Real Property Taxes? Business Licenses?

I suspect I know the answer to these questions. I also suspect the list we saw this week is nowhere near complete.

Take note of them, though. Take note of all the names associated with this practice of living ‘above’ the struggles and consequences everyday Bahamians have to go to bed fretting over. Take note of all the people defending this contemptible practice because they probably benefited too. And when these same people come knocking on your door, begging for votes again (as many will have the gumption to do), remember that these self-serving, ‘honourable’ individuals are the reason why the country is in the mess we are in today.

Who made the list?

A myriad of the usual suspects made the list, one would expect veteran, seasoned politicians to be on the list, but Arnold Forbes, political one-hit wonder, a veritable “Johnny come lately”.

How did he make it?

But he did, The Credit and Collections Department listing of MPs, senators and board members for the period ending July 31, revealed that former State Minister in the Ministry of Works owed BPL $62,023.14.

$62,023.14?????

What was Forbes running, a motel?

The list obtained by The Tribune contains delinquent accounts of six former PLP Cabinet ministers, two former PLP MPs, two private entities, and one sitting Cabinet minister: Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells.

Wells has since settled his balance, allegedly. While Forbes, meanwhile, was reportedly in talks with BPL to settle the balance over a three-month period.

But they will still disconnect us for $200.00. Go figure.

Bannister pulls the plug on BPL

Well I can’t say I’m not glad that the contract between BPL and the Government of The Bahamas, has been terminated.

However, shock waves can still be felt in the aftermath of this monumental decision.

Minister of Works Desmond Bannister revealed this week, in the HOA, that foreign BPL executives had been paid more than any Bahamian parliamentarian or executive at the electricity provider.

Former BPL CEO Pamela Hill, (a favourite of this column, for all the material she provided) was paid a monthly salary of $25,000 and received $6,000 monthly in housing benefits.

This part is laughable, that’s actually less than the $8,719 she initially used to receive monthly.

Hill also received monthly benefits of $3,833.33.

With all that “bub” flowing in monthly, no wonder Ms Hill could stay at the Atlantis during Hurricane Joaquin, and she never experienced “blackouts”, it’s obvious she could afford about six generators!

If paying Hill $34,833.33 monthly hasn’t got your goat, I’m sure this will. In addition to the monthly amount, Bahamian taxpayer dollars also paid $27,322.46 in travel costs and $23,637.55 in relocation costs.

Minister Bannister also said in parliament, that sadly, “Bahamians paid travel costs for a CEO who only lived in the Bahamas for five days each week – from Monday to Friday, but spent weekends elsewhere.”

Hill travelled more than, Fred Mitchell when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs.

But wait there’s more, according to an article in Thursday’s Tribune by Krishna Virgill. The executive vice president of generation and operation at BPL received a $33,583.33, with a salary of $23,750, housing benefits of $6,000 and other benefits of $3,833.33.

The executive vice-president of transmission and distribution operations at BPL received, $26,083.33. This included a salary of $18,750, housing benefits of $6,000 and other benefits of $1,333.33.

All of that, has got my goat curried now!

Minister Bannister must be commended on a job well done.

Saving Bahamian tax payers money, exercising transparency by revealing all the particulars.

Taking nothing from Minister Bannister’s efforts, the joke is still on us Bahamians, because we had to foot the bill from here to North Carolina and back, with nothing to show for it but the same piss poor, power provision and disgruntled consumers.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Bahamian Spicer

At this stage we know BPL made the hit list, nonetheless Bahamians at large want to know “who all” in the PLP and FNM was on the list, and receiving free electricity for years.

Skirting around the fact that the Minnis administration failed to deliver on yet another campaign promise, of holding the elected officials accountable who didn’t comply with the Public Disclosure Act,

Press Secretary Anthony Newbold stated Tuesday, Bahamians can be assured that the Minnis administration will get rid of BPL’s “do not disconnect” list for elites who owe substantial arrears.

Seems like the strategy for this administration, when failing to deliver on a campaign promise, is either to send some politico from the previous administration to court, or derail a certain political gravy train?

Newbold also said: “This special list came to the public’s attention not just when this administration took over, this list came to the public’s attention before that.”

“It is being dealt with now... the same way that list came to the public’s attention, if it is not dealt with, if it remains in place, the public will be aware of that as well. I don’t know that this prime minister and his government intends to be beaten with that stick and so you can have all confidence that those people (will be dealt with like everyone else).”

Seriously Mr Newbold, how will they be dealt with? The same way they’ve been dealt with and disciplined by previous administrations?

I think this was another political, smoke and mirrors manoeuvre at play here. Let’s keep it real here, Mr Newbold was trying to deflect, in order to explain why there has been no movement on punishing officials who missed the disclosure deadline.

“The public disclosure, one challenge was with the make-up of the (Public Disclosure) committee,” Mr Newbold said yesterday. “I know that has been handled. If you call the chairman I know he would be happy to talk about that.”

In June, Mr Newbold announced that June 30 was the deadline for former and sitting MP’s to file their disclosures or face prosecution. Newbold’s announcement affected more than twenty MPs.

Penalties for non disclosure include being fined $10,000.00, face two years in prison or both. Or possibly have their land confiscated.

The deadline has come and gone, with no mention of compliance, one way or another, by any of the parties involved.

Anyway, I’m off to restock my snacks and Jack Daniels, I’ve got that list for Water and Sewerage to track down.