The Tribune

By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SEVERAL former Progressive Liberal Party members of Parliament yesterday denied knowledge of being on a “do not disconnect” list at the Water and Sewerage Corporation, with one former Cabinet minister telling The Tribune his high water bill was the result of “a broken pipe and a misunderstanding.”

In an interview with The Tribune, former Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V Alfred Gray said he has not used “city water” in over 20 years and racked up a huge bill at WSC because he had a leaking pipe that the corporation refused to acknowledge.

According to the confidential list obtained by The Tribune, Mr Gray had a balance for a residence at Culbert’s Hill of $7,051.43 as of June 7, after making a payment of $100.

“I am not on city water and haven’t been for 22 years,” he said on Monday. “I have a meter that belongs to the government and a pipe burst.

“When the pipe got broken, I told Water and Sewerage and they told me I was still responsible even after I got a plumber to give them a report, they told me I have to still pay and I could not get a discount. So, I have been paying $100 a month for the past five to seven years. I don’t know anything about a list, never knew I was ever on a list. I am not on city water and I have never been on city water. So that is not a water bill that I used. The bill was a result of a broken pipe, so let’s make that clear.”

According to the list, South Andros MP Picewell Forbes owed $3,270.51 after making a $500 payment in February.

Mr Forbes told The Tribune yesterday he did not know he was on the list but said he will “deal with the bill” when he returns to the capital from Exuma today.

Former National Security Minister in the first Christie administration Cynthia “Mother” Pratt was also on the list and owed just over $1,800 as of April.

She contacted The Tribune yesterday to explain the circumstances by which her bill had reached more than $1,000, placing the blame on a leak.

“I had a leak in my house for years and I did not know and the water bill was extremely high because of it,” she told this newspaper. “Each month I go down and I pay on the payment plan and the bill is down. It was thousands of dollars because of the leak. That had nothing to do with the water bill.

“I paid my water bill separately. The bill was very high and I had two separate leaks. They cut the bill because that’s what they do in such circumstances, they give discounts. (The) plumber wrote them letting them know I had a leak. I wasn’t aware until I discovered it cleaning my house that there was a leak under my house.

“Two different payment plans were made; one over my house and one over the apartment. I finished with the one by my house. Every month I go and pay down on that. They don’t give a fixed amount to pay for it. Whatever my little money do, I do that.

“The fact that the bill was $1,800, the bill was far bigger than that. They’re looking for somebody to taint their name, always looking for everyone to be crooked except them and I take grave exception to that. My monthly bill was different from the payment plan,” Mrs Pratt said.

Her former Urban Renewal co-chair, Algernon Allen, also on the list, objected to the assertion that he received special treatment because he is a former politician. He said the WSC account in question is for his home that he shares with his wife, Dame Anita Allen, Court of Appeal president. The list showed his account had a balance of $3,586.56 in April 10, 2014 after a payment of just over $200.

He explained that as a result of benefits his wife receives as a senior judge, it is the government’s obligation to pay her utility bills.

“That my dear is the home of the president of the Court of Appeal, my wife and I. That bill, by the statute law of The Bahamas, (under) the Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act, is statutorily paid by the government of The Bahamas,” Mr Allen said.

“That list has nothing to do with myself as a former MP. That list has to do with the legal obligation of the government to pay the utilities in accordance with the statute law of The Bahamas for the president of the Court of Appeal.

“I am responsible for about nine properties for which utilities and other taxes (are) attached and I try and genuinely succeed in meeting the commitment in relation to all of them. There may be an oversight here or there but I often make up for that in the next payment,” Mr Allen said.

His comments about the payments of Dame Anita’s utility bills were corroborated by Ingrid Brooks, an official in the Court of Appeal.

“What happens is the government of The Bahamas pays the utility bills as part of Dame Anita’s contract, given by the Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act, Chapter 45. That’s mandated by the act that her utility allowances are paid by the government. Up to 2014, end of 2014-2015 the Court of Appeal was responsible for making those payments, after that point the Ministry of Finance took it on for payment of all utility bills for the government across the board.

“The bill may be in arrears but it’s not a bill that they pay personally,” Ms Brooks said.

Former Labour Minister Shane Gibson, who was on the list as owing $1,046.50 after making a payment in December 2015, told The Tribune on Monday he currently owes WSC only $200.