The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

& RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporters

DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest is concerned about people in Grand Bahama hoarding relief supplies such as power generators.

It is “not charitable and neighbourly” to hoard the items when others need them, he said.

He expressed shock over a resident who asked him for a generator despite owning several already.  “I know it is sensitive, but please do not hoard the supplies,” he said. “I have an issue where somebody was asking me for a generator. I go to the house for another reason, I did not even go to take the generator, they have three brand new generators sitting up in the house, and they asking for a fourth – that is not charitable, that’s not neighbourly, there are some people who truly need that generator.”

Kay Forbes-Smith, government co-ordinator of recovery efforts in Grand Bahama, told The Tribune hoarding such supplies is not an issue associated with government-issued generators.

“We had a number of international NGOs giving out generators and we don’t know on what basis they were giving them out,” she said when contacted yesterday. “All kinds of people are doing distribution, but how they are doing it I can’t confirm.”

She said the government is working with the Grand Bahama Power Company to determine who should get generators. 

“We work with the Grand Bahama Power Company to get information on which areas will not have power for several weeks, months or whenever,” she said. “Prior to the hurricane, GBPC had 19,000 customers. They’ve since connected 17,000 of them. We will do generator distributions very soon because we have had another donor. Generators will be given in cases where the power company says, this particular neighbourhood won’t have power for several weeks or months. NEMA can’t regulate the conscience of Bahamians who take two generators and someone else doesn’t have one. The fairest way for us to operate is by getting information on which communities really need them.”

One area where there are enough supplies to go around is food, Mr Turnquest said, with 100 containers on the island filled with food that need to be cleared out and with containers arriving every day.

“Trust when I say there is no shortage…you have more water on this island than you need, more food, more clothing, shoes, whatever you need is on this island for you, you just need to make the effort to go get it,” he said. “I just want to say that because I hear the grumbling. You can’t expect me, the MP, volunteers, and NEMA who has transportation challenges every day to deliver goods to your door.”