The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tmsith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL supplier of personal protective equipment is appealing to the Office of the Prime Minister to be given the same consideration and treatment they believes is given to larger companies in clearing PPE shipments.

Eduardo Collie, partner of Bahari and Odav & Co, said for the past six weeks his company has tried to clear a shipment of PPE but to no avail.

“It’s unfair that small businesses don’t get the same treatment as the big businesses in this country,” Mr Collie said.

“Other big companies have been importing these medical supplies and have not been going through this. Bahari is the most patriotic business in this country. We are Bahamian born, Bahamian educated and this is our right. We have thousands of PPEs on the island ready to be released and thousands more on the way and we can’t get them.”

Mr Collie said his company went to collect the shipment and customs officers advised that the company had to get authorisation from the Office of the Prime Minister to clear it.

“We have sent countless emails to the Office of the Prime Minister, the Public Hospitals Authority and the Customs Department and no one has responded. So we decided to go in person. We went to the Office of the Prime Minister, we were then directed to go to the Public (Hospitals) Authority who told us we have to go to (Department of) Customs. We went to (Department of) Customs and were redirected to where we started which is the Office of the Prime Minister.”

Mr Collie said the sooner his company can get this authorisation, they can move on with their business.

“In the emergency order there are no restrictions on import on PPEs,” Mr Collie continued. “The only restriction is that the supplies have to be sold to medical personnel and that is who we plan on selling them to. So I cannot understand why we have to get approval from the Office of the Prime Minister and why the six week hold up. Customs seem to be operating out of its scope. No one is communicating with us. In the meantime the shipment is sitting there and we cannot do business.”

When contacted, a communications official at OPM said she would have to see which area is specifically responsible for Mr Collie’s matter.

The Bahari partner continued: “We have about six storefronts and only one is open. We have to pay rent for all of these places. It’s already a struggling time so why do this to us? We need to do business.”

The PPE shipment contains surgical masks, gowns, face shields and gloves, he said. Mr Collie said that there was an order of reusable masks he graciously cancelled because the prime minister prohibited the import of the item because of manufacturing of the same by local artisans.

Mr Collie said this has disrupted his company’s business and “brought chaos to an already bad situation”. He released a statement about the matter on social media recently, with the hope of it getting attention and bringing some relief to the situation.