The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis defended his administration’s energy reform initiatives and plans to build a new hospital in New Providence when he wrapped up the budget debate in the House of Assembly yesterday.

Last week, the Davis administration unveiled its planned reforms for the country’s energy sector, outlining how it will modernise the electricity grid and adjust tariffs.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said the opposition had spewed misinformation about the government’s energy reform plan.

“At this point, we are facing the prospect of an energy crisis as crucial parts of our ageing power grid are in danger of collapse, which would literally leave us in the dark,” Mr Davis said. “Let’s be honest. There’s a reason that governments have kicked the can down the road, hoping and praying that band-aids and patches could hold our electricity grid together, declining to do the hard and challenging work of comprehensive reform.”

Mr Davis said fixing BPL is not a task for the “faint at heart” but is something his administration will do. He said the government is still paying for the Minnis administration’s $90m acquisition of seven Wartsila generation engines.

He said the government’s entire capital expenditure budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which is spread across all ministries, would not make up one-third of the amount needed to fix BPL, which requires $1bn.

The government has partnered with many companies involved with solar, LNG, and large-scale infrastructure projects to overhaul the energy system. It has also partnered with local solar providers.

Mr Davis said the government has made it clear who it is partnering with to transform BPL but that the opposition had failed to be transparent about BPL in the past.

He said in 2021, consultants hired by the FNM voiced concerns about the former administration’s lack of transparency.

“If members opposite want to see a lack of transparency, they can even look beyond BPL at the Dorian relief supplies that never made it to the people of Abaco and Grand Bahama,” he said. “They can look at their pandemic food relief programme where shoddy records were kept, and money is still missing that can’t be accounted for.”

Mr Davis gave a reassurance that due to the government’s partnerships with Island Grid and other entities, BPL will not become privatised. He said that through the partnerships, BPL will be stronger and that there will be no staff termination.

He also reiterated that his administration would facilitate the first new public hospital in New Providence in over 70 years and the first new hospital in Grand Bahama since independence.

“The side opposite initially said building new hospitals was a pipe dream that could not be accomplished,” he said. “Their former leader, the member for Killarney, just last year was quoted as saying it would cost over $1.2bn to build, which made it impossible to be launched within this term.”

“When we announced the plans to build the new hospitals, unsurprisingly, when they realised we were making it happen, they then tried to say we shouldn’t build the new hospitals. The member for Killarney had to eat his words and start singing a different song. They’re not saying it’s impossible anymore. Their chairman said we should just slap some repairs on what was already there. They want us to just put another expansion on PMH.”