Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by Senator Michael Pintard:

The catastrophic failure of the generators at Blue Hills due to fire further highlights the need for new leadership which will have oversight for The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC). The Bahamas economy is undergoing a slow recovery and any major negative event or trend has the potential to further slow or reverse small economic gains anticipated with the rebound of the world economy. The trends of blackouts, industrial disputes and constantly changing plans for the future of BEC are creating tremendous problems for residents and businesses throughout The Bahamas.

One major obstacle to progress at BEC is the ongoing presence of the Executive Chairman Leslie Miller. His appointment and survival at this crucial Corporation exposes Christie-Davis Weakness as leaders. Mr. Miller is a popular figure that speaks his mind even though pressures may force him to change it a short time thereafter. This upfront, in your face, say what is on your mind quality has made him entertaining and lovable. He no doubt can be useful serving in some capacity in government. However, that capacity is not Executive Chairman of BEC. It is amazing and extremely disappointing that Mr. Miller remains in this crucial role despite numerous reasons why he should resign or be fired.

Leslie Miller told a personal story about domestic abuse of a girlfriend and claimed it was a joke and miraculously survived in his position as MP and Executive Chairman. PLP women who ordinarily claim to champion women’s causes gave him a pass in spite of his revelation. He then attempted to bride the Crisis Centre with a meager $1,000 donation rather than volunteering at the Centre or producing public service announcements repudiating jokes about domestic violence, which is so prevalent in the Bahamas and more importantly repudiating domestic violence.

Leslie Miller is verbally abusive to BEC line staff and managers consistently. Even when he has the right message he delivers it most often in the wrong way. His approach and attitude is counter-productive to the successful operation of the Corporation. Reduction of overtime costs is an imperative but Miller has failed to properly drive this and other issues. We in the FNM do not believe he is capable of making the necessary adjustments in this regard.

Leslie Miller should never have been appointed Executive Chairman of BEC. It was reported that his business enterprises owed the Corporation in excess of $ 250,000. While many of us have debts, it is problematic to owe such large sums to the very Corporation you hope to lead. In other words Mr. Miller has no moral authority to guide or enforce collection of outstanding funds given his level of “unserviced” indebtedness.

Secondly, his message about staff taking advantage of the Corporation through overtime payments and bonuses rings hollow given his refusal to pay his own bills to the very same Corporation.

Leslie Miller should have been removed by Christie-Davis in several respects:

Once his level of indebtedness was discovered.

Once he miraculously produced the cash for $ 100,000 to reduce his bill; since it is clear that he only paid once it became public knowledge that he owed so much to the Corporation.

Furthermore, he violated the company’s policy by paying such a large sum in the manner he did without the proper checks and balances.
He violated compliance laws by producing funds with out revealing origin of funds. In the process he brought into question the Financial Intentional Unit (FIU), BEC Accounting Department and the General Post Office. His public claim of payment timeline and method did not line up with the facts.

He has been critical of several key government decisions relative to the staff at BEC and the plan for BEC’s future. As the government representative he should be delivering the policy position and not be at complete odds with it. If he and the government are not on the same page because one or both sides lack confidence in the other then changes must take place. He or the government must go! The FNM prefers that both go!

Miller like Rollins claimed to know the facts about the Letter Of Intent (LOI) and would release it if Renward Wells were fired. Why does he not act in the public’s interest as he often claims he does by sharing what he knows? And since Wells was fired 3 months later why has he not revealed what he knows? We know that the person is senior to him, which leaves Deputy PM Davis and PM Christie.

On another occasion Miller left a series of obscene messages on a colleagues’ answering machine threatening to relieve him of, quite possibly, government transportation and worst to turn of his light. Was this also a joke, did the person have huge arrears with the Corporation or was Miller revealing how out of control he is when given authority?
More recently he indicated he hired the line staff Union boss because he was the son of his friend. Mr. Miller seem to miss the point that he had just admitted to nepotism.

Most importantly, the Executive Chairman is ill suited to provide answers to the plea for help to reduce the high electricity rates and the inconsistent electricity supply. This reason more than any is why he must resign or be fired.

Former Minister Phenton Neymour rightly pointed out that the PLP cancelled the action plan put in place by the FNM to provide two (2) Generators at Clifton Pier. These generators would have now been in place and would have assisted in restoring electricity to the residents of New Providence during this recent Blackout. In fact the work had begun in preparing for these Generators. The PLP would be well advised to implement the FNM Plan of Action.

The time has come for the government of the Bahamas to engage this very sophisticated public in meaningful discussions about the future of energy in the Bahamas which would include a mix bag of options. Included in this mix should be the increased capacity of Bahamians to utilize renewable energy to self generate power. Furthermore, the idea should be entertained that we can entertain several energy providers in the Bahamas who must each demonstrate that they have the capacity to provide electricity in cost effective ways for the region they secured the contract for.

The Bahamas competitiveness depends substantially on it future energy policy and the manner in which we generate power.

Conventional wisdom tells us that many of those countries that are competing effectively are doing so through producing Natural Gas. One suggestion that is worth exploring is that made by former Executive Chairman Michael Moss who advocates that government should entertain tenders for the installation of 100-150 Mega Watts of generation plant capable of burning natural gas on a build, own, operate (BOO) basis, the contract being awarded to the company tendering to sell reliable power to BEC at the lowest rate. At the WSC the Build, Own and Operate (BOO) concept, led by engineer Phenton Neymour, was an integral part of the Privatization of water production and generation. Today the WSC the New Providence water production is 95% Privatized which was proven to be beneficial in the elimination of barging water from Andros and thereby lowering water production costs under the FNM Government.

The FNM is committed to engaging the brightest Bahamians to assist us as we smash the old concepts of development so that we can creatively construct the new Bahamas where legislation, policy and programme choices are made with the people’s interest in mind.

The catastrophic failure of the generators at Blue Hills due to fire further highlights the need for new leadership which will have oversight for The Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC). The Bahamas economy is undergoing a slow recovery and any major negative event or trend has the potential to further slow or reverse small economic gains anticipated with the rebound of the world economy. The trends of blackouts, industrial disputes and constantly changing plans for the future of BEC are creating tremendous problems for residents and businesses throughout The Bahamas.

One major obstacle to progress at BEC is the ongoing presence of the Executive Chairman Leslie Miller. His appointment and survival at this crucial Corporation exposes Christie-Davis Weakness as leaders. Mr. Miller is a popular figure that speaks his mind even though pressures may force him to change it a short time thereafter. This upfront, in your face, say what is on your mind quality has made him entertaining and lovable. He no doubt can be useful serving in some capacity in government. However, that capacity is not Executive Chairman of BEC. It is amazing and extremely disappointing that Mr. Miller remains in this crucial role despite numerous reasons why he should resign or be fired.

Leslie Miller told a personal story about domestic abuse of a girlfriend and claimed it was a joke and miraculously survived in his position as MP and Executive Chairman. PLP women who ordinarily claim to champion women’s causes gave him a pass in spite of his revelation. He then attempted to bride the Crisis Centre with a meager $1,000 donation rather than volunteering at the Centre or producing public service announcements repudiating jokes about domestic violence, which is so prevalent in the Bahamas and more importantly repudiating domestic violence.

Leslie Miller is verbally abusive to BEC line staff and managers consistently. Even when he has the right message he delivers it most often in the wrong way. His approach and attitude is counter-productive to the successful operation of the Corporation. Reduction of overtime costs is an imperative but Miller has failed to properly drive this and other issues. We in the FNM do not believe he is capable of making the necessary adjustments in this regard.

Leslie Miller should never have been appointed Executive Chairman of BEC. It was reported that his business enterprises owed the Corporation in excess of $ 250,000. While many of us have debts, it is problematic to owe such large sums to the very Corporation you hope to lead. In other words Mr. Miller has no moral authority to guide or enforce collection of outstanding funds given his level of “unserviced” indebtedness.

Secondly, his message about staff taking advantage of the Corporation through overtime payments and bonuses rings hollow given his refusal to pay his own bills to the very same Corporation.

Leslie Miller should have been removed by Christie-Davis in several respects:

Once his level of indebtedness was discovered.

Once he miraculously produced the cash for $ 100,000 to reduce his bill; since it is clear that he only paid once it became public knowledge that he owed so much to the Corporation.

Furthermore, he violated the company’s policy by paying such a large sum in the manner he did without the proper checks and balances.
He violated compliance laws by producing funds with out revealing origin of funds. In the process he brought into question the Financial Intentional Unit (FIU), BEC Accounting Department and the General Post Office. His public claim of payment timeline and method did not line up with the facts.

He has been critical of several key government decisions relative to the staff at BEC and the plan for BEC’s future. As the government representative he should be delivering the policy position and not be at complete odds with it. If he and the government are not on
the same page because one or both sides lack confidence in the other then changes must take place. He or the government must go! The FNM prefers that both go!

Miller like Rollins claimed to know the facts about the Letter Of Intent (LOI) and would release it if Renward Wells were fired. Why does he not act in the public’s interest as he often claims he does by sharing what he knows? And since Wells was fired 3 months later why has he not revealed what he knows? We know that the person is senior to him, which leaves Deputy PM Davis and PM Christie.
On another occasion Miller left a series of obscene messages on a colleagues’ answering machine threatening to relieve him of, quite possibly, government transportation and worst to turn of his light. Was this also a joke, did the person have huge arrears with the Corporation or was Miller revealing how out of control he is when given authority?
More recently he indicated he hired the line staff Union boss because he was the son of his friend. Mr. Miller seem to miss the point that he had just admitted to nepotism.

Most importantly, the Executive Chairman is ill suited to provide answers to the plea for help to reduce the high electricity rates and the inconsistent electricity supply. This reason more than any is why he must resign or be fired.

Former Minister Phenton Neymour rightly pointed out that the PLP cancelled the action plan put in place by the FNM to provide two (2) Generators at Clifton Pier. These generators would have now been in place and would have assisted in restoring electricity to the residents of New Providence during this recent Blackout. In fact the work had begun in preparing for these Generators. The PLP would be well advised to implement the FNM Plan of Action.

The time has come for the government of the Bahamas to engage this very sophisticated public in meaningful discussions about the future of energy in the Bahamas which would include a mix bag of options. Included in this mix should be the increased capacity of Bahamians to utilize renewable energy to self generate power. Furthermore, the idea should be entertained that we can entertain several energy providers in the Bahamas who must each demonstrate that they have the capacity to provide electricity in cost effective ways for the region they secured the contract for.

The Bahamas competitiveness depends substantially on it future energy policy and the manner in which we generate power. Conventional wisdom tells us that many of those countries that are competing effectively are doing so through producing Natural Gas. One suggestion that is worth exploring is that made by former Executive Chairman Michael Moss who advocates that government should entertain tenders for the installation of 100-150 Mega Watts of generation plant capable of burning natural gas on a build, own, operate (BOO) basis, the contract being awarded to the company tendering to sell reliable power to BEC at the lowest rate. At the WSC the Build, Own and Operate (BOO) concept, led by engineer Phenton Neymour, was an integral part of the Privatization of water production and generation. Today the WSC the New Providence water production is 95% Privatized which was proven to be beneficial in the elimination of barging water from Andros and thereby lowering water production costs under the FNM Government.

The FNM is committed to engaging the brightest Bahamians to assist us as we smash the old concepts of development so that we can creatively construct the new Bahamas where legislation, policy and programme choices are made with the people’s interest in mind.