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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 The aftermath of Hurricane Matthew has left much to be desired from a recovery and restoration standpoint. Even as this Christie led government, and the newly appointed Minister of Restoration pat themselves on the back, thousands of Bahamians across the country, specifically on GBI and North Andros remain without the necessary food, water, power and other emergency items while much of New Providence remains in darkness. In the days following the passage of Joaquin just one year ago, the Prime Minister pontificated at length about the many lessons his government learned from dealing with the aftermath. Chief among them he said at the time, was NEVER to be caught unprepared and to ensure the necessary response infrastructure in terms of legislation for funding relief efforts as well as the basic and fundamental to facilitate the immediate distribution of relief supplies. In the face of such evidence, one thing has been made abundantly clear: THIS GOVERNMENT LEARNED NOTHING FROM HURRICANE JOAQUIN’S TEACHABLE MOMENTS! As a matter of fact, the Prime Minister stated that NEMA was not prepared for this type of disaster brought on by Mathew.
In fact, I think it is safe to say, that no Bahamian families impacted by Matthew have benefited from these reported “learned lessons”. And now, even more teachable moments abound! While Grand Bahama’s already struggling economy has ground to a near halt, we have heard nothing from Mr. Christie in his capacity as the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Grand Bahama on how if at all that island will recover. Here in New Providence, union officials and former executives of BPL have revealed that power restoration efforts have been plagued by poor coordination, and a lack of resources at BPL which will reportedly delay full power restoration for approximately two weeks. This is clearly not an indictment on hardworking employees of the company – many of whom have worked hard, and continue to sacrifice time away from their families and the restoration of their own homes – but rather a reflection of the years of mismanagement which has all but crippled it.
In the wake of the storm we have heard no government officials talk about the need to migrate most, if not all our power lines underground as a means of protecting them. We have also heard absolutely nothing from BPL or the government regarding a timeline for the introduction of renewable energy resources or improving access to alternative energy options for the average, every day Bahamian so that in times of crisis, families with elderly, sick, or very young persons are able to achieve a sense of
normalcy, sooner. Instead, Bahamians who have suffered so much already are left to suffer EVEN MORE! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
As an archipelagic nation, our reality dictates that relief efforts be duplicated many times over, In order to do this effectively, PLANNING is key and that level of planning cannot be executed properly in the days before a storm approaches. We can only hope that this administration has learned its lesson now!
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