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BPL blasted for ‘worst hurricane recovery ever’
A CAR navigates its way past a precariously balanced pole amid downed power lines through Tayoo End off Marshall Road yesterday, as BPL came under fire for the slow pace of recovery efforts. Photo: Shawn Hanna/ Tribune Staff By SANCHESKA DORSETT Tribune Staff Reporter sdorsett@tribunemedia.net  BAHAMAS Electrical Workers Union President Paul Maynard yesterday blasted the “coordinators� at Bahamas Power and Light for being “inefficient� and organising the “worst hurricane recovery effort� he has ever seen. In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Maynard said if certain BPL officials had “listened to advice from the union� more areas of New Providence would have been restored and BPL’s restoration timeline would be significantly shorter.
In a statement on Monday, BPL said it could not give an exact time for full restoration, but the company expects most customers to be back on supply by the end of the week. However, Mr Maynard said “two to three weeks� is more realistic. “They have these people up there, these coordinators, who do not know what they are doing,� Mr Maynard said. “We should have been working from day one instead of doing assessment. The people should have been working and we wasted that entire day. We have a bunch of people that are
now retired who are linesmen that could assist and we have people who have equipment who could have helped. “We should have engaged all of them and coordinated it properly. If we did, we would have been further than this. This is the worst coordination I have ever seen. Those coordinators are off base and a lot of it is arrogance. They don’t want to listen to anyone and they believe they know everything.� Mr Maynard said going forward, “once the coordinators are changed� SEE PAGE SIX
MILLER: NEW PROVIDENCE REPAIRS BEING DONE WITH SKELETON CREW By KHRISNA VIRGIL Deputy Chief Reporter kvirgil@tribunemedia.net  TALL Pines MP Leslie Miller yesterday criticised Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd saying the electricity provider has failed to properly coordinate efforts in a timely manner to restore the supply to residents in New Providence, pointing to the use of a “skeleton crew�
to tackle the wide range of needed repairs in the capital. Mr Miller said BPL should have been able to reconnect customers in about two to three days after Hurricane Matthew’s passing. However some residents in New Providence have been left without power for about a week, beginning when Matthew first touched down on the island last Wednesday.
He attributed this lengthy and “unacceptable� time period to BPL’s decision to veer away from the model to remedy issues caused by hurricanes, which was adopted by the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) before it transitioned to BPL. The former BEC executive chairman said this involved employing the work SEE PAGE SIX
THOUSANDS OF GRAND BAHAMIANS FORCED OUT OF THEIR HOMES By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
THE four settlements along the southern coast of Grand Bahama from Mack Town to Pinder’s Point were devastated by Hurricane Matthew, which has displaced thousands of residents whose homes were destroyed and flooded by water.
Described as the “worst� storm to hit Grand Bahama in the last 12 years, residents returned after the storm to battered, flattened, and roofless homes and structures. After going through storms like Frances, Jeanne and Wilma, Hunters resident Kirkland Russell said that Matthew was the worst by far. “That was something I have
never seen before in all my years here in this community and on Grand Bahama,� he said. “In the communities of Mack Town, Hunters, Lewis Yard, and Pinder’s Point, there is untold property and home damage - a lot of roofs have been torn to belt course and homes flooded,� Mr Russell said. Mr Russell’s roof was severely damaged and his home was
flooded with about two-anda-half feet of seawater by tidal surge. All furnishings, appliances and clothes were ruined. “The house is mashed up,� he said. “I lost a lot of my roof, and the interior had about two plus feet of ocean water that came inside. We did our best to batten up the place and secured furniture in high places because we have been through this three
times before. But, unfortunately, the roof was teared up by the strong winds, and the rain and the water from the ocean came in and destroyed everything – furniture, appliances, and all our clothing.� Prior to the storm, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) issued an evacuation SEE PAGE THREE
SCHOOLS STAY CLOSED AS RELIEF IS ON THE WAY TO OFFICIALS ASSESS DAMAGE BADLY-DAMAGED ANDROS By RICARDO WELLS Tribune Staff Reporter rwells@tribunemedia.net
PUBLIC schools in the northwest Bahamas will remain closed for the reminder of the week, with officials aiming to reassess repair efforts by Friday to decide a suitable return date for students. The announcement came during a press conference held at the Ministry of Edu-
cation, Science and Technology on Tuesday, where Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald presented his ministry’s plan of action in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. Mr Fitzgerald said teams from the ministry’s Physical Plan Unit have spent much of the last few days assessing public school campuses throughout New SEE PAGE 11
By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
IN hard-hit North Andros, disaster management officials are in the recovery stage, distributing relief aid and building materials to hurricane victims. Senior Deputy Administrator Ivan Ferguson told The Tribune yesterday that cell service in his district was intermittent, with only “little
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pockets� of connectivity. When he spoke to The Tribune on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Ferguson was on the road distributing food supplies - which he said were sufficiently stocked to meet the needs of his district. Based on preliminary information, he estimated that some 40 persons had been displaced by the category four hurricane. SEE PAGE SEVEN