Former Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) Executive Chairman Leslie Miller said yesterday that he does not understand why the government says it "believes in Bahamians" when it is "always bringing in the foreigners". He was responding to the recent agreement signed between PowerSecure and Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of BEC.

As a part of the deal, which was signed on Monday, PowerSecure signed a five-year management services agreement with the government to run BPL.

"We wanted to have a joint venture with a Bahamian group with them (PowerSecure) so whatever knowledge they had could be transferred to them," the Tall Pines MP said. "I don't know why we continue to say that we believe in Bahamians and you always bringing in the foreigners."

Miller said it is interesting that in this day and age the government talks about "believe in Bahamians [and] believe in yourself".

"That is our mantra," he said.

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) campaigned on the slogan "Believe in Bahamians" during the 2012 general election. Miller said the former BEC board envisioned for BEC a similar scenario that occurred with the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), which was managed by Canadians and is now managed by Bahamians.

"We brought in the Canadians and now, thank God, they are gone," he said. "Bahamians are running it properly.

"You must empower your people. It can't be rhetoric. People aren't stupid anymore. You have to empower them that we can look to our future. That's what we have to do.

"We don't need any foreigners to tell me what the future should be. My past experience tells me what I should do in the future. The plan we had was as good as the plan they have. But nobody listened to us, but they will listen to the other brothers because their skin color [is] a little brighter than mine."

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