Branville McCartney

DEMOCRATIC National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney yesterday slammed the Christie administration for learning nothing from Hurricane Joaquin, claiming the government’s response to Hurricane Matthew and its subsequent restoration efforts have “left much to be desired.”

Mr. McCartney, in a statement, lamented the “thousands of Bahamians” in New Providence, Grand Bahama and North Andros living in “darkness” without food, water and other emergency items, notwithstanding Prime Minister Perry Christie’s previous promise that the government would use Hurricane Joaquin as a “teachable moment” to avoid being caught by surprise by dangerous weather systems.

Mr. McCartney also lamented the Bahamas Power and Light Company’s (BPL) struggles with restoring power to residents in New Providence after the storm, calling it a “reflection of the years of mismanagement which has all but crippled the company”.

He also took exception to government officials not yet publicly addressing the need to “migrate most, if not all of our power lines underground as a means of protecting them”. He also chided the government for not yet implementing a timeline for the introduction of renewable energy sources and/or improving access to alternative energy sources, the likes of which he said would allow people to “achieve a sense of normalcy” sooner in times of crisis.

“The aftermath of Hurricane Matthew has left much to be desired from a recovery and restoration standpoint,” Mr. McCartney said. “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 (Grand Bahama) and North Andros remain without the necessary food, water, power and other emergency items while much of New Providence remains in darkness.

“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.”

Last year, Mr. Christie said his administration has to use the impact of Hurricane Joaquin as a “teachable moment,” adding that the government needed to implement a process where dangerous weather systems do not catch people by surprise.

Last week, he doubled down on that promise, declaring that the government had learned to ensure storm preparations are complete prior to a storm’s arrival, to effectively assess the vulnerability of a particular area in the country and subsequently conduct thorough evacuations, and to deploy sufficient resources prior to the storm’s arrival.

By Nico Scavella, Tribune Staff Reporter

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