NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Philip Davis yesterday dismissed Opposition suggestions of a "secret deal" being undertaken by the government regarding the future of Bahamas Power and Light, as he suggested that within two to three months, the company's consumers would see an appreciable reduction in their electricity bills.
The Prime Minister was responding to Opposition Shadow Finance Minister and East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson, who, during his mid-year budget contribution, questioned the Davis administration's plans for BPL, suggesting there was a secret deal afoot as the government has failed to disclose its plans for the utility.
"If you are embarking upon negotiations you don't let the world know about the negotiations. It's in the ordinary course of business. In the ordinary course of doing business, you are getting things done. Why would we want to in the middle of our negotiations tell the word we are negotiating for this or that? We have to be able to sit down and prudently negotiate," said Prime Minister Davis.
"You stay tuned. The fundamentals of the deal are in place but the actual arrangements, the provisions, and obligations on our part and on the other party are being worked out. At the appropriate time, the deal will be known. We are different and when we speak to the deal you will find it isn't a fraudulent deal. You just wait and see. Stay tuned."
The Prime Minister argued that suggesting that his administration had struck a secret deal was "political mischief."
"What do you mean secret deal? What secret deal have we struck? The Bahamian people know what my vision is for BPL. It is to provide affordable and reliable electricity. That is my vision. That vision will be achieved. Stay tuned. Just look at your bill now, it's lower. Wait until June and see it. Just stay tuned. The vision has been expressed. I told the union what my vision is because of the state BPL is in."
Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU) president Kyle Wilson has stated that employees at Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) are against the impending public-private partnership (PPP) agreements for the utility company. It is understood that in the next three months, BPL will sign two PPP agreements, one for power generation and the other for transmission and distribution with the company. The government has not revealed the details of the deal to the employees or the general public, although the Prime Minister has stated that BPL is not being privatized and insisted that the government is bringing in "strategic partners" to generate the funds necessary to "fix" BPL.
It is understood that the power generation will be contracted to a leading local petroleum product supplier, while the transmission and distribution will be contracted to Pike Corporation, whose chairman, Eric Pike, has an equity stake in Sir Franklyn Wilson's Jack Bay development in Eleuthera. Sir Franklyn, Chairman of FOCOL, has stated that rumors that his company, or some new subsidiary of his consortium of companies, is set to take over assets of Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) are categorically untrue.
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