NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday suggested that the Davis administration was seeking to have Parliament rubber stamp a secret deal via the Electricity Amendment Act (2024), arguing that the public was being kept in the dark regarding plans for the utility.
Dr Minnis, the Killarney MP during his contribution to the debate on the legislation argued: “We have no knowledge of the PLP’s full plan for changing this sector. We have been kept in the dark by BPL and the PLP. The Opposition and the Bahamian people do not know what the PLP’s full plans are and how BPL may be transformed. What is the PLP and the Prime Minister hiding? Will workers truly be protected? The Opposition and Bahamians do not know who the PLP’s partner might be. Is this an exercise to transfer state-owned assets to cronies?” Dr Minnis described the legislation as a hoax, noting that the legislation will allow for the transfer of BPL’s assets but not its liabilities.
Prime Minister Philip Davis dismissed opposition suggestions of a “secret deal” being undertaken by the government regarding the future of Bahamas Power and Light, telling Parliament back in March that BPL customers would soon see an appreciable reduction in their electricity bills.
Prime Minister Davis 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.
