Miller blasts govt. over new landfill agreement

Miller blasts govt. over new landfill agreement

Leslie Miller, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Tall Pines, sounded off on Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG), Monday for what he said are ludicrous suggestions for the remediation and operation of the New Providence landfill.

The government announced last week that WRDG had been chosen as the company which would remediate and bring the landfill up to operational standards.

WRDG was chosen out of 18 potential operators.

The company proposed that the remediation process would cost an estimated $130 million dollars.

It also revealed that it would create a mini power plant to generate power that will be sold to Bahamas Power and Light (BPL).

Miller labelled the million-dollar budget, and the idea of power generation, as absurd.

“I find it incredible that they came up with a $130 million-dollar figure to remediate the dump,” exclaimed Miller.

“What are they going to do with all of that?

“They also cannot produce electricity from fill. Seventy to 80 per cent of the dump is fill. It’s a mountain of fill.”

He continued, “Unlike the United States and Canada where they separate garbage, that doesn’t happen here in New Providence. They simply cannot produce electricity out of the kind of garbage at that dump site.”

Miller, who also served as executive chairman at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC), now named BPL, blasted government on its assertion that Shell North America is being considered as a partner for electricity generation in The Bahamas.

“Why would you allow a foreign conglomerate to come into our country and own such a vital entity. You are now going to buy electricity from them when you can own it yourself?” he asked.

“It is obvious to me that they are going to sell off the power company, but this makes no sense to me.”

Dr. Donovan Moxey, Executive Director, BPL, told Eyewitness News recently that the company’s new slate of board of directors is currently in the process of reviewing Shell North America’s proposal to operate and will make a decision on the way forward in the coming months.

About Theo Sealy

Theo Sealy is an award-winning journalist who serves as senior broadcast reporter and weekend TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. He has achieved several career milestones, including his work as a field contributor with CNN, his coverage of four consecutive general elections, his production of several docuseries and his Bahamas Press Club Awards win for “Best Television News Story” in 2018.