Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis commented on reports of a proposed private public partnership for the management of Bahamas Power and Light’s (BPL) transmission and distribution services.
Davis spoke with reporters while attending an event at the Atlantis Resort saying the information currently in the public domain is misleading. “No we’re not privatizing BPL. We will bring in some strategic partners for the purposes of being able to find the necessary funding that we, the government, don’t have to arrest some of the issues that we have. And its a lot of money that’s required to fix BPL. And we have to find innovative and creative ways to get that done,” he said.
The Prime Minister met with President of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union (BEWU), Kyle Wilson and other union officials on Friday regarding the proposed changes at BPL. He assured that no workers will be laid off and pension benefits will be met. Davis said, “we’re about to make some major decisions. A step to address the issues relating to power security in the country. We’re in dire straits as to where BPL is now and we’re about to do it. There are some misinformation that’s out there about what we’re going to do and so I thought it was important for me to meet with the union members to assure them about what we’re going to do and in due course sit with them again to ensure that they appreciate the details. The meeting was very cordial. They were very firm and adamant on what their positions would like to be but they also understand what we have to do and there will be a meeting of the minds no doubt on the way forward.”
The BEWU also held a meeting on Friday with members at the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) Building. President Kyle Wilson released a press release stating his disapproval of a proposal for the government to grant a contract to foreign companies to manage, oversee or maintain BPL’s or the Bahamian people’s assets.
