Wednesday, March 18, 2015
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
DEPUTY Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday said he is “satisfied” that last weekend’s island-wide blackout “did not occur as a result of negligence by employees” at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation, contradicting earlier statements from BEC’s Executive Chairman Leslie Miller.
Mr Davis said having “personally” visited the site and discussing the matter with BEC’s management and technical staff, it is “regrettable” that anyone was blamed for the outage.
On Sunday, Mr Miller blamed the weekend power failures on the management and staff who work at the Blue Hills Power Station. He said the whole incident could have been avoided if “the machines were properly maintained and serviced”.
He also told The Tribune on Sunday that he believes the BEC workers who failed to do their jobs will not be punished because of “union interference”.
However, yesterday Mr Miller distanced himself from these comments and apologised to BEC workers. Speaking with The Tribune, he insisted that his original statements to the press were “taken out of context” and he never blamed the workers for the outage.
“The fault on the system was no fault of any BEC worker,” the Tall Pines MP said. “All I was trying to say is if there was proper maintenance, oil would not have been in the trenches. I didn’t say it was their fault, it wasn’t their fault.
“If we, as a company including management, had done proper maintenance it would not have happened,” he added.
“I was not saying they did not do their jobs, the oil was in the trench for about five years and the old wires for more than 30 years – so this problem is decades old. I thanked the guys, the employees worked hard, very hard from Friday until Sunday and I was with them every step of the way. I apologise if they perceived my comments as saying they were responsible. No one was responsible for the machines shutting down.”
However, this is a sharp turn from what he said earlier this week.
“One of the main wires running to the seven engines at Blue Hills, one of those overheated,” Mr Miller said on Sunday. “And there was oil in the trench that should not have been there. We’ve been begging them to clean out the trenches where they have the wires and we had a fire there before and yet they never rectified the situation. So when that one wire got overloaded, because oil was there, it sparked and blew up all the wires. The preventative maintenance wasn’t done and the lack of proper maintenance is what’s killing BEC.”
Mr Davis, who is also the minister of works with responsibility for BEC, commended employees for their “dedication and hard work.”
In a statement released yesterday, he also thanked customers across New Providence for “their patience during this most difficult time.”
“I am fully aware of the inconveniences homes and businesses wrought as a result of the outages that occurred this past weekend. I also assure the public that the government is doing its part in fulfilling its commitment to not only reduce the cost of electricity but to also improve the delivery of services by BEC,” Mr Davis’ statement said.
On Monday, Bahamas Electrical Workers Union President Paul Maynard called on the government to fire Mr Miller over his earlier claims that negligence by BEC workers caused the blackout. Mr Maynard insisted that a “fault occurred in the system”, causing a fire and the subsequent meltdown.
He said the government will see what will happen if it does not “get rid” of Mr Miller. He added that his union will not support the government in its planned restructuring of BEC if Mr Miller is not let go from the corporation.
Comments
duppyVAT says...
Soooooooooooo, why doesn't Brave fire Leslie like he fired Renward??????? This is just not right for a senior Cabinet minister to be caught up in such a mess ........ BEC, Bahamasair, UR2.0 and BAMSI ................... how long before Perry get rid of this blight????????
Posted 18 March 2015, 12:41 p.m. Suggest removal
John says...
Brave looking for votes and his credibility is far worse than Leslie Millers. The union trying to get their "cash cow" back and their leaders will stop at nothing. Who is V Alfred Gray?
Posted 18 March 2015, 12:46 p.m. Suggest removal
Romrok says...
Yup. Buying votes rather than fixing a problem. Sell BEC and don't allow government near them!!
Posted 18 March 2015, 12:57 p.m. Suggest removal
jackbnimble says...
Here we go again. Miller backtracks on ANOTHER statement. Jeez! When are we going to get relief from this madness!!!
Posted 18 March 2015, 1:15 p.m. Suggest removal
realfreethinker says...
Brave cant fire him because he on the chopping block for bamsi. The real culprit here is lousy perry who continue to let this crap go on
Posted 18 March 2015, 2:01 p.m. Suggest removal
legalmindatwork says...
I am convinced Leslie is not tired of being a flip flopper.....the way he backtracks on the things he says makes me queasy.
Posted 18 March 2015, 2:05 p.m. Suggest removal
TalRussell says...
http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2015…
Posted 18 March 2015, 2:11 p.m. Suggest removal
ObserverOfChaos says...
one thing is true....the machines were properly maintained and serviced...is the only true thing he's said....those machines are in a sad state of affair....and getting worse...how much does BEC spend on leasing generators now? When was the last time the generators were upgraded? When were the last time ANYTHING new was put online to keep power on?
Posted 18 March 2015, 3:51 p.m. Suggest removal
themessenger says...
Ah Brave, the master purveyor of red herrings. He had to do something to deflect all the flack he's catching for BAMSI. Didn't he???
But he should have remembered when he started throwing shit, that inevitably some of it would stick to him too, never mind that he up to the neck in it already.
Posted 18 March 2015, 3:59 p.m. Suggest removal
duppyVAT says...
Yep ............... God is allowing Brave to atone for the crime billboards. He must be publicly humbled in this way ........... he is too pompous (and crooked)
Posted 18 March 2015, 4:14 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
................................. Just Change The Name To "Phillip Brave Davis" .............................
http://news.yahoo.com/connecticut-ex-go…
Posted 18 March 2015, 5:43 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
Paul Maynard needs to go he is constantly threatening illegal and violent acts if he doesn't get his way. You do not get to chose who you work with. The company puts a group of individuals together and says accomplish this as a TEAM. Who you like and don't like is irrelevant, that's called MATURITY. He should stop acting like a little girl, apologies to little girls
Posted 18 March 2015, 6:52 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
*No one was responsible for the machines shutting down.”*
I beg to differ. the first person responsible is the BEC bribe taker
Posted 18 March 2015, 6:55 p.m. Suggest removal
Economist says...
Did he check this like he checked on BAMSI contractors insurance?
Posted 18 March 2015, 9:58 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
It really annoys me how Paul Maynard backs the employees like they're a group of saints when EVERYBODY knows they've been abusing the system for years. 15 men show up to do overtime one person does the work but everybody gets paid, people take vacation and never record it then claim for all their unused vacation days, people don't show up to work but collect pay, take sick days claim from NIB and the employer. And they don't have any idea why BEC is in the state it's in? All they have to do is ask what any reasonable purchaser would do if he wanted to turn BEC around. Get the ministers grubby sticky fingers out of the cookie jar, fire all of the campaign workers, friends,constituents and sweethearts of the minister. It's truly amazing to see that the Cabinet of the Bahamas is the biggest national security threat we ever faced. They will sink us with their, *I didn't know's, I don't recall's, money is money, I'm just helping a friend, who do you think you are, but look what they do's, if it was a white man you wouldn't say anything's*
We keep looking for these old men to change, but they old, they can't change, they've thought ALL their life that the spoils belong to them and they will believe that till they die. Crown land, treasury money, your land, your young beautiful daughters (maybe your sons), your hard earned money. It's all theirs. They need to go.
Posted 19 March 2015, 6:54 a.m. Suggest removal
duppyVAT says...
Did Brave resign yet??????????????? Has Perry fired Brave yet?????????
Posted 19 March 2015, 4:30 p.m. Suggest removal
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