Creating a World Class Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells” Touch the Care of My Ministerial Portfolio

Keynote Address By The Hon. T DESMOND BANNISTER Minister of Public Works on the occasion of The 6thEleuthera business Outlook Theme: “Creating a World Class Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells” Thursday, 26th April, 2018 9:00 a.m. VALENTINES RESORT AND MARINA Harbour Island, The Bahamas 1 Mr. Rickey Mackey-Member of Parliament for South Eleuthera Mr. Hank Johnson -Member of Parliament for North Eleuthera Mrs. Joan Albury -President of the Counsellors Group of Companies Senior Government Officials Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen A Pleasant Good morning. I am so pleased to have been invited to speak at what has been a much anticipated event on the business calendar of Bahamians. It is an honour for me to have been invited here today. I wish to thank Mrs. Joan Albury and her staff 2 at the Counsellors Group of Companies for their kind invitation, and for hosting this timely event. I’m sure that all of you would agree that although still in its fledging years, this event has grown to be a progressive forum, with distinguished participants from all sectors of society. It provides a wonderful opportunity for all of us to share. I also wish to commend Mrs. Albury, the President of The Counsellors, for her tenacity through the years in developing this group of companies to the point that they are legitimately able to boast of being the largest full service marketing agency in The Bahamas, a most notable achievement. Ladies and Gentlemen, 3 The Counsellors have, over the years, brought together outstanding business and civic leaders and outstanding Bahamian personalities. And what is particularly interesting about their marketing strategy and approach is that they have embraced the concept of inclusion, and by that I refer to the fact that they have sought to vary the venue for these presentations. Abaco, Exuma and Grand Bahama, and now bustling and beautiful Harbour Island have provided unique Bahamian venues for the discussion of cutting edge ideas, trends and matters of interest that have in some instances galvanized us to action, and in others formed the basis for further inquiry and research. Ultimately, however, these forums facilitate the sharing of ideas and lead to collaboration and enlightenment, and 4 enhance growth and development in all spheres of the Bahamian economy. For this Mrs. Albury and her team are to be highly commended. Ladies and Gentlemen, This morning’s theme of “Creating A World Class Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells” touch the care of my Ministerial portfolio. Hence, it is important that I set the tone by sharing the numerous possibilities for world class standards that exist from my perspective as the Minister of Public Works. As Minister, I am fortunate to have within my portfolio, responsibility for not only infrastructural works, but also for Bahamas Power and Light (BPL); 5 the Straw Market Authority; the Bridge Authority; Town Planning; and the Water and Sewerage Corporation. This remit affords me amazing opportunities to enhance and improve the condition and quality of life for our citizens and visitors alike. Ladies and Gentlemen, In order to facilitate our mission, the Ministry of Public Works is undergoing tremendous change in a multiplicity of areas. We are changing the way we interact with the public; we are changing our communication platforms; we are changing how we do business; we are changing our customer service interaction; and what excites me most is that we are changing how we engage, train, interact with, and mentor our young professionals. We are basically 6 changing the focus of how we impact our country through the delivery of services in a model that is focused on growth and development. In the process we anticipate that the archaic Ministry of Public Works will fall away, and that a new model for delivering services and engaging the public will emerge. Some of you may be aware that an integral part of the preliminary thrust of this initiative is for me to lead a team of my ministry’s professionals to visit our island communities throughout the country to review and inspect infrastructure. We want to see the extent of the erosion that isdestroying the Russell Island Bridge. We want to experience the rage that impacts the Glass Window Bridge. We 7 want to visit the schools to review their structural integrity. We want to touch the rotting staircase at the Harbour Island Post Office, and to drive on the unpaved roads. We want to speak with residents on the ground in these communities to learn firsthand of their daily challenges with BPL. In that way we can focus on addressing challenges, prioritizing them and remediating infrastructure in a manner that meaningfully impact people every single day of their lives. In looking at these issues I can tell you that there are two men, North Eleuthera M.P. Rickey Mackey and South Eleuthera M.P. Hank Johnson, who put pressure on me continuously. So there is no way that we will lose focus. 8 Ladies and Gentlemen, All of you would be aware of Eleuthera’s rich history, and the lasting impact that the isle of freedom has had on the development of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. From the legacy of the Lucayan Indians to the early days of the Eleutheran Adventurers; to the establishment of the U.S Naval Facility and the U.S Air Force Eastern Test Range Tracking Station; to the booming era of the agricultural industry; specifically the pineapple crop, Eleuthera has experienced tremendous diversity; and when I say Eleuthera this morning I mean the entire tri island community of Harbour Island, Eleuthera and Spanish Wells. 9 In recent times that rich legacy and the beauty of the tri island community has drawn many celebrities to your shores, some of whom are sharing our amazing culture with the world; others who want to keep their Bahamian paradise secret. The history and current development of Eleuthera combine to tell us that industrial revitalization and commercial viability are on the charts. Diversification combined with development permits us to pursue the revitalization of Eleuthera’s world class economy. A significant step in this process is ensuring that the necessary infrastructure and support mechanisms are developed so as to foster the efficient day to day 10 life in the communities throughout the island, and also permit the development of modern concepts and facilitation of commercial projects for future development. Ladies and Gentlemen; Having set the groundwork, please permit me to speak to our efforts at the Ministry of Public Works to create the dynamics that will afford Bahamians and visitors alike a world class experience of life in Eleuthera, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells. Today, more than ever, as we seek to further integrate ourselves into the world economies to stimulate our economic growth, we must be cognizant and appreciative of the fact that 11 historically the driving force of this economy and indeed this country has been its ability to provide exemplary levels of service. We have been blessed with a beautiful environment; hence the enhancement of the quality of service and the development of modern infrastructure require our attention. My Ministry has a significant interest in both of these benchmarks. Ladies and Gentlemen, Someone once said that improving quality is a lot like taking vitamins, exercising regularly and eating healthy foods in that while the results may not be immediate, the long term benefits should be significant. 12 I reference this analogy because it is in this vein that our customers, the tourists, and the local residents view service delivery in terms of a total experience and not its composite parts. In other words, if the water in Spanish Wells is discoloured, the visitor will not blame the Water & Sewerage Corporation. They will say that the water in the Bahamas is bad. If the driver is rude, the visitor will likely generalize the experience to all Bahamians. If the roads are bumpy and filled with potholes, they will likely generalize it to the entire country. In each of these scenarios we will also be negatively impacting the quality of life that residents are entitled to. I submit to you therefore, that whenever one has a world class experience, there has to be certain 13 considerations and characteristics present in order for one to rate it as world class. Chief among them is broad appeal across age, gender, class, status etc. The common thread that pulls everything together however, is the totality of the experience for all of us. We intend to provide world class, reliable energy; in an environmentally friendly way at the lowest cost to consumers, thereby ensuring that consumers are satisfied with the service they obtain. In this vein I wish to advise that there is immediate short terms need for additional generation capacity for Harbour Island. This need is urgent and critical for the following reasons: 14 1. The anticipated load for the Island is expected to be approximately Five (5) Mega Watts during the year’s summer peak load. There is also a government approved project planned for this island. 2. The existing Northern Feeder from the Hatchet Bay Power Station to Harbour Island cannot effectively provide the necessary generation capacity at the required voltage and frequency during this period. 3. There are multiple undersize conductors, and different types of conductor that is i.e. copper tied in with aluminum. These irregularities and distance to Harbour Island drastically affect the reliable supply of electricity i.e. causing low voltage to our customers. 15 4. The existing generation capacity on Harbour Island is unstable/unreliable and lacks the capacity to meet the load demand required during the summer holiday period.

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