Opposition Leader Philip Davis was left saddened after touring Pat’s Senior Citizens’ Home yesterday to assess the impact the incessant power outages played on the home.

The tour revealed that beds are down, appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners were lost, a number of food items had to be thrown out and medicines had to be repurchased due to spoilage.

Owner Patricia Moxey also noted that when there’s an outage residence on oxygen machines are put at risk.

“The machine goes 24/7 so when the electricity goes off, we have to run to find the oxygen tank to connect the person up because their life depends on it and we have more than one person depending on oxygen in here,” she said.    

“Most of our patients came straight from the hospital. While we understand and feel what is going on with BPL, I will use an old phrase, ‘while the grass is growing the horse is starving’ and I’m saying that to say we need to get it sorted out quick, fast and hurry.” 

The opposition leader called the situation at Pat’s saddening, adding that the former Progressive Liberal Party government corrected issues at the power company and left a plan in place.

When the Free National Movement administration took office, he said, it ignored the plans and significantly raised the cost of electricity.

“In 2012, in July, Bahamians were paying up to 45 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity,” Mr. Davis said.

“When we were displaced by the Bahamian people in 2017, electricity bills had been reduced to just under 30 cents per kilowatt hour.  It’s now back up to more than 45 cents per kilowatt hour in two short years. 

“Why? Because this government came in and they, just like a bull in a China, closet dismantled the plans.”   

Mr. Davis further asserted that load shedding was not a PLP government issue because that administration sought to fix it. 

He added that the prime minister’s assertion that BPL is in crisis was a bit too late.

“It just shows his insensitivity to what was actually occurring. He seemed to have been deaf to the cries of the Bahamian people. He seemed to be immune to the suffering of the Bahamian people,” he said.    

“He seemed not to appreciate the necessity of reliable power in the country and how critical it is to the survival of our economy, to the convenience of the people and the need or necessary it is to the livelihood and to the lives of people.

“As you would have heard here, there is medicine that has to be refrigerated.” 

The PLP donated two battery powered fans to Pat’s and has committed to having a physiotherapist come in to help with some of the residence. 

Meantime, Mr. Davis is calling on the government to offer compensations to facilities like these that have been badly affected by load shedding exercises.