Up to 75 farm families have struggled to survive since Bahama Star Farms shut down its operation following a citrus canker outbreak 20 months ago. The government continued to provide electricity to the more than 200 farm hands after the American owners pulled out of the 3,700-acre property, but moved to cut the power supply when the bill reportedly reached $42,000.
“Everybody had power and the company took care of it,” explained Katty Paul, a former nursery worker in her 20s, who has become a spokesperson for people living at the Treasure Cay plantation.
“So basically when the government officials and [then]-Minister of Agriculture [Alfred Gray] came over here, the understanding was that they were not going to turn the power off.”
According to Mrs Paul, Mr Gray had assured farm workers they would be notified if any changes to the arrangement were to be made.
But “they didn’t tell us anything,” she recalled of the days leading up to June 21, when the supply was shut off. “The power just went off and after a couple of days I called.
“They [Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC) officials] told us that the bill was $42,000 and the government was not going to pay it,” said Mrs Paul.
North Abaco Chief Councilor Stephen Pedican said BEC had initially billed the local government district for the $42,000 electricity arrears, but explained that it was eventually forwarded to the Office of The Prime Minister, which has assumed responsibility for the farm.
Former farm labourer, Roselene Juene, 40, said she felt the government had cut off the electricity because they are all either Haitian nationals or Bahamians of Haitian descent.
“They don’t like Haitians and that is why they treat us different from anyone else,” the mother of five, who came to Abaco in 1990 to work as a labourer at Bahama Star Farms, said in her native tongue. “That is why they don’t treat us like human beings.”
With the loss of the BEC power supply, and no clue when it might be restored, families have resorted to portable gas operated generators for electricity. They have also contracted an electrician to repair a broken 90 kW generator formerly used for back up power at the farm.
Speaking in the House of Assembly in January 2005, then-Minister of Agriculture, V. Alfred Gray, assured that humane and sensitive arrangements had been made for farm workers to leave the plantation. At the time, he claimed that the ministries of Social Services and Labour would join other government agencies to secure the welfare of the abandoned workers.
Added Mr Gray: “I have given instructions to the Attorney General’s Office and U.S. counsel are to be utilised to pursue the owners of the farm in Abaco, who appear to have abandoned the farm, removed he equipment from the island and have not disabused their responsibility to the government, the workers at the farm and the general public.”
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to reach Mr Gray Sunday and he did not return calls before Guardian press time. A spokesperson for the Office of the Prime was not aware of the power cut and said he would get back to the Guardian; however, he did not return calls up to press time yesterday.
In December 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) informed the Ministry of Agriculture of the existence of citrus canker in fruit exported from Bahamas Star Farms. The disease was eventually confirmed at other farms and led to a minimum two-year ban on citrus exports from The Bahamas.
By: RAYMOND KONGWA, The Nassau Guardian
