We Only Fix What is Broken
There is a lesson I learned from owning my condominium.
I bought it 15 years ago, newly renovated and in excellent condition. For years, I did very little maintenance because everything still worked. But time has a way of exposing neglect. Today, the cupboards are worn, the paint is chipped, the ceiling is cracked, the bathroom fixtures need replacing, and the appliances and furniture have reached the end of their useful lives. It did not happen overnight. It happened because maintenance was postponed until deterioration became impossible to ignore.
The recent power outages in New Providence have been frustrating, especially during this record-breaking heat. Families and businesses have every right to be upset. Energy Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis has acknowledged the hardship, while Prime Minister Philip Davis has reiterated that the country inherited an ageing, end-of-life electricity system and that the long-term solution is not another temporary repair, but a comprehensive modernization of the grid through the government’s energy reform programme, including upgraded transmission infrastructure, new generation, cleaner fuels, renewable energy, and greater system resilience. We have the right people at the helm to cause this modernization to happen.
The deeper issue, however, is one we have ignored for decades. Successive governments have too often treated infrastructure the way many of us treat our homes—repairing only after things begin to fail. That cycle must end.
It is also disappointing to see Opposition Leader Michael Pintard criticize the 200-kilowatt electricity benefit for vulnerable households as money that should instead be spent on the grid. He is ALWAYS on the wrong side of national issues. Prime Minister Davis has explained that this concession was negotiated to protect low-income families, seniors, and struggling Bahamians while broader energy reforms move forward. Compassion and infrastructure are not mutually exclusive; a responsible government must pursue both.
The lesson from my condo is simple: deferred maintenance always costs more. If The Bahamas is to build stronger infrastructure, every government—present and future—must make maintenance a national priority, not an afterthought.
-Abigail Cartwright