THERE are fears that Jamaica’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa could be slowed by criminals who continue to prey on the resources of local utility companies.

The island’s major telecommunications companies have been targeted by criminals over the years and on Sunday Flow reported that as it put systems in place to ensure a speedy restoration of service, based on the expected impact of Melissa, its work was being stymied by vandals.

“Unfortunately, during the pre-storm assessment, in the past week we found that [at least] 10 of our generators, about 1,300 gallons of fuel, were stolen,” Stephen Price, general manager of Flow Jamaica, told a media briefing called by the island’s utility providers and hosted by Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) on Sunday.

Price told the briefing that on Sunday morning Flow discovered that criminals had stolen cables from its infrastructure on Cassia Park Road in St Andrew all the way to Red Hills Road, affecting service to some of its customers.

“This is the kind of things that affect us in a hurricane scenario, so I am asking the public… [to] help us,” pleaded Price as he urged the public to report to the police any suspicious activities around the company’s sites.

According to Price, Flow is doing its part to prevent the theft, with its security vendors trying to secure as many sites as they can with remote monitoring of some sites.

In the meantime, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Jamaica Stephen Murad told the media briefing that when Hurricane Beryl hit Jamaica last July criminality was one of the factors which caused a delay in the restoration of its service to some communities.

“St Ann is the best example of this I can give you. [During] Hurricane Beryl [criminals] drained every [bit] of diesel [fuel], which is why we lost St Ann. Not because of the winds or anything like that, [but] because individuals decide to drain that tank,” said Murad.

“So I can’t stress enough that if you take away critical infrastructure — whether you decide to go and steal the diesel or get frustrated because of the security measures and decide to damage everything — it’s going to take us much longer to provide critical services for our customers and that is just unacceptable,” added Murad.

In underscoring the dangers associated with the theft of fuel and cables from the utility providers, minister with responsibility for energy and telecommunications Daryl Vaz told the media briefing that the Government will adopt a zero-tolerance approach against criminals who could hinder emergency response and recovery operations linked to the passage of Melissa.

“Everybody in every community must look out for their brothers and sisters, but most importantly they must look out for those who want to set us back by greed, or for whatever other reason, by interfering with government property, or the telcos, or JPS property.

“So the 20 gallons of diesel that they steal for whatever reason is 20 gallons less that will be available to be used for you in your community to provide cellular service, electricity, or whatever else it is,” said Vaz.

“For every time somebody does anything to harm the property of the telcos — whether it be diesel oil or generators or fibre cable — it is only going to set us back in our recovery efforts,” added Vaz.

Head of Flow Jamaica Stephen Price displaying a picture of the company’s cable system impacted by vandals Sunday morning. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Digicel Jamaica Chief Executive Officer Stephen Murad telling journalists at a media briefing on Sunday that when Hurricane Beryl hit Jamaica last July criminality was one of the factors which caused a delay in the restoration of the company’s service to some communities. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)