Attorney General Carl Bethel  has  accepted that shanty town dwellers with legal rights can push the issue in court.

​This given that Rights Bahamas President Stephanie St. Fleur pointed out last week that the law enables anyone squatting on a property for more than 12 years to lay claim to that land.

​This, she said, is in accordance with the Quieting of Title Act, but the Attorney General said that this won’t solve the problems surrounding these makeshift communities.

​He said that won’t cure the issue of not having buildings in accordance with the code.

​Addressing Reporters before attending a Cabinet meeting, Mr. Bethel said ,“that won’t cure the issue of having an unsafe structure. That, in of itself, won’t cure the issue of the overall atmosphere, the overall conditions in shanty towns, and that would be something that would be peculiar with the individual not to the shanty town.”

​Haitian Embassy First Assistant Secretary Karl Henri Chatelier suggested on Monday that the government allow residents to renovate the buildings, lease the land, and extend the eviction deadline.

​However, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said, “I’m in the business of trying to provide land for each and every Bahamian.”

​He added, “If residents within there have legal right to The Bahamas and are Bahamians, then as we clear and create subdivisions they would be as Bahamians entitles just like me, you, and everyone else to purchase land.”

​The government has imposed an August 10thdeadline to have shantytown communities cleared.