Since last year the government has conducted crackdowns on shanty towns throughout New Providence, however, Minister of Environment and Housing Kenred Dorsett said more funding is needed.
“I’m hoping that within this budget cycle, they’re (government) is going to be able to make financial provisions for us to move speedily in respect to those facilities and not find ourselves being challenged monetarily to move, once the expiration has happened on notices and The Ministry of Works under its Building Control Unit has indicated that there is a demolition order,” he said.
“So that has been one of the reasons why you haven’t seen us moving as fast as we would like too but it didn’t stop us from moving forward and demolishing three or four of them in New Providence.
Meanwhile, he added the government is still working to clean up debris left from demolishing those homes and that there is minimal or no signs of reconstruction so far.
The crackdown of shanty towns has now moved to Abaco and Minister Dorsett said his ministry is working along with the members of parliament for North and South Abaco to address concerns there.
During Minister Dorsett’s budget in the House Assembly last year, at the time he vowed that the government would crackdown on shantytowns in the country as it poses a threat to the country’s number one industry and overall health.
“The proliferation of shanty towns is a vexatious problem. They operate outside the requirements for proper sanitation, without regard to the building code and in violation of safety requirements for electricity,” he said
”One outbreak of Cholera and our number one industry [will be] gone. So this is not something that we can play with.”
The Ministry of Works has since served notices it may deem appropriate and shanty town occupiers and/owners have been required to provide an occupancy certificate, approved building plan/permit from the M.O.W, approved BEC connection and approved Water & Sewerage connection.
If these cannot be produced the Ministry of Works would have taken necessary action.
