BY DELVARDO EMMANUEL
Journal Staff Writer

Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard continues to call for a
select committee to address the shantytown crisis.
Pintard’s call was reiterated following Works Minister Clay Sweeting’s
announcement that his ministry, along with the Unregulated Communities Action
Taskforce, will begin demolishing illegal structures in unregulated communities
after the expiration of a 28-day notice for the owners of those structures to have
them torn down.
On Wednesday, just before entering the House of Assembly, Pintard noted that the
best way to address the shantytown crisis in the country is through a select
committee.
“We believe the select committee that the opposition has called for is the
appropriate way to go,” Pintard said.
“One component of that is looking at unregulated development and how we deal
with that issue.
“We have a number of qualified persons in The Bahamas, in addition to
government officials, who can provide leadership on how to address the issue of
removing unregulated development, ensuring that there is a smooth transition to
accommodations for those persons who have status.”
The FNM leader contends that his party is unclear on the Davis administration’s
plans for dealing with illegal squatting moving forward.
“It’s very difficult to take their word in terms of their timeline on the approach that
they intend to take,” Pintard said.
“We know that they are serial law breakers. We would have to wait and see what
they do with respect to the unregulated development.”
Meanwhile, Pintard slammed Prime Minister Davis and his administration and
continues to question the way the government is handling the Department of
Immigration.

“What we already know is that this is a compromise administration that’s been
presiding over the issuing of work permits, permanent residency as well as
citizenship ultra virus or outside of the law,” Pintard said.
“And that there there’s no punishment for those persons who are responsible for
doing so. Most notably, the former minister of immigration, and he is aided and
abetted by his Cabinet colleagues and we have silence from the prime minister,
was a chairman of the immigration board. So, we are unclear on what they’re
doing.”
Demolition of two shantytowns in New Providence, one in Kool Acres and the
other on All Saints Way, will begin on November 6. Eviction notices were posted
on structures within those unregulated communities on October 2.