Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne Munroe released a statement on Sunday responding to the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Michael Pintard who recently called for eviction letters issued by Commissioner of Police, Shanta Knowles to officers living in homes on Grand Bahama to be rescinded.
Munroe said, “Michael Pintard’s reckless and misleading statements on police housing show a clear disregard for facts and a willingness to politicize a routine administrative matter. Before making baseless claims, he should have done his due diligence and sought the truth instead of irresponsibly spreading falsehoods. The facts are clear: no police officer has been forced onto the streets.”
The Minister explained that the rental assessment applies to officers who have occupied government rentals for at least five years and some for twenty years at the expense of the police force.
The statement went further, “every officer was given ample notice and multiple options. Officers received three to six months notice to transition to private accommodations. If additional time was needed, they were instructed to make a formal request. Not a single officer has submitted such a request.”
According to the Minister the Commissioner acted within the law and longstanding police. He said, “the force’s standing orders (A7-22/2018) outline the rules regarding housing and officers who were unaware of them were provided copies.”
During his press event over the weekend Pintard called on the Ministry of National Security to rescind the Commissioner’s letter saying, “the Ministry of National Security should immediately withdraw that letter so that they are able to address what will be a housing crisis for officers.”
Munroe statement revealed that some officers had already secured private housing while still occupying government rentals. He said, “once an officer is deemed domiciled, meaning they have lived in a government-provided residence beyond the entitled period of five to six years, the financial obligation should no long fall on the government.”
The national security minister said Pintard’s decision to ignore the facts proves that his goal was to manufacture controversy not to advocate for officers.
