Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for Marco City, the Hon. Michael Pintard spoke out recently about eviction notices received by fifty police officers in the Back Of Town area of Grand Bahama.
Some of the officers have occupied the homes for up to twenty years despite there being a five year limit in place. Pintard called on the Ministry of National Security to devise a plan to address the issue. He said, “we believe that 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.”
The Opposition Leader is of the view that the evictions should be reviewed on a case by case basis. “The challenge that they are having is that some officers who are occupying those residences have been there for a longer time than they have intended, then they should identify that group of officers and then look at what circumstances had forced them to be in housing for this period of time,” he said.
The eviction notices were sent by Commissioner of Police, Shanta Knowles. Pintard appealed for there to be a rent to own program put in place instead of eviction.
