Officials of the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs’ Unregulated Community Action Task Force were on the ground in Abaco on Tuesday conducting shantytown demolition exercises.
Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, the Hon. Clay Sweeting spoke with ZNS News about the latest round of demolitions. He said, “overall there are around 400 homes between the three different unregulated communities in Abaco but we’re just dealing with the two smaller communities today and this week.”
Sweeting also spoke to the efforts of the government to assist persons displaced by the demolition exercise. “Social Services, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment, and all arms of the task force are doing their due diligence to ensure that the persons who have built in these communities are taken care of in regards to Bahamian citizenship or permanent residency. If they do not have permits then Immigration deals with that situation and if they do not have any form of status then they are documented and then either sent out the country or sent to New Providence for further processing,” he said.
Building Control Officer, Craig Delancy was in Abaco and said the exercise was being carried out in a community called the Gaza which includes approximately 120 structures in various stages of completion. The team encountered residents who had yet to moved out of the illegal structures. Delancy said, “this morning when we came in we still found persons still in the homes and they were on the way of packing up and so we gave them some time to remove all of the items they wish to move at this time.”
Notices were issued to the residents of unregulated communities in January.
