The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PEOPLE living in emergency dome houses at Abaco will soon be given a deadline to leave the temporary structures, Transport and Housing Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis announced yesterday.

Earlier this month, The Tribune reported that some families allocated domes in the wake of Hurricane Dorian have been sub-letting them to pocket the rent money.

There have also been reports that dome structures were being used as brothels, prompting officials to investigate the claims.

While delivering her budget contribution in the House of Assembly yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis advised MPs that many people living in the domes now were not placed there for Dorian-related purposes.

 As a result, she said a deadline will be given to those residents to vacate the property, but gave an assurance that the government will not “put people out heartlessly”.

 “We have assessed the Spring City dome site and it was determined that many of the people occupying the domes could be moved because their placement there was not hurricane related,” she said.

 “I am advised that shortly, we will be giving notice of a deadline for all persons there to vacate. The domes were intended as a temporary housing solution and their suitability and utility has long passed.

 “We have looked at the conditions that many of these persons are living in and it is deplorable. Almost all of the domes have only one small tiny window. Many of the occupants have now used those windows for air conditioning to help cool the area which means there is no proper ventilation at the dome sites and it has now caused for some of the domes to accumulate a lot of mould.

“So, it’s unfortunate, but the housing solution is being addressed and so we will be able to accommodate moving these persons in a better suitable location and so I want to be clear, that this Davis administration will not put people out heartlessly.”

 She also revealed that her ministry will be working with several stakeholders to help transition storm affected victims into more suitable homes.

“We are partnering now with the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development and we are also partnering with the Disaster Reconstruction Authority,” the housing minister said, adding, “and the three of us have been working tirelessly together to provide solutions so that we could assist in relocating those persons who are presently staying in those domes and I think we are almost on our way in providing them the necessary support and relief so that we could relocate them.”

 She said once those residents have been relocated, officials will be assessing the site in hopes of developing eleven housing plots there.

 “Our plan for those eleven lots is to build homes and to enter those homes in our government rent-to-own programme in Abaco to ensure that those who cannot meet the needs can have access to a viable housing solution,” Mrs Coleby-Davis added.

 “We are looking at now well over 100 plus affordable homes in the Abacos. The plans are in place, and we are now executing at record speed.”

 Hurricane Dorian hit Abaco on September 1, 2019 as a Category 5 hurricane before barreling toward Grand Bahama.

 The storm left thousands of homes either destroyed or damaged and hundreds of residents displaced.

 To assist with rebuilding efforts, the Minnis administration spent more than $6m on nearly 200 domes that were supposed to be used as temporary housing for Abaco and Grand Bahama residents after Hurricane Dorian.

 However, Disaster Reconstruction Authority officials have raised concerns about the previous administration’s dome project, citing structural issues among other things.