The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

MINISTERS yesterday debated the Local Government amendment which is expected to allow Family Island administrators access to birth and death certificates outside of New Providence.

The first island slated to use the feature is Abaco.

Leading the discussions, Local Government Minister V Alfred Gray said the amendment would cut the hassle which Family Islanders experience in having to travel to Nassau to seek government services. Many of them he said, cannot afford those trips.

“I was born in Hard Hill, Acklins,” Mr Gray said, “and life was as hard as the name of the place I was born. I grew up in a single parent home with 13 children and I came out of the belly of poverty, never been ashamed, but look what the Lord has done. I said before that I had never had shoes or tennis trainers until I was 14, now look at me I could buy a shoe store, the whole store.

“This bill today brings a special type of privilege to people who deserve it so much. It costs almost $300 from Acklins and Crooked Island, and Inagua to Nassau. If you came to Nassau to get a birth certificate, and don’t have family members to live with hotels cost almost $120 a night.

“With two flights a week, you have to spend four days, if you do the math, that’s almost $1,000 just to get a birth certificate.”

The Registrar General in New Providence is currently responsible for signing birth and death certificates along with other documents.

When enacted, the bill will enable administrators to download the certificates and sign them on behalf of Nassau officials.

While Opposition Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner supported the amendment, she urged the government to ensure that a reliable checks and balances system exists on each island to ensure that revenue is monitored effectively.