The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION leader Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday the public can expect longer delays in criminal trials because of the “poor conditions” under which prosecutors now work.

Speaking with The Tribune, Dr Minnis said he had heard complaints that the new office of prosecutions on Nassau Street was “filthy, disorganised and uninhabitable” prompting him to take a tour of the building.

He said what he found was unmarked boxes piled “high to the sky” and a bathroom that was so nasty and dirty the employees refused to use it.

“We have an issue with crime. There are lots of cases that have been delayed and cannot be brought before the courts in a timely matter. I heard complaints from prosecutors about their working conditions so I went to see myself,” he said.

“There is one room where over 50 individuals are supposed to work. That is no way for people to be efficient. Many of them work outside or from their cars because they cannot work inside that place. The bathroom is atrocious. How does a government who said they believe in Bahamians allow their people to live in those conditions? The morale is down and if the criminals know what is going on over there, they know they can get away with committing crimes.”

Dr Minnis said the government has to move toward a digitized system instead of writing everything down and sticking them in boxes that could be lost or destroyed.

“We need to move to a new Bahamas with a new digitized system,” he said. “Cases cannot be prepared properly in that environment. No one knows the old cases from the new ones. The boxes are all over the place, nothing is labelled. I am sure cases will be delayed if not lost forever. Why are we still using this system? With a click of the mouse we should be able to prepare cases properly.”

Dr Minnis said he was told that the building would be renovated in a few weeks. However, he said, the government has not made accommodations for the employees and they will have to stay in the building until the work is completed.

The prosecutions office moved from Bank Lane to Nassau Street almost three weeks ago.