The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

ONE Urban Renewal Advisory Board has hit out at the programme, saying it will not put up with a “cloak and dagger routine” and wanted to know where thousands of dollars in reported donations are going.

At a press conference yesterday, the Bain and Grants Town Advisory Board East claimed its members haven’t received any allocated funding since the initiative was first started and also suggested that attempts are being made to make their Board redundant.

They pointed to alleged incidents of their Urban Renewal office being locked to volunteers, Board members being excluded from meetings, and a decision that Boards will be amalgamated, as evidence of a potential dismantling of the Board.

In a press statement the Board said it is “disturbed” by events that “threaten the Board’s existence” and pointed to “serious faults” in the Urban Renewal system.

Board member Basil Tynes said yesterday that the Board’s chairman was invited to a meeting with Bain and Grants Town’s western Advisory Board and told that both sections would be amalgamated because of “competition” and a “special election” would be held in February. However, that election did not take place.

“The board members were not informed, we were not told, we were not invited by letter or by phone to be a part of this whole process,” he claimed.

This – in addition to two police officers being reassigned from eastern Bain and Grants Town “with no explanation” – has caused “great concern” and the eastern Board has been placed “in limbo;” and Board members are left “uncertain” of their role in Urban Renewal, Mr Tynes said.

The Board explained that activity has “come to a virtual stop” with some volunteer work being “discouraged.”

Speaking on one particular incident, Mr Tynes said: “We’re told that when the volunteers showed up in order to teach various programmes – and these are volunteers from COB and elsewhere – we’re told the centre has been locked up and in many cases they had to resort to standing out in the yard.”

There is no “real structure” or “set format” for the entire Urban Renewal programme, Mr Tynes claimed, and there “seems to be no accountability” for Board members.

“There are a whole host of questions that we’ve been asking and we can’t seem to get answers for,” he said.

“What’s happening with funds that have been given towards Urban Renewal? How does it trickle down to what’s happening in the local setting? How do we know materials that have been handed on are being sent to the right places?

“If the Board in the east is to be dismantled, then please let us know – what is the focus of Urban Renewal... For me personally, I find it very distasteful that we are dismissed without ever being informed or being told why this whole process has come up.

“We need to answer some serious questions about the short-term and long-term goals of Urban Renewal. It is not intended to cater to the whims and fancies of certain people.”

There has to be “some sense of real transparency” on the part of everyone involved in Urban Renewal, Mr Tynes said, adding: “We can’t operate on a hidden agenda. We need to know what exactly is going on and I’m sure I speak on behalf of most of the members here that we’re not going to put up with some cloak and dagger routine.”

Board member John Bain, nominated as Treasurer, has been questioning Urban Renewal’s funding, Mr Tynes continued.

“He has been asking questions on where the funds are, what kind of bank accounts are we setting up, whose responsible for signing on it. I’m sure he would like to know as much info as possible so we can have some idea of what actually is transpiring,” Mr Tynes said.

“There have been reports to us that donations are being made but, where are the donations being sent? Who’s receiving them? How are they distributed to the other units? We want to make sure there is some sense of accountability because at the end of the day, all of us have to be accountable – especially when it comes to the people’s money.”

Board member Naomi Hunter added: “There was a donation of $15,000 for the Nassau Urban Renewal, $15,000 for Grand Bahama Urban Renewal. None of those funds have been allocated to either offices, at least not Urban Renewal East. Everything went straight to the West... We have not received any allocations

“There are funds that have been donated – we know of funds that have been donated. Where are they going? Who is in control of this?”