The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE House of Assembly yesterday passed a bill to amend the Buildings Regulation Act in order to significantly increase the penalties people who breach the law could receive.

Lawmakers anticipate that the increase in penalties will encourage compliance with the law.

The amendment would change the Buildings Regulation Act so that people found to contravene it could be imprisoned for a term not exceeding two years as opposed to the original six months.

They could also receive a maximum fine of $10,000 as opposed to the original $500 fine.

The amendment did not prove controversial, with most parliamentarians supporting the measure.

Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner, however, questioned whether the regulations will be enforced and noted that Family Islands in particular are left out from oversight.

Using her constituency as an example, she said Long Island residents would have fared better during last year’s Hurricane Joaquin had building inspectors done a better job ensuring that structures on the island were up to standard.

“I recommend strongly to the government that while we’re looking at updating building regulations, we have a more holistic approach to The Bahamas,” she said.

“Everything that revolves around these regulations as it relates to the more developed islands, I appreciate it, but I have people who have buildings within my constituency that have been badly affected by the hurricane and I’m sure that if regulations were in place, if inspectors were in place and carrying out their duties, that many of the things that we have experienced would’ve been mitigated.”

On enforcement of the regulations, she added: “Unfortunately for us we are willing to put a lot of penalties on the books that are not carried out. Just coming here a while ago I was behind a surrey. A few years ago they used to have something called pooper catchers. That was a regulation. But from Shirley Street right around the market range, some horses left some special gifts in the road. It’s the enforcement.

“It doesn’t sound like a big problem but when we don’t enforce our rules then they are meaningless. We are extending from six months to two years for someone to perhaps go to prison and from $500 to $10,000. But if there is no one to enforce these rules, who is going to jail and who is going to pay the extra money?

“How serious are we when we come in here and we spend our valuable time debating these regulations and nothing happens.”