The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE government’s assessment of Abaco shanty towns found 67.6 percent of those dwellings had running water, with 80.2 percent of households featuring indoor flushing toilets.

However, generators are the primary source of electricity for most households, with less than 100 homes reportedly receiving electricity supply from Bahamas Power and Light’s grid.

The legality of those BPL connections were not explored, according to Dr Cherita Moxey, who prepared the Shanty Town Action Task Force’s report on Abaco’s unregulated communities.

Only 51 homes had cable services.

“With the exception of cable services,” the report read, “the vast majority of households in Abaco’s shanty towns have basic utilities – electricity, indoor running water, and flushed toilets.”

“Similar to shanty towns structures in New Providence, generators are the primary source (74 percent) of electrical supply for structures in Abaco.

“Only 11.6 percent of these structures report receiving their electrical supply from BPL/BEC.”

The report identified 915 structures but only 777 household representatives participated in the assessment.

The total number of structures across Abaco indicate a 10.6 percent reduction in dwellings from the 2013 report conducted by the Department of Environmental Health Services.

“To approximate a total population,” the report read, “factoring those 138 identified dwellings/households that did not participate in the assessment, the statistically calculated mean household size of 3.91 was used.”

It continued: “This approach results in a calculated non-respondent population of 540. A best estimate then of the total shanty town population for Abaco stands at 3,581.”

Of that population, 750 individuals were said to be 18 years old or younger. While most girls in this age grouping were said to be attending school, the report noted only 74 percent of boys were enrolled.

“On average, school attendance among minors in Abaconian shanty towns is higher (86.5 percent) than for New Providence-based shanty town minors (61.5 percent),” the report read.

While most participating households had a weekly income of less than $400, there were 18 households that reported weekly incomes of more than $1,000, and 19 homes within the $801 to $1,000 range.

In the $401 to $600 income range, there were 11 households; and 69 homes indicated weekly earnings between $601 and $800.