The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net 

THREE years after Hurricane Irma ravaged Ragged Island, residents there said while some progress has been made to restore the island to its former glory, more work can still be done by the government.

“A little progress has been made when you consider the construction of the school, that’s going on,” said Erica Wallace, a longtime community resident.

“I don’t know when they’re going to start the clinic and the police station and the administrative building, I don’t know when they’re going to start that, but we’re glad the school is getting on the go because we have children who need to go to school.”

Over the years, Ragged Island residents have expressed disappointment with the restoration efforts on the island, saying they felt neglected by the government.

Exuma and Ragged Island MP Chester Cooper has since also expressed frustration with the slow progress on the island.

However, yesterday, Ms Wallace said things are finally looking up, adding that issues that once plagued locals are now almost non-existent.

“We’re doing good and it isn’t as bad as it was. I think things are coming back to normal,” she said. “We have consistent running electricity, but we still have little issues with water.”

After the storm devastated the island in September 2017, flattening homes and government buildings, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) deemed the island “uninhabitable”.

To help with the redevelopment of the island, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced last May that a new school and teacher’s duplex will be constructed on the island at a cost of $2m.

Other developments on the island, he said, will include a new clinic at $2.5m, an administrator’s office, post office and courtroom at $2.5m and a police station and accommodations for officers for $1m.

Still, Ms Wallace said more can be done to help expedite the rebuilding process. The resident said she estimated some 60 residents are still living on the island to date. However, this does not include the 100 plus workers assisting with the rebuilding process there.

“Yeah, they could do more,” she said. “They could even send more people down here to do work, but I think the problem is places to stay because the workers who working on the school have everything booked out and they have a man camp.”

Dr Minnis has also said his administration would transform Ragged Island into the “first fully green island in the region.”