The Tribune

By TANYA SMITH-CARTWRIGHT

tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net

HOUSE Speaker Halson Moultrie has fully endorsed the government’s demolition programme of houses in Abaco shanty towns and called on Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister to assist him with a similar exercise in Nassau Village.

Speaking at the start of the House proceedings yesterday, Mr Moultrie, who is also the member of Parliament for Nassau Village, referred to a video that went viral on social media with a female resident of that constituency filming what she said was proof of a man impinging on land owned by locals.

Mr Moultrie read a scripture which supports the respect of authority and said Bahamians and visitors alike are bound to obey the laws of the land.

“I received a video that is going viral with respect to an incident in the Nassau Village constituency,” Mr Moultrie said. “The incident is really about an individual who has taken it upon himself to encroach on the private territories of other persons.

“I just want to read Romans 13 beginning at verse one. ‘Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority, is rebelling against what God has instituted and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.’

“I just want to say at this time that I fully endorse the initiative taken by the government, particularly in Abaco with respect to persons who first of all enter the country illegally and then take it upon themselves to disobey the laws of the land. Bahamian citizens are compelled by the Constitution to obey our laws and any other visitor, whether they were invited or came without invitation, is subject to the laws of the land.”

In 2018, a government census revealed that most shanty town dwellers in unregulated communities across Abaco at the time had legal status permitting them to reside in the country.

Labour Minister Dion Foulkes said at the time that around 20 percent of those surveyed during the exercise were undocumented.

Mr Moultrie continued yesterday by saying he expects the authorities to intervene in that situation on behalf of the people in Nassau Village.

Acknowledging that there was a previous conversation on the matter between himself and Mr Moultrie, Minister of Works Desmond Bannister told Parliament how important it is for everyone to obey building codes. He also thanked Mr Moultrie for “sending a message”.

“Mr Speaker, I thank you for sharing that information with me yesterday and I also thank you for the message that you are sending,” said Mr Bannister who is also the MP for Carmichael. “It is absolutely critical for all of us to appreciate the need for us to obey the regulations that we have for our own safety and for the safety of everybody else.

“We are going into hurricane season, colleagues, and the Building Regulations Act is absolutely critical for the safety of Bahamians and to be in compliance with it. The staff at the Ministry of Public Works are dedicated to being able to ensure compliance, but we really need the support of the Bahamian people.

“So where there are infractions that are observed, it’s important for all of us to feel that we have an obligation … it’s a very serious obligation to report it to Building Control. During Hurricane Dorian the police officers and the Defence Force officers in this country put their lives at risk to rescue people who lived in those, I hate to say, building structures that did not meet with the legal requirements.”

Mr Bannister urged all Bahamians, given the projections for this hurricane season, to make sure they comply with the law in terms of the types of structures in which they live.

He again expressed gratitude for Mr Moultrie’s “message” to the public and promised to assist the people of Nassau Village.

On Tuesday, Mr Bannister told reporters his ministry demolished 23 illegal structures in The Farm shanty town in Abaco last week, with some 20 more structures targeted for demolition this week.