The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AFTER a tour of Arawak Cay yesterday, a government official said some unfinished repair work to bathrooms at the popular eatery and hangout spot should be completed as early as this week with the remainder expected to be completed by early next month.

Agriculture and Family Island Affairs Minister Clay Sweeting, Minister of Works and Utilities Alfred Sears and other officials toured the site, something Mr Sweeting said had been planned for a few weeks.

Acknowledging issues with bathrooms at the site, he said officials assessed them a few months ago and repair work started about a month ago.

However, due to shortages with supplies and getting items, the repair has taken longer than normal. But he said an issue with water should have been fixed yesterday.

“We’re glad to say that the bathrooms on the west side of Arawak Cay should be completed by this week with automated bathrooms, not just manual, and the ones on the east side should be completed at the end of April, beginning of May,” he said.

“So, we came here to (assess) those along with the Ministry of Works and the minister of works to also look at the whole cay, port itself and see what’s necessary and what repairs need to be done to regulate it and get it up to par.”

Asked about other concerns from vendors, Mr Sweeting added that some of those are minor bathroom and sewerage issues, but the water problem should have been fixed yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mr Sears explained other areas of improvement at which the government is looking.

“We’re accompanied by Water and Sewerage Corporation, BPL, also our acting chief architect so that as we go about we can scope works to improve this complex and really give it the best appearance and utility so that these Bahamian entrepreneurs can thrive. So we’re looking at the grounds,” he said.

“We’re looking at the buildings. We’re dealing with issues of the disposal of waste, such as oil, and which if it’s put down the drain can cause back up and clogs. So issues about quality of the operation, not just the physical infrastructure, but the process of work and the disposal of waste we are looking at and will be addressing in a comprehensive way.”

Mr Sears added that there is a meeting set for today with BPL as well as the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority to develop a comprehensive programme to address lighting on the streets, parks and cultural places.

“We’re talking about the public infrastructure which will be the roads, the sidewalk, the promenade which right is behind us, the buildings here — they’re being scoped,” Mr Sears said. “We will engage with the stakeholders. The vendors have associations and we will meet with the representatives of the vendors.”

As for timeline, he reiterated Mr Sweeting’s estimation on the bathroom repair and said a scope of works needs to be done for other improvements.

“In terms of the other improvements, we will be scoping those works and once they’re scoped and quantified we will be carrying it to Cabinet at the first opportunity to get the resources in order to do the work,” he told reporters.

Arawak Cay Conch, Fish, Food Vendors Association President Rodney Russell said it is good news for those at Arawak Cay as there were some establishments that were not able to do their business properly because there were no bathroom facilities to relieve customers.

“Especially our female customers, female Bahamians who frequent Arawak Cay, there’s no place for them to go and to relieve themselves which is very poor. We’re grateful that in a short order the minister had promised the Arawak Cay business owners that as early as next week these facilities will open so I would like to let the ladies know that our bathrooms will be up and running again,” the president said.

Bruno Minnis, the owner and operator of Bruno’s Seafood and Steakbar, said it felt good to see two ministers hear their concerns and see the work that needs to be done.