The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis expressed his disappointment at Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ national address on immigration, calling the government “mixed and confused” on the shanty town issue.

Mr Davis gave a national address on Sunday night, during which he spoke about the issues of irregular migrants, shanty towns and introduced “Operation Secure” to aid in tackling the unregulated communities. However, he gave no timeline for when the government will take action on the shanty towns.

He said undocumented migrants will continue to be processed and repatriated, adding this effort will expand in the coming days as well as weeks.

In terms of documented migrants living in unregulated communities, he said they will be required to relocate at their expense or their employer’s expense, or face repatriation.

Dr Minnis chastised the government, saying that the prime minister failed to mention solutions to the country’s immigration crisis.

He said this week: “I was very disappointed, I, and the Bahamian people, were looking for solutions. What was he (Prime Minister Davis) going to do with shanty towns since the injunction has been lifted? The injunction has been lifted, we wanted to hear timelines, you can now go in, you can proceed as or continue as we have done.”

On Friday, Mr Davis said that the government will not immediately move to demolish shanty towns in the country despite the recent lifting of an injunction prohibiting demolition of these areas, saying it makes no sense “responding to a crisis to create another crisis”.

However, during his national address on Sunday, he noted it is a priority that “decisive action” must be taken, which is based on laws of “our land”.

In response to the mixed messages, Dr Minnis said: “They’re (the government) mixed and they’re confused.”

He continued: “They give the impression that they don’t want to touch it, but the Bahamian people want a solution. They want that matter to be resolved, and, therefore, they’re pandering on one hand and at the same time, they’re somewhat slow on the other hand.”

With respect to irregular migrants, the former prime minister insisted that “free movement” of people is not supported within the country, saying that “they must go” and the shanty towns likewise be demolished.

He supports people who meet the requirements for citizenship, saying that irregular migrants “must be dealt with”.

Immigration Minister Keith Bell has repeatedly defended the government’s efforts in addressing irregular migrants in the country, saying that he was satisfied that this administration was doing “as much as it possibly can” at this point.

The immigration minister has previously said that as a developing country The Bahamas cannot afford to accommodate the large influx of irregular migrants coming here.