The Davis administration is once again proving that they lack the vision required to solve national crises. This time, it is the demolition of shantytowns across The Bahamas. Instead of addressing this long-standing issue with foresight and transformative policies, the PLP government has chosen the same old approach that continues to make the problem worse.
In July, the Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, Clay Sweeting, issued nearly 200 eviction notices in New Providence. Families were given only 30 days’ notice to vacate. Months later, the ministry has confirmed that the government will begin demolitions in Eleuthera within two weeks. The Unregulated Communities Task Force is already active on Russell Island and has discovered the reappearance of two unregulated communities in New Providence.
Sweeting said the government is “following protocol carefully,” but there is still no sign of a housing or relocation plan for Bahamians who will be displaced. It is obvious that the previous approach failed to create a lasting solution to this problem, but Sweeting seems eager to repeat the same mistakes again and again. Additional new and unregulated communities have appeared, and the same rushed demolitions are being announced all over again.
While expedited repatriation exercises are necessary for those without a legal right to reside in The Bahamas, a structured process should already have been in place to support and stabilize Bahamians in shanty towns who do have that right. These are our people. Bahamians struggling under the weight of a cost-of-living crisis, yet they continue to face limited access to safe and affordable housing.
The government must tackle this issue holistically, not settle for measures that sound good but don’t fix the real problem. You will never eradicate shantytowns without uprooting the conditions that fuel their growth and expansion.
Under a previous FNM administration, we began a legal process to remove all shantytowns back in 2018. Progress was halted because of a court challenge and injunction, not because of inaction. In the plan, they announced that all illegal residents were required to vacate and report to the Department of Immigration. Illegal structures were demolished. Bahamians living in those villages were offered upgrades to their existing homes at reduced cost or the chance to own a small home at an affordable mortgage rate. Demolished areas were converted into proper low- and middle-income subdivisions. This is how communities such as Pride Estates #3, Mackey Yard, Dignity #3, and areas in Abaco were transformed into respectable, thriving Bahamian subdivisions.
There is no denying that illegal structures cannot be tolerated in a modern Bahamas, but the objective should be to ensure that illegal communities, once dismantled, stay gone. Instead of reinventing the wheel, the PLP should take a page out of the FNM’s book. Or better yet, study the entire Blueprint. Bulldozing communities without consideration for disadvantaged Bahamians is amateurish and irresponsible.
The FNM has already shown what government can achieve when you enforce the law and treat people with respect. The PLP needs to follow their example.