Bozine Town Residents Receive Land Conveyances After Decades-long Fight

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – For decades, Bozine Town residents have been fighting to prove the land they call home actually belongs to them.

Now, after years of legal battles, government intervention and plenty of waiting, some families are finally holding deeds to their property.

However, getting to this point wasn’t easy.

The dispute dates back to 2004, when a certificate of title arising from court proceedings called the ownership of the land under these homes into question.

LANDCO claimed ownership of the property, and residents were reportedly told to leave within two weeks or face legal action.

Successive governments intervened and continued working to resolve the issue.

Then, earlier this year, Housing Minister Keith Bell moved to get parliamentary approval to acquire the titles.

For some families though, the fight was much more personal.

One resident, who has lived on her land for 55 years, says after her parents passed away, she took up the fight to keep their home.

Another family says their mother spent 56 years living on the property.

Now, at 89 years old, she finally has the deed to the home she has known for most of her life.

Adline Burrows-Mott – Resident, Bozine Town

“It was very frustrating, very frustrating in that time. As my dad was fighting, trying to get their property together and all that stuff.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis says this moment is about more than government paperwork, it’s about residents who refused to give up.

Philip Davis – Prime Minister

“That determination matters, because the resolution we are moving toward today is not simply the result of government action. It is also the result of residents who refuse to give up.”

Despite many celebrating, for those families, the moment was also a reminder of the people who fought for this day but didn’t live to see it.

Mario Bowleg – Member of Parliament, Garden Hills

“Sadly, along this journey, there are residents who started this journey with us, but have since passed on and will not have the opportunity to witness or experience this special day.”