National

Works Minister: Over 550 Illegal Structures Demolished

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Out of the nearly 1,000 unregulated structures identified across three islands so far in The Bahamas, the Ministry of Works has demolished over 550 of those structures.

Published

6 months ago

June 13, 2024

Berthony McDermott

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Out of the nearly 1,000 unregulated structures identified across three islands so far in The Bahamas, the Ministry of Works has demolished over 550 of those structures.

In his contribution to the budget debate on Thursday, Minister Clay Sweeting revealed more than half of these were in illegal communities across Abaco.

The unregulated communities action task force recently noted the farm shanty town in Abaco expanded significantly after Hurricane Dorian in 2019. The task force then identified nearly 250 structures in Eleuthera.

The task force began demolitions in New Providence last year before moving to the family islands following Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder’s ruling to lift the injunction blocking shantytown demolitions.

Since then, 12 communities have been identified in New Providence and another dozen on islands like Abaco, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama, and Andros.

Minister Sweeting did not disclose the cost of this exercise but issued a stern warning as demolitions continue.