Despite having oversight of two substantive portfolios, Minister of Public Works and Transport Neko Grant has said he is up to the challenge of his new appointment as housing minister.
Grant assumed the role on Friday after former Housing Minister Kenneth Russell was terminated from cabinet.

The Cabinet Office announced on Friday that Russell had been relieved of his ministerial responsibilities because of conduct inconsistent with his duties.  In his first interview as minister of housing, Grant said he will begin to familiarize himself with his new responsibilities today.
"I expect to perform as minister of housing - to live up to what is expected of me and that position," he told The Nassau Guardian yesterday.

As minister of public works, Grant has oversight of the controversial New Providence Road Improvement Project (NPRIP).  Over the past several months, some members of the public have become increasingly frustrated over the roadwork, which has led to lengthy road closures, detours, and traffic delays, as several major roads have been  closed simultaneously.

The government has decided to bring in outside help to speed up the process.  Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham recently revealed that engineers who worked on parts of the Baha Mar project will assist with the road project.  It was also recently revealed that the road project is more than $40 million over budget.  

As reported exclusively by The Nassau Guardian, officials from Argentinian contractor Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles (JCCC) estimated, when they testified before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Assembly recently, that the road project will eventually cost the government $154 million.  The final price represents cost overruns of more than $40 million above the $113 million the government borrowed in 2008 for the upgrades.
Asked how he will handle the new challenges, Grant said: "Life is a challenge.  But we shall seek to face them."

Grant assumes his new portfolio as the Ministry of Housing seeks to reclaim land currently used by squatters.  Over the past several months, the Ministry of Housing has caused hundreds of squatters - illegal immigrants and Bahamians - to move out of their homes as the government seeks to create low-cost housing for Bahamians.

Additionally, the ministry is also in the process of trying to regularize people who were given the keys to government homes without conveyances or mortgages.  In his last interview with The Nassau Guardian as minister of housing, Russell said those persons would either have to get a mortgage or leave the homes.  At the time, he said police would be called in when persons refuse to cooperate.

Russell said when he was appointed minister of housing in 2007, there were hundreds of people who did not have either a conveyance or mortgage.  However, he said that number dropped down to about a dozen in recent weeks.  "It's just a matter of these couple of people who we're still having problems with," Russell told The Guardian last week.

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