WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister said his ministry spearheaded the demolition of 23 illegal structures in The Farm shanty town in Abaco last week, with some 20 more structures targeted for demolition this week.

The move comes despite widespread calls from local and international human rights activists urging the government to halt demolition works of homes in the storm-hit community. #Activists have said the move could result in thousands of residents being displaced. #Over the weekend, a group of residents from The Farm protested on the island, with some children seen holding placards that read “no shelters in Abaco, we have nowhere to go,” and “we need help” while delegates from the United Nations visited the island as part of their mission to this country. #Yesterday, Mr Bannister said Saturday’s demonstration shows that “people are being coached” and taught “how to evade” the law. photo Recent demolition work at The Farm in Abaco. #“The challenge is this throughout this country, there is an organised effort, a really organised effort to build shanty towns,” he said before going to a Cabinet meeting. “These are not coincidental. It’s highly organised. You can see by what happened when these children were put in front of cameras over the weekend. #“These people are being coached and they’re being taught how to evade the laws of The Bahamas. It’s very important that all of us Bahamians and people who come into the country obey the laws. That’s very important.” #Yesterday, Mr Bannister said he is concerned about the issue of unregulated communities on Abaco and several other Family Islands. He added his ministry is doing its best to “keep up” with the new developments. #He said the government remains committed to eradicating unregulated shanty towns across the country

The move comes despite widespread calls from local and international human rights activists urging the government to halt demolition works of homes in the storm-hit community.

Activists have said the move could result in thousands of residents being displaced.

Over the weekend, a group of residents from The Farm protested on the island, with some children seen holding placards that read “no shelters in Abaco, we have nowhere to go,” and “we need help” while delegates from the United Nations visited the island as part of their mission to this country.

Yesterday, Mr Bannister said Saturday’s demonstration shows that “people are being coached” and taught “how to evade” the law.
photo
Recent demolition work at The Farm in Abaco.

“The challenge is this throughout this country, there is an organised effort, a really organised effort to build shanty towns,” he said before going to a Cabinet meeting. “These are not coincidental. It’s highly organised. You can see by what happened when these children were put in front of cameras over the weekend.

“These people are being coached and they’re being taught how to evade the laws of The Bahamas. It’s very important that all of us Bahamians and people who come into the country obey the laws. That’s very important.”

Yesterday, Mr Bannister said he is concerned about the issue of unregulated communities on Abaco and several other Family Islands. He added his ministry is doing its best to “keep up” with the new developments.

He said the government remains committed to eradicating unregulated shanty towns across the country

 

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister has stressed the demolition of homes in the Farm shanty town in Abaco will be done with decency but said it is not his responsibility to take care of residents displaced by the destruction of their houses.

“That might sound harsh,” he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting yesterday, “but when they went out there and built in direct contravention of the law, they knew or ought to have known that they were breaching the law of The Bahamas. #“They’ve gotten notices now for more than 28 days and they’ve done nothing. It’s very important for them to use their resources, whatever resources they had to build the house in the first place, they could’ve applied in accordance with the law and be able to lawfully construct something just as any of y’all would do.” #Mr Bannister confirmed that on Friday the government began the third phase of its plan to demolish shanty houses that were built since a Supreme Court ruling in December 2018 ordered the government not to demolish the shanty structures that existed at that time. That ruling also ordered residents not to build any new shanty houses. #Mr Bannister said the structures currently targeted for destruction “are being constructed directly contrary to a Supreme Court order that said you are not to construct any shanty houses or you’re not to enlarge them or anything like that.” #The Tribune on Sunday spoke to a man who said dealing with the destruction of his house has been a nightmare. He said he has been separated from his girlfriend and her two-year-old daughter while they figure out their next move. #The Bahamian man said he built his house in The Farm after Hurricane Dorian destroyed his home in Marsh Harbour. He said he knew what he was doing was against the law but hoped to make it work until he could get back on his feet. #Mr Bannister said the Ministry of Works has gone out of its way to let residents secure their belongings even after they ignored notices to leave the premises. #“… We are doing it with decency, notwithstanding the illegality that these houses were built with,” he said.

“That might sound harsh,” he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting yesterday, “but when they went out there and built in direct contravention of the law, they knew or ought to have known that they were breaching the law of The Bahamas.

“They’ve gotten notices now for more than 28 days and they’ve done nothing. It’s very important for them to use their resources, whatever resources they had to build the house in the first place, they could’ve applied in accordance with the law and be able to lawfully construct something just as any of y’all would do.”

Mr Bannister confirmed that on Friday the government began the third phase of its plan to demolish shanty houses that were built since a Supreme Court ruling in December 2018 ordered the government not to demolish the shanty structures that existed at that time. That ruling also ordered residents not to build any new shanty houses.

Mr Bannister said the structures currently targeted for destruction “are being constructed directly contrary to a Supreme Court order that said you are not to construct any shanty houses or you’re not to enlarge them or anything like that.”

The Tribune on Sunday spoke to a man who said dealing with the destruction of his house has been a nightmare. He said he has been separated from his girlfriend and her two-year-old daughter while they figure out their next move.

The Bahamian man said he built his house in The Farm after Hurricane Dorian destroyed his home in Marsh Harbour. He said he knew what he was doing was against the law but hoped to make it work until he could get back on his feet.

Mr Bannister said the Ministry of Works has gone out of its way to let residents secure their belongings even after they ignored notices to leave the premises.

“… We are doing it with decency, notwithstanding the illegality that these houses were built with,” he said.

 

Through technical assistance from the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB), the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) is planning to construct a 100-unit housing development to meet the rental needs on Abaco within the next fiscal year.

DRA Chairman John-Michael Clarke said the authority is seeking to build the rental housing development through a public-private partnership at an estimated cost of around $15 to $20 million. Clarke said the determination was made to develop the rental complex after realizing the high number of residents who were renting, particularly those who worked for the government on the island, when the deadly Category 5 Hurricane Dorian left many of them homeless. “What we have planned is, we know that a great number of those persons were actually renting and we’ve recognized the need to assist with the rental inventory on Abaco. That’s one segment where there is a lot of potential and the persons that used to rent are being sorely underserviced. Right now, we just recently met with the agency heads to determine the rental needs for the public officers and with technical assistance from the Bahamas Development Bank, we are actually conceptualizing and modeling a rental housing development for Abaco,” Clarke told Guardian Business. “It is planned to have constructed at least 100 units and we would be looking to do this as a public-private partnership. This would be just outside the Spring City area, so it would be close to Marsh Harbour. Our timeline is to do this within the next fiscal year. This would be one of our signature housing projects for 2021/2022. “The model that we discussed would be between $15-20 million potentially. The technical officers at Bahamas Development Bank have done their preliminary presentation; they have to come back. There were some questions that our board operations committee had, there are some finer details relative to this development that need to be worked out, but based on the preliminary data, it is a very viable project; it looks very promising.” As rebuilding efforts drag on nearly two years after the storm made landfall on September 1, 2019, one of the biggest challenges government officials and community leaders have lamented is the lack of housing to support contractors and construction workers, who need somewhere to live while they rebuild. Clarke said he believes there is sufficient manpower to rebuild faster, but housing remains an issue. “If it’s a public-private partnership, either one or more construction partners on the island of Abaco or outside of Abaco, we would impress upon them to assist with the project. Just as they are doing now, you have one or two construction companies that are resident on New Providence that had to set up man camps in order to get the work done. So, this type of project will follow suit,” he said.

DRA Chairman John-Michael Clarke said the authority is seeking to build the rental housing development through a public-private partnership at an estimated cost of around $15 to $20 million.

Clarke said the determination was made to develop the rental complex after realizing the high number of residents who were renting, particularly those who worked for the government on the island, when the deadly Category 5 Hurricane Dorian left many of them homeless.

“What we have planned is, we know that a great number of those persons were actually renting and we’ve recognized the need to assist with the rental inventory on Abaco. That’s one segment where there is a lot of potential and the persons that used to rent are being sorely underserviced. Right now, we just recently met with the agency heads to determine the rental needs for the public officers and with technical assistance from the Bahamas Development Bank, we are actually conceptualizing and modeling a rental housing development for Abaco,” Clarke told Guardian Business.

“It is planned to have constructed at least 100 units and we would be looking to do this as a public-private partnership. This would be just outside the Spring City area, so it would be close to Marsh Harbour. Our timeline is to do this within the next fiscal year. This would be one of our signature housing projects for 2021/2022.

“The model that we discussed would be between $15-20 million potentially. The technical officers at Bahamas Development Bank have done their preliminary presentation; they have to come back. There were some questions that our board operations committee had, there are some finer details relative to this development that need to be worked out, but based on the preliminary data, it is a very viable project; it looks very promising.”

As rebuilding efforts drag on nearly two years after the storm made landfall on September 1, 2019, one of the biggest challenges government officials and community leaders have lamented is the lack of housing to support contractors and construction workers, who need somewhere to live while they rebuild.

Clarke said he believes there is sufficient manpower to rebuild faster, but housing remains an issue.

“If it’s a public-private partnership, either one or more construction partners on the island of Abaco or outside of Abaco, we would impress upon them to assist with the project. Just as they are doing now, you have one or two construction companies that are resident on New Providence that had to set up man camps in order to get the work done. So, this type of project will follow suit,” he said.

 

High heels, especially pumps, have remained a staple for the fashion-conscious women for thousands of years. Though stylish, wearing pump-style shoes can often cause significant pain and irritation. Pump bumps are painful, swollen "bumps" behind the heel, just where the shoe rubs against the back of the ankle. It usually affects women in their 20s and 30s who love to wear high heel shoes. The official name for this bump is Haglund’s deformity.

Haglund’s deformity is a type of foot exostosis, a benign growth of new extra bone on top of existing bone on the back of the heel bone. The soft tissue near the Achilles tendon becomes irritated when this bone rubs against shoes. When the bump rubs against the backs of stiff pump-style shoes, it causes pressure that aggravates the enlargement when walking, irritates the soft tissues and can result in pain and bursitis (swelling of bursa). The shape of the calcaneus (heel bone) and persons with high-arches, a tight Achilles tendon, and a tendency to walk on the outside of the heel are at higher risk for developing a pump bump. What the “pump bump” feels like Haglund’s deformity can occur in one or both feet. The primary symptom of Haglund’s deformity is pain at the back of the heel, especially in the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone. Over time, the tissues over the bony bump thickens, causing a callous (hard skin) to form. This area can become inflamed while wearing shoes. The bursa on the back of the heel may become red, swollen and inflamed causing bursitis. Pump bumps are painful, swollen “bumps” behind the heel, just where the shoe rubs against the back of the ankle. It usually affects young women in their 20s and 30s who love to wear high heel shoes. The official name for this bump is Haglund’s deformity. DR. MONIQUE MITCHELL Prevention You can prevent Haglund’s deformity by wearing appropriate shoes, avoiding shoes with a rigid heel back, using arch supports or orthotic devices recommended by the podiatrist, performing stretching exercises to prevent the Achilles tendon from getting tightened and avoid running on hard surfaces and running uphill. Diagnosis and treatment The podiatrist will diagnose the problem starting with a complete history and physical examination. Usually, the bump is obvious and easily seen on the back of the heel. X-rays will be taken, so the podiatrist can see the shape of the calcaneus and to make sure there is no other cause for your heel pain. Non-surgical treatment: Non-surgical treatment of Haglund’s deformity is aimed at reducing the inflammation of the bursa. While these methods can help the pain and inflammation, they will not shrink the bony enlargement of the heel bone.

Haglund’s deformity is a type of foot exostosis, a benign growth of new extra bone on top of existing bone on the back of the heel bone. The soft tissue near the Achilles tendon becomes irritated when this bone rubs against shoes.
When the bump rubs against the backs of stiff pump-style shoes, it causes pressure that aggravates the enlargement when walking, irritates the soft tissues and can result in pain and bursitis (swelling of bursa). The shape of the calcaneus (heel bone) and persons with high-arches, a tight Achilles tendon, and a tendency to walk on the outside of the heel are at higher risk for developing a pump bump.

What the “pump bump” feels like
Haglund’s deformity can occur in one or both feet. The primary symptom of Haglund’s deformity is pain at the back of the heel, especially in the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to the heel bone. Over time, the tissues over the bony bump thickens, causing a callous (hard skin) to form. This area can become inflamed while wearing shoes. The bursa on the back of the heel may become red, swollen and inflamed causing bursitis.

Pump bumps are painful, swollen “bumps” behind the heel, just where the shoe rubs against the back of the ankle. It usually affects young women in their 20s and 30s who love to wear high heel shoes. The official name for this bump is Haglund’s deformity. DR. MONIQUE MITCHELL

Prevention

You can prevent Haglund’s deformity by wearing appropriate shoes, avoiding shoes with a rigid heel back, using arch supports or orthotic devices recommended by the podiatrist, performing stretching exercises to prevent the Achilles tendon from getting tightened and avoid running on hard surfaces and running uphill.

Diagnosis and treatment

The podiatrist will diagnose the problem starting with a complete history and physical examination. Usually, the bump is obvious and easily seen on the back of the heel. X-rays will be taken, so the podiatrist can see the shape of the calcaneus and to make sure there is no other cause for your heel pain.
Non-surgical treatment: Non-surgical treatment of Haglund’s deformity is aimed at reducing the inflammation of the bursa. While these methods can help the pain and inflammation, they will not shrink the bony enlargement of the heel bone.