During a tour of Pride Estates III yesterday, the Free National Movement (FNM) charged that the Christie administration has neglected hundreds of Bahamians who were assigned homes in the area. Former parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Housing and current FNM Deputy Chairman Brensil Rolle said the Christie administration has done nothing for the area, which was previously the site of the shantytown called Mackey Yard. Mackey Yard, a Haitian shantytown with a population of nearly 1,500 illegal occupants, burned down in late 2010.

The Ingraham administration broke ground on the renamed Strachan Hill's Estate last year. "[The government] has done absolutely nothing in housing so there is absolutely no evidence that [Housing Minister Kenred Dorsett] could provide to the House or to anybody to show that they had to do repairs to the houses that we constructed," said Rolle, responding to recent criticisms from Dorsett. "I know of all of the houses that needed repair work and government approved before we left office $220,000 for repair work to about 30 homes."

During the tour, Rolle and fellow FNM Deputy Chairman Dr. Duane Sands pointed to the level of vandalism and the lack of upkeep of the properties since the FNM was voted out of office in May. The homes -- a mixture of three and two bedroom structures -- cost between $83,000 and $125,000 and were completed last December. Dorsett told The Nassau Guardian in September that many of the homes in Pride Estates III -- Strachan Hill's Estate -- remained unoccupied because the former administration made no arrangements for the homes to receive water and electricity.

He said although many of the homes were completed, there was no financial provision made for the infrastructure. However, FNM Chairman Darron Cash said Dorsett's claim is groundless. "They choose to secure $15 million for their Urban Renewal project which focused on the breaking down of homes, when they could have easily found funds for building and completing homes for these families assigned to these subdivisions," he said.

"If homes were a priority to the government, perhaps they would have employed a team from Urban Renewal to at least clear down the bushes and reduce the potential for vandalism in these homes." Bahamians were already assigned homes in the subdivisions from last year, Rolle pointed out. "When the FNM was kicked out of office in May, three housing subdivisions were under construction and over 100 Bahamian families were assigned in these subdivisions," said Cash.

"Since May 2012, the PLP however, simply either stopped the program or slowed it down considerably, claiming that they did not have the funds to continue the projects. "Regrettably, it has taken the minister seven months to advise homeowners about the status of their homes in these subdivisions." Dorsett recently told The Nassau Guardian that work on Strachan Hill's Estate should be completed by the end of the year, allowing homeowners to move in by December. He said the roads should be paved and electricity should be installed by the end of the week.

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