NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government has allocated $3 million to provide repairs to some 1,000 homes across the country.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Services Lisa Rahming says the weather in recent days has caused delays in production.
She said 180 homes have been completed since the project was launched five months ago.
“There are families who, through no fault of their own, need a helping hand,” Rahming said.
“People are definitely trying their hardest to stay afloat, but can’t even save enough money to make the necessary repairs to their homes – which we have seen in traveling from home to home; neighborhood to neighborhood, through the small home repair program.
“Those repairs will be made and they have been made. We hope that they will enjoy some piece of mind as the financial and emotional strain of making these repairs is lifted,” Rahming said.
Rahming said 90 homes have been repaired in New Providence, 16 in Bimini, and 38 in Grand Bahama over the course of the project.
She said officials were in Cat Island yesterday where 38 homes will be repaired, adding 11 contracts have been completed and sent over for work to start next week Monday.
Rahming explained that her team aims to operate at the highest standard. She added that they are ensuring that assistance is given on fair and equal grounds explaining that international mechanisms have been put in place to prevent abuse and misuse of resources.
“We will ensure that all work done under this program is done professionally. Beneficiaries can expect the repairs to be of the high quality that they would expect from even the top professional contracting firms […].
“Applicants to the program will be required, of course, to provide proof of ownership, as well as proof of Bahamian citizenship and we have conducted an economic static assessment that was administered to verify the applicant’s financial eligibility,” Rahming said.
Rahming says they are encouraging everyone with home repair needs to apply. Over the past few months homes in New Providence, Grand Bahama, Bimini and Abaco have been completed and she says they plan to expand the project to all islands as they move forward.
The program will prioritize certain groups; however, Rahming said the majority of some 800 applicants are in vulnerable circumstances.
“Immediate focus will be on the elderly, the disabled, and single-parent homes,” Rahming said.
“These are the three dominant populations that we saw applying, and they often require assistance and certainly, they will and they are getting our support.
“However, we encourage all Bahamians needing home repairs to apply. Of course, this is just one of our several initiatives that the government has ruled out.
“Helping Bahamians get back on their feet was a major priority for this budget cycle,” she said.
Homeowners are not the only ones who have been benefitting from the program, Rahming says that 550 contractors submitted documents to work on the project. In four months of the project running, over 300 contractors along with their teams have been employed.
However, she says the small home repairs program team is aware of complaints from contractors who are ready to begin work but she is encouraging them to be patient as they wait for clearer skies to resume.
“They are saying that their applications have not been done yet, but we want them to know, our resources are limited, but we are doing absolutely the best that we can.
“We literally have five inspectors as of next week. We will have some more persons joining our team because these five inspectors have to travel the family of islands, and still complete the work in New Providence.”
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