Row Over Urban Renewal

Members of the Opposition have been saying otherwise, blasting the government for – in their words – dismantling the programme.

On Wednesday night, the PLP held its second town meeting on Urban Renewal in the space of a week, blasting the former government for the "stoppage" of the programme.

"If [it isn’t] broke, why fix it? Given the impact and the importance of these programmes one really would not expect any government to suspend such programmes without even assessing their worth," Opposition Leader Perry Christie said.

"Upon the government’s election, they surely must have known of the strength and impact of this widely heralded programme. When they came to office they should have properly reviewed and assessed the Urban Renewal Programme and measured the successes of the programme."

He said whatever the government’s explanation is about the current stoppage of the Urban Renewal Programme, the PLP believes it represents an "extraordinary failure" to act in the best interest of the government and our communities."

"We really demand the reinstatement and resumptions of those programmes immediately," Mr. Christie said.

On Thursday, Minister of Housing and National Insurance Kenneth Russell, who was speaking at a press conference at the ministry, told reporters that Urban Renewal was already in place when the former administration took office.

"In January of 2000, Prime Minister [Hubert] Ingraham proposed to cabinet that some $10 million in bonds be issued at 2 percent below prime rate which would be dedicated exclusively to Urban Renewal in the inner city of New Providence," he said.

Mr. Christie has often stated that Urban Renewal will be his legacy.

According to Minister Russell, the programme was called "Renew" and can still be found in many inner city areas throughout New Providence.

The programme was designated to rebuild old homes and old buildings, Minister Russell said.

"At that time, it was suggested that programmes for the redevelopment of the entire streets, on a street by street basis in those areas, be formulated," he added.

He said while the government recognizes the strides the Christie administration made with Urban Renewal, the public should not believe that it was Mr. Christie’s idea.

"While we will give him credit for the things that he has done in Urban Renewal, we do not think that we should let our people go on with this belief that one man has started all of this," Minister Russell said.

Minister Russell also explained that the Urban Renewal project is not intended to be an isolated initiative and will incorporate an "overall development strategy" for inner cities.

This strategy will also include entities like the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Environmental Health, Probation, Housing and Education, according to the minister.

He added that every successive government of the Bahamas has continued the work of Urban Renewal under different names.

"There is nothing new about the services provided under the Urban Renewal programme," he said.

"The first PLP government provided social services [and] the FNM and the last PLP governments provided similar services under the name introduced by Prime Minister Ingraham in 2000."

Minister Russell explained that despite the rearrangement of Urban Renewal, the mandate of the programme is still the same.

"The objectives of the Urban Renewal programme then are not different from the objectives of the programme today. These are to reduce the level and fear of crime, to improve the physical environment of the inner city communities, to enhance housing provisions for residents in the inner cities and to improve the quality of life for residents of the neighbourhoods."

Minister of State for Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner, who was also at the press conference, said the previous government was just building on what previous governments did.

"It was under the FNM government that the community policing initiative was set up," she said. "Whatever guise it is doesn’t matter. It is still going to be about building the community. It is the responsibility of all governments."

Minster Russell explained that the Royal Bahamas Police Force will still play a pivotal role in Urban Renewal.

"The police will have utmost importance in providing a sense of security for persons and businesses in urban areas," he said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames explained how the Royal Bahamas Police Force will enhance Urban Renewal in communities.

"What you will see certainly is a complementary role being played by our officers in the Urban Renewal offices…The officers that have been assigned to work with the other government agencies in the Urban Renewal offices will have the support within each of those respective communities and the commanders within those communities have total oversight of all the policing activities within the respective communities," he said.

Mr. Dames said the enhancement of communities will come from the perspectives of intelligence from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, crime fighting, crime prevention and community cohesion.

"Our focus will be engaging, empowering and working side by side with the community to find solutions that these communities face," Mr. Dames said. "This sums up what Urban Renewal is all about – bringing the community together."

Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and National Insurance with direct responsibility for Urban Renewal Brensil Rolle explained that the main focus of the Urban Renewal programme is the community.

He said that to further expand the programme, the ministry has hired and will continue to hire managers in the 16 Urban Renewal centres in New Providence and throughout the Family Islands.

"These managers will have responsibilities for many things, including the control and management of the urban centres, the co-ordination of meetings between multi-disciplinary groups, and that’s government and non-government agencies, the liaison [among] various government agencies, to help establish community services and outreach programmes that will enhance community development."

Mr. Rolle said that these managers will come from all the communities and from government agencies.

He said managers and assistant managers in every Urban Renewal centre would provide a better relationship between the government and inner city communities.

"We believe that will lend us to better accountability, transparency and a better way that we can report to the public," he said. "We will seek to de-politicize the centres, meaning that we will remove the constituencies’ name from the centres so that they become community centres instead of constituency centres."

He also explained that there will also be centres put in place in the newer communities.

"The idea is to make sure that every community is involved as a whole," he added.