By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
TRANSPORT and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis said yesterday her ministry will review the former government’s Prospect Ridge development project before it makes any decision relating to the housing programme.
The housing programme, geared towards young professionals, was initiated by the Minnis administration in a bid to make affordable homes more accessible to Bahamians.
After the programme's launch, officials revealed in August that some 1,500 applications had already been received for the housing initiative.
Yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis was asked if the Davis administration planned to continue with the programme.
She said. "We're going to review everything that's on the table, what will work, will stay and where it doesn't fit in the plans, there will be some maneuvering but we're not in the business of going out there and cancelling things right away.
“We know a lot of young Bahamians are interested in becoming home owners and that's important for them and so our focus would be how we can assist Bahamians in general, especially young Bahamians to get into their homes and so I think that idea is a good one."
Her comments came after she was sworn into office yesterday, becoming one of five women to take a Cabinet post.
Yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Phillip "Brave" Davis for the appointment and also briefly outlined her plans for the ministry while in office.
She said: "Before I put forward my plans, I want to meet with the ministry, speak to the staff, speak to the persons in the office and the permanent secretary and understand where they are, but we know for sure that we want to build some homes in this country and there haven't been any built in the last four and a half years so definitely that's our number one focus – how we tackle building homes and getting Bahamians back into homes so that they can be owners."
Comments
Honestman 2 years, 6 months ago
The Prospect Ridge project should be scrapped in favour of a new initiative that gives ALL young Bahamians a chance to get on the housing ladder, not just a select group.
ohdrap4 2 years, 6 months ago
Elitist project. This is for the rich to finance tax free homes for their 18 to 25 children.
JokeyJack 2 years, 6 months ago
Stop, Review, Cancel. Happens every time. This is why we have no investment. Nobody knows when the the rug ga get yuck.
BahamaRed 2 years, 6 months ago
I don't blame them, that whole project was designed to attract a certain level of young professional. Based on the requirements and the 2 year stipulation to build, the only young professional able to afford access to the properties would have been lawyers, doctors, investment bankers, cpa, and such. It definitely would not have been affordable for teachers, nurses, office administrators and such. I say revamp the whole project and make it accessible to all levels of young professionals.
WETHEPEOPLE 2 years, 6 months ago
Agreed that this should be scrapped, as it does nothing for the average Bahamian. All it does is makes concessions for people who can already afford it. All Bahamians deserve a chance, no just those who are " smart"
FrustratedBusinessman 2 years, 6 months ago
Agreed 100%, but intelligence has nothing to do with how financially well of you are. You can be the brightest person in the room, with the greatest ideas imaginable, but your ideas will die on the drawing board if you can't access the capital you need to get them off the ground.
As a poster above stated, this was just a way for all the political, law, or medical cronies to give a kickback to their children while leaving the housing crisis in Nassau unaddressed for the average Bahamian. The insane cost to rent in Nassau is an issue that no politician seems to be interested in addressing, probably because most of them do not have to worry about it.
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