By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Immigration Minister Elsworth Johnson described the shanty town issue in Abaco as a “crisis” that requires both national and international action.

After a recent raid in Abaco on two major shanty towns earlier this month by the Department of Immigration and other law enforcement, Mr Johnson said yesterday that while he agrees with current Immigration Minister Keith Bell’s decisions in that regard, he still has some concerns.

One of the shanty towns was found to have expanded from 50 acres in 2019 to now 200 acres.

“I think it is a crisis,” Mr Johnson said. “You have a vast influx of people, it affects your education, your healthcare, your ability to enforce. All of these things are affected and we see it and it’s a crisis. It requires the ability to just enforce, but do it in a humane and socially-conscious way.

“Let me say this, this matter is not political, this requires an apolitical approach. And so I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the minister, as they attempt to deal with what I term to be a crisis. Now I know he says it’s not a crisis.

“He said the matter of irregular immigration in The Bahamas requires a national and an international approach.

“In terms of enforcement, it requires an international approach by countries like The Bahamas, insisting and demanding that the world create the environment, where Haiti is given an opportunity to settle, determine and exist.

“We must partner with Haiti. We owe Haiti that for what it has done”.

Mr Johnson added: “Nationally it requires a humane, socio-economic approach, because we can see what is happening, despite what my good friend and brother says. Whether it be in Nassau, Eleuthera and Andros or other islands, the situation is out of hand.”

Mr Johnson said that while The Bahamas does have the laws in place to deal with the immigration and shanty town issues that plague it, it lacks the forceful enforcement needed to make sure the laws are followed.

“We don’t lack laws to deal with these situations. I think we lack the impetus to do it. If anybody’s building in contravention to the building codes or the Environmental Health Act, you must deal with them,” he said.

“They’re just building because they don’t think we have the fortitude to do anything about it. Whether it be on Crown land or private land, nobody has a right to come and do what they like.”

“And we cannot only respond when we feel or when we understand that Bahamians are about to respond and there must be equality before the law. There must be enforcement of law. And we do that, whether it be through the immigration, persons who are harbouring or persons who build in contravention to the building code.”

He agreed with Mr Bell’s statements last week that there needs to be a tightening of national security in the form of biometrics as well as digitisation.

“And we have to be forceful with our enforcement, the total digitisation of the Immigration Department going cashless paperless and the interconnection with other law enforcement agencies like Interpol, FIU, and other regional police departments must be done,” Mr Johnson said.

“I agree with Mr Bell, that there has to be very quickly, the biometrics of everybody that is in this country, we must have a right to have that information, because it is national security.”

Last week at a press briefing, Immigration Minister Keith Bell said there will be an increased number of immigration officers deployed to Abaco due to the recent expansion of several shanty towns there.

A recent operation on Abaco resulted in 52 arrests and exposed the scope of the worsening shanty town problem.

The Department of immigration launched Operation Expedition from October 7 to 10, where immigration officers as well as the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force went to the island to explore, detain and eventually repatriate any irregular migrants found.

Last week, Press Secretary Clint Watson said private land has made it difficult for the government to stop the growth of shanty towns in Abaco.

“The reason why it’s so difficult for government to be able to intervene and stop it is because of one major thing, private land,” Mr Watson said at an Office of the Prime Minister press briefing.

“The private land is owned by people and if you own your land, you can give somebody permission or you can enter an agreement with people to be on your land. And guess what they do? They pay you to be there. You understand it’s not government land, private land,” he said.

“And so it’s very difficult for the government to step in and tell somebody, ‘No you can’t let them do that’, because it’s not the government’s land.”