By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Phillip “Brave” Davis says his administration has accelerated its rebuilding plans for Abaco and “stepped up the pace” in addressing the housing crisis on the island.

Abaco has been facing a housing shortage since September 2019 when Hurricane Dorian laid waste to hundreds of homes and major infrastructure there.

Three years later, some residents are still living in the government domes and other temporary housing structures.

Yesterday, Mr Davis was asked to elaborate more on his government’s plans to assist residents following his recent pledge to Abaconians during the Hurricane Dorian memorial service last week.

At last week’s service, Mr Davis promised to do more to help residents on the island, while saying residents should soon be able “to see, touch and feel the results” especially relating to its housing programme.

“I spoke to the residents of Abaco last Thursday and if they were of the view that the coverage was not fast enough, I agree with that and I agree that we have not been as proactive as we ought to do and that is less across the board,” Mr Davis told reporters yesterday.

“But I can say that since taking office, we have accelerated our plans. We have set up a homeowners assistance relief programme to help them immediately. As you well know for at least two and a half years, there was nothing done.

“But we have now been giving people homes. We have built homes. We gave at least two homes. Other homes are now being constructed and we are now (stepping) up the pace to ensure that the challenges of housing in Abaco are answered.

“The Abaco economy is rebounding and the challenge to that rebound is being able to find workers and workers finding a place to stay and so we are addressing that as we speak.”

Asked if he was pleased with the state of Abaco, Mr Davis replied “no”, adding that he will not be pleased until more homes have been built and the island has returned to some semblance of normalcy.

Dorian first struck Abaco on September 1 with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, gusts of 220 miles per hour and storm surge in excess of 20 feet. The storm then moved to Grand Bahama, where it hovered for nearly two days. While the official death toll of Dorian stands at 74, hundreds are said to be still missing.

Over the last several days, the nation has held several memorial events to honour the lives lost to the storm as well as the survivors.