By LETRE SWEETING

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis presented the keys to new homes in the Pinecrest subdivision to six government and essential workers yesterday.

This came four months after three Bahamians were granted keys to new homes in the area.

At a ceremony yesterday, Mr Davis as well as Transport and Housing Minister JoBeth Coleby- Davis escorted each of the six new homeowners to receive their house keys as well as plaques to commemorate the occasion.

The new homeowners also got a chance to tour their new three bedroom, two bathroom homes with their families.

Recipients of the new homes included a finance professional, a supervisor in the hospitality industry, an associate in the healthcare field, a tradesman in the oil industry, a clerk at a utility company and a teacher in the public education system.

“In our Blueprint for Change we committed to treating homeownership as a basic human right and pledged to increase access to affordable homes,” Mr Davis said.

“My government pledged to return to building houses for Bahamians by incentivizing local contractors, by the granting of crown land, especially in the Family Islands and by use of public-private sector partnerships or PPP. The Pinecrest housing development Initiative is just one example of a successful public-private sector partnership,” Mr Davis said.

Mrs Coleby-Davis added that while the government is committed to creating greater opportunities for home ownership, there needs to be a shift by members of the public towards financial prudence.

“We do not intend to criticise Bahamians for their financial practices,” she said.

“I want to encourage the average working Bahamian, to make prudent financial decisions, by creating and adhering to a monthly budget and by consistently following a savings plan.”

She said the Department of Housing is currently experiencing a heavy volume of applications.

“The demand for housing is indeed great. Each customer service agent, each of them individually is handling over 350 active applications,” Mrs Coleby- Davis said.

“We therefore humbly ask for the public’s patience and we reiterate that our intent and our mission is to assist everyone, as best as we can.”

One new homeowner, Precious Storr, is a single parent that has been working in the medical field for ten years. She expressed her gratitude openly toward Mr Davis.

“I cannot even begin to say how becoming a homeowner is just overwhelming and amazing,” she said.

“The best part of this experience is watching my daughter look up to me and call me an achiever and she wants to be like her mom. The next part is the homes, they are amazing. They are beautiful, they’re very modern and very spacious inside and out,” she said.

The new Pinecrest residences include 47 new homes designed according to Bahamian building codes and were constructed through the partnership between the central government, a quasi-government agency and a private sector agency.

In January, Mrs Coleby- Davis announced the Pinecrest housing development project designed to provide homes for Bahamians seeking affordable options.

Earlier this month, Mrs Coleby-Davis said her ministry intended to construct some 300 homes in Abaco over the next year to help alleviate the housing crisis on the island. About 50 of those homes should be nearing completion by year’s end, she said.

Mr Davis said yesterday that, “Not long after the 16 of September 2021, the number of applicants for the Abaco housing project already had already exceeded 3,500.”

He added that many more have applied since then.

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