By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

ECONOMIC Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said Cabinet has not yet approved the construction of new prison facilities, saying the structures may have to be built incrementally to spread costs.

Prison Commissioner Doan Cleare revealed last month that the cost of expanding the prison was cut by 40 per cent, down from $93m.

“Based on what I’m hearing, you know, emanating back from the government, we have done our job, and they are appreciative of what we have done,” Commissioner Cleare had told reporters earlier.

However, Mr Halkitis suggested to reporters yesterday that a final determination has not been made.

“I know there was a proposal floated,” he said. “I was away, but as far as I know, nothing was approved as yet.”

“The idea might be to do it in incremental steps, where you make step-by-step improvements so you’re not making such a huge investment at the outset.”

Mr Halkitis said the government must balance various priorities.

“The government of The Bahamas has resources that it has to spread all over the place,” he said. “We have to make sure that we are allocating those to the maximum benefit and that the people can feel that as well because we have to report to the Bahamian people.

“On the flip side of that, we have to make sure that when people are incarcerated, they are done so in humane conditions and as best as possible because we get rated by human rights people from all over the world, and they can be scathing sometimes.

“We have to balance, so I don’t want to put a price. We understand that there needs to be some work done, but we have to balance that as well because we also need a new hospital, and we need a new one in Grand Bahama that we’re building, and we need new airports. We have to balance what we do and make sure that comports with the priorities of what the Bahamian people feel.”

National security officials say upgrading the prison is critical to securing accreditation from the American Correctional Association, which gave input on the design for the new facilities.