By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

SOME people with children in Abaco shanty towns were given extra time to find a place to live because they were not prepared to move when bulldozers showed up last week, Works Minister Clay Sweeting said yesterday.

“Some persons had children and didn’t believe that the task force was actually going to deal with the unregulated communities, so they didn’t move,” he said. “Not a large amount, but those persons were provided with some extra time to find a location.”

In February, officials issued over 400 shanty towns notices in three unregulated Abaco communities.

Mr Sweeting said there have been no incidents after demolition exercises began in Abaco last week.

 Mr Sweeting said his ministry knows that residents in Gladstone Road have complained about a developing unregulated community in their area. Neighbours speculated the residents in the unregulated community were displaced after the previous shanty town demolition in the Kool Acres, All Saints Way and Area 52 communities.

 However, Mr Sweeting said the community Gladstone Road residents are complaining about “started some time ago.”

 He said the Unregulated Communities Action Task Force (UCATF) will visit Eleuthera later this month to assess communities there.

 Last week, more than 60 structures were demolished at the Gaza shanty town in Abaco so far, with more expected to be destroyed.