By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday said he shortly hopes to ease red tape associated with the approval of Family Island building plans.

Clay Sweeting, minister of works and Family Island Affairs, told the Abaco Business Outlook conference he backed calls for the 2,500 square foot threshold - above which construction plans must be sent to Nassau for approval - to be raised in a bid to reduce the associated bureaucracy.

Mr Sweeting spoke after Roscoe Thompson, chairman of the Marsh Harbour/Spring City Township, questioned why building plans that exceed 2,500 square feet must be sent to Nassau for Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) approval when there are Ministry of Works and Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources representatives on the ground in Abaco.

Mr Sweeting said he agrees with expanding the square footage to eliminate the red tape for residents and businesses. and is hopeful some changes will be made to the process in the coming months.

“I will say that that we are looking at it because I do agree,” said Mr Sweeting. “So, I have them assessing on where we can expand the square footage to go to Nassau, because then I understand Family Island development, you want to eliminate red tape.

“So, I do support it. I will say that Abaco was the only Family Island that didn’t do this. This has been a policy for some time. This isn’t new. I think this might have been enacted about five years ago.

“Most single-family homes, for middle class income persons, would be over 2,500 square feet so I agree with you. I think that we just started in Abaco, ensuring that Abaco was in line with the rest of the Family Islands. I’m hoping that within a few months we’ll have some change to that.”

Mr Sweeting also confirmed that proposed reforms to the Local Government Act, which have been drafted and are expected to be tabled in Parliament within the coming months, will give local councils revenue-raising powers.

He explained that a key feature of the legislation will be allowing local government to raise funds that will assist in financing projects that central government may not be able to fund. “The local government draft legislation is complete,” said Mr Sweeting.

“We’re fine tuning some things, so we hope to have that tabled in the House in the next month or so. That’s something where all local council members were engaged; in that everybody got some say. So, we’ll be happy about that.

“One aspect of it would be able to have revenue-raising powers with proper auditing, where local councils can actually help be a part and raise funding to help out their communities where our central government might lack funding sometimes.”

Mr Sweeting said a private-public partnership (PPP) aimed at constructing 56 miles of asphalt roads including sea walls, draining and road markings from Marsh Harbour to Sandy Point, will be signed shortly.

“There are also future works in the pipeline for Abaco, where the Ministry of Works has received a proposal for extensive road rehabilitation and safety improvements in South Abaco,” said Mr Sweeting.

“This PPP aims to restore and construct approximately 56 miles of asphalt roads, including safety features like sea walls, drainage and road markings. The project will focus primarily on the southern region of Abaco, stretching from Marsh Harbour to Sandy Point, and be spearheaded by a Bahamian incorporated company, backed by experienced local contractors.”

Mr Sweeting said $8m in road and water works for Sweeting’s Village has been budgeted in the current 2024-2025 fiscal year, while Central Pines will gain $6.5m of roadworks.

“For the major hub, Marsh Harbour, we have an upcoming project for the Sweeting Village community,” said Mr Sweeting.

“This project will replace the existing roadways with hot mix asphalt and include the installation of new water lines. This project will ensure that we put the water in first before we pave the roads. This is included in the 2024-2025 Budget at an estimated cost of approximately $8 m.

“In Central Pines, the ministry has prepared a project package to address a reconstruction of roughly seven miles of roadway at approximately $6.5m. Actually, I signed the tender report for this project yesterday, so the contract should be awarded within the next few weeks, and you will see the contractor on the ground in Central Pines to start to pave all of the roads there in that area.”