Bahamas Minister of Public Works Addresses Street Signs, Light Poles and Potholes in Parliament

#Bahamas, October 12, 2017 – Nassau – An “intense” initiative by the Ministry of Public Works to replace stolen street signs and straighten damaged and bent poles will soon commence.   The Hon. Desmond Bannister, the Minister of Public Works, addressed the issue of street signs and potholes in his contribution to the House of Assembly Wednesday, October 11, 2017.    His comments came during a debate on a motion to thank Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Marguerite Pindling for her speech from the Throne.

“In Carmichael and in many of our other communities, street signs have virtually disappeared,” said the Minister.   “As the Minister with responsibility for street signs, Mr. Speaker, this is deeply troubling. Our society cannot drop to a degree of incivility where street signs are routinely stolen for their metal content and there are no consequences.”

Minister Bannister called on “responsible” members of the public to be on the lookout for these thieves who can cause accidents and also negatively impact response times for the police or emergency services by their callous and dishonest acts.   He said too many street signposts and light poles are being knocked down by careless drivers and asked Bahamians to be careful in traversing the streets.

“I urge Bahamians when they see these incidents to take photos of them and to email those photos to the responsible authorities so that we can collect the cost of those poles from the careless drivers.   Otherwise, our taxes will be used to pay for these signs and poles over and over again.”

Minister Bannister expressed disdain for potholes and expressed his commitment to use every weapon to effectively control potholes.

“They have burst my tires, messed up my rims, and set my hubcaps flying.   Yes Sir, I am not ashamed to admit that I hate potholes.”

He appealed to every Bahamian use the hotline, 302-9700, at the Ministry of Public Works to make complaints.

“I have heard the constant complaints, Sir, about the fact that the hotline has not been manned as effectively as it should be.   That has to and will change.   I expect that Bahamians will get courteous, quick responses from the hotline, and I will not offer any excuses.   If anyone does not receive a quick and courteous response when they call the hotline, I ask them to send a text or a Whatsapp 814-2190 specifying the date and the time of their call to the hotline, and the issue that has not been addressed.”

By: Kathryn Campbell (BIS)