#TREASURE CAY – February 2, 2020 —- Treasure Cay residents were updated Friday night on the Government’s soon-to-be launched Small Home Repair Programme, through which homeowners could receive up to $10,000 in vouchers toward home repair.
The
town hall meeting, which took place at Full Gospel Assembly, was organized by
the Bahamas Disaster Reconstruction Authority and the area Local Government.
The
Small Home Repair Programme launches on February 10.
There
will be four categories for which vouchers will be granted. Residents whose
homes were assessed with minimal damage will be eligible for $2,500 in
vouchers; those with medium damage will be eligible for $5,000 in vouchers;
those with major damage will be eligible for $7,500 in vouchers; and those
whose homes were destroyed will be eligible for $10,000 in vouchers.
Voucher recipients will be able to use them for home improvement
materials, labour or a combination of both.
There will be online registration for the programme. There will
also be in-person, sign-up locations for those unable to register online.
The Grand Bahama in-person registration site will be at the Small
Home Repair Programme office at the Office of the Prime Minister. The Abaco site
will be at the administration complex in Marsh Harbour.
To
qualify a person needs to be Bahamian; to own the property in question; there
must be proof of residence at August 31, 2019; the property would need to have
been uninsured; and the property has to be in Grand Bahama or Abaco.
Under
the programme, tradesmen used for repairs would need to be approved. Materials
purchased with vouchers would have to be from approved vendors in The Bahamas.
“It
is very important for the economy to continue to grow,” said Katherine
Forbes-Smith, Managing Director of the Authority.
“And
so we want to put a program in place where the money stays within the community.
We want to support the small businesses. It’s important. Small businesses are
employing people. And so it’s very important for us to keep the money as best
we can in the country.”
The
Authority will disburse 50 percent of the voucher first. An inspector will then
check and ensure the voucher was spent on the home. Once that is verified the
remaining 50 percent would be disbursed.
The Authority has also partnered with various NGOs in
Dorian-impacted communities. Through the partnerships the Government pays for home
repair labour and the NGOs provide supplies and various types of logistical and
technical assistance.
Treasure
Cay residents expressed concerns regarding the ongoing electricity outage in
the area. Hurricane Dorian destroyed much of the Bahamas Power and Light (BPL)
infrastructure in central Abaco.
Restoration
work to the network is underway. BPL has said electricity should be restored to
all of Abaco by the end of March.
Residents
expressed further concerns with the water outage in the area. Mrs. Forbes-Smith
pledged to get an update from the Water and Sewerage Corporation on their
restoration work.
The Authority also met with the business community in Marsh
Harbour on Friday, January 31.
Representatives from the Department of Inland Revenue and the
Small Business Development Centre were present to inform the business community
of the tax concessions and loans and grants available to them.
Hurricane
Dorian hit Abaco and Grand Bahama in September. With maximum sustained winds of
185 miles per hour, Dorian was the strongest storm to hit The Bahamas.
The Authority has hosted a series of town hall meetings in Abaco and Grand Bahama to update residents on the restoration effort and to hear their concerns. These meeting will continue in communities affected by Hurricane Dorian.
PRESS RELEASE: BAHAMAS DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY, FEB 2, 2020