In its Charter for Governance, the Progressive Liberal Party committed to the appointment of a Cabinet Minister for Grand Bahama with responsibility for the restoration of the Island of Grand Bahama.
 

In recognition of the peculiar hardship faced by the people of East and West Grand Bahama, one of the responsibilities of the appointed Minister specifically includes the proposed relocation of residents of Pinder’s Point and the surrounding areas.
 

In keeping with his mandate, the Minister for Grand Bahama has commenced an assessment of the requirements to address the issues of the proposed relocation of the aforementioned residents.
 

The assessment will include:

1. Justification for the proposed relocation
2. Issues surrounding justification
3. Identification of Parties responsible for nuisances
4. Methods to ensure acceptance by responsible Parties
5. Time lines for completion of assessment

JUSTIFICATION FOR PROPOSED RELOCATION

For the past thirty (30) years, residents of the communities under review have petitioned successive Governments and local authorities to address their complaints about the continuous noxious odours, noise and the nuisances emanating from the neighbouring industrial plants.
 

It is an indisputable fact that two major high schools have been relocated from the Hawksbill Subdivision some twenty years ago because of massive ongoing illnesses of teachers, staff and the student population of those institutions.  Medical authorities at that time attributed the illnesses to the unrelenting noxious odours from the industrial plants in close proximity to the schools.
 

Although they have not produced documented medical evidence to support their claim, residents over these many years are convinced that the high rate of cancer and birth deformities in their communities were of direct result of the operation of said industrial and chemical plants.  According to the residents, prior to the presence of these plants such abnormalities did not exist.
 

ISSUES SURROUNDING JUSTIFICATION

The issues surrounding the justification for relocation of the residents, are the inability of operators/owners of these plants to control or cease the offensive emission of noxious odours from their plants after repeated promises to do so.
 

Following many meetings, it is the collective view of the affected residents that the operators/owners of these plants have not admitted to any wrongdoing over the years.  In addition, the owners/operators are not prepared to accept responsibility of any kind that the operation of the plants has caused any form of hardship on the residents.
 

PARTIES RESPONSIBLE

Over many years, the Ministry of Health with specific focus on the former Syntex Pharmaceutical (now Pharmchem), Bahamas Oil Refinery, Uniroyal and Grand Bahama Power Company carried out repeated studies and investigations to determine the offending party.  The studies and investigations were not completed.
 

METHODS TO ENSURE RESPONSIBILITY

The Ministry for Grand Bahama will employ the latest technology to prove by expert and scientific means whether the claims of the residents of Pinder’s Point and surrounding areas are substantiated.  The studies will be comparative in nature and it will determine the rate of like deaths, deformities in other areas of Grand Bahama that are not in close proximity to the industrial and chemical plants.  In addition, the Ministry for Grand Bahama will cause studies to be carried out at the sites of all the plants under review to determine the presence of harmful substances and the effects.
 

TIME LINES FOR COMPLETION OF ASSESMENT

It is proposed that the time line for completion of the assessment to be the third quarter of 2014.