Hurricane victims who have not yet purchased relief supplies from overseas could benefit from extensions to the exigency orders put in place by the government following hurricanes Frances and Jeanne.
Prime Minister Perry Christie has told the Bahama Journal that he will soon make an announcement in this regard as many people faced delays in getting material because of the demands created throughout the region by the four major hurricanes that past through between August and September.
The first order is set to expire on November 30 for several Bahamian islands.Grand Bahamians, who bore the brunt of Hurricane Frances, now have until December 31 to take advantage of the new duty-free regime.
There has been no indication yet regarding how long the extensions will be.
The exigency programme benefited hundreds of Bahamians, who have already brought in supplies duty free to help them reconstruct their properties.
But many residents are looking forward to the promised extensions.
Rodney Finke of Marsh Harbour Marina in Abaco told the Bahama Journal Wednesday that the duty free programme helped many people to return to a state of normalcy.
ﾓI donﾴt think that there is much more that the government can do to help; it cuts the cost of rebuilding down so that you can get back in business and make a profit,ﾒ he said.
ﾓIt should be extended a little bit longer because there is such a shortage of labour that people canﾴt get a lot of things done so they wonﾴt be able to get the things they need before the expiration.ﾒ
The administrator for San Salvador, Christfield Johnson, spoke of some of the delays residents on his island are faced with in rebuilding after the storms.
ﾓWe have had some delays in term of materials reaching San Salvador and that was not due to any administratorﾴs defect; that was because of bad weather and of course the boats that were scheduled to make deliveries were unable to do so on time,ﾒ Mr. Johnson explained.
Meanwhile, in Grand Bahama an extension to the exigency would assist those individuals who were not able to complete repairs.
Principal of the Freeport Anglican High School Sammy Bethel has expressed concerns over abuse of the system.
ﾓPeople are abusing the exemption; they are using it for personal gain and turning a profit rather than rebuilding,ﾒ he said.
Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
