Two days after the largest drug bust in the country for the year, government officials on Monday opened the newly renovated Church House Complex and National Anti-Drug Secretariat at the corner of East Street and Sands Road on Monday.
The establishment of the facility is a part of the national anti-drug plan.
The principal function of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat or (NADS) will be to coordinate strategies, efforts and initiatives in the war on drugs in The Bahamas. The office will be run by specially trained and experienced professionals, according to government officials.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt said during the opening ceremony that the drug bust over the weekend shows that Bahamian people are appalled and determined to keep their communities drug free.
“NADS will provide the government with seasoned, analyzed and credible information to formulate drug policy in the drug fight,” Mrs. Pratt said. “It is therefore essential that we continue to wage an aggressive campaign against illegal drugs, both the trafficking and consumptions thereof.”
She added, “Let the word go forth to all near and far that The Bahamas is committed to improving drug control administration and we will continue to do all that we can in concert with the world community”
The deputy prime minister said the new secretariat is a long awaited tool of the government designed to address the drug problem.
She said given that evidence proves that drug use is on the rise, the opening shows the governmentﾒs commitment to improving the countryﾒs drug control administration.
Also located in the newly renovated building will be The Police Civilian Complaints Unit, The Private Securities Services Unit, The Royal Bahamas Defence Force Implementations Committee, and an office for the Defence Force Commodore.
There will also be an office that will house The Straw Market Unit and a special Police Intelligence Unit.
“Iﾒm happy that we have found such adequate facilities strategically located and may I say at a reasonable rent,” Mrs. Pratt said.
The opening coincided with the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said that since The Bahamas is a part of various conventions, the opening of the secretariat demonstrates the countryﾒs commitment to the protection of its people and eradication of the drug scourge.
“The opening of this secretariat will certainly make our work that much easier as it will serve to bring an even greater degree of cohesiveness to this countryﾒs anti-drug efforts, thereby providing foreign service officers with the ammunition to better seek international assistance,” Mr. Mitchell said.
“Following the [opening] there should be no doubt in anyoneﾒs mind of The Bahamasﾒ commitment to the ongoing fight against drugs.”
By: Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
