NASSAU, Bahamas — Most shanty town dwellers in unregulated communities across Abaco have legal status permitting them to reside in the country, according to Labour Minister Dion Foulkes, who yesterday revealed an estimated population size of around 3,500 residents, The Tribune reported December 12.
Mr Foulkes said around 20 percent of those surveyed during the summer census exercise were undocumented, adding the six shanty towns were home to at least 332 children.
He remained tightlipped on how many shanty town residents were Bahamian, telling reporters outside the Churchill Building the full report was still before Cabinet.
“The report has a breakdown of those residents who are on spousal permit, work permit and citizenship,” Mr Foulkes said.
“Information on utilities, those employed and unemployed, but that information would be made available to the press. It is before colleagues now.
He added: “One of the figures that I can release this morning is out of all of the residents, 80 percent of them have some type of legal status to be in the Bahamas, 20 percent of them are undocumented.”
The preliminary results appear to follow population trends observed in New Providence shanty towns, where an “overwhelming” 70 percent reportedly have a legal right to reside in the country. In the capital, Bahamian residents stood at 15 percent, and three percent of interviewees had a spousal permit. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/dec/12/legal-status-majority-shanty-town-census/
