Renters express disgust at unsanitary living conditions forced upon them

By TAMARA McKENZIE,Guardian Staff Reporter

As the government moves to amend the Rent Control Act, tin roofs on rented homes in Kemp Road are leaking and there is no indoor plumbing.

A dilapidated outside toilet is filled to its brim with faeces, while a resident is forced to endure the pervasive stench to cook his Sunday dinner outside on a makeshift stove.

These and other shockingly squalid conditions were discovered on Sunday, as residents complained bitterly about landlords who were always on time to collect their rent, but failed to fix up their homes.

Attention was also drawn to the unsanitary conditions in the area last Tuesday during a town meeting to discuss proposed amendments to the Rent Control and Consumer Protection Act. The Ministry of Trade and Industry held the town meeting at Uriah McPhee Primary School.

Grave disrespect

At the time, Edward Burrows, a Kemp Road resident and youth leader in the area, revealed that the condemned St Bede's graveyard was being used as a disposal site for human waste, while many residents were forced to use outside toilets because they lacked indoor plumbing.

"Every morning around 4 a.m. you have my people with slop pots, throwing their mess on the graveyard," Mr Burrows said at the town meeting.

On Sunday, Mr Burrows took The Guardian on a tour of the area, where it became evident that the residents' complaints were not unfounded. These residents were also not ashamed to show this reporter the inside of their homes, with the word "neglect" frequently being heard.

New toilet under construction

Melinda Adderley, a resident of Free Town Lane off John Evans Road expressed her disgust with the prevailing situation. She too claimed that her neighbours, many who were Haitian-Bahamians, were disposing their waste on vacant portions of the yard because the outside toilet used by "everyone" had overflowed.

Surrounded by her five children, Ms Adderley pointed out a small unfinished building just inches from the front door of her home. The building, she said, was another outside toilet that was being built by the landlord, but it has been "under construction" for months. Also nearby was an open cesspit hole that posed a hazard to children in the area, especially when it rained.

"My landlord who works for the government does not come around, only to collect her rent. I pay $60 a week for rent, but the place leaks and I don't even have running water," she said, adding that she has to fill jugs with water from a nearby government pump.

The many Haitian-Bahamians who lived next door to Ms Adderely, were reluctant to voice their concerns to The Guardian. Ms Adderley said they kept quiet because they were "afraid" that the female landlord might evict them.

Dead rats

The Guardian also visited the home of Glenda Johnson, who initially warned that if we smelled a stench, it was because of the dead rats on the outside of her home.

Ms Johnson said she pays $300 a month to rent her three-bedroom, one-bath home, and was "fed up" with her landlord who has made endless promises to fix the home, but no repairs are carried out.

"They say they will send somebody, but the person never reach yet. I gat so much rat in my house and right now I have to kill them and that is what you are smelling," Ms Johnson told The Guardian.

The irate Kemp Road resident said many landlords that own homes in the area are not inspecting the living situation of their tenants. "This is the reason why some of these people don't want to give the landlord any money, because of how they are living. The house may look good on the outside, but when you go inside, it is a different story, but I won't even let you go inside here," she said standing on the front porch of her home.

Ms Johnson further stated that she has indoor plumbing, but her pipes leaked throughout the house and her water bills are excessively high.

Mrs Alice Davis, a 91-year-old resident also told The Guardian of her dilemma. Hurricane Frances blew the roof off her home and she could never recall having running water, she said. "I have to get water from the pump to bathe, to cook, to wash and to do everything."

Davis' sister, Geraldine Smith, said the government promised to help her months ago, but "nobody came." She showed The Guardian a gaping hole in the roof of her home as a result of Hurricane Frances, but said because she was unemployed and only received a $200 pension, she could not get it repaired.

Roots

Many residents of Kemp Road have "roots" in the area and don't want to move, according to Mr Burrows. He said that Haitians and Bahamians are living as neighbours, but the Haitians will not speak out about their poor living conditions.

"They [Haitians] don't mind because they will not speak out, but our [Bahamian] people are suffering and we are losing our identity as Bahamians," he said.

Kemp Road has been neglected by both the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party, Mr Burrows said. The area is now being represented by Independent MP Pierre Dupuch but residents are still "left out," Mr Burrows said.

"We don't have nowhere to run to and it seems as if nobody has our back. I am just tired of the government playing monopoly with the people," he said.

The Guardian placed a call to the home of Mr Dupuch on Sunday evening for comment, but the call was not answered.

At the Kemp Road Town meeting last week, Trade and Industry Minister, Leslie Miller said that amending the Rent Control Act would be an initial attempt to "do away" with outdoor housing facilities, and would allow citizens to live in an area of which they could be proud.

Mr Miller also pointed out that since coming into force in 1975, the ceiling for Rent Control has been pegged at $25,000; however, there is not one single structure throughout New Providence that is valued at $25,000. The Ministry plans to increase the amount to $75,000 when the Act is revised.

The Rent Control Act is expected to be introduced in Parliament when the House of Assembly reconvenes on November 10.