分类： society

A viral social media post highlighting severe structural decay on the Ferry Bridge linking Great Exuma and Little Exuma has prompted official confirmation from the Bahamas’ Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs that the aging crossing requires full replacement — though the government has yet to announce when construction on a new structure will get underway. The bridge is counted among nine high-priority infrastructure projects prioritized by the current Davis administration, after engineering assessments completed by the ministry verified the need for full replacement. In an official statement released Tuesday evening, the ministry noted that its technical teams have long been aware of the crossing’s deteriorating condition, and preliminary design work for the replacement bridge has already been finalized. Necessary pre-construction technical reviews and public planning processes are currently moving forward, according to the agency.

Despite confirming the replacement plan, officials declined to address a key claim accompanying the widely shared viral video: that chunks of concrete break away and fall into the surrounding water when heavy trucks traverse the structure. The footage shows loose material dangling from the bridge’s underside, which the accompanying social media post identified as exposed reinforcing steel. Until the replacement project breaks ground, ministry engineers will conduct regular safety inspections of the existing structure to protect the thousands of motorists and local residents who depend on the inter-island connection. “In the interim, the Ministry’s engineers will continue to monitor the existing structure, and advise on any measures necessary to protect the safety of motorists and residents who rely on this critical connection between Great and Little Exuma,” the statement read. Officials added they recognize the Ferry Bridge’s central role in supporting daily life and local economic activity across the Exumas, and will publish additional updates as technical design, procurement, and implementation work progresses.

Before the ministry released its formal statement, Glenn Davis, Chief Councillor of Exuma, told local outlet The Tribune that government assessments of the bridge had been completed previously, and replacement plans had already been drafted. “I don’t know if it’s a danger,” Davis said, “but I know that heavy vehicles or heavy loads shouldn’t cross the bridge.” He explained that government inspectors carried out a full review of the structure last year, and concluded that full replacement was the only viable solution, adding that the existing bridge has stood for decades and all required pre-planning work to scope the project has already been finished.

Local perspectives on the bridge’s safety have been divided in the wake of the viral video. Cecil Smith, a long-time Exuma resident, warned against drawing conclusions about the bridge’s safety from social media footage alone. “I am not aware of any report by certified government engineers or otherwise that the bridge is unsafe,” Smith said. “However, there have been in the past some restrictions about certain tonnage going across the bridge.” Smith added that he does not know the official weight limit or whether those restrictions are still enforced, and stressed that only qualified government engineering professionals can properly assess the structure’s condition, arguing the viral video does not prove the bridge is at risk of collapse. Another local resident, who requested anonymity, told reporters that she believes the viral footage exaggerates the bridge’s current condition, though she acknowledged that critical repairs or replacement are long overdue.

The renewed public scrutiny of the Ferry Bridge comes just one week after a sudden structural failure led to the immediate condemnation of the Fresh Creek Bridge on the nearby island of Central Andros, which cut off a critical transportation artery for the community. As The Tribune reported on August 5, an intermediate supporting pier on one of the Fresh Creek Bridge’s pile caps sank, shifting the entire structure’s weight to just two external supports and causing three concrete bridge slabs to subside. Officials ordered the bridge immediately closed to all vehicle traffic, announcing that the structure would be fully demolished rather than repaired due to the extent of the damage.

The sudden closure severely disrupted travel across Central Andros, cutting off access to the island’s airport, government service centers, and local businesses. It also initially delayed restoration work by Bahamas Power and Light crews, who were unable to transport heavy equipment to repair outages in Cargill Creek and parts of South Andros. Officials noted that a prefabricated temporary bridge sourced from a supplier in New York will take approximately two months to be delivered and installed on Andros, leaving residents facing extended disruption to travel and commerce.

A months-long simmering conflict over ground transportation operations at the Bahamas’ Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) has reached a boiling point, with the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union (BTCU) publicly stating it has lost all confidence in the Davis administration’s ability to resolve the dispute and warning that industrial action is now imminent.

The core of the conflict centers on long-running disagreements between union-affiliated taxi drivers and unregulated or livery vehicle operators over access to the high-traffic arrivals door pick-up zone at LPIA. According to BTCU President Tyrone Butler, union leaders reached a tentative two-week trial agreement with senior tourism and transport government officials last Wednesday, which would have restricted exclusive access to the arrivals door to station taxi drivers only, while allowing just three livery vehicles to wait in the commercial lane behind the taxi queue. All prearranged passenger pick-ups would remain permitted at the existing zone near rental car facilities, and Road Traffic officials were scheduled to be on-site to enforce the arrangement starting Monday, August 10.

But that agreed framework never went into effect, Butler claims. Livery drivers were never notified of the new terms, leading to a chaotic disruption at the airport on Monday when unknowing operators attempted to block the commercial lane reserved for taxi drivers. Nassau Airport Development Company called local police to respond to the standoff, which Butler says was incorrectly framed in early accounts as a direct confrontation between taxi and livery drivers. Obie Ferguson KC, president of the Bahamas Trade Union Congress (TUC), confirmed Butler’s account of the agreed deal, noting he was present at the negotiating meeting and left with clear assurances the pilot arrangement would launch Monday morning.

The BTCU circulated an email Butler sent to Transport Minister Leon Lundy on the prior Sunday, which detailed all terms of the tentative agreement, but the union says it never received any official government confirmation that the arrangement would move forward. In sharp criticism of the Davis administration, Butler accused Minister Lundy of openly favoring livery operators, acting as their de facto spokesman and bargaining agent rather than serving as a neutral broker for all stakeholders. He noted the union has met with Lundy seven times since the minister took office, and three times with Tourism Minister Glenys Hanna Martin, with zero progress on resolving any of the union’s outstanding demands.

Butler went so far as to call on Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis to remove Lundy from his post, arguing that a new minister is needed to deliver the meaningful reform the country’s transportation sector requires. The BTCU’s position rests on its interpretation of existing Bahamian transportation law, which it says reserves the LPIA arrivals door taxi stand exclusively for regulated taxi drivers and prohibits livery operators from soliciting walk-up passengers in that zone. Butler emphasized the union does not oppose legal prearranged luxury livery services, but argues that unregulated solicitation at the arrivals gate allows livery drivers to undercut fixed regulated taxi fares, creating an unfair playing field. He also noted the union would support formal legislative changes to properly license and regulate livery services, pointing out that the popular term “black car service” has no legal standing under current Bahamian law.

The dispute is not limited to LPIA: Butler added that the union has unaddressed concerns about unapproved livery operations at the Atlantis resort’s Royal Towers and The Cove, and that the resort will be included in any upcoming industrial action after failing to respond to a union inquiry sent months ago. When asked about the potential negative impact of industrial action on the Bahamas’ critical tourism sector, Butler placed full responsibility on the Davis administration, saying government leaders should have prioritized preventing disruption to tourist experiences long before the conflict reached this stage.

Ferguson has pledged full solidarity and support from the TUC for any collective action the BTCU approves, and has called on all taxi drivers – including non-union operators – to stand with the BTCU and follow Butler’s leadership if industrial action is called. “When the president says go, then everybody got to go,” Ferguson said, urging non-members to join the collective action to secure a fair resolution. Butler declined to share details on what form industrial action could take or when it would begin, saying the union will first hold consultations with its membership, supporters and TUC leadership before moving forward.

A long-running faith-based outreach organization in The Bahamas is sounding the alarm over a rapidly growing homelessness crisis, calling on the national government to launch an official count of unhoused residents and step up support for vulnerable populations left behind amid the country’s booming economic sectors.

Great Commission Ministries, a non-governmental organisation that has supported low-income and unhoused Bahamians for decades, currently provides roughly 600 hot, freshly prepared meals each day to people in need, alongside free groceries and clothing for struggling families. The group is also the only non-state entity in the country that offers residential shelter for unhoused men, women, and children. But its president, Bishop Walter Hanchell, warns that the scale of unhoused populations has grown far beyond what private charity alone can address.

In a recent public statement, Hanchell outlined a sharp deterioration in housing access across The Bahamas, noting that growing numbers of residents are now forced to sleep on public streets, in condemned and abandoned buildings, and inside broken-down derelict vehicles. He attributes the crisis to two interconnected issues: a widespread lack of affordable housing and a critical shortage of available rental units on the market. Many of these unhoused people, he added, including previously employed residents who have recently lost their jobs, cannot access the government assistance they qualify for and are simply bounced between different agencies without receiving meaningful support.

Hanchell directly appealed to Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis to prioritize unhoused populations, arguing that it is morally indefensible for vulnerable Bahamians to suffer extreme deprivation while the country boasts of robust growth in its core tourism and financial services sectors. “Homeless people, street people and our unemployed should never be suffering at this level when we boast of so much prosperity and a tourism and financial boom,” he said.

The bishop’s call follows a similar acknowledgment earlier this year from Social Services Minister Barbara Cartwright, who identified rising homelessness as one of the most urgent challenges facing her ministry back in June. While Hanchell conceded that the Department of Social Services has supported many unhoused people over the years, he argued that chronic underfunding for vulnerable populations has left the agency unable to meet the growing need, and far more action is required from national leaders.

Hanchell also highlighted a troubling normalization of homelessness across Bahamian society, noting that many residents have grown accustomed to seeing unhoused people living in public—including those struggling with poor mental health, substance use disorders, and extreme poverty who often appear dishevelled or underdressed in public spaces. “These persons live on the streets like animals and they are being ignored and rejected by both the government and the church,” he said, adding that the population of unhoused people living without any fixed shelter continues to climb steadily.

One major barrier to long-term solutions, Hanchell explained, is that Great Commission Ministries has spent more than 35 years attempting to secure government-owned land to build permanent supportive housing for unhoused people and vulnerable low-income families, with no success to date. The organization has already supported countless vulnerable groups, including evicted single mothers who are forced to live with their children in cars or abandoned structures. After decades of failed attempts to acquire land through government channels, the ministry has launched what it calls “Plan B”: it is currently working to acquire 20 acres of land via private donation to build its proposed Hope City Homeless Shelter, a permanent facility to expand services for unhoused populations.

In addition to criticizing current and past national governments for inaction, Hanchell accused successive administrations dating back to 1973 of systemic inequity, arguing that political allies and cronies receive favourable access to resources and support, while outspoken non-partisan residents and those perceived to be aligned with the opposition face discrimination and exclusion. He also called out religious leaders and churches across the country for failing to do more, accusing many of hypocrisy for adjusting their public advocacy based on which political party holds power.

For its part, Great Commission Ministries will continue expanding its direct support to people in need as far as its limited resources allow, including accepting referrals from the Department of Social Services and other community agencies. But Hanchell stressed that solving the worsening homelessness crisis will require coordinated, substantial action from the Davis administration, organized religious groups, and civil society at large to address the root causes of housing insecurity and get vulnerable Bahamians off the streets.