Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal, the Hon. Keith Bell tabled a resolution in Parliament on Wednesday for the government to acquire the plot of land known as Bozine Town.

Minister Bell told Parliamentarians, “the families who have built their homes, raised their children and invested their lives in that community will finally have the opportunity to secure legal title to the land.”

Ownership of the land has been the subject of court proceedings for decades. In 2004, the Harold Road Land Development Company claimed ownership and ordered residents to vacate the property. The case eventually reached the Court of Appeal which sided with the residents. The case then went on to the Privy Council.

Bell also spoke to the benefits of the resolution. He said, “infrastructure can be improved, roads can be regularized, families can invest in their homes with confidence, young Bahamians who grew up in that community can build their futures on land that is properly theirs. In that way what begins as the resolution of a decades old dispute becomes the foundation for new opportunity.”

During the debate, Member of Parliament for St. Anne’s questioned how acquiring bad title and passing it on to the residence will make it good title.

Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis responded saying, “you have to look at that deed to understand what actually happened. Because the land that was in fact transferred to Harold Road Properties Limited was crown land. And the consideration for that crown land was the land that was quieted by Harold Road Properties which happens to be that part which we call the Bozine Town.”

The government intends to give the residents of the community title to the lands they occupy.