CHAPTER
26
PUBLIC WORKS |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
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Governor-General to deal with objections under
section 3. |
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Regulation of sea-bathing from public wharves and
beaches. |
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CHAPTER 26 |
PUBLIC WORKS |
An Act to
provide for the construction, management and development of public works,
buildings and roads. | 40 of 1963
43 of 1964
6 of 1968
19 of 1968
E.L.A.O., 1974
19 of 1975
5 of 1987 |
[Assent 20th
December, 1963]
[Commencement 7th January, 1964] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Public Works Act. | Short title. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- | Interpretation. |
"Board"
means the New Providence or a District Board of Works, as the case may be; |
"Department"
means the Department of Public Works; |
"Director"
means the Director of Public Works; |
"district"
means any one of the districts into which The Bahamas is or may be divided
under the
Local Government Act or a district constituted under the same; |
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for Public Works; |
"road"
means any highway, road, street, alley, lane, square or place over which the
public have a right of passage; |
"rubbish"
includes debris, litter refuse, waste, derelict vehicles, obsolete plant,
packing cases, barrels, loose timber and scrap metal. |
3. It shall be lawful for the Minister by notice in the Gazette
to name or rename any road: | The naming of roads. |
Provided that the
Minister shall not exercise the power conferred by this section unless he has
given at least one month's notice in the Gazette of his intention so to
do. |
4. Where before the expiration of the time limited by
such notice as is mentioned in section 3, any person has sent to the Minister a
memorial in writing, objecting to the proposal, the Minister shall, unless he
decides to meet the objection, submit the matter to the Governor-General, whose
decision shall be final. | Governor-General to deal with objections under section
3. |
5. (1) It shall be lawful for the Minister, subject to
any rules in that behalf, to assign a number to any house or building jutting
on or adjacent to any road and to cause such number to be fixed at the public
expense in a conspicuous place on the outer side of such house or building or
at the entrance to the enclosure thereof. | Numbering of houses. |
(2) It shall be
the duty of the owner or occupier of such house or building to protect such
number and the expense of replacing and refixing the same in the event of its
being destroyed, defaced, lost or concealed shall be paid by the owner or
occupier and be recoverable from him summarily save where some other person is
convicted under the provisions of subsection (3) of this section in respect of
that number. |
(3) Any person who
destroys, pulls down, defaces or conceals any number placed on a house or
building under the provisions of this section shall on summary
conviction be liable to a penalty of forty dollars and, in addition, shall be
ordered to pay the expenses of replacing and refixing the same. |
6. (1) The Minister may make rules for all or any of the
following purposes- | Rules. |
(a) the use,
obstruction, alteration, encroachment upon, or damage to any of the property
belonging to the Government or held by the Government or any public officer on
behalf of the public and the removal of any such obstruction or encroachment; |
(b) the removal
of filth or rubbish and the cleansing and keeping clean of all public drains,
roads, squares, cemeteries and other public lands and grounds and the care and
attendance of drains and flood-gates; |
(c) the
erection and regulation of sun-screens over and along the roads and side walks
of any town; |
(d) the
erection of gates across roads at a distance, in New Providence, of not less
than four miles from Rawson Square, in the City of Nassau, and in an Out Island
at such distance from any town thereon as to the Minister may seem fit; |
(e) the
regulation and control of any hoarding or similar structure used for the
purpose of advertising; |
(f) the
regulation, restriction or prevention of the exhibition of advertisements,
signs or notices; |
(g) the fixing,
levying and collecting of fees for the use of public docks and wharves in Out
Islands, or for the use and occupation of stalls or buildings under the control
of the Department; |
(h) the
regulation and control of the movement and pasturing of cattle, sheep, goats and
other animals; |
(i) the
removal of rubbish and the cleaning and keeping clean of all privately owned
premises (whether occupied or not) and the prevention of the deposit of rubbish
in any public place or in any open space privately owned without the consent of
the owner or occupier; and |
(j) the
use, regulation and control of lighting of the exterior of buildings and all
matters connected therewith. |
(2) Such rules
shall apply throughout The Bahamas or such part or parts thereof as may be
prescribed therein. |
7. (1) The Minister may by rule impose any conditions or
restrictions upon sea-bathing from any public wharf or beach to which the
public have access either generally or with respect to any specified wharf or
beach. | Regulation of sea-bathing from public wharves and
beaches. |
(2) Any person who
bathes or prepares to bathe from any public wharf or beach in contravention of
any condition or restriction imposed by any such rule shall be guilty of an
offence and on summary conviction liable to a fine not
exceeding twenty dollars. |
8. Where under any rules in force fees are levied in
respect of the use of any public harbour, dock or wharf in any Out Island
district, the Minister shall ensure that any sums so collected are expended on
the maintenance of such harbour, dock or wharf. | Use of certain fees. |
9. (1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply
with any rules made under this Act shall, unless any other penalty is specified
therein, be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of fifteen dollars. | Penalties. |
(2) Any person who
wilfully interrupts or obstructs any officer or other person employed in or by
the Department in the performance of any work or act authorized or required to
be done or any duty to be performed under the provisions of this Act or of any
rules made thereunder shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not
exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars. |
10. The Minister shall lay upon the table of each House
of Parliament before the end of March or as soon as practicable thereafter in
every year a report dealing with- | Report. |
(a) the
operation of and the measures taken by the Department; and |
(b) the
financial expenditure and receipts of the Department, |
for the
previous year. |
11. (1) Any immovable property vested at the date of
the coming into operation of this Act in the New Providence Board or any Out
Island Board under or by virtue of the Boards of Works Act 1913
shall upon such date vest in the Treasurer to be held by him in trust for Her
Majesty in right of Her Government of The Bahamas for public purposes. | Vesting of property. |
(2) Any movable
property so vested upon such date shall vest in the Minister for the purposes
of this Act. |
12. Nothing in this Act contained shall affect any contract
that was valid and subsisting immediately prior to the seventh day of January
1964 and which had been entered into by the Public Board of Works for New
Providence or any Out Island Public Board of Works (abolished by this Act on
the said date) and any such contract shall be deemed to be a contract entered
into by the Minister on behalf of the Government of The Bahamas. | Contracts. |