Some 400 Devonshire residents are still suffering from poor maintenance of Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) managed complexes despite pre-election promises that long overdue maintenance issues will be taken care of.

United Bermuda Party (UBP) candidates Hilary Soares and Michael Dunkley banded together with Prospect-area residents, during last month's election campaign, to demand fair treatment from BHC management.

Residents of Cedar Park, Mary Victoria and Alexandra Roads claimed then that the BHC was failing to act to correct the poor conditions of two units it manages.

About 100 people signed a petition protesting the conditions and demanding action. The petition cited streets in disrepair, malfunctioning street lights, flooding in units and collapsing embankments as some of the problems facing the community.

But then Housing Minister David Burch said that the residents were being used as "political pawns" and that the maintenance was due to start shortly.

"Before the election they actually put some tarmac down on a very bad area but they only put 100 yards down - not even a third of it," said Mrs. Soares yesterday.

"I think it was just a cosmetic measure."

She said that BHC painted "one of two houses at the most". "But we'll go back again and see if they can do much more," she said.

"There's all of the rest of the roads to be done, there's street lights to be done and houses to be painted. And a lot of work to be done at Cedar Park - not the least of which are the walls that have collapsed behind some of the housing."

She said a total of over 300 residents were affected by the poor maintenance and she will continue to pressure Government.

"Never until it's done do I intend to give up."

Mrs. Soares said, however, that the Works and Engineering department had given permission to build a new bus shelter near First Baptist Church on Middle Road and that volunteers will start building it on weekends as soon as the plans are ready.

"There was a big push before the election when they did a little road paving but since that time they've slowed down," and progress has been "minimal", agreed UBP MP Michael Dunkley.

Government said before the election that there were plans to convert the 99-year leaseholds into freeholds, but area residents were resisting the conversions until the maintenance issues are taken care of.

New Housing Minister Terry Lister could not be contacted for comment before presstime.