The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis called Obie Wilchcombe a “great Bahamian” as he opened an administrator’s complex named in his honour.

The Obadiah H Wilchcombe Administrator’s Complex was officially opened in Eight Mile Rock, a project for which Mr Wilchcombe had strongly advocated in West Grand Bahama.

Ground was first broken in December 2016 under the Christie administration and was expected to be completed in three years. However, when the PLP lost the election in 2017, there were delays in the construction.

Seven years later, the project is finally completed, said Mr Davis.

“Today, we commemorate his contributions as a nation builder as we name this administration complex in his honour,” he said.

“Seven years ago, it was a public-private partnership that set this very same complex in motion. I was present at the initial ground-breaking, and so was then Minister of Tourism Obadiah Wilchcombe. In his remarks, Obie recalled the frustrating, but ultimately fruitful fight for the inclusion of all Bahamians in the economy of Freeport, regardless of class or colour.”

The complex will house the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Magistrates Court, Labour and the Public Service, Social Services, Post Office, Immigration, Road Traffic, Administrator’s Office, West Grand Bahama District Council, Parliamentary Registration, Agriculture and Marine Resources, including BAIC, the Registrar General, and a library.

Mr Wilchcombe, the MP for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, died on September 25.

Mr Davis pledged to carry on Obie’s legacy. “For all his accomplishments as a journalist, senator, and repeat member of parliament and cabinet minister, Obie’s most significant gift to his nation and his community was his spirit of love and compassion for his fellow Bahamians,” he said.

Mr Davis said Mr Wilchcombe worked with colleagues to secure developments in West Grand Bahama, including the Eden Resort, the Eight Mile Rock seawall, the completion of the Holmes Rock Junior High, and West End Police Station.

“We had a meeting two weeks before he passed and he gave me a list of things that he needed to see done in West Grand Bahama,” recalled Prime Minister Davis.

Mr Davis said they are delivering over $1.5 billion in new projects in Grand Bahama. He also mentioned the recent contract signing for an $80m international airport in Bimini.

Minister for Grand Bahama Ginger Moxey said: “Today is a big day for this community. Today, we invisibly etch ‘One love’ on each enclosing wall, as we write Obie’s name in the annals of Bahamian history, as a continuous reminder of his stewardship and servant leadership.”

Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the complex will provide vital government services to people in West Grand Bahama.

Sherard Bartlett, the son of Mr Wilchcombe, said the administrative complex serves as a legacy and testament to the West Grand Bahama community and surrounding areas.

“It is our hope that my father’s memories, vision, and passion for people and service to his fellow man, lives on in perpetuity,” he said.