Remarks for Opening CWW Centre (OPM) - Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham

Fri, Jan 27th 2012, 05:18 PM

REMARKS Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham Prime Minister Dedication of the Cecil Wallace -Whitfield Centre West Bay St. Goodman’s Bay 27 January 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to today’s ceremony. I am especially pleased to welcome Lady Naomi and Sir Cecil’s children and other relatives, former colleagues and friends as we dedicate this new Centre in the name of Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield.

This refurbished Centre which sits on a 9 acre plot is the new home for the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance.

My first government was pleased to rename the former Hotel Corporation Building at Cable Beach in honour of Sir Cecil in September, 1992. We are doubly pleased now for the opportunity to name and dedicate this new Centre in his honour and memory. I believe we can all agree that this structure is an even more befitting tribute to the legacy of an extraordinary Bahamian.

Sir Cecil was among that generation of great men and women who led the struggle for Majority Rule and equality in our country. When he came to believe that some of the ideals of that struggle were not being honoured, he was at the forefront of the formation of a new political party.

This singular event ensured a viable two-party system. It was vital in securing and deepening democracy in The Bahamas. Fittingly, even as we dedicate this Centre to the memory and legacy of Cecil Wallace-Whitfield, we also pay tribute to all of those who championed freedom and democracy in The Bahamas; often at great sacrifice.

Sir Cecil would be pleased that 45 years after he helped to bring about Majority Rule, and approximately 40 years after he helped to form the Free National Movement, the country he loved and the party to which he devoted his considerable energies, continue to flourish.

Many Bahamians recall the pivotal role Cecil Wallace-Whitfield played in safeguarding Bahamian democracy. Perhaps fewer may recall his contributions in the first majority-rule government. Though he only served briefly as a cabinet minister, the work he did was far-reaching.

As Minister of Works, Cecil Wallace-Whitfield understood the need to bring critical infrastructure to the majority of Bahamians. His ambitious efforts to put street lights in Over-the-Hill neighbourhoods, build new schools and roadways in the Family Islands and here in New Providence improved the lives of many thousands of Bahamians.

He understood the fundamentals necessary for educational advancement and student achievement. As Minister of Education, he spearheaded the establishment of a teacher’s college in San Salvador. He understood the need for more Bahamian teachers, as well as the critical role of capable teachers in learning and overall national development.

San Salvador’s Teacher’s College trained scores of educators who dedicated their lives to the education of tens of thousands of students. Quite a number of those who attended Teacher’s College in San Salvador went on to life-long careers in the public service. A number of them reached the highest ranks of the public service, including some who are in attendance this afternoon.

And, Sir Cecil emphasized the critical role of primary education and promoted the expansion of the number of primary schools.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

During our various terms in office we have modernized many government offices which serve the general public and are the workspaces for civil servants. Our goal is to make public buildings more welcoming and hospitable for both the public and public officers.

We have constructed new public buildings which are architecturally-rich and enhance the aesthetic quality of our public spaces. The Ministry of Education in Oakes Field, the Ministry of Health on Meeting and Delancy Streets; the Town Centres at Elizabeth Estates, Flamingo Gardens and South Beach are examples here in New Providence while the new Police Headquarters in Grand Bahama and a host of government operated schools and community health clinics around our country are others. Schools like the Doris Johnson, C.V. Bethel and Anatol Rodgers High Schools and the Cleveland Eneas, Sadie Cutis, Gerald Cash and Garvin Tynes Primary Schools here in New Providence come to mind as do the Jack Hayward and St. Georges High Schools and the Maurice Moore, Hugh Campbell and Sister Maria Patricia Russell Primary Schools in Grand Bahama, the Central Abaco Primary School and the primary school in Simms, Long Island and the health clinics - here in South Beach; in Cooper’s Town, Abaco; in Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, Bimini, Eight Mile Rock and in San Salvador.

The new US Terminal at the LPIA, the new Harry Moore Library at COB and the new Straw Market are more recent examples of new public edifices constructed on our watch. In a matter of weeks I will officially open new Government Administrative Complexes in Grand Bahama and in Abaco.

The new Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre is a fitting example of our programme to create public buildings befitting a modern Bahamas. This edifice houses the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance.

As you will be aware, the relocation of these from the original Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre to this new site was required to make way for the construction of the new Baha Mar Resort which is already underway. We sold the original Cecil Wallace-Whitfield building and site to Baha Mar Resorts for some $17.686 million and acquired these premises from S G Hambros for some $13 million. The refurbishment and upgrade of these premises were undertaken in record time by an energetic team of Bahamian companies coordinated by the capable leadership of Pineapple House. I wish in particular to acknowledge:

• Mr. Terry Duvalier of Ultimate Builders

• Mr. Jason Mackey of Jars Professional Painting

• Mr. Fred Lowe of Office Interior Specialist

• Mr. Ranrick Adderley of Fibre Electrical Co. Ltd the electrician for this project who is a young entrepreneur who got his start as one of the early beneficiaries of the SelfStarter Programme

• Mr. Keith Minnis of Wood Masters Cabinet

• Mr. Terry Mosko of Nick Mosko & Sons

• Mrs. Shelly Coston of Codeana

• Mr. Gino Kemp of Enviroscape – responsible for the transplant of trees from the old office site to this one

• Mr. Mark Thompson of Natures Way – responsible for the landscape at the entrance and round about of the new office building

• Mr. Marcel Major of Four Seasons Nursery & Landscape – who performed initial land clearing of the perimeter of the new 9 acres site

• Mr. Desmond Bootle of Cooper’s Town, now living in Marsh Harbour, Abaco who has been responsible for all of the public signage.

As is evident, more extensive work has begun on the grounds toward the creation of a Bahamian garden featuring native flora and hardwood trees. Already some native plants and hardwood trees are being installed – Geiger Tree, Sea Grape, Bay Marigold, Fire Bush and Buccaneer Palms for example. It is our plan, to make these 9 acres a mini-Bahamian botanical garden. We are working, toward this end with another Bahamian Landscape company – Design Elements, whose principal, Ms. Tanya Ferguson, is a former agriculturalist in the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources. In time, we hope to include appropriate public art installations in these gardens.

I note that at the conclusion of my remarks and before we cut the ribbon and unveil the dedication plaque for this new Centre, I will participate in a tree planting exercise along the western perimeter of this property. I will assist with the planting of a new Bahamian Lignum Vitae tree – our national tree. The tree is located adjacent to the area where two native trees were planted by Sir Lynden Pindling and Dame Margaret Thatcher in 1985. Dame Margaret, Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time, was in Nassau to participate in the 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. The tree planting then was in honour of the 50th Anniversary of Roy West in The Bahamas; Roy West being the occupant of these premises at that time. Regrettably, the two trees planted in 1985 have not survived. We propose to plant replacement trees for each.

Today’s planting will commemorate the dedication of the Centre in honour of Sir Cecil.

We expect that this landscaping and beautification project will enhance a custom that has developed over the years of Bahamians using these grounds as a backdrop for photographs for special occasions such as weddings. We are pleased that this custom will continue with an even more beautiful space to record various milestones. Indeed, we expect that these gardens when completed will come to be seen by the Bahamian public as “their space” and that, in keeping with that belief, that the gardens will be used with care and respect.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We were fortunate in acquiring these premises to also acquire two outstanding works of art by Bahamian artist, Dorman Stubbs who is with us today. One of these paintings adorns the western wall in the reception hall of the Centre; the second is displayed in the second floor Conference Room of the Office of the Prime Minister. That Conference room also has on display two works of art by well known Bahamian artist Antonius Roberts and another, a rendering of a grazing flock of our national birds by another Bahamian artist, David Cooper.

I recall that when we acquired the first Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre from the Hotel Corporation, we “inherited” 9 water colours by Dorman Stubbs. These continue to adorn walls in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Also on display at these premises is a quilted map of the Bahamian archipelago which was created by the Stepping Stone Quilters in 1991 and gifted to me during my first term in office. The quilt hung in the foyer of the old Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre from 1994 until our transfer to these new premises.

To mark our transfer to this new edifice, Ms. Maria Chisnall who participated in the preparation of the first quilt has gifted the Office of the Prime Minister a series of six new quilts, the “Melich Collection” depicting the south side of down town Bay Street circa 1960 - from the Houses of Parliament to the Hilton British Colonial Hotel. These now join the Office of the Prime Minister collection of art together with four botanical prints gifted by Mrs. Giovanni Knowles.

A number of sea-shell creations, presented to me over the past four years, a beautifully manufactured Bahamian sand, shell and sea-glass topped console table, and of course the wonderful wood rendition of a Nassau Grouper, presented to me on the occasion of the official opening of the Nassau Straw Market are all on display here at the new Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre.

Both Bahamians and overseas visitors to our country will find this new space inviting and evocative of the progress we have made as a country. Certainly, all reports since our arrival here attest to the fact that this is a most befitting space for the Head of Government to meet the Bahamian public and welcome foreign dignitaries and guests.

And so, naming this Centre in honour of Sir Cecil is indeed a fitting tribute for a man who so loved this country that he gave it his every last measure of devotion and energy.

Lady Naomi and the family of Sir Cecil, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is now my distinct pleasure to officially dedicate the new Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre.

I invite platform

Thank you

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