Members of the House of Assembly held a moment of silence and delivered tributes to the late Hon. Obie Wilchcombe who served as the Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini until his death on September 25th.
Member of Parliament for Englerston and close friend of Wilchcombe, the Hon. Glenys Hanna Marting led the tributes. She said, “the contradictions and injustice and the rank exploitation in the sale of thousands of acres of land for pittance brought by the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and the discriminatory practices created for those who lived in the east and west of Grand Bahama which grounded him even deeper in the philosophical teachings of the PLP and further incentivized a desire to fight for Grand Bahamians and Bahamians every where.”
Member of Parliament for Golden Gates, the Hon. Pia Glover-Rolle also spoke highly of Wilchcombe. “Obadiah Hercules Wilchcombe possessed the strength of his mythical namesake, his strength of character was certainly herculean. He was a statesman to his core, a uniter, a leader with true compassion in the heart and in his heart for all people.”
Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for Marco City, the Hon. Michael Pintard spoke of Wilchcombe as leader of government business in the House. He said, “he spoke often, not in terms of each contribution, but in between each contribution. He was the wrap up man. He was the man who could pull a piece from everybody’s speech and weave together and incredible closing, even though, Madam Speaker, some days the closing was not about the subject and yet he would challenge us on relevance and get away with it.”
A seat in the house chamber was draped in black with a wreath in memoriam of the late member.
