A satellite passport office was officially opened on the island of Bimini this past Friday in the George Weech Complex by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service.
On the sidelines of a ceremony held for the opening Chief Passport Officer Kingsley Smith said, “it is very expensive for residents of The Bahamas and the out islands to travel in to New Providence, as it used to be done, to retrieve a passport. So by having this office on the island of Bimini it allows residents to enroll and we process the application in Nassau, the book is printed in Nassau and returned to the family of islands. And its done in less than fourteen days you can have your passport.”
Also on hand was the Minister of Social Services and Urban Development and Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe. He told the gathering at the ceremony, “for our island, for our country to continue it requires the responsibility of our people. It requires the people of our islands to nurture and to take very seriously the responsibility to ensure that the progress we make is not lost by our effort or lack thereof.”
For his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service, the Hon. Fred Mitchell told attendees, “we have said to people who travel to Florida, I know the shopping is great, Walmart is an exciting place to be, but do not leave your passport in the glove compartment or in the suitcase in the back truck.”
Plans are underway for more satellite passport offices to be opened in other family islands.
