Minister of National Security, the Hon. Wayne Munroe has revealed plans to construct new Defence Force bases in the northern Bahamas.
Munroe spoke with ZNS News about the government’s intentions to construct bases in Grand Bahama and South Bimini. He said, “the plans under the Sandy Bottom Project was there’s going to be bases in the north, in the central and the south Bahamas. All you need to do is think about it. If a vessel is patrolling in the southern Bahamas and it has to leave and come back every time to Coral Harbour, that’s a lot of fuel you burn unnecessarily. The same thing for the northern Bahamas. And so that is the plan. And so the base for Grand Bahama would be in West Grand Bahama to protect the passage of migrants and otherwise between us and the US. And there would be one also in Bimini for the same reason and poaching.”
The National Security Minister also addressed whether the upcoming by-election in West Grand Bahama and Bimini was a consideration in advancing these plans. Munroe said the late Minister Wilchcombe was working on these plans before his death. “He had just pressed us on the building of the West End Police Station which we got condemned early on when we came in and there was a process engaged in doing that. So unless people think that we had a crystal ball, when I prepared my address for Abaco Outlook, there was no way at all, in April of this year, which is when the Defence Force sent me the paper having worked with Minister Wilchcombe as to where the bases would be located.”
