The government intends to take the advice of the National Cultural Commission and rename the Nassau International Airport as a posthumous honour to the man who is widely acclaimed as the Father of the Nation.
It’s a way to keep the name and memory of the former Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling alive, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie.
“My government…has decided to take all the necessary steps to rename the Nassau International Airport the Lynden Pindling International Airport at the earliest opportunity,” he said at the Progressive Liberal Party’s 48th National Convention on Friday.
Sir Lynden died in 2000 from prostate cancer.
The unexpected announcement reduced many to tears in the convention hall, like Sir Lynden’s daughter, Senator Michelle Pindling-Sands and Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Neville Wisdom.
Thinking about him still is an emotional experience, Senator Pindling-Sands acknowledged soon after the announcement.
“It is an honour beyond honours,” she said.
A few months ago, the recommendation of the National Cultural Commission was first disclosed in Parliament, with some legislators urging the government to upgrade the run-down facility before renaming it after Sir Lynden.
But the government, at that time, did not reveal whether it would adopt the suggestion.
Successive governments have been dogged by criticisms of the deficient airport for years. Tourists and residents who traffic the facility have turned up their noses at its leaking ceilings, gaping holes and decrepit conveyor belts.
Even Atlantis developer Sol Kerzner has called the NIA one of the worst in the world and has been pressing the government to upgrade it as a priority.
The task will easily run the PLP administration into millions of dollars.
The Transport and Aviation Minister Glenys Hanna Martin has repeatedly announced that the government is taking the necessary steps to make the required upgrades.
News of the tribute to Sir Lynden was greeted with overwhelming applause and standing ovations from PLP convention delegates.
“It is a tribute paid to only leaders of their countries and I think it’s one of the highest tributes a government can pay,” Mrs. Pindling- Sands said.
Sir Lynden was a champion of the black masses, becoming instrumental in the struggle for majority rule and ultimately wresting control of the government from the white minority.
The Bahama Journal
