The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

TWO weeks after her ratification by the FNM as a candidate for West Grand Bahama, Pakesia Edgecombe is wasting no time in unveiling her campaign and meeting with constituents.

Under the campaign theme, “Our Future Can’t Wait’, Mrs Edgecombe and her team were out campaigning in the Eight Mile Rock area, knocking on doors, talking with constituents and encouraging voters to get registered.

This is her second time contesting the seat on the FNM ticket. Although she was not successful in 2012, the Holmes Rock native believes that people are now ready for change.

Mrs Edgecombe, a businesswoman, and a former local broadcaster, is happy to have been given the opportunity to run again. “I am humbled by the privilege to have been chosen once again by my community to serve as the FNM’s standard bearer for the West Grand Bahama and Bimini constituency. I am ready to work for the people by bringing a new vision to our area and I do believe that this time the people will speak loud and clear at the polls in our favour,” she told The Tribune.

The West Grand Bahama constituency, held by the PLP’s Obie Wilchcombe, the Minister of Tourism, is not an easy seat, but Mrs Edgecombe is determined and is confident in her campaign team. In the 2012 elections, over 5,000 voters registered in the constituency. As of March 15, 3,389 voters had registered in the constituency.

“The time is somewhat short in our campaign … but we have hit the ground running with a message of hope,” she said. “Our message to those whose doors we are knocking on is one which calls for planning, partnerships and empowerment.”

Speaking to constituents in Grand Bahama and Bimini, Mrs Edgecombe found that many people are concerned about unemployment, the stagnant economy and the insufficient focus and attention placed on the youth.

“I am especially concerned that we continue to be overlooked as a community, and as a result our children are paying the price,” she stressed. “When you hear of children not having food at school, having to wait for years after graduating to find a job, or unable to pursue higher education because of a lack of finances,it is an indictment on the way our country is being governed.

“The youth of our nation deserve to live in a country in which their ideas, talents and skills are able to flourish, not fade away,” she said.

Mrs Edgecombe is pleased by the response she is receiving from constituents. “I am very happy with the feedback that we are now receiving and so encouraged. The people of West Grand Bahama and Bimini are asking for a change that will benefit all in the community and not just a select few. It is, indeed, the people’s time and I do believe that they are after a government and representation that means them and their community well,” she said.

Mrs Edgecombe, who is a role model for many young women in Freeport, is the only woman candidate vying for a seat in Grand Bahama. She thinks that more women on the island should have the opportunity to run for political office.

“I honestly wish that I was not the only woman vying for political office on Grand Bahama. I believe that there are more, others who genuinely care about our future and whose voice is needed to bring about change. I do not subscribe to the belief by many that politics is a man’s game and I do wish that more women would come forward, and be provided the opportunity to be a part of our political landscape,” she said.