Pictured: Minister of State for Grand Bahama in the Office of the Prime Minister Kwasi Thompson arrives in Grand Bahama May 16. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson arrived on the island earlier in the week to take up office.

Minister Thompson spoke briefly with the media before going directly to the Ministry.

He said: “To be appointed the Minister of State responsible for Grand Bahama really is an awesome, awesome privilege, I see it really as service to the country.

“We have a lot of work to do. There’s not a lot of time to celebrate. There’s not a lot of time to get into the pomp and pageantry of it, but it is time to get to work.”

The Minister explained that he was appointed Monday evening and work began immediately. “During the first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, there were a number of meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest, as well as other colleagues, concerning issues related to Grand Bahama.”

“We are hitting the ground running. There are a lot of things that need to be done and so I just feel excited and ready to work.”

Thompson further explained that the newly-appointed Cabinet is ready for the task at hand and Prime Minister Hubert Minnis has indicated that Grand Bahama will be “a priority for his government.”

“He has given us directions in terms of what we ought to work on. So we are really excited about what we can accomplish in Grand Bahama, and you’ll begin to see the evidence of that very shortly.”