NASSAU, Bahamas –The Davis administration has committed to introducing The Bahamas National Development Plan Bill “in order to lay the strategic foundation for the future”, The Nassau Guardian reported on Thursday, October 5, 2023, in an article written by Executive Editor Candia Dames.
“By putting the National Development Plan on a statutory footing, my government seeks to ensure that the next 50 years of our national life will have a firm strategic underpinning and focus,” said Governor General Cynthia A. Pratt who read the Speech from the Throne in Parliament Square yesterday, outlining the government’s agenda for the new session of Parliament.
The Parliament was prorogued in August, just ahead of the Davis administration’s second anniversary in office.
Speaking in the House of Assembly in June, Prime Minister Philip Davis announced that the government was resuming work on the plan, and had already selected a chairman to complete the NDP, then prepare an implementation plan.
“We are currently reviewing recommendations for the steering committee to oversee the work,” Davis advised.
“We have included civil society, the business community, labor and religious leadership on the committee. Additionally, the government will appoint a secretariat to support the implementation of the work.
“We already have an initial draft legislation that will create the framework for implementation. We eagerly look forward to having a completed and updated National Development Plan and implementation plan along with supporting legislation tabled for debate in Parliament.”
Davis said at the time, the NDP is a part of the government’s effort to build a secure foundation.
“But a foundation is only the beginning,” he said. “To truly realize our vision, that foundation must be built up to completion.
“That is the point of strategic national development. There must be continuity, not just across budget years, but across successive administrations.
“That’s why so many Bahamians hated ‘stop, review, and cancel’ – they understood it was partisan politics, not national development, that was being prioritized.”
In July, Felix Stubbs, chairman of the National Development Plan (NDP) Secretariat, told The Nassau Guardian it is important to place focus on passing legislation ahead of the full completion of work on the plan, which is already 80 percent finished.
“When we last were working on the National Development Plan, we did draft legislation that we wanted the government to approve; and so, I’ve forwarded a copy of that draft legislation to the prime minister and to the attorney general. [The thinking was] they could start working on that immediately after the budget, which is right now,” Stubbs said.
“As soon as that legislation is satisfactory to the government and it goes to Parliament for debate, and once that legislation is passed, we will then select the steering committee and work with government to select the secretariat, which will be the technical arm of the National Development Plan.”
Work on the National Development Plan started during the Christie administration and came to a halt when the Minnis-led Free National Movement was elected in 2017 – though in opposition Dr. Hubert Minnis had expressed support for the secretariat’s work.
Stubbs said previously the draft plan will need updating.
“We will go back to all the stakeholders and get additional input on what has changed since the 2017 [draft],” he said.
Speaking of the importance of planning, Stubbs said, “I think it’s a critical effort because if the country is going to move forward, it has to have a plan on how to do that.
“We celebrated 50 years with some accomplishments. We probably could have been much further had we had a proper plan in place – that’s my personal comment – and so, it’s going to be, from my perspective, very important that we get this work completed and that we get working on it.
“And, as I’ve said, the most important thing to those persons who were intricately involved the last time is that the government shows interest by looking at the draft legislation that we wrote, getting that passed through Parliament …”
Stubbs added, “We are starting with what I would call a skeleton crew, but to get the wider buy in, I think people want to see commitment, and the legislation will show that commitment.”
See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/govt-promises-bill-for-natl-development-plan/
