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It is indeed a pleasure to stand here tonight and present to you the Future of the Bahamas.
It’s our Time
In the Bible it is written that, “For everything, there is a season; and a time for every purpose under heaven. This truth is seen in every aspect of our lives. We see it in the advancement of our careers; we see it in the development of our talents; we see it in the cycles of nature; and we even see it in political histories of nations.
There was a time for the Roman Empire: it rose and it fell. There was a time for the British Empire: it too rose and fell; Then, there was a time for the rise of Communism in Eastern Europe, China, Cuba and elsewhere. That too had its season.
Here in the Bahamas, this truth also has been evident in our history:
1958 to 1967 was the time for the UBP, The United Bahamian Party, led by Sir Roland Symonette and Sir Stafford Sands.
From 1967 to 1992, it was the time and the season for the PLP, the Progressive Liberal Party, led by Sir Lynden Pindling and others such as Arthur Hanna, Paul Adderley and Sir Clement Maynard.
From 1992 to the present has been the time of the FNM, under Hubert Ingraham, and whether they know it or not, their season will end swiftly and suddenly, with great calamity in 2002.
I am here to proclaim and declare tonight that in 2002 it will be our time; BDM time; the time next generation of leaders to leave their mark in the sands of time. So, while we will be rejoicing in triumph, when we come into our inheritance, when we come of age in 2002, the burnt out FNM’s, the tired PLP’s and the CDR’s, they all will be weeping, and wailing and be gnashing their teeth.
Its Our Time
For forty years we have trusted our country in the hands of the same people, they might have switch parties, but it still all the same. The Bahamas is in need a change in the political guard. The BDM is the only party that represents that change. The BDM will be the party that will break the foundation of The Bahamas Politically by ushering in a new era in Bahamian politics.
Its Our Time
The BDM will be the party that will break down the wall of partisan politics. The new political era is not about mud slinging, name bashing or finger pointing, but it is about The Way Forward. It is about who can articulate a plan and a vision for our country. The nation can no longer depend on leaders who campaign on emotionalism and run on promises they know they can’t fulfill.
The Bahamas Democratic Movement represents more that just a political party. We represent a new philosophy, a new hope, a new direction, new leadership and a new and distinct vision for our country.
Its Our Time
The BDM represents Leadership with a difference, Leadership that believes in standing on the shoulders of our great leaders who went before us and set the pace, We no not claim to be superior in any way to our fathers, the men and women who have built this county with blood
sweat and tears, but we will be shamefully and monstrously inferior to them if we don’t advance beyond them. Every generation is a new people, and as a new people we have the responsibility of defending our own values and our own beliefs and our commitment to self and
country. The challenge facing this generation is leadership that has the right attitude towards nationhood. This quality will determine The Bahamas' future viability and prosperity. One of the greatest catastrophe in our country today is lack of true leadership. A true leader is not one who seeks power for himself but one who seek to empower others.
It’s out Time
The present generation is bankrupt of leadership because the old generation refuses to make their deposits. Leadership is about being able to make good judgments, of situations and people. It is about harnessing the abilities of diverse individuals, and making them work together as a team to achieve common goals. It is about motivation, communication and empathy.
So, the question is how to improve on the quality of leadership in The Bahamas today? Each generation has to produce its share of competent leaders to do this. If this generation fails to do so, as has happened in many countries, the disastrous consequences for the country will last beyond one generation. Will this new generation be able to produce effective leaders to improve our society? To build a nation, we have to develop a strong sense of belonging to our country. The Bahamas needs more leaders of this new generation to rise up and become strong political leaders. Without strong political leadership to provide a vision and guidance for the country, the edifice the earlier generations have built will decay and crumble. All the hard work of Sir Lynden Pingling, Sir Overl Turnquest, Perry Christy, Bernard Nottage and others will come to nothingness if this generation refuses to rise up.
If The Bahamas is to become a truly Great nation, the new generation of leadership must step forward and make their contribution to our society today.
Its Our Time
The political challenges in these trying time is that it is the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. The recent
terrorist attacks in the US have shocked and outraged the world. We in The Bahamas share the grief and pain of the Americans. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families of the victims of these senseless acts.
We strongly condemn the attacks and all other forms of terrorism. This was not only an attack on America, but a barbarous crime against all civilised humanity. In this every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness, vigor, energy and vision has emerged. The Bahamas Democratic Movement represents that leadership. A leadership that has articulated a vision for our country in the form of a forty year plan. But before we can go on to talk about the future of our economy, there is another important variable in our society to be address, it is our social factor. If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we cannot merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We must live the spirit of our coat of arms, moving forward, upward, onward. Together.
It’s our Time
We need the policy of the good neighbor--the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others. In essence we need to once again be our brother keepers. We must no forget that it is GOD who has brought us thus far and if we continue to trust in him, he will keep us. The new leadership in this trying times is about bring people together, its about uniting our country, its about healing our social wounds and it’s about moving forward hand in hand with one another. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.
It’s our Time
Globalisation
The Bahamas Democratic Movement believes that The Bahamas must move quickly to become a “Knowledge-Based Economy”, where our nation’s competitiveness will not be based solely on the accumulation of traditional capital (e.g. tourism) but on the development of the increasingly important intellectual capital. The BDM also believes we should have a strong technological capability and a vibrant entrepreneurial culture that thrives on creativity, nimbleness and good business sense. To develop into a knowledge economy, The Bahamas must strive to become an even more open, cosmopolitan society, as it seeks to encourage a risk-taking, entrepreneurial culture and to attract the global talent, technology and capital that are critical to success.
Globalisation and rapid technological advances are driving long-term, and fundamental changes in commerce, industry and our daily lives. The BDM believes we need to build up important strengths and capabilities, which will be relevant and critical today. We will put in place a stable framework of governance, which is transparent, efficient and corruption-free. We will pursue rational, prudent economic policies and invest heavily in education and worker training. There also needs to be a close tripartite relationship between workers, employers and the government. Our labour movement should also have an established reputation as a responsible and enlightened partner in The Bahamas economic success.
As Bahamians, we should be alive to the challenges ahead and should begin to mobilise ourselves to respond. The country should have embraced globalisation as a strategy long before it became a buzzword, tapping world markets, and attracting investments from many countries. The only way to survive in the new world markets is to liberalise our economy, and expose it to the winds of change and the full pressures of competition.
In addition, the new economy requires sound policies that cannot remain static; policies that need to be adjusted continually as situation unfolds. In the face of globalisation, we need to develop a more vibrant local enterprise sector in order to bring a greater degree of stability to our economy. The new economy is about Bahamians playing a more vital and aggressive role in building this nation.
It’s our Time
Building Enterprise and Facilitating Entrepreneurship
The BDM believes that Government ought not to create obstacles to enterprise, but that it has a role to play, creating conditions conducive to enterprise and initiative; and also to remove hindrances to entrepreneurship, by creating an environment, which allows easy entry. In order to make this a reality, bold initiatives must be taken to cut bureaucracy and revise government rules and regulations to be more pro-enterprise. We believe such steps should involve not only providing funds to co-invest with the private sector in start-ups, but also trying to change the mindset and culture of the Bahamian work-force. Entrepreneurship must be taught; therefore, we will change the education curriculum to encourage creativity, risk taking and a spirit of life-long learning among our young.
In addition, we will put in place a clear, coherent competition policy framework. This will ensure a level playing field for new entrants into a market, and prevent dominant firms in an industry from exploiting their market power to stifle competition or inflate prices. We will have to strike a delicate balance, penalising and deterring anti-competitive behaviour effectively, while not imposing overly onerous obligations on companies, or blocking necessary mergers and rationalisations, especially in industries facing global competition. Ultimately, direct government programmes to develop enterprise, play only a secondary role. A primary factor is whether we have the talent – people with the ideas, the dynamism and the risk-taking spirit to venture forth, seize a market opportunities, and create businesses.
More fundamentally, while the government can do specific things to promote enterprise, the way to promote enterprise is through less government intervention rather than more. Silicon Valley depends on venture capital, not government grants. We must therefore, allow the free market to work, we must free companies to make business decisions unencumbered by regulations and restrictions, and we must avoid distorting price signals through subsidies and taxes. We must create an environment where an individual’s success depends on his own efforts and abilities, rather than on largesse from the State. Then our people and our companies will have every incentive to be enterprising, the competition will strengthen the players and produce winners who can hold their own, and our economy will be resilient and internationally competitive. The way forward in the new economy is to reduce government intervention and leave free-market forces to work their magic.
It’s our Time
Manufacturing
The BDM will position The Bahamas as the apex in the region for manufacturing. The Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) will continue to attract investments in the high growth, high value-added areas through its many initiatives. It will help industries upgrade and develop new capabilities in the entire manufacturing value chain, with focus on electronics, crafts, straw goods, chemicals and engineering clusters. It will encourage a balanced mix of manufacturing activities within each cluster to achieve greater resilience. BIA will continue to upgrade our existing industries to stay competitive and develop emerging industries.
Services
The BDM believes that we need to strengthen our existing status for traditional services such as trading, financial services, and tourism. At the same time, we will develop new high growth services like education, healthcare, and info-communications such as e-commerce and media. We will seek to attract more global service players to The Bahamas, and help our services players enhance their capabilities to be globally competitive.
At present, 20% of The Bahamas’ GDP is derived from the financial sector. However, the recent change in legislation in the Evidence Act has put The Bahamas Financial Sector on the verge of crumbling. The BDM believes that we must re-invent our financial sector. We will embark on an extensive financial sector review, including a new approach towards supervising and developing the finance sector, to keep abreast of rapid changes in technology and commercial practices and the intense pace of globalisation.
It’s our Time
The BDM will seek to establish a Communications Development Authority within the Ministry of Information and Technology (MOIT), which will be in-charge of the National E-Commerce Strategies and Programmes. An e-commerce master plan will be launched to start the campaign to bring e-commerce to mainstream businesses and the public, and to attract international e-commerce activities to The Bahamas.
The BDM will also deepen the local government process to provide for the authority to raise taxes locally and pass laws and ordinances. Today BDM understands that we cannot rebuild our poorest communities by imposing cookie-cutter solutions from central government. We have to give local government the tools they need to create opportunity in every settlement in The Bahamas.
It’s our time
Education and the University of The Bahamas
The construction of the University of The Bahamas in Andros will usher in a new era in our Great Nation. The University Of The Bahamas that will be built will be able to accommodate up to 30, 000 student from all over the world. We will seek to create the most attractive University in the western hemisphere with dormitories strategically located near the beautiful beaches of north Andros. We will attract students from Russia, Germany, China, Japan, England, South America, North America and throughout the Caribbean. Oh, and of Course Bahamians Students wouldn’t have to pay! Yes FREE education for all Bahamians.
It’s our Time
The university will create a new type of tourism in The Bahamas; Edu-tourism will be new piston in the engine of the Bahamian economy. The New University along with Edu-tourism will foster A new CITY creating new jobs, new industries, new homes, new public schools, new churches, new hotels, new malls, new banks, new food stores, and new hope for The Bahamas. The new City that will be built as a result of the University of The Bahamas will create new opportunities for every Bahamian, thus providing full employment in The Bahamas.
It’s our Time
A new state of the art hospital will be built with modern technology and facilities. The new hospital will be aligned with the University of The Bahamas and provide quality service to the Bahamian people. The new hospital will be outfitted with an airlift ambulance service to ensure that the hospital can swiftly meet the needs of residents and save lives.
The BDM will also seek to develop unique theme parks in the new city to provide entertainment for all its residents and visitors. The theme parks that will be built will be designed to portray the unique Bahamian culture and our precious history.
It’s our Time
The BDM will build The Bahamas’ super modern Airport in this new city that will serve as a travel and shipping hub to Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, North and South America and also serve connections to all parts of the world in keeping with the BDM’s vision for the Bahamas as the pearl of the Caribbean. This new super modern Airport will cause tourism in The Bahamas to reach to records every year. It is the vision of the BDM to place The Bahamas on the Map as an international hub, linking the country to 101 cities in fifty-three countries, attracting new carriers that offer a total of 1,500 scheduled flights per week to and from The Bahamas. We envision a total of 12 million passengers using the airport within five years of operation. This new Airport will also be noted for its air cargo facilities, which will place the airport as one of the best airports in the world.
The Golden-Plan is a part of the BDM’s vision to make the Bahama Islands tropical cities of excellence, with better homes, better public amenities, better recreational facilities and better public transport; in short, a higher quality of life all around. A planned development will transform the Islands of The Bahamas from a desolate group of islands, ringed by little or no economic activity, to the most important centres of development, commerce and industry in the Caribbean region. The Golden Plan proposes a new downtown area built in North Andros, to position The Bahamas even more firmly as an international business hub, and further develop Eleuthera, Abaco, Grand Bahama and the south eastern Bahamas to follow a policy of decentralisation thereby avoiding overcrowding of New Providence
It’s our Time
In order to ensure the success of our future development, Development Guide Plans will have to be established. These plans will be at the local level, and provide development guidelines for individual areas of The Bahamas. The BDM will empower Local Government to be the force behind the Development Guide Plans. Local Government will be responsible for creating ideas and plans to make the BDM Golden Plan a reality. Local Government will also be responsible for the implementation of the Development Guide Plans for their various settlements.
It’s our Time
The BDM believes that as we push forward into the golden age of technology, governments need to be ever mindful of the rapid expansion of new communications technology that will continue to significantly reduce the reliance on traditional methods placed on the postal services. We will expand the postal services and provide the necessary equipment to offer facsimile and e-mail services in all post offices throughout The Bahamas. The BDM will outfit all post offices with computer terminals for access to e-mail. In addition, the BDM will seek to incorporate a monthly rental fee for e-mail addresses in all of our post offices, thus bringing the 21st century to all citizens of The Bahamas.
It’s our Time
Health Care Reform
The BDM believes that Health Care in the 21st Century will not only focus on absence of disease, but on true physical, mental and spiritual well being. The BDM realizes that our future depends on healthy productive Bahamians. The BDM will ensure that vast improvements are made at every level of the health services. The BDM believes that in a prospering Bahamas, the excuse of financial constraints are no longer acceptable. The BDM will allocate a larger percentage of the National Budget to health care and infrastructure will be implemented to generate capital that will be used solely for its advancement.
It’s our Time
The BDM believes that if we want the Bahamian economy to continue to experience strong growth, we must continue to expand trade, and not retreat from the world. The Bahamian market needs to be open to the world, so the Bahamas have a right to demand that the world's markets are open to our products, but first we must continue to invest in our agriculture and manufacturing sectors to make this a reality.
It’s out Time
National Productivity Board (NPB)
The BDM will also seek to establish a National Productivity Board (NPB) under the Ministry of Economic Development. The BDM realizes that quality work ethic is essential to the future success of the Bahamian economy. The NPB will be established to improve productivity in all sectors of the Bahamian economy. Higher productivity means a higher standard of living and better quality of life for all Bahamians.
The BDM believes that in order for the Government to secure the future of its youth, further steps must be taken to reduce the national debt, expanding trade, and invest in the Bahamian people. Within the first five years of our administration, we will make this new economy work for all Bahamians: balancing the budget by reducing government spending and revising our tax structure, creating more jobs, ensuring that all families can count on good health care and a secure retirement, and, most of all, expanding educational opportunities so all Bahamians can learn the skills they need to build the best possible future.
It’s our Time
Small Enterprise Bureau
The BDM recognises the critical role that small and medium-sized enterprises play therefore, the BDM will implement a wide array of services and financial schemes to help small business upgrade and maintain their dynamism and successfully meet the new challenges that they face. These services and financial schemes will be collectively called The Bahamas Development Assistance Programmes.
It’s our Time
Information and Technology
The BDM knows investments in technology drive economic growth, generates new knowledge, creates new high-wage jobs, builds new industries, and improves the quality of life. The BDM will therefore establish the MOIT to ensure the consistent and efficient collection and collation of data on all facets of Bahamian life for use in economic and social planning, trade and education. The MOIT will be responsible for collecting all recorded information on The Bahamas and have it digitally recorded.
The MOIT will design, implement and customize the IT infrastructure for all government organizations. With regard to those institutions whose IT framework already exists, the MOIT will be responsible for establishing the framework that will allow these institutions to collaborate with other government agencies in matters of common interest. The backbone network will also serve as the gateway to centralized data processing centres, which will be responsible for storing all information processes by the various Ministries. This MOIT will be the catalyst for creating new jobs within this industry in the public sector. This will therefore encourage Bahamians who have trained in the IT field to return to their native land, and develop this emerging sector of the Bahamian economy.
It’s our Time
Social Services
The BDM believes that it is our obligation to look after our citizens that are challenged in some way. Therefore, the BDM will do everything in its power to ensure the provision of adequate social services for the elderly, the disabled, the homeless, the orphaned, the abused, neglected, and the poor. Even though it will be our policy to eradicate poverty in the 21st century, steps will be made too delicately integrated the homeless and poor back into society.
The BDM will create a Bahamas where all of its citizens who left the country to find employment else where in the world can now return back home to find employment or better yet, create employment. There will be greater emphasis on the quality of life. Bahamians will have a stronger sense of living on a tropical island - with more coastline opened up, more beaches, more parks and gardens and more natural heritage safeguarded. The greening of the city will heighten the sense of living in paradise
So, today I bring to you a new platform, a new forty-year plan, a new vision, new leaders and new hope for the future.
It’s our Time
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