Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Perry G. Christie delivers remarks during the launch of the Sustainable Nassau Development Project. The launch was held on Wednesday, September 2, at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas on West Hill Street. (BIS Photo/Peter Ramsay).
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NASSAU, The Bahamas – As the government continues in its
mandate to ensure that the country has the ability to sustain itself for future
generations, a major endeavour has been launched to meet this objective. During a ceremony held at the National Art
Gallery of The Bahamas on Wednesday, September 2, the government launched the
Sustainable Nassau Initiative. Prime Minister the Right Hon. Perry G. Christie presented
the initiative, stating it was his distinct pleasure to introduce it to the
Bahamian public.
He said, “The Sustainable Nassau Initiative is being
spearheaded by the Economic Development Planning Unit based in Office of The
Prime Minister, and was started in June 2015.
It is a key component of the National Development Plan that aims to
regenerate, renew and revitalize the city of Nassau including downtown Bay
Street, heritage and our over-the-hill neighborhoods.”
Mr. Christie said it is his hope that this Initiative will
encourage new growth opportunities for all Bahamian citizens and residents to
create wealth and thrive.
“It is through sustainable development initiatives like
these that we will move beyond merely saying ‘
it’s better in The Bahamas’ to living in a country where, the
majority of our people continue to live this reality in their daily lives,” he
said.
He said that Sustainable Nassau is ambitious,
people-centric, future-focused. He added that the Initiative is driven by a
‘whole-person’ approach to development that integrates wealth with well-being
and an approach to growth that promotes productivity, engagement and
participation of the population through sustainable practices and environments.
“It is through developing a Sustainable Nassau that is alive
with exciting cultural activities, opportunities for wealth creation for our
young people, and hubs for creativity and innovation that the country will
retain the local talent needed to grow our economy,” said Mr. Christie. “It is also through this initiative for
economic sustainability that The Bahamas will continue to attract the
international resources we need for our country to thrive.”
The objective of the sustainable development project is to
focus on people, preserve the environment, the natural heritage and the natural
resources. It will also focus on developing green spaces for relaxation and
recreation.
He said: “It is about Bahamian citizens and residents having
public spaces to come together to share ideas, enjoy performances, art, music.
It is about carving out spaces for backyard and community farms. To achieve these outcomes we must put in
place the kinds of policies that make energy-efficiency and healthy lifestyles
the easy choice for our people.”
The Sustainable Nassau Initiative is being funded by the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in conjunction with The Government of
The Bahamas.
The first component of the project is the diagnostic phase.
This phase, which is near completion, has involved data collection on 150
aspects of the educational, social, cultural, environmental and physical
infrastructural aspects of Nassau and the country as a whole. This extensive,
detailed and focused approach to data collection will allow the government to
identify the country's strengths in comparison with other countries around the
world.
The IDB has committed $1.1 million dollars to the initiative,
with $100,000 of the total $1.1 million of the funds to be allocated to
developing a monitoring system.