of Contract
2002 Remarks by Dr.
B. J. Nottage Coalition +
Labour Leader & Candidate for Kennedy Wednesday April
23rd, 2002 For the very first time,
Bahamians who have tried the two parties, the FNM and the
PLP, and found them wanting, will have a substantive
alternative choice. That new alternative,
Coalition+Labour, is offering a truly novel and creative set
of policies, many of which are very different from those
offered by our opponents. We are proposing
change We are the answer, the
clear choice for you young Bahamians, who will be voting for
the first time and who want vision, opportunity and
empowerment. We are the answer, the
most obvious choice for you thousands of Bahamians who a
party that will secure your heritage and your land.
We are the answer, the
very best choice for members and supporters of other parties
who are hurt and frustrated because your parties have lost
their once noble stewardship and direction. "Contract 2002" is
built on the following four pillars: I.
REFORMING EDUCATIONAL FOR NATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT II.
RESTORING SOCIAL WELFARE III.
RESTRUCTURING THE ECONOMY FOR BAHAMIANS IV.
RECLAIMING GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE Our plan then, is really
the people's plan. In it we are offering four exciting new concepts
which include many original specific programmes and in the
opening pages of "Contract 2002", you will be able to take a
glance at the highlights. The concepts
include: 1. Enlarging Our
Bahamas 2. Elevating
Bahamians 3. Greater
Responsibility Through Enhanced Local
Government 4. More Responsive
Governance Our Vision is of an
Enlarged Bahamas in which the Family Islands are repopulated
by Bahamians who take advantage of new opportunities to
possess the land, develop their economies, and enjoy the
fruits of the islands' bountiful resources. We will
transform the islands and create a new class of Bahamian
entrepreneur who will take the country and the standard of
living enjoyed by Bahamians to heights hitherto
unimagined. The Family Islands offer a
unique opportunity to promote and implement balanced growth
and development. This balanced development will not happen
without a carefully prepared national strategic
plan. If the long-term
objectives are to be met there has to be a shared vision
between the government and the citizens, creative policy
formulation, and innovative programme implementation. These
long-term objectives include: the expansion of economic
opportunities for Bahamians, the transformation of the
structure of the economy through planned diversification,
and the facilitation of broader Bahamian participation in
and ownership of the economy. We are the only party with
such a VISION and the will to bring about these long-term
objectives. Institutionalized
Island Economies This is a new development
strategy, which will foster growth of the economies of the
'Family Islands' (islands other than New Providence and
Freeport, Grand Bahama), by moving important Government
institutions to these islands so that their economies will
have some central base upon which to build. A
Coalition+Labour government will jump-start the project by
relocating selected public enterprises such as the
University of the Bahamas, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force
Base and a new prison facility to Family Islands where these
institutions should become the impetus for economic
activity. We envision the University of the Bahamas
relocating to a Family island like Andros where there is
room for its development and expansion, and where the
students will be free from the many distractions of New
Providence. The relocation of such public institutions will
be the motivation for large numbers of construction workers,
utilities workers, staff, students and entrepreneurs
migrating to that island. This program will also
reduce the increasing and intolerable population density in
the capital city of Nassau, and ultimately improve the
quality of life of Bahamians throughout the Commonwealth,
through alleviating many of the social ills and
inconveniences such as crime, traffic congestion, inadequate
and unaffordable housing, overcrowded and failing schools,
and restricted access to health care facilities. ELEVATING
BAHAMIANS For decades the complaint
has been that Bahamians have less opportunity for economic
empowerment in their own country than foreign investors.
Bahamians complain of not being able to access the same
incentives from the government that such investors get.
Bahamians complain of being by-passed for the upper echelon
jobs which foreign investment often brings; jobs which
they say seem to go to foreign professionals in the main
despite the fact that Bahamians are qualified for such jobs.
Additionally Bahamians often cannot access the capital
needed to start and sustain a successful business or the
technical support, research and development resources, or
equipment needed. Successive governments
have talked about economic diversification at election time
but are not committed to it and clearly are not persuaded
that it can be achieved. They take the easy but vulnerable
way out. This has resulted in growth without development; it
has magnified the exclusion of Bahamians from the mainstream
and has retarded endogenous empowerment and
growth. We see the development of
Family Island economies as the Bahamian frontier; an
opportunity for Bahamians to get in on the ground floor as a
matter of government policy. Foreign investors would be
encouraged to joint venture with Bahamians preferably, or in
appropriate cases make shares available for sale to Bahamian
citizens. The aim is to enable Bahamians to go into
business, be proficient, efficient and competitive, and
become owners and employers in the new economy. Mr. Maynard will go into
some detail on this initiative but I would wish to go into
more detail about education and health care
reform. Education is a fundamental
responsibility of government and is is a necessary component
for nation building. It is where progress and prosperity
begin. The world around us is changing rapidly. We must
organise and manage our education system in ways that will
allow us not only to adequately respond to these changes,
but also to anticipate change, thereby elevating Bahamians.
WE BELIEVE: 1. Every Bahamian child
should have the opportunity to realise its fullest
potential 2. Every Bahamian adult
should have certification in at least one trade, skill or
profession 3. Education should meet
the needs of economic development and diversification and we
must marry our curricula for education with our plans for
the economy 4. We must devote
substantial resources to enhance the skills of teachers, and
to elevate the teaching profession 5. Education instils an
appreciation for literary, historical and cultural
heritage TEACHERS AND THE TEACHING
PROFESSION Teachers are nation
builders and will be given the respect, appreciation, and
recognition that they deserve. The nation depends on
teachers to mould and develop students who will become our
nation's leaders. Coalition+Labour will devote adequate
resources to enhance and raise the teaching profession to
the prominence it should have in this society. We will: · Ensure that all
qualified and competent teachers receive starting salaries
comparable to those of other professionals in the public
service making sure that every three years there will be a
salary review to make necessary cost of living
adjustments; · Staff Family Island
schools with competent teachers and implement a policy that
will require all Bahamian teachers to spend at least three
years on a Family Island upon graduating from the College of
The Bahamas. These teachers will receive free
housing; · Offer teachers one
year paid sabbatical leave to pursue research and
educational interests, especially in the area of the
publishing of Bahamian literature and educational textbooks;
· Implement a policy
whereby after one year's probation teachers will be offered
three-year renewable contracts, and upon completion of each
contract, they will be entitled to a gratuity of not less
than 10 per cent of their aggregate salary. After the
successful completion of three contracts, teachers will then
be given the option to become tenured officers with the
right to pensions and other such benefits. · Launch a campaign
to encourage more males to enter the profession EDUCATION A NEW
DIRECTION TOO OFTEN POLITICAL
PARTIES TALK ABOUT WHERE WE NEED TO GO, WITH LITTLE
INDICATION AS TO HOW WE'RE GOING TO GET THERE. IN THE
BAHAMAS, ONE OF OUR GREATEST DEFICIENCIES IS IN THE AREA OF
EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT. THIS COUNTRY HAS NOT
GROWN AS IT SHOULD, NOR HAS IT KEPT PACE WITH AN
EVER-CHANGING GLOBAL ECONOMY, BECAUSE WITH ALL THE TALK OF
BUILDING AN ECONOMY, LITTLE HAS BEEN SAID OR DONE IN
BUILDING OUR PEOPLE. WE MUST BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY CLEARLY
ESTABLISHED LINKS, BETWEEN WHAT WE TEACH IN THE CLASSROOM,
AND HOW WE STRUCTURE AND MANAGE OUR ECONOMY. WHAT'S THE
POINT OF CREATING JOBS, CREATING GOOD JOBS, IF BAHAMIANS ARE
NOT QUALIFIED TO FILL THEM? WHILE FOREIGN INVESTMENT IS
GOOD, IF GREATER NUMBERS OF BAHAMIANS WERE TO BECOME
QUALIFIED IN A WIDER ARRAY OF TECHNICAL FIELDS AND
PROFESSIONS, WE WOULD SEE A STEADY TRANSFORMATION TO
BAHAMIAN OWNERSHIP, IN ALL AREAS OF ENTERPRISE. MOREOVER,
THERE IS A NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE TERTIARY EDUCATION MODEL
IN THE BAHAMAS. TERTIARY EDUCATION IS VITAL TO THE NATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OF THE BAHAMAS. We will: · Adopt a plan for
education that will address the economic needs of the
country. · Link emerging areas
in our economy and those identified as vital to national
development, to specialised tertiary education and
certification programmes, in our local
institutions. · Create a special
Scholarship Scheme in Postgraduate Education, aimed at
qualifying Bahamians in specialised fields considered vital
to the overall economic development of the country,
particularly those in which we've had to rely heavily on
foreign consultation. · Develop within the
College of The Bahamas, a School of Banking, Finance and
Economics, for promotion regionally and abroad, as has been
done for Hospitality and Tourism studies, that The Bahamas
might be recognised not only as an offshore centre, but also
as a Centre for Education in Offshore Finance. · Establish a special
fund with the sole purpose of financing the development of a
strategic plan to transform the College of the Bahamas into
the University of the Bahamas. We will furnish the existing
Research and Development Planning Unit of the College with
all resources needed, be they human, technical or otherwise,
to expedite the process, and once developed no reasonable
costs will be spared in its subsequent
implementation. · Create an Educating
the Special Educator training and scholarship programme, in
which we will focus on the education and training of persons
in special education fields, including autism, literacy,
remedial education, family life and health education,
education for the gifted, speech therapy, child anger
management and conflict resolution, and other
areas. · Develop specialised
centres for higher learning in designated family islands,
according to trades and industries in which those islands
might specialise in, more so than others. · Establish a
National General Education Diploma Programme, to ensure that
any Bahamian wanting has a second chance at earning a high
school diploma. · Implement a Grant
and Scholarship Programme that will reward outstanding
academic performances. · In conjunction with
relevant organisations and institutions abroad, develop a
programme for Biological and Environmental Study, at the
secondary and post-secondary levels. · Incorporate into
the school curricula, full syllabi that will address the
economic needs of the country, particularly as it relates to
economic diversification in traditional as well as emerging
areas. · Develop within the
College of The Bahamas an Institute of Public Policy
· Establish a Quality
Control Board to monitor and evaluate the quality of courses
offered by all tertiary educational institutions EDUCATION FOR YOUTH
DEVELOPMENT Coalition+Labour believes
in a holistic approach to the development of our youth. In
that vein, we will implement a variety of programmes to
complement the formal education system. Our aim is to
cultivate responsible, productive and thoughtful individuals
capable of making meaningful contributions to society, many
of whom will be elevated to leadership positions in any
number of disciplines throughout The Bahamas. Coalition+Labour is
convinced that most young Bahamians want desperately to
serve and make a positive contribution to the development of
their country. However, there has not been space made for
them previously to define and determine that contribution.
We challenge the youth to
take advantage of the opportunities to empower themselves
and contribute to the development of the nation.
Coalition+Labour is committed to providing young Bahamians
with the education and training, and opportunity to live
productive and meaningful lives. We will make the
empowerment of young Bahamians our highest
priority. A National Youth
Vision/Policy Coalition+Labour agrees
with the report that the Government and the people should
adopt a common vision for the Bahamian youth and that the
Vision be officially recognised through the adoption of a
resolution in both Houses of Parliament. We will facilitate the
acceptance of a National Youth Policy. The acceptance of
such a policy would avoid the disjointed and fragmented
approach to youth issues. These will
include: · Establish a special
Youth in Business development loan facility for young people
who demonstrate exceptional academic or vocational skills in
order to establish themselves in researched business
ventures · Establish a
National After-School Programme, which will provide the
proper environment for instruction in cultural, vocational,
civic and recreational activities. · Establish a
Regional Youth Exchange Programme to enable young people to
share cultural knowledge, skills and talents · Establish Youth
Recreation Centres in local neighbourhoods, which will offer
recreational, educational, social and civic activities,
including mentoring and parenting for young parents
programmes. · Re-Establish the
Teacher Training and Technical Cadet Corps
programmes. · Revise the
curricula for the Police Cadet Corp · Institute select
civic youth programmes in all public school, including the
Royal Bahamas Defence Force Rangers, Girl Guides, Boy
Scouts, Girls and Boys Brigades, Awana, and other similar
programmes. · Establish a
National Youth Exposure Programme in secondary schools,
whereby students will be exposed to Family Island life at
some time during their final three years in school, earning
credits for the assignments on the islands and enriching
their educational experience; · Establish a
permanent Youth Parliament that will expose young people to
the political process. The Youth Parliament will teach the
importance of consensus building, and provide the
opportunity for young people to further develop their
communications skills; · Consider the
resolutions passed by the Youth Parliament in the
formulation of public policy. BUILDING A HEALTHIER
BAHAMAS Fifty years ago, infant
and maternal deaths and death and disability from infectious
diseases were the leading health problems of the day. They
were related to poverty, overcrowded housing, poor nutrition
and inadequate sanitation. With social and economic progress
came new health problems, primarily lifestyle diseases, such
as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, drug abuse,
injuries caused by accidents and violence, stroke, HIV/AIDS
and cancer. Which have benefited from advances in technology
and consolidation of some hospital services. Today, while the leading
causes of deaths in The Bahamas are AIDS, Cardiovascular
diseases, Trauma and certain forms of Cancer, significant
pockets of our people in our society continue to suffer
diseases caused by poor housing and inadequate sanitation.
Our health and medical care system continues to be adversely
impacted by limited human and financial resources and
reduced work productivity. Recent attempts to reform the
delivery of health care have not been successful. A
Coalition+Labour government's first priority is health care
reform. Such reform is needed in order to develop new
approaches to the prevention, early detection and treatment
of diseases. We will initiate a Health Care Reform
Program We will: · Strengthen the
capacity and capability of the health care system to meet
current and future challenges. · Invest more
resources into primary care including prevention and early
detection; · Increase the
availability and accessibility of health services to all
people, especially residents of the Family
Islands. · Improve the
financing of health services through a more responsive and
sustainable mix of financing mechanisms. · Enhance efficiency
and effectiveness in the allocation and management of health
resources. · Provide management
training in finance and human resources for physicians,
nurses and pharmacists. · Improve the quality
of Dental Services by provision of adequate equipment and
supplies. · Increase community
and social participation in health initiatives. · Improve Prison
Health services. · After consultation
with the public and in collaboration with health care
providers, insurance companies, workers organisations and
employers, design and implement an alternative system of
personal health care financing in a National Health
Insurance Scheme. · Develop a National
Prescription Drug Assistance Plan for the elderly in
collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, drug
distributors and pharmacies · Establish health
care policy and standards · Implement cost
control and utilisation review methods that would ensure
efficient use of resources. · Provide necessary
diagnostic and therapeutic services and discontinue the
costly outsourcing of such services, known as selective
privatisation · Place emphasis on
improved admission, billing and collecting systems in public
hospitals. · Establish priority
services to be provided to all citizens based on cost
effectiveness of the interventions and the prevailing
disease patterns. These will include: Ø Diabetes
prevention, early detection and care; Ø Hypertension
prevention, early detection and care; Ø Care of the
elderly, including education, health promotion and
prevention, and care Ø
HIV/AIDS Ø Care of women and
children Ø Community mental
health Ø Cancer screening
and early prevention · Improve human
resources by which we will Ø Initiate a
manpower utilization and needs assessment review to
establish the needs, skill mix and priorities for training
employees including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, allied
health, administrative and support staff; Ø Ensure proper
credentialing, remuneration, and fair and cost effective
incentives for employees and attract and retain staff and to
maximize productivity and efficiency. · Engage in special
projects that will enhance the provision of health care
services whereby we will: Ø Develop
relationships with local and international educational
institutions to provide training for medical
technicians; Ø Develop
partnerships with renowned international medical
institutions to promote the improvement in existing services
or the introduction of new services e.g. a National Blood
Bank programme; Ø Promote the
participation in local and international medical research to
improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of
diseases. · In our model of an
enlarged Bahamas, extend more comprehensive health services
to our Family Islands, whereby we will: Ø Install, expand
or modernise health care facilities; Ø Ensure
availability of well-trained, competent, professional staff
involved in emergency care; Ø Utilise telemetry
to facilitate the involvement of specialist physicians at
the PMH in the diagnosis and management of patients in the
Family Islands; Ø Provide competent
management of all Family Island health districts; Ø Establish
effective referral systems to the PMH; Ø Initiate
regularly scheduled visits by specialists to Family Island
health districts. NURSES AND THE NURSING
PROFESSION Nurses are the backbone of
the health services and are in the vanguard of all phases of
health maintenance, disease prevention and detection and
medical care. Nurses employed in the Ministry of Health and
its agencies have been in a constant struggle for years with
respect to working conditions, remuneration, benefits and
recognition. Their plight has been so desperate that they
have staged sick-outs and strikes. In their efforts to stand
up for their rights they have been the objects of
intimidation and victimisation. Coalition+Labour appreciates
the sacrifice and contribution made by nurses in the service
of Bahamians and will do everything possible to renew the
confidence of nurses in the government as major employer and
partner. These very specific
concepts, along with many other policy nuances, have been
well thought out with one thing in mind…creating a
better future in the Bahamas for you and me, for our
children and our families, especially considering the
difficult times that small countries like ours
face. These concepts will not be
easy to implement but such visionary programmes offer the
best chance for our Bahamas to compete in the global market
place. Indeed, without such programmes the future is
potentially bleak. If you don't believe me, you need only
look to the many instances of non-competitive developing
countries around the world and to see what the future of the
Bahamas would be like. We are convinced that an
aggressive and strategically coordinated initiative for
National Human Resource Development will establish a human
infrastructure that will reap benefits for many years to
come. This is dependent upon revolutionizing the education
system in the Bahamas. If we are to keep pace
with the ever-changing world around us, if we are to become
global pacesetters, than we must ready ourselves not only to
meet the challenges of change but also to anticipate
change. REMEMBER
THE REFERENDUM There
are critics who say that The Bahamas is and will always be a
'two-party' country; that other parties will never be taken
seriously enough to mount a meaningful challenge to the
Government. Experience has shown us, that no one party and
no group of individuals has all of the solutions to the many
problems facing The Bahamas. To
those critics who say that a grouping such as ours can
defeat neither of the two largest political parties, we say
Remember Referendum Day. Remember March 25th, 2002, for it
marks a day in the history of this great nation of ours when
people stood together on the strength of principle and what
they believed to be right, and told the Government No!
No we
will not be dictated to. No,
because power and authority still lies with the
people. No one
predicted that the defeat would have been as resounding as
it was, but in that defeat, the victory was won to the
people, because the people showed that voting for what you
believe in can and will make a difference. Remember
Referendum Day and remember that precise moment when you
decided, that voting for country was more important than
voting for party. Remember Referendum Day, the day that
Bahamians reminded the Government of who was elected to
serve whom. When
governments forget that they represent people; that they
were elected for service, not unto themselves, but service
for the interests of the people, then those governments and
any remnant thereof, should be removed and replaced.
My
challenge to every Bahamian for this General Election:
Remember Referendum Day, and vote for what you believe
in. Don't
let anyone tell you to simply vote party. Referendum Day and
the days leading up to it marked just how much the Bahamian
voter has grown, in stark contrast to how far existing
political parties have yet to come. Don't
let anyone set us back we've come too far. Mark
your X at the CROSS "TAKE
CONTROL"
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