By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas has not been living up to its full potential and now faces a “critical point” in its evolution, the Minister of State for Investments believes.

Khaalis Rolle said the first major phase in the National Development Plan (NDP) process, a ‘State of the Nation’ report, is expected in January 2016.

    “Every single year we putout  on the streets individuals with lots of energy, limited capacity to rationalise what the future is, and what they should  be doing to secure their future,” Mr Rolle said.

“We put them out unequipped to function in the global world, and that alone makes the case for a National Development Plan.”

Addressing the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) National Energy Forum, Mr Rolle added: “What separates us from getting the country that we want, and the performance that we want, is having a plan, having a vision that is generally subscribed to; a vision that is researched, developed and articulated.

“The diagnostic of the plan is largely completed.

The second phase is the consultative phase, and the final phase will be the formulation of the draft of the actual plan. The State of the Nation report is the first major deliverable. The final editing is taking place and  that should be available in January.

    “Based on what I have seen and read, we have been activities drive for a vey long time. We haven’t been very strategic in our management process. We are at a critical juncture in our evolution. The old way is not yielding the optimal results needed for a Bahamas we can all feel comfortable and proud of. The Bahamas is not living up to its full potential and every one has to take full responsibility for it.”    

Mr Rolle added that public sector reform was viewed as part of the National Development Plan. “We haven’t take a very strong, hardline approach to reform of the public service. That is going to be a major part of this National Development Plan process,” he said.