By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE cost of electricity has remained an urgent “perennial issue”, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said yesterday, as he revealed his administration’s commitment to unpack within this term in office an ambitious plan that will increase the use of solar energy in the Bahamas.

Dr Minnis further announced his intentions to not only seek international partners from North America, Asia, Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, Australia and the Pacific, but to request an official visit with the government of Singapore for formal assistance in tackling official corruption. This visit will also focus on public sector training and reform, he said.

Other investments in the pipeline include a 118-unit condo-hotel project by the Wynn Group at Gold Blossom, on West Bay Street, he also said.

Speaking during a presentation at the 27th annual Bahamas Business Outlook, the prime minister said the country cannot become a world class destination if it is comfortable with low and often “slack” standards, especially in areas such as the toleration of corruption by public officials.

He suggested this same slackness has trickled down to government agencies in the form of complacency.

Therefore, to raise the standard, Dr Minnis said a faster response time by government agencies and ministries will be required in addition to boosting the capacity of the state to respond in a timely manner to recommendations for reform.

“There is one other reform I must address,” the Killarney MP said yesterday. “It is a perennial issue that remains urgent. It is the cost of electricity. The government is addressing short and medium-term measures in terms of electricity generation. But the longer-term issues (are) the need for solarisation and renewable energy, of which I have so often spoken about.

“My unwavering commitment is this: before the term of this government ends, we will have partnered with various stakeholders and experts, to embark upon an ambitious plan to significantly increase the use of solar energy in the Bahamas.

“The Bahamas is ideal for solar energy. We are blessed with the sun. Our transformation to renewable energy is both a moral and an economic imperative. It is an imperative that will truly help to advance our economy and to help us to achieve world-status in the use of renewable energy.”

He did not reveal a definitive timeline for this programme. Ahead of the 2017 general election, Dr Minnis pledged during a national address in January 2017 that his party, if elected to office, would implement a solarisation plan, which would see tax incentives for Bahamian companies providing services for alternative renewable energy sources, including liquid natural gas.

Explaining further his plans for the country, the prime minister said we must improve our standards.

“To create and maintain a world-class Bahamas requires us to improve our standards as a country, to raise our expectations, to not settle for old habits which no longer serve us if we are to create a new Bahamas in a digital world, marked by rapid innovation, and extraordinary opportunities for countries which keep pace with global change.

“We cannot become world-class if we are comfortable with low and often slack standards in various areas of national life, such as the toleration of corruption by public officials.

“Complacency is the enemy of change. We have no choice but to speed up the pace of change if we are to take advantage of an improving global economy.

“I know that this will require a faster response time by government agencies and ministries,” he continued.

“It will also require boosting the capacity of government to respond in a timely manner to recommendations for reform. While we have quite a distance to go, our economy is improving. And while there is a long road ahead, there are positive prospects on the horizon, more of which will be announced in due course.

“We must think in terms of what is our brand as a country. We must utilise our strategic assets and comparative advantages, to create more Bahamian entrepreneurs even as we seek international investors, and partners, from North America, Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Australia and the Pacific.

“A new Bahamas requires more than economic development and investments. We must also invest in and reform education, healthcare, social development, public management and our national infrastructure, if we are to become world-class,” Dr Minnis said.

Dr Minnis will head to Texas on Sunday and will return to the country next Wednesday, January 24. Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest will act as prime minister during that time.