James Smith, Minister of State for Finance, indicated that the e-government initiative is high among the list of improvements in creating a more efficient environment. The Registrar General's Department has been an active participant in this initiative, offering a number of services available online since last year.
"One of the main objectives of this project is to expand business facilitation activities here in The Bahamas so that interaction between business places and the government with respect to licensing, paying bills, submitting forms, et cetera, will be executed at greater speeds and with more efficiency," he added.
Mr Smith said that one of the government's biggest challenges was figuring out how to maintain a leadership position during increasing globalisation. He pointed out that the "globalisation movement" brings with it pressure to create freer markets, pressure to transform to digital economies, as well as it insists on the removal of barriers on the movement of capital and labour.
"We know that maintaining our leadership position would involve increased collaboration between the government and the private sector to mprove and expand the level of services offered in the country," said Mr Smith.
Further, the Minister said the government has moved to improve healthcare and education in an effort to provide more resources to satisfy public sector demands. Other improvements include expansion of social welfare and youth programs and improved infrastructure.
According to Mr Smith, "The overall Strategic Development Plan for The Bahamas appears to be unfolding as it should. There is currently underway multimillion dollar projects in New Providence and many of the Family Islands," which he said included Abaco, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Chub Cay, Exuma and Mayaguana.
The government is hoping that in the aftermath of these development projects more Bahamians would find the Family Islands as an attractive option for work- a move it has said would relieve "congestion in the capital".
Further, Mr Smith said that these plans would require "counterpart investments" by the public sector- such as improving docking and airport facilities- which would spurn more investments, resulting in the GDP growth.
"The government recognises and accepts unequivocally, that economic growth and development in a modern state must, of necessity, involve close collaboration between the public and private sectors.
"I believe that we have adopted the appropriate policy mix to produce, in collaboration with the private sector, the enabling environment which should place The Bahamas on a sustainable path of economic growth and development well into the future," Mr Smith said.
Autor: Barry Williams
Quelle: The Nassau Guardian, 27.01.2006
