Our country is at the moment at the cross roads of a dynamic process. The development of a National Development Plan (NDP) is as important as the Constitution of our Country. The goal of a Sint Maarten NDP is to guide the strategic development of the country within the medium to long term.
The next phase of our NDP process was a lecture by community activist and historian Daniella Jeffrey at USM on Monday. Jeffrey was to be joined by a rep from the United Nations Development Programme who discussed that agency's experience of engaging community in nation building.
The lecture will be followed up by an Open Forum for stakeholders (representatives from grass roots groups, private sector, academia and media) at Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:30pm.
The forum will give attendees an opportunity to share their vision for the country and the way forward with the drafting of the NDP.
The NDP is about long term planning. It should be a plan that anticipates future challenges that country Sint Maarten will face and how these can be addressed early in our on-going national development.
An NDP should address the quality of life of a country's citizens. Sint Maarten has known more than 30-years of tourism economic development that has contributed positively in many areas, but has also left certain challenges on a number of fronts.
In the next phase of our country's national development, more emphasis needs to be placed in those areas that have been partly forgotten or still needs to be dealt with. We should strive for quality throughout all areas of national development. A quality living environment; quality society; quality work-life; quality education; quality health care; and quality security just to mention a few.
An NDP will be addressing anticipated challenges 10 (2023) to 20-years (2033) from now. The younger generations should not be burdened by lack of foresight. Solutions to problems must take into consideration the amount of time that would be needed to address the challenges. Infrastructure must be built a head of demand, therefore based on planning assumptions.
Two of the key factors are population growth and economic growth. Infrastructure needs of the nation must be based on those two key points, this way we will not be caught under-providing, as we are experiencing currently.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are currently being addressed by a United Nations (UN) workgroup to address environmental degradation that is threatening present and future generations. SDGs must go the extra mile to integrate environmental sustainability.
SDGs came out of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) conference of June 2012 where the conference document "The Future We Want," was the bed rock document for the process to establish SDGs. A proposed list is to be presented at the UN 68th General Assembly Session in September.
It has been said more than once by many around the world, that to safeguard the world we know today from climate change, nations around the globe will need to think about economic growth that won't be dependent on carbon-based energy systems.
The time tested survival mantra says, prepare for the worst, but hope for the best, should guide our process of national development. Forward thinking and planning will address the needs of our country for the 21st century. Achieving a sustainable future for country Sint Maarten, requires the input not just of Government but of business leaders, the grass roots, civil society organizations as well non-governmental organizations.
It is therefore very important to hear all voices within society in order to build a sound NDP from the ground-up that would advance economic, social, and environmental objectives in a balanced and integrated manner.
The NDP without a doubt is a process preparing the nation for 'The Future We Want' as Sint Maarteners.
Roddy Heyliger
