Prime Minister Philip Davis’s for the Parliamentary Session on the Bahamas National Development Planning Institute Bill

Good afternoon,
It is a pleasure to join you as we chart the course for Vision 2040 and, along the way, answer some of the most fundamental questions about where we are going as a nation.

A National Development Plan answers those questions.

It is a shared vision for our country’s future, built not only on research and expertise but also on the aspirations of our people.

It charts the path from where we stand today to where we want our children and grandchildren to stand decades from now.

Vision 2040 recognises both our successes and our challenges as a nation.

We are a proud, stable democracy with a relatively high quality of life.

Yet we also face serious long-term pressures related to climate change, social equity, and economic development.

Without a long-term plan, issues such as these threaten to undermine progress.

But when confronted strategically, we can turn these challenges into opportunities.

We see the transformative possibilities in new initiatives like the work we are doing on Blue Carbon Credits.

When fully rolled out, we will recognise the value of our seagrass meadows in absorbing atmospheric carbon and translate this functional value into needed funding for climate resilience.

We see the possibilities in addressing identified skill gaps through initiatives like the BTVI expansion, the National Apprenticeship Programme, Upskill, and Digilearn. This range of free training initiatives expands access to opportunity by enhancing productivity, employability, and earning potential.

We have the Public Hospital Authority expansion, which is creating employment opportunities and addressing vital manpower needs in our healthcare industry. 

And we have our work in agriculture, which will empower farmers financially while lowering our trade deficit and strengthening food security.

These are important initiatives that transform challenges into positive outcomes.

However, despite the impact these initiatives may have on our nation and people, they will work best when integrated into a comprehensive, cohesive, long-term plan that addresses our most pressing issues today and in the future.

But a plan alone is not enough.

Plans can gather dust. And they can be undone by short-term thinking or changing political winds.

That’s what makes this Bill so important.

The Bahamas National Development Planning Institute Bill, 2025 helps to move us from planning to implementing. It creates a permanent institution whose purpose is to coordinate, monitor, and sustain our national development efforts over time.

This institution will provide the necessary monitoring and evaluation framework to support implementation while facilitating cross-government coordination.

It will be guided by diverse perspectives to ensure that development decisions are informed by the most robust expertise and evidence available to us on an ongoing basis.

This allows us to develop a living plan that will evolve with our nation.

The structure of this institute reflects the simple truth that national development cannot be owned by any one government. It belongs to the nation at large.

If we want to build a stronger Bahamas, we must plan like a country that intends to exist and prosper long after those of us gathered here are gone.

This administration is committed to exactly that kind of multigenerational development.

We are investing not only in today’s needs but in tomorrow’s opportunities.

And it is the National Development Plan which will bring our efforts together into one coherent national direction.

I believe that the true measure of leadership is not only what we achieve in our time but what we make possible beyond it.

And greatness as a nation is not achieved by a solitary vision.
It is achieved by institutions that outlast any single leader, government, or era.

Today, thanks to the work of Felix Stubbs and the NDP Steering Committee, Joseph Curry and the rest of the NDP team, private- and public-sector stakeholders, and organisations like the IDB, we are planting something that will continue to grow long after our time here is over.

Through Vision 2040, we will be the generation that secures our nation’s future for years to come.
Thank you.