SVG to formulate economic, social development plan

08.June.07

The last development plan this country formulated was from 1991-1995 and according to Senior Economist in the Central Planning Unit Beresford George it “did not achieve much success.”{{more}}

George, who was addressing the gathering at the Methodist Church Hall for the Kingstown Community Consultation for the National Economic and Social Development (NESD) Plan for 2008-2020 last Tuesday, emphasized that while there have been national plans and some even before the most recent one in 1991-1995, they may have been ineffective because there was not much input from the public.

He explained, “One of the major criticisms and weaknesses of these plans is that there was very little input from the Vincentian masses. As a result the people did not feel a sense of ownership, there was not national acceptance of these plans and to this end these plans did not achieve much success. I did not say that they failed, it’s just that the level of success that was expected was not achieved.”

The Senior Economist said that they have learnt from their mistakes and the new 2008-2020 plan would be centred on inclusion, feedback and widespread participation so that people would fully embrace and commit themselves to the plan’s realization.

George highlighted the four major objectives of the 2020 plan which

are to “Articulate the vision for SVG

in 2020, Critically reflect on the

country and present the reality,

Identify issues and look at strategic

programmes and projects that should

be undertaken.”

Meanwhile, Chief Agricultural Office Reuben Robertson who addressed the gathering on agricultural issues said that while the Caribbean gravitated towards tourism and the financial service sectors, it was crucial to have the agricultural sector as one of the top priorities in development.

He said that the Caribbean “jumped’ one step further into development by quickly becoming a service driven sector without realizing that larger countries such as Asia which are now service oriented, ensured that they took “steps” and focused on being able to supply their local food market first and then became a flourishing manufacturing sector before they moved to become a service based region.

The Chief Agricultural Officer said that developmental areas such as education and technology needed to be in unison with agriculture so that this country could at least feed itself and produce manufactured goods for sale. He said that a vibrant manufacturing sector through agriculture would not only generate wealth but would also ensure good health since the food would be fresher. Robertson pointed out that agriculture was doing well in terms of its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but other

sectors such as tourism and infrastructure were growing faster than agriculture making it appear that agriculture was not a strong contributor to the economy.

He noted that donor funds were drying up and those that were still available to the Caribbean were laden with heavy foreign consultancy fees and suggested that more locals be trained in project management. (SG)