Minister for Planning and Economic Development, Senator Miriam Blanchard has described the planned sessions for the Strategic Planning Week as timely.
She delivered the keynote address at the Strategic Planning Seminar on behalf of Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Roosevelt Skerrit.
The Strategic Planning Week is organized by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and is scheduled from Monday, May 27-30 at the Goodwill Parish Hall.
It’s aim is to build the capacity of Permanent Secretaries, and senior and middle-management officers.
“As I review the seminar’s programme there is no doubt in my mind that the planned sessions are timely, not only as it is cohesive with the budget preparations process but also as we work feverishly to implement plans to ensure that Dominica is the first climate resilient nation in the world,” she said.
According to Blanchard, the seminar will allow policy practitioners to reflect on broader local and regional development which will impact the implementation of the NRDS [National Resilience Development Strategy] and the Climate Resilient Recovery Plan.
“All with the view to inform the priorities that sectors will pursue to bring about economic and social transformation,” Blanchard stated.
She went on to say that other technical staff will join throughout the week to share their views and perspectives.
“It is expected the permanent secretaries will spearhead the fine-tuning of their respective sectorial plan,” she indicated.
Blanchard is of the view that all stakeholders need to be engaged.
“We have made a breakthrough with the development of the NRDS which was country led, country designed and country owned, to drive Dominica’s development over the 12 year period 2018 to 2030,” she stated.
She appealed to technocrats to utilize their experiences and provide valuable inputs in the strategic planning development process.
Meantime, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, Gloria Joseph said this is just another step taken by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in the fulfillment of their mandate to provide leadership in not only creating the national development management framework, “but in providing guidance and enhancing the competency in ministries in effecting planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting against your planned objectives.”
“Your being there today signifies the critical importance that you are placing on planning for effective delivery,” she stated.
She said the vision to build the world’s first climate resilient country is not one which will be achieved if, “we continue the modus operandi.”
“Doing things in the usual fashion will not move us closer to our goals,” Joseph noted.
She encouraged participants to not only embrace the opportunity afforded but to adopt a renewed mindset and passion to harness their fullest potential.
As the Government moves into the final stage of the budget estimates preparation, the Ministry of Planning wants to ensure that there is a high degree of alignment of national priorities to sector plans, which should be evident in the national budget, annual operational plans, and improved monitoring, evaluation and reporting to support implementation of programmes and projects for 2019-2020 and beyond.
Dominica will remain desperately desolate, severely impoverished unless the present administration is banished from government and a good governance agenda is implemented. These are what is needed for Dominicans to realize their true, God-given potential. Here we go: transparency, accountability, astute leadership, inclusiveness, people oriented governance, unity of purpose, strategic planning, humility, respect for all. The Electoral System needs an overhaul: complete re-registration of electors, voter’s ID cards, set date for general elections, campaign finance reforms, equal access to the National State Radio, stoppage of the wholesale bribery of overseas voters, Freedom of Information Act, Integrity in Public Life Act (one with real teeth). I’ve never seen a more corrupt, dishonest, devious, self-centred set of people in government. They hog the country’s resources for self, family and bosom friends and give the rest citizens mere pittance to survive on.
“……..not only as it is cohesive with the budget preparations process but also as we work feverishly to implement plans to ensure that Dominica is the first climate resilient nation in the world,” she said. Madam Blanchard, your failed labour government is not in any position to talk to us Dominicans on this subject matter. Your Prime (Odd) Minister has presented himself over the past 19 years as failed Prime Minister and should have never held this office. This failed corrupt Labour party that you are part of has failed us big time and brought our nature isle to the abys of poverty and lack of any development. Skerrit operations is on of a Fast Food caterer who distributes fast food and have our people as beggars where there is not initiative of employment and all we hear about is nonsense talk of resilience. Madam you and your corrupt government has failed us. This prepared script speech you have delivered means nothing to us. 19 years past, you`ll still don`t get it. Skerrit Go
The only plan this government executes very, very well is stealing elections. Their mode of operation is three words: CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION, CORRUPTION. For the last twenty years, they have done nothing else other than deplete the treasury, bankrupt the economy, create poverty, multiply misery, increase vagrancy, promote disunity in this country. If these utterly visionless, insanely corrupt people are given another term in government, Dominica will disappear off the world map. The present government of Dominica is comprised of feather-weight thinkers, who, after twenty (20) consecutive years, has done nothing transformative. They have feasted on the people’s good will, innocence, docility and apprehensions. Time for them to go.
Strategic planning is a phrase that is absent from Skerrits vocabulary and it has been absent for almost 20 years now. How people could support that for so long is beyond me.
Money Randy, jumbo money! It is often said that every man has a price. All of Skerrit’s hirelings have a negotiable figure.