NASSAU, The Bahamas – During his Official Remarks to the 2022 United Nations / Bahamas Development Bank Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Partnership Forum, on September 5, 2022, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis noted that, when The Bahamas joined other members of the United Nations in signing the ‘Sustainable Development Goals Agenda’ in 2015, the underlying vision was to agree a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future."

“The SDGs were specific, tangible expressions of what ‘peace and prosperity’ would look like in each signatory country around the world,” Prime Minister Davis said at the inaugural forum, held at SuperClubs Breezes resort, under the theme ‘Transformational Partnerships for a Sustainable Future’.  “The range and breadth of those goals, admirably reflected in your agenda today, also demonstrate the scale of the task.”

“These are not easy things to achieve,” he added.  “And even if we suppose that there is sufficient political will to do so, fulfilling the Goals will be challenging.”

Prime Minister Davis noted that, since 2015, there had been progress in The Bahamas towards fulfilling a number of the SDGs.  But, he said, there were goals that have remained stagnant or, indeed, have regressed.

“I understand that, it is for this reason, the Resident Coordinator’s Office has organised this Forum today,” he said.  “By bringing together a number of interested parties, it is hoped that a number of multi-stakeholder partnerships will be developed, in an effort to advance progress of the SDGs in The Bahamas.

“I wholeheartedly support and endorse this initiative.”

Prime Minister Davis pointed out that, when he received his Instruments of Office as Prime Minister, and in the Speech from The Throne that followed, he committed his Administration to working in partnership with the Bahamian people. That, he stated, was “not an empty promise”.

“Over the course of the past year, many of our achievements in office have only been possible because of that partnership,” Prime Minister Davis said.  “That said, it is unfortunate that too many of the institutional arrangements of government, are designed for people to work in silos.”

“While that may encourage specialisation, and reinforce lines of internal accountability, it does not work well when working towards goals that span several ministries or government departments,” he added.  “For example, when we articulate our wish to empower young people, we clearly don’t expect that effort to be solely made by the Ministry of Youth.

“Education, Housing, Transport, Finance, Immigration, Labour, National Security, for example, will all play key roles in helping to fulfil that goal.”

Prime Minister Davis said that, by formalising and structuring partnerships appropriately, especially when they include the private sector and the non-governmental sector, they create a better foundation for success.

“The irony is, of course, that the more organisations and people that become involved, the more likely it is that bureaucracies and cultures and personalities...

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis speaks, during his Official Remarks to the 2022 United Nations / Bahamas Development Bank Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Partnership Forum, on September 5, 2022, at SuperClubs Breezes resort.    (BIS Photos/Eric Rose)