The political establishment must agree to the creation of a national development plan, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie, who said it is time to begin approaching national development in a results-oriented, data-driven manner.
The government has launched the public consultation phase of the process to create a plan - known as Vision 2040, and expects it to be complete by June 2015.
"We are going to reach out to all of the political parties," he said. "We know that all political leaders are responsible persons and they are going to understand the value of this.
"Politics is savage, so they may show over the next two years that they are not interested in that kind of thing, but I think you're going to find in the fullness of time that they are all going to be committed to this national plan."
The prime minister said the existence of a national development plan would be critical in determining things like how and when to introduce new taxes.
"The concern I have is that coming into a ministry as a minister of finance and looking at it, and knowing that The Bahamas has been used to 'macho' politicians - oh, Christie can't make decisions or this and that, meaning you don't plan. You shoot from the hip."
Christie said it was wrong for one or two men - even a Cabinet - to arrogate unto themselves all knowledge of a country without connecting to the private sector, or to academia.
"It doesn't make sense," he said. "And when you see how we have squandered in the past through injudicious decisions, this whole nonsense about how you define political leaders is (just that)... The time has come now where we put into play a national development plan, and you ask the question about whether politicians are going to agree? They better agree."

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