The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition's leader yesterday said the Minnis administration must now "enter the real world of governance", describing the 'Speech from the Throne' as an admission of the foundation laid by the former government.

Speaking at a press conference in the House of Assembly's Minority Room, Philip Davis said: "The Government must now enter the real world of governance and not trash talk from a platform. Governance requires hard choices. It is easy as a critic to stand and promote ideas which have no foundation, but reality has now hit home.

"We listened intently, and the reality is that the Speech from the Throne is an acknowledgement of the transformative foundation already constructed by the Progressive Liberal Party government," he added.

"We are encouraged to hear that the Government has embraced essential job-related skills training and specialised programmes for youth employment initiatives that have been, and continue to be, in train."

Mr Davis said initiatives such as National Health Insurance (NHI) began under the Christie administration, which had already committed to the secondary and tertiary implementation of the scheme. It is reassuring to see that FNM is committed to continuing the work of NHI," he added.

As revealed in the Speech from the Throne, the Minnis administration "supports National Health Insurance but recognises that the present roll-out model, which focuses on primary care services, does not address the significant health maladies our country presently faces."

The Minnis administration intends to extend the focus of NHI to secondary and tertiary health care, and "oversee the incremental implementation of a progressive and functional National Catastrophic Health Insurance Programme".