The Tribune

WHEN a meeting was held last month to discuss the problems affecting Downtown Nassau – problems that frankly stretch back decades – Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper talked of the need for “aggressive transformation.”

That meant not settling for the little bit of improvement here, the little change there. It means not settling for simply repaving a road every now and then. It means not putting up with the broken and battered buildings that can be seen all over Downtown – and the others that may not be broken, but just seem tired, worn out by years of lack of upkeep.

It means not making do with a patchwork of replacements here and upgrades there but a whole new approach to bring about a transformation. To transform the old into the new.

Imagine then if that transformation stretched beyond Downtown – and what that could bring to our nation as a whole.

That word – transform – is at the heart of a report from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The Sustainable Nassau Action Plan is the name of the report – a fairly modest name for a substantial proposal.

If implemented, it would see ten priority projects launched that would cost about $450m over the next 20 years.

Those plans would bolster Nassau’s resilience to climate change, bring about energy reform, make Nassau a “zero-waste” city and more.

What would that mean in practice? Well, it would improve recycling efforts and waste management at the landfill for starters – at a price tag of $34m.

A price tag of $57m goes towards reviving Bay Street and the Grants Town area, and another $52m to overhaul public transport, reforming the jitney system and encouraging ride sharing and car pooling.

There would be improved water and sewerage and conservation of green spaces, and “smart city monitoring” to improve traffic flow and tackle crime.

There would be moves to make street lighting energy efficient, and to tackle land issues to make development proposals less complex.

Essentially, the plan would make Nassau a more modern, energy efficient, revived city at the forefront of dealing with issues such as waste and the effects of climate change.

That wouldn’t just benefit our city as it is now – but the city as we want it to become.

It could become a selling point to attract more businesses to the country – come and operate in the leading green city in the region. It sounds good, doesn’t it?

Of course, it may not happen. Previous goals set in 2006 never came to fruition, and these may be the same.

But setting the standard high gives us something to aim for. Why should we settle for bits-and-pieces improvements here and there? What is the vision for the future we should strive towards? How do we want the country we leave for our children to look?

There are warning bells in the report too – such as the need to be prepared for an expected increase of 100,000 in New Providence’s population.

If we’re going to need to think big about solutions to that situation, why not think big about what we can achieve along the way?

Juvenile legislation

Attorney General Ryan Pinder says he hopes draft legislation on juvenile matters, including the age of consent, could go to Cabinet as early as next week.

Swift action is welcome – but we would sound one note of caution. Given the issue of age of consent has only emerged as a discussion point in the past week, it seems quick to bring draft legislation on a sensitive issue. This is the kind of legislation that could very much do with considered consultation with various groups to ensure that the best of intentions don’t unintentionally bring unwanted consequences.

More, such consultation might bring greater awareness of the kind of resources that would need to be brought to bear for any legal changes to actually bring the protection being sought.

We have seen other legislative moves on issues such as marital rape and marijuana that have gone on far too long as consultation became an apparent excuse to kick reforms into the long grass – that is the opposite extreme and to be avoided.

As yet, we do not know what will be in these legislative proposals – but let’s make sure the steps we take really do protect our children.