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Our Platform

OurMical Daily Observer · 2020-02-04T22:49:51.258Z

I firmly believe that our current political system has failed the people. The depth of the crisis that our country finds itself in presently requires reform at all levels of public life. It is simply not enough to make changes to taxes and spending and hope that a similar situation will not materialize in the future. What is needed is a radical reform of our governing systems. The next Member of Parliament for MICAL should seek to achieve the following: MICAL’s Path forward>> • Petition the recommencement of local government reform through increasing the powers and democratic accountability of local authorities; and to allow them the ability to take on a range of functions currently exercised at a national level, such as the authority to raise and collect revenue, attend to maintenance, and promote economic development. • Peruse government to prioritize the passage of amendments to the Local Government Act, with the Introduction of a Mayors Bill through Parliament. • Petition for the Implementation of a new local government structure; replacing appointed Island Administrators with duly elected Mayors who will enjoy more powers. Mayoral powers (within the General Assembly) include but are not limited to the responsibility for the planning of water, waste, retail, housing and transport services, etc. • Increase the power of the people to influence local decisions through the wider use of local (district) referendums and participatory budgeting. • Ensure that District Councils (the General Assembly) work together with the relevant government departments and with the Mayor as a means of guaranteeing adherence to the law, regulations, procedures, and policies. • Through grants and public-private partnerships, commence the construction of a number of City Halls; the House of Representatives (General Assembly) a local Parliament throughout MICAL. Develop City Centers & Improve Local Government by constructing local Parliaments (General Assembly) in the capital Cities of MICAL. • Petition government to increase Local Government funding; by committing $200 million annually of the national budget to facilitate the growth of family island development. Allocating a minimum of $10 million per Island. • Establish a Constituency Parliamentary Council (CPC) in MICAL comprising of 12 members. Each member shall be elected by the constituents to represent their respective polling divisions. The Council will be responsible for the following: 1. ➢ Ensuring proper representation is given in Parliament and throughout the constituency. 2. ➢ Inform constituents in their respective polling divisions about information, bills, and amendment of laws to be debated so that each polling division can vote in favor of or against a decision, bill, or law that their MP must vote on in Parliament. 3. ➢ Conduct bye-weekly meetings, quarterly reports, updates on the state of affairs of the constituency, and the removal of a non-performing MP by obtaining 51% of the voting electorate signatures on a petition. • Lobby for the establishment of branch offices of the Public Treasury, the Registrar General’s Office, the Passport Office, and Customs in MICAL. • A proponent of a real property tax petition for its replacement specifically in the form of a Site Value Tax (SVT) on all land excluding agricultural land. The government should introduce a Site Value Tax on a phased basis, ensuring the protection of those who are unable to pay. • Petition government to Constitutionally recognize Local Government. • Petition government to put in place an Independent Constitutional Citizens Assembly (ICCA). The Assembly would be made up of 45 members, 39 elected citizens representing each constituency respectively with a governing body of 8 (chaired by a Chairman; a Magistrate, a deputy; Queen Council and two representatives of the government and opposition). The Assembly (ICCA) responsibility includes the making of recommendations, the drafting of amendments to the constitution, and public education on proposed changes. The proposed draft amendments to the constitution would then be laid before parliament through the AG’s Office and thereafter to the people in a referendum. • Petition government to pass the following legislation: 1. ➢ National Energy Bill 2. ➢ National Sovereign Wealth Fund & Administration Amendment 3. ➢ National Culture Bill 4. ➢ National Food Security Bill 5. ➢ Fish Farm & Farm-Gate Shops Bill 6. ➢ Bahamas Oceanic Atmospheric Authority (BOAA) Bill 7. ➢ Bahamas Center for Disease Control & Prevention (BCDCP) Authority Bill 8. ➢ Bahamas Bankruptcy Bill 9. ➢ National Pensions Framework Bills 10. ➢ National Vetting Bureau Bill 11. ➢ National Education Amendment 12. ➢ Education for Persons with Special Needs (EPSN) Bill 13. ➢ Whistle-blower Protection Bill 14. ➢ Local Government Amendment 15. ➢ Campaign Finance Bill 16. ➢ Real Property Tax Amendment 17. ➢ Public Finance Bill (to replace the Ministry of finance Act). 18. ➢ National Culture Act ******* The Path Forward is a 20-year Development plan designed to generate economic growth and to develop sustainable economies in Mayaguna, Inagua, Crooked Island, Acklins, and Long Cay (MICAL). The ideas, initiatives, and programs mentioned in this document were originally written as a guide mapping out an economic development path forward for the southern islands of the Bahamas. By Andy Hanna. Download the full plan here

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