This 10-Year National Strategic Plan was based on the belief that the Cayman Islands can continue to develop in harmony and prosperity if we implement the recommendations of Vision 2008 according to the principles of balanced growth and integrated policy development.
This National Strategic Plan was created through a strategic planning process. Strategic Planning is a means by which an organization, and in our case, a country, continually recreates itself. This process deals with people and the way they see themselves. It is based on aspirations. It is proactive; it allows us as a people to celebrate our uniqueness and enables us to choose the future we desire. The design of the planning process invited participation and created a climate that produced real change champions. This type of strategic planning is based on our core beliefs and values, the things we, the people of the Cayman Islands hold most dear.
Vision 2008, the planning process which led to the creation of the National Strategic Plan, began in March 1998 with a series of Visioning meetings held with different groups including Executive Council and Members of the Legislative Assembly. District meetings were held in every district and in all three Cayman Islands. The purpose of these meetings, and of the interviews, focus groups and public polling exercise that followed was to identify the people’s key issues of concern. These were the issues that had to be addressed if we were to plan confidently for a bright future.
From the outset, Vision 2008 caught the imagination of the people of the Cayman Islands and beyond. The Vision 2008 Office received many calls, letters and visits, and numerous electronic communications through our web-site. It was very obvious that the people of the Cayman Islands were ready and anxious to take part in the long-term planning necessary to ensure the prosperity and quality of life for which we are known.
In June 1998 a 30-member planning team, which reflected the composition of our community, was appointed, and met for three days. In this first Planning Session, they developed a statement of beliefs, a vision statement for the Cayman Islands, parameters, objectives, and sixteen strategies.
Following a recruitment drive, Round Table leaders were identified and trained in a two day session. Sixteen Round Tables, one for each strategy began meeting in early October. Two hundred and fifty individuals continued to meet in their Round Table groups over the next four months to come up with the action plans required to implement each strategy.
Unfortunately, Vision 2008 was great on paper, but, in practice, it did not accomplish as much as it should have.
Do we need to look forward again and plan the course for these islands for the next twenty years?
Looking around it would appear that we are developing for the benefit of foreign investors. My question therefore, is what do you, the people and citizens of the Cayman Islands want?
- Do you want a more affordable cost of living?
- Do you believe that the government should be building affordable housing for Caymanians?
- Do you want to see the environment protected?
- Do you want your electrical (CUC) bill to be lower?
- Do you find your health insurance very costly?
Democracy & Good Governance 