Dr. Tufton Wants Development Bodies Harmonised

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has stressed the need for more collaboration between parish development committees and bodies undertaking national development plans.
Delivering the keynote address, recently, at the 7th National Tree Planting ceremony at the Black River Municipal Park, St. Elizabeth, the Minister noted that without synergies between groups doing development, much of their effort will not meet desired objectives.
“Where you do not have a proper parish development plan, the development that takes place tends to be extremely ad hoc, and there is often abuse of our environment because of a lack of recognition of the importance of environmental order, and limited enforcement of the environmental laws,” he said.
He stated that sustainable development requires that parish development groups have more than just volunteers.
“We must move more toward harmonising our parish development committees’ plans with our national strategic long term plans, and this is going to require greater institutional strengthening of our parish development committees,” Dr. Tufton stated.
He said that a consciousness is needed, in every community, for organised development that will see today’s planning benefiting generations to come.
“We need to see across the island recognition in development plans, where you can build a house, where you can bury someone, because that is going to define for us a more orderly development,” the Minister said.