Country Strategy

Together, IDB staff and The Bahamas determine how The Bahamas’ priorities coincide with the Bank’s development strategiesfor the region. The product of that process is the IDB country strategy with The Bahamas, containing the Bank’s strategic priorities in The Bahamas for 2010-2014.

Country strategies include an overview of a country’s current economic situation. They draw on analytical work conducted by the Bank and other parties on a wide range of economic and social sectors, such as rural and urban development, health, education, government modernization, transportation, trade, and the environment, among others.

The Bahamas Operational Strategy (2010-2014)

The IDB Country Strategy with The Bahamas (2010-2014), approved in April 2010 (GN-2558), focuses on four priority areas of Bank support:

• Energy
• Water and sanitation
• Transport
• SME Development.

The Strategy supports four country development goals: (i) a financially sustainable electricity sector, diversification of the energy mix, and adoption of policies to promote the use of renewable sources of energy; (ii) a more efficient level of service and coverage of water supply and sanitation systems; (iii) relief from traffic congestion in New Providence, as well as improved inter and intra-island transport services across the archipelago in order to strengthen social and economic linkages and support tourism development; and (iv) to promote institutions that support productive development and to improve government responsiveness to the private sector.

During the CS period, the Bank will determine with GOBH an action plan for transitioning to the use of country systems. The scope of the modernization required, will be assessed in accordance with the PRODEV diagnostic tools, as well as the OECD-DAC benchmarks for procurement and the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) indicators for financial management, which could help measure improvements in the country’s fiduciary systems. Further, through the use of PRODEV technical assistance, the Bank will support the improvement of results-based management programs and strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems.