Blueprint promises can be fulfilled -- Pearman
Government Plan, says Deputy Premier the Hon. J. Irving Pearman.
Mr. Pearman, who is chairing a Cabinet committee charged with implementing the plan, said he believed all 110 Blueprint promises could be fulfilled in the life of the present Government.
But he warned the Government Plan was not etched in stone. "It's a commitment from the Government,'' but as plans were implemented, they could be modified.
"They may be enhanced or reduced,'' he said.
Mr. Pearman, who is also Minister of Labour and Immigration, agreed a drain on Government revenues as a result of the closure of the US Naval Air Station could affect the plan's implementation.
"Something may come along that affects your priorities,'' he said. The Base is scheduled to close in September of 1995, and it is estimated that assuming Civil Air Terminal operations could cost Bermuda millions of dollars annually.
Government is negotiating shared costs and has yet to say what the closure will cost.
Mr. Pearman said the plan, while "a challenge,'' was achievable. It includes no huge new capital projects, like a new prison, or a waste incinerator.
But some promises, like completion of the capital-intensive education reforms, will be costly.
The committee had not yet formally met, but would meet within two weeks "to lay out the approach for the respective Ministries,'' Mr. Pearman said. "I'm just structuring it now in terms of how we're going to operate and function.'' Blueprint promises include a halfway house for released prisoners, more housing for seniors, a facility to promote and celebrate Bermuda's culture and history, and a lowering of the age of majority to 18.