Davao businessmen must work on long-term development plan

A Davao City business leader has urged the business sector in Davao to work on a long-term plan that will hopefully serve as a development template for the next political administration.
Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industries Incorporated (DCCCII) President Simeon Marfori II said that local business stakeholders must plan now rather than waiting for the coming political leaders to impose their own plans.
He said the revived Davao Regional Business Conference (DRBC) which is one of the main activities of the Davao Trade Expo 2009, will gather business stakeholders from all over Davao region to map out a unified concerted strategy for the business in the region.
Marfori said the conference will consider pressing issues like climate change and the entry of new political leaders with the advent of the 2010 national and local elections.
Marfori said that region’s businessmen must consider that the Medium Term Development Program is ending in 2010 and another MTDP will also be drafted by the coming administration. He said that planning must come from the ground and not from the outside particularly in Manila .
He said that what the region needs is a long-term development plan and not just a MTDP. “We cannot just start from scratch whenever we have a new President.” Marfori said.
Marfori said that one of the local blueprint is the complementation of regions particularly in attracting investments as they noticed that some cities are fighting over same industry types particularly in the field of Business Process Outsourcing.
Another concern is climate change, as he said that the effect of global weather patterns attributed to climate change has been felt in Mindanao . Marfori said that the clamor for attention in the environment will not end in the efforts of the Government and Non-Government Organizations alone but it must also involve the business sector.
The DCCCII prexy said that these changes must serve as opportunities in taking back the initiatives to the local level. Marfori said that local stakeholders must determine to the large extent its own destiny.