The 12-point resolution that the business sector unanimously approved during the recently concluded Mindanao Business Conference in General Santos City indicates that the sector will always be an active partner of the government in developing Mindanao.
ICT as development agent
Truly believing that information and communications technology (ICT) is a catalyst for development, the business sector believes that it is an essential part of the overall roadmap for the island and that sufficient infrastructure facilities must be laid out for connectivity to be enhanced.
In this modern world, connectivity is as important as physical infrastructure because it allows real time interaction between and among players of a certain sector and even between the producer and the market. It has tremendously shrunk the world to just about a line between two people, even if the distance is between the north and south poles.
The cities of Davao, General Santos, Cagayan and Zamboanga are all poised to become the ICT hubs of Mindanao. These are the areas where connectivity is present along with a rich source of human capital to support ICT developments.
Power, power
Another major issue that the business sector raised during the event was finding ways to ensure sufficient and steady power supply in Mindanao.
Reliable power supply will not only lure more investments to the island, but also sustain growth.
It is not only necessary for government to ensure that power investments are placed in areas where needed most (in case of Mindanao it is in the southern part which consumes nearly one-half of the power produced in the island), it is also very important that power is brought to all the points, particularly to areas where development is slow.
We must remember that reliable power, like infrastructure facilities such as roads, is a key to development.
And according to the analysis of government agencies, like the National Power Corp. and the National Transmission Corp., Mindanao will run out of power within the next three years unless major decisions are made today.
It is good that the national government decided to set up the transmission line that will bring the excess power supply produced in the northern part of Mindanao, particularly from the 200-megawatt coal-fired plant in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, to the rest of the Mindanao grid.
But it is also necessary that new power plants are built in areas where they are needed. But this can only be done if investments in the sector get the much-needed support from government policy-makers.
Efficient shipping services
Considering that Mindanao is a known producer of agricultural products, it is also important to find ways to bring these to the markets in easier and cheaper ways. It is currently more expensive to bring goods from Mindanao to Manila than to send them abroad.
This only shows two things, good port handling facilities are absent and that freight rates are also higher in the domestic shipping sector.
There have been so many attempts to persuade both the government and the industry to find common ground, both in reducing shipping rates and improving port handling facilities. These moves must be realized soon. Otherwise, business will continue to languish and development will not take off.