MINISTER with responsibility for sport in the Office of the Prime Minister, Natalie Neita-Headley, says she’s examining the green paper for the revised National Sport Policy which must position the industry as a major income earner for development.

This was revealed in delivering the main address at the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the country’s first international standardised baseball diamond at GC Foster College on Friday.

“I’m now reviewing the green paper for the revised National Sport Policy and you can be assured that our approach to sport as a business will feature prominently in the final version of this document,” she told the audience.

With the country celebrating 50 years of political independence, Neita-Headley said it is important that government makes decisions that will impact positively on present and future generations.

She said the final draft of the document will facilitate economic models for the development of sport in the country, internationally renown for producing some eminent sport icon.

“We are at a critical time in our country’s history and we must be the ones to determine what the next 50 years will look like. My vision is that sport in Jamaica will become a major income earner and will be the glue that binds us together as a people.

“In this regard, our promises must positively influence economic models for the development of sport,” said Neita-Headley, who has been in the job for less than a month.

Since her appointment under the watchful eyes of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, Neita-Headley seems to be clear about where she wants to take an industry that promises much but is yet to reap any substantial benefits.

“I’m very passionate about this area of sport development and all of us in the sport sector must take seriously the role of sport in national development,” she stated.