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ONE YEAR LATER

Sep 16, 2016 Editorial, Features / Columnists

After one year in office, there has not been much movement on many issues by the government on the fundamental issues facing the economy: development, earnings and diversification; a neglect the government could deeply regret.
The government’s political space is diminishing due in part to the drug bond scandal, its failure to fulfill most of its promises and the increase in salary given to ministers. There is discontent, among the youths. The clock is ticking on the government. It must match words with action, diversify the economy, create jobs and improve the lives of the masses. These are perhaps the most pressing issues facing the nation.
The country is at a critical juncture. Its success is crucial for its development. The country could be in serious crisis if there is no improvement in the economy, education, health care and the social services or in job creation.
The government’s second year must be decidedly different from the first in order to regain the confidence of the people. It must be transparent and accountable for its actions. At this juncture, emphasis must be placed on evaluating how well the government has performed during the past year. This is legitimate as evaluation is a precursor to accountability.
The consensus is that very little change has taken place. Progress will be achieved if the government embarks on a comprehensive plan/strategy to develop the economy; create jobs; improve education and health care; reduce crime and stamp out corruption.
The government cannot solve these problems alone. It must have the support of the people, opposition, civil society and stakeholders. Implicit in this is the need for the government to communicate more effectively so that its policies are understood by all. Communication is important.
The first year of the current administration has seen the cabinet spend a great deal of time focusing on the corrupt and illegal practices of the former administration. Such an approach is only natural because the government has inherited several problems from the previous government that demand immediate results.
That said, after one year in office, the government cannot continue to blame the last administration for the country’s problems; it must now accept responsibility for them.
Crime has to be contained. The government has to place less emphasis on whether serious crime is down or not and more on developing an anti-crime strategy to stem the stream of armed robberies and murders that continue to make the people feel unsafe.
The general election is long over, but the current economic conditions, high unemployment among youths, poor health conditions and a failing public education system, particularly in math and the hard sciences have meant that the country is in rough waters.
It means that cuts in spending on some social programmes will have to be made in order to reduce the nation’s expenditure on imports and to bridge the deficit gap in trade.
That there are no new revenue streams to offset the deficit is very alarming. This situation is further accentuated by the recent borrowings by the government which could increase the cost to service the national debt.
After one year in office, many felt that the government has created a bed of thorns for the nation and the next administration. Will the government bite the bullet and create jobs and improve the economy and the lives of the people?

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1 thoughts on “ONE YEAR LATER”

  1. bl_666

    I really love these little ‘spot the deliberate mistake’ which you throw in from time to time:
    ” its failure to fulfill most of its promises”
    instead of:
    ” its failure to fulfill any of its promises”

Comments are closed.

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