BEING honest is most frequently referred to as being truthful and when one professes to be honest we offer them trust and respect. But I ask — based on the reality of today: Can we really say that all governments have always been honest with us?
You have heard time and again how ‘the government’ (inclusive of the police) is doing all that it can to arrest the crime problem. But have we seen the results?
Since the installation of the present government, for example, they have made several pronouncements about: having a new DPP, having the Forensic Lab functional, having surveillance cameras in every nook, enrollment of more than a hundred new cops on the road, giving more vehicles to the police, reopening cold cases, dealing with the IMPACS report, having a separate investigating team to deal with police crimes — and yet, after all these measures are supposed to be in place, the crime situation worsens.
Another frequent pronouncement is the creation of jobs for a population of about 180,000 and growing; we see less than 500 jobs a year, even though there are about 3,000 school-leavers each year and another 200 just graduated from university and are looking to eek-out a living.
Don’t talk about housing and agriculture, sports and culture and educational reform: every day is another promise, with little fulfillment. Some people are being deceitful while professing to be honest. No consultation with the people who really matter, no picking the brains of those who preceded us as statesmen, local consultants do not count, yet all of us are affected by the stagnancy created.
I am not saying that the other side will or can do better, but rather that the honesty proclaimed by governments seems to always turn out to be a bluff.
Frequently, they tell us what they know we would like to hear or know, but the results are not usually forthcoming and they always ask for more time to fulfill their futuristic plans.
But do we really need to be lied to or simply not told the truth? Is it a situation that we can’t accept the truth? Is it about sowing seeds of discontent? Are some afraid of losing their grip on power because of the disappointment of not delivering?
I think if we paint a true picture of how things truly are, the population may come to the realization of our true situation and may venture to fix things. Fraudulent measures can only lead to demise.
And it’s always good to remember Bob Marley’s warning that: ‘You can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.’ That’s because, more and more people are coming out openly and saying ‘Now we see the light!’