Often I wonder if the word ‘consultation’ exists – like hearing a different point of view or seeing things from a different prospective. I say so because a lot of decisions made by the authorities seem disjointed or not property thought out.
Take the situation of our educational system these days, it’s about starting and stopping, opening and closing and not planning the way forward objectively.
Considering the advent of COVID-19, and the challenges it poses. I would have thought that the Minister and Ministry of Education and by extension the government would bring all stakeholders together at one table to a general consultation to determine the way forward.
I refer to such parties like the teachers union, the principals association (if there is one), representatives of the various students body, school masters of all forms of schooling, including pre-schools, the telecommunications institutions, transportation sector, etc. — all in an effort to determine what strategies can be employed, especially when it comes to online learning, safety of transportation to schools, school settings and exams.
But it seems that the authorities seem to think that they have all the answers and do a butchered job at dealing with the problem.
The same is with Law and Order, as the police believe that changing the head of the department or having more arrests will make a change or a dent in crime, not realizing is the whole system of policing that has to change.
The same can be said about several sectors in the government: agriculture is at a standstill. The fishing industry has taken ten steps backward. The so-called ‘cluster’ concept in government is questionable and climate change issues are handled halfway.
It is like the top operates in a vacuum and cares not of the effects of their actions on the general public or its citizens.
A lot of bad planning Is done, unjustified actions are sometimes taken, justice seems not to exist, monies are wasted on a lot of none essentials and a lots of policy decisions are not in- keeping with growth.
There is a lack of genuine planning, lack of direction, lack of vision and lack of unity.
Some have it good — their bread well buttered — while some have trouble in finding the bread to eat, far less the butter.
We get promises and more promises of all types, yet the progress that we continue to hear about doesn’t seem to manifest in real time or reality. We change heads, we change political parties, we create projects and build institutions, we sell large chunks of land hoping for great returns, yet at the end of all these efforts and political conditions nothing changes and we are still at a standstill.
We as a country were supposed to have gotten plenty of gain from the selling of our passports, but to date no rewards seem to be worth mentioning. We borrow for every plan conceived, but it takes years to see some projects completed — such as our Southern hospital and the international airport. We were told about the building and completion of a meat processing plant, still no sign of it. We are promised jobs upon jobs with every new government, but to date only call centers that satisfy the needs of a few.
I suppose the planners plan but the results and the benefits are far from realization, so what do we do next is the question all of us must ask ourselves.
There is a lot of painting going on, a lot of plaster on old sores, a whole lot of protocol and plenty of ‘consultations’ without consulting, but construction is at its peak. Yet, while some of us talk about all the progress and the clear signs of a beautiful future of our country and its people, I look around me and I end-up telling myself ‘I must be blind…’ because, no matter how hard I try, I am just seeing it.