Time to get to work

Tuesday, 8 September 2015 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

NOW that the electoral dust has finally settled and there is some clarity in the country’s political atmosphere, it is time for those who came in to power to walk the talk. Promises that were made in the run-up to the polls must be kept if the newly-formed National Unity Government is to last its rightful five years without earning the wrath of the public.

Experts have already expressed hope that the country’s economy should continue to thrive, provided the United National Front (UNF)-led Government succeeds in implementing its stated policy on economic, education and infrastructure fronts.

A leading stockbrokers firm predicted last week that despite the equity market being volatile due to raised expectations following the change in leadership earlier this year, over the next few years, with managed expectations and some sound corporate investment coupled with the advent of proper Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), things will start to look up for the country. This is, of course, assuming that those in charge keep their word. More often than not, voters have had to shake their heads in dismay as successive governments failed to deliver on their promises for reasons including but not limited to their hilariously unrealistic nature.

However, one would hope that things have changed for the better this time around, as people have become increasingly wary of politicians promising them the moon and the stars and everything in between and parties opting for a more grounded approach to their election manifestos. The UNF’s Five Point Plan, in particular, has some realistically achievable targets that, if met successfully (and ruling out any unforeseeable political upheavals in the near future), should change things around for a country that is well on its way to an acceptable level of socioeconomic prosperity.

The experts seem to concur. Built on top of the foundation of infrastructure that the previous Government had succeeded in laying while boosting certain industries such as tourism which had potential for growth (in the process reaching the much publicised 7% GDP growth), economists point out the new Government can further develop the country in three critical areas: economic development, infrastructure and education.

These include the continuation of the Outer Circular Road and Central Highway development projects and the proposed Megapolis converting a large chunk of the Western Province to a giant metropolitan city. Allocating 6% of the country’s GDP for education is also of vital importance, say experts, in that it would help the country develop a skilled labour force, especially in the BPO and KPO sectors, encouraging more FDIs to come into the country.

The 45 mega zones on financial services, IT and agriculture, as envisaged in the Five Point Plan, could also help increase living standards of ordinary citizens, ideally leading to an increase in disposable income.

Once again, all this is on the presumption that the Government is actually successful in implementing these policies. The previous regime, for all its flaws, managed to maintain the growth rate at a respectable level and lay the groundwork necessary for large-scale development. It is hoped that the new Government continues to improve on this trend and take the country forward.