Policies before Politics

Creative ideas and policies, to address and to better lifestyles, must be the driving force strengthening any candidate and party messages, to improve local and national politics. A futuristic manifesto, a strategic plan, structured on Human Rights; inclusive of birth and child rights and supported by economic rights. Requiring Lawmakers, elected and selected, to legislate, oversee, investigate and strengthen, constitutional rights, make new laws, rules and regulations, which can be defended. The judiciary elected or appointed to interpret the existing laws, to judge adherence and punish wrong doers of the orders which governs society. And the executive, selected and elected to operate within the existing law, to develop, implement and change public policies. Hence, calling for policies before politics as the nation governmental structure.

Politics of Division

Politicians, accusing each other of bad management or corruption while in office, runs the danger of spreading hate in a once loving society. This Hate and Suspicion, in a struggling economy, can easily trigger social unrest, insurrection and civil war. The population needs leadership, ‘Better not Blame’. Leadership that understands the important issues and listens to all points-of-view, ‘Decide and Do. Implement a strong programme of economic diversification to stop job losses, prevent business closures, and halt declining tax revenues. Negotiate flat or low growth in public expenditure, with workers' unions, to benefit all the people and rebuild the economy. Deliver essential Security, Health and Education services supported by recurrent cost, infrastructure building and maintenance. Manage debt servicing to yield some future savings, and reduce the nation’s total debt, which would be left to the nation’s grand and great grandchildren.

Political Promises

In the first year of a five year political term, celebrating an election victory, rewarding candidates and key supporters with positions of influence; Ministerial Portfolios, Chair of Boards, Directorships and getting down to work. Learning about the true state of affairs from the permanent public officers, historical records, while seeking out corruption done in the last political term under the opposing party is common. Touring development works in progress, finding strategies to gain further political mileage, and identifying good people and companies from within, to do the necessary things that have to be done, while protecting the party image. Noting that, opposition and public criticism generally increases towards the end of the first year.

Government Responsibility

The term “Government” seems to be widely misused, by the media and hence, the population, to refer to various agencies designed and charged to deliver public services. There are only three branches that form a democratic Government; the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. Noting that in some systems, it is difficult to separate an elected servant, who as part of the legislature must speak on behalf of a geographic constituency, from an appointed officeholder, who as part of the executive must oversee the national interest.