"Our administration is ready to implement the new wage increase once the federal government has approved it...”
There goes Governor Mimiko at the weekend. Full report here
Good Idea on the face value.
Except that, ground-level economics -I mean the sort we learn in secondary school, and the lesson of history dictates what follows that idea, viz:-
/ Our vulcanisers will be ready to implement new charges for fixing everyone's vehicle tyres, once the government approves that /
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/ Our market-women will be itching to charge more for tomato, rice and Maggi, once the news spreads that government workers has a new wage /
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/ Taxi drivers, Landlords, and possibly fuel-merchants, will implement a double-up on their charges /
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You get the idea.
Or to revert to Albert Einstein:
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
Now, Its fine ambition and sounds pretty good for a responsible government, to seek salary increases for its immediate constituency - its workers.
Where it is wrong, possible un-clever, however, is in its rationalisation as merely to "[ make] workers smile and comfortable.”
It is wrong because, its a strategy that has been proven, time and time again, to only fix the symptoms of an entrenched disease.
Sort of, continued usage of paracetamol in the misplaced hope that Malaria will go away.
Even a non-medical doctor knows that simply delays, or suspends, the presence of pain.
You can smile all you want for six hours or thereabout, but the discomfort is here to stay, so long as that plasmodium infection - the real malaria - flows in the blood stream.
Why is it hard to see, that the promise of smiles and comfort, for the people of Ondo state, lies in the waiting vision of someone to radically approach things differently, by being brave enough to confront the un-asked questions, and honest enough to forgo tested, but failed approaches ?
Here are a few of the glaring propositions:
- - there is a massive belt of fertile land around. Everywhere. Formulate a policy, and translate that into a government supervised food production axis. On a massive, sustainable, and efficient scale.
- - there is a disconnect between the production of food and its distribution, due to government's (and admittedly other influential people) neglect of infrastructure and just how much it can do, to food pricing, just by ensuring a constant stream from the farms, to the kitchen.Ensure all roads leading in and out of major farming regions are properly fixed. Organise private sector, or the Ministry of Agriculture, to syncronise the two endpoints (production, distribution ) in an efficient and serious manner.
- Keep a tab on statistics (of production, of need and capacity) and begin a visionary system of price control at the economic level.
- Ensure the critical mass of the working staff and ministries are keyed on in every facet of governance.
Ultimately, Its a function of seeing the bigger picture. And having the bravery of mind and commitment to approach problem solving from this standpoint.
Alagbaka - and that is inclusive of the totality of the government team - is either being incompetent at solving the problems of Ondo state, or still trapped in the hopeless abyss of electioneering populism.
It may well be another vicious cyle, but four years - the people of Ondo state has proven, is not really that long.
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