It takes two hands to clap – Government cannot go it alone
THE Government has been in office now for a mere two months. The previous Government was in place for 23 long years. It is accepted that Opposition parties would criticise the Government, but when a party that just left Government repeatedly criticises the new Government for long-term problems which it failed to solve while in office, the politics is reduced to a farce. There has to be a clear line between constructive criticism, as oversight of Government, and deflection of responsibility for mismanagement while you were in Government. It is not our policy to demonise any of the country’s political parties, but we have to register our displeasure at the PPP’s wanton disregard for political tradition. It has not shown any courtesy to the new Government. It is normal that when a new Government comes to power, the outgoing party allows it some space for settling in. The PPP has not honoured this tradition. Instead, it has been lambasting the Government on issues such as the floods and the persistent high crime rate, while ignoring the fact that these problems were inherited from their Government.
Let us look at the situation with the floods. This is an ongoing problem which the previous government was unable to combat. It is immature politics to blame the government for it.
The source of the problem is partly our natural circumstances and partly human behaviour. Any solution, therefore, has to be based on that premise.
The PPP, while in office, never sought to develop any long-term plan to tackle the problem. If they did, then the new Government would have had something to work with. And the PPP’s criticism would have been the extent to which the new Government has or has not executed the plan.
Flooding is a natural disaster; it affects the country negatively. It has consequences for the economy, for the nation’s health, and for education, to name a few sectors. Commerce slows down; crops are damaged; the risk of water-borne diseases increases; and children can’t go to school. We should not play politics with something of this magnitude.
Even if the PPP does not admit its failure to deal with this problem, it could, at least, commend the Government for its effort at bringing relief to the people. The Government, led by its Minister of Infrastructure, has done a magnificent job in this regard. It’s been many moons ago since we have seen such a proactive approach by government. Until we find a way to overhaul our drainage and irrigation systems, the Government has to be alert and proactive whenever heavy rains arrive.
This business of the Opposition criticising the Government on every issue for the sake of scoring political points must stop. Young people who are seeking to enter politics would think that this is normal politics and emulate it when they get into office. Perhaps the PPP should get into Parliament and use its voice to help the Government navigate some of these problems. After all, Parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle are part of the Government.
