Good governance perspectives
- Imphal Times Editorial :: July 28 2017 -

Man, having the ability to judge and to arrange for alternatives, have taken the shortest road to development and progress.

The unique gift of mental superiority over every living creature on the planet is what enables him to dominate and distinguish himself from every other creature inspite of the frailties and physical shortcomings.

We take pride, and rightly so, in the fact that we can, and are still pushing ourselves to overcome the physical and mental restraints and limits.

Yet ever so often, there comes a time when the collective conscience of a society seems to stop working, taken over by the wave of opinions and mob behavior.

One such instance is the period running up to elections for choosing our representatives to the government.

In fact, at present, the state is witnessing an increasing undeclared war of words with various political bigwigs starting to warm up with insinuations and counter blames for the state of affairs of the society, while highlighting their trumped up ideologies and deceptively believable assurances of progress and development.

It seems unlikely that most of these old players remember being in the driving seat once, but with the absence of the foresight and impetus to carry out the promises they are doling out now.

Given the fact that there is a constraint of resources, both financial and infrastructure with the state government, it is of great concern when the people in power are still hell-bent on pilfering these limited resources for themselves without the least consideration or remorse, leading the public to start questioning the motive and the seemingly earnest efforts of the government to develop the state which is evidently enjoying certain perks and assistances from the central Government due to its underdeveloped status.

The state is yet to see a radical change in the system of governance with emphasis on transparency and efficiency.

The various promises and agendas which were pushed on the face of the public during the election campaigns have been shelved for good, until the next one.

On the other hand, a majority of us have cheapened ourselves by offering up our suffrage to the highest bidder.

To cover up its shortcomings and deficiencies behind the excuse of a less than perfect world is nothing short of shirking its responsibility and a ploy to steal the riches and benefits meant for the public.

What the public wants is a government that has the gumption to take calculated risks and pave new ways to initiate development and accelerate progress, one which can translate the aspirations of the people into concrete works and utilize the available resources efficiently.

A Government more accessible to the common man which can expedite its development activities and which can effectively control and motivate its employees will surely win favors from the public.

The present Government should realize that the increasingly informed public is getting restive for change and growth, and only those who have shown to deliver on their promises will endure.

“To follow imperfect, uncertain, or corrupted traditions, in order to avoid erring in our own judgment, is but to exchange one danger for another”- Richard Whately, English rhetorician, logician, economist, and theologian.