Editorial
Govt celebrates four years
Precious little for nation to rejoice in
The overwhelming reaction to the record of the government over the last four years since it came to power is one of disappointment. The feeling of being let down reflects the enormous gap between the aspirations and hopes that were pinned on a party that had gained a mandate of over two thirds of the seats in parliament and what it has actually achieved in office.Indeed, sometimes it is possible to almost forget the extent of the mandate that swept the current government into power four years ago, such is the controversy in which it has managed to mire itself. Its record is a litany of failure and it has suffered and continues to suffer a serious diminution of authority and credibility as a result, squandering the goodwill of four years ago. To be fair there are some bright spots to the past four years. There has been macroeconomic stability and an increase in foreign investment to boast of. In addition, many social indicators are positive and agricultural output has increased, though these only reflect the pre-existing trends and indeed have little to do with leadership as such. But more salient are the government's many failings, too numerous to mention fully here. Crime is down, but not enough, and the means by which this has been achieved have been reprehensible. In any event, the government's inability to get to the bottom of the spate of terrorist attacks that the nation has suffered means that security of person and property is lower than ever. On the political plane we have seen what can only be termed as abuse of majority status and the arrogance of power that has hijacked the space for democratic opposition. It should be pointed out that the government's failings would have been even more pronounced had they not been matched by the shortcomings of the opposition. The political culture of the country continues to deteriorate. The government remains blatantly insensitive to the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. Foreign policy has been directionless as we have offended more countries than we have befriended. Even the much hyped Look East policy has proven to be more words than action. Corruption has reached unprecedented levels under the current administration, and encompasses ministers, the PMO, and the families of the powerful. In this respect, we must mention with dismay the rise of an alternative power centre that has emerged as the epicentre of corruption. Given this background, we are bound to state that the only redemption for the government and indeed the country is a firm commitment to free and fair elections. Such commitment to the democratic process would go a long way towards redeeming the credibility of the government and restoring its prestige in the eyes of the public, but it must be admitted that the early indications in this respect have not been encouraging.
| 
