With the introduction of the fifth D - 'Delivery,' the current administration has apparently correctly identified Local Government as the critical arm that can deliver services more efficiently and more effectively to the people in the villages in particular; the telegraphic method of communication in the era of the SMS fast-track and shorthand method is outdated. Centralisation unmonitored degenerates into over-bureaucratisation where there is no forward movement. You have to run to stay on the same spot.
Political will is absolutely essential in getting things done; in other words, it is the key to revving the engine of the political locomotive. In government you need to identify policy priorities and the financial wherewithal will follow; make up your mind what comes first: the military or the police services? Sporadic Ipelegeng programmes or full employment within a set timeline? Food security or food self-sufficiency? President's jaunty caravan or better public transport infrastructure? Education for all or education for the privileged few? At times it need not be either/or, the alternatives may be both or all vital; for example there is absolutely no reason why foreign investment must always be made to trump domestic investment as appears current government policy; such arrangement encourages a debilitating dependency syndrome. We could take a leaf from a number of countries: Mauritius decided some years after her independence to attain full employment and she has now achieved that. (Full employment in economic terms implies three percent or less of unemployment; Kuwait didn't have to crack her head, the optimal use of her oil resources pointed the way, to the extent that Kuwait has to depend on imported labour because from her own market she cannot cope; Costa Rica weighed perceived national security against education in her development and decided the military could be dispensed with, while she devoted her attention to human capital potential through education; reports are that the Latin American country is prospering as a result of her robust goodwill.
