[Boh4PM] Community is Key - Domestics

Day 2,048, 14:35 • Published in United Kingdom United Kingdom • by Bohemond4

Dear friends, readers, Waynekerr and the eUK,

I have announced elsewhere my candidacy for this month's Presidential, or as we like to call it, Prime Ministerial election. I also recently enacted a survey in which I had a number of responses, mostly about the government. One of the interesting things about survey’s, especially when you have been a part of a government, is that the answers you get are not always the answers you would like to see.


Bohemond4 throws down the gauntlet

However, enough about that, lets get down to what you all really want to rea😛 my policies. So, lets get started, shall, we on covering the Domestics of a Boh Government, namely Home Affairs and Health.

Home Affairs
Home Affairs has always been one of the Ministries that explodes with Ministers and under-Ministers. This is, in a large part, due to the nature of the beast as it should, in theory, deal with the domestics of the eUK. In the survey I asked on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, how well they thought this Ministry had done. Worryingly, over 50 % chose 3 indicating an ambivalence to this Ministry. I intend to raise people’s support in the Ministry.

So what am I offering in terms of Home Affairs? For starters, a streamlined cabinet by having only one Minister to oversee and organise the entire Ministry. Under this Minister there will be several under-Ministers each with a specific job: Communication, Entertainment and Education.

The Minister will organise a schedule for the Ministries various tasks to be completed by covering the entire month and they will be responsible for working towards completing this goal and ensuring their under-Ministers reach their targets.

Education
Education has been lacking overall this month in terms of guides and articles, I found these incredibly useful for many things when I started, including the history articles of the eUK. They exists to help new citizens learn how to play the game and provide them with tips.

Another aspect of Education is a lack of any consolidation in-game of links to articles that educate young citizens to play the game. Under a Boh Government we will work to collate a list of links to great educational articles meaning that they do not get lost in the sands of time but are available to future young citizens. This can, then, be passed on from government to government, article to article.

To expect:
- Guides
- Histories
- Collation

Communication
I have said elsewhere that community is the key to retention in this game, and, the essential element of a community is communication. This last month we have seen an increase in messaging to all members of the eUK, but this has not been enough as evidenced in the decline in number of active voters come Congressional elections. I want to see this continue and increase encouraging people to take part in discussions and to join the main community building centres, our forums and, fundamentally, IRC.

The under-Minister will be responsible with their team to send messages regularly to citizens with updates and, importantly, surveys to take the mood of the nation throughout my term.



In the recent media and my own survey there has been a criticism of governments not doing quite enough to keep the people up to date. I intend to increase the amount of material and explanations available to the eUK ranging from my personal update article series, what I shall be terming ‘The View From Number 10’ through the constant updates of the Ministry of Defence and increasing the amount of information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But more of these areas later.

In summary, then, communication will see:
- messages to the people
- aiming to increase IRC and Forum use
- regular Ministerial articles
- ‘The View From Number 10’

Entertainment
Another area that the Ministry of Home Affairs has been expanding into through the last few and something I, personally, was pleased to see continue is that of entertainment. I believe that the government should be sponsoring not merely education of citizens and communicating with them but should also seek to work with them through providing games.



As you can see, the largest percentage of those taking my survey fully back the continuation of these games and events even on the forums. My government will continue to back their implementation. I personally believe that they help generate community atmosphere, I recall the successes of Forum Mafia during my tenure as Minister of Home Affairs in April and this will be one game I will see returned.

Ministry of Health
The Ministry of Health has, overall, been run fairly smoothly taking charge of the NHS during the last eight months. The NHS as we all know is a citizen sponsored initiative propped up by donations. In terms of changes, this initiative will not alter as it is a valuable system.

What will be introduced, then, if this remains the same? Simple: Training Ground Loans and regular updates.

Loans - I believe, as do many, that we should be offering loans and loans that actually help and are realistic. How the process will work is simple, on the 7th I will release my first The View From Number 10 in which I will detail the requirements, not major, in order to apply for a loan. We shall then approach and contact them individually and work out an individual loan based on their status, financial position and current Training Ground levels. This will need to be repaid on an agreed time frame with the citizens signing an agreement which I shall pass on to whoever my successor is. The amount paid and the date due will be logged and recorded, all of which I shall open up to the people to peruse.

Now, the potential criteria and if we actually award these loans will be based on the following variables: age, current strength, levels of Training Grounds and financial ability. Those better able to gain strength or with higher finances will be less likely to gain funds, those without the ability to expand their strength as quickly will receive first priority. There is a finite amount of gold I can put aside to this, not everyone can be funded, but those with the need will get it.

Parliament/Congress
There has been recent debate raised as to the role and capability of Parliament, including the elections and role of the Speaker of the House. Personally, I believe that Parliament should appoint their own speaker from their own members and that the current legislation is fine as it is, bar a minor tweak here and there. However, I also respect and recognise the separation of Congress from the Executive. Should the eUK elect me, I will be asking Congress to take the time to review what they want their role to be and how the speaker to be elected.



So eUK, lets move forward together into a brighter future, so vote Bohemond44CP on the 5th July. For a government that values integrity, honesty, transparency.

Cheers
Bohemond4
Viscount of Cambridge; Prime Ministerial Candidate