If I become the president....

Day 1,272, 22:06 • Published in India India • by Asmitatheone

Well no!!!! this is not a Manifesto! And no, I have no intentions of running for the prez next term....
This is more of that essay that we all used to write as a student. I guess we all have. And we have invariably wrote about the burning problems that we will solve. We have written about the goals we will reach. I have found the manifestos(whatever few I have seen) of our Govt the same. Slightly juvenile.....(pardon me, no disrespect intended)....

Why do I say that?? Because we have always said in those essays what we would do, but never, how shall we do it?
I find the same in this eIndia. The usual targets/goals are to get a few more regions in control, add to the population, increase the GDP..... But hey!! How will you do it? Lets hear that plan.

I believe we all understand that we are a small country(by population) and the national focus and goals are few and unanimously accepted in spite of the 2 party system. So lets chart them down and let whichever president we elect try to achieve them, and let us citizens know how he intends to do it. I guess that is important.

Next, The Cabinet. The president selects it. It is indeed wonderful to see in this country they take cabinet members from across the party line. This shows the unity of the country, and I am proud to be a part of it.
But what I find lacking in my brief stint as a Deputy Minister, the serious lack of communication(if this was an exception, pardon me).
My personal take on this is that there should be a few more platforms to address questions and issues.

First, the parties should have internal forums. A forum where the party members can all put in their ideas, question their leaders about their actions or lack thereof. There should also weekly meets on the IRC where we all can meet together and sort out ideas. The agenda should be decided before hand. The complete co-ordination should be the party president's work. (The party president should be made to work more!! 😛)

Second, there should be a forum where citizens(opposition party) can question the Govt functions and actions or lack there of. There would be questions which will need to be answered by the respective ministers and sometimes by the President himself. Again, there could be a couple or hours every week or everyday when the Government will be available on IRC(prearranged time declared) to answer questions from anybody. It might be better to have an agenda again for this meet. And maybe we should have the VP work on this.

Third, the President and the cabinet ministers should let the IRC and the forum know when they will be available. They are elected to serve the nation, and should be available. I know everyone have their own Real Lives, but since they come to play everyday, they should find time to interact with people. Maybe not everyday, but at least every week. The ministers should have their own channel where they will be available during a certain time. If they are unable to attend, the deputies should be there to answer the question. The ministerial channel should always show when the ministers would be available next. And of course, the forum is there to field the questions.

Fourth, this is more of a question....does the cabinet meet?? Do they discuss on the policies. Do they collectively take a call on the issues at hand?(haven't seen that happen during my brief stint) Again, something they should do regularly. Maybe all the cabinet member will not be able to attend everyday/every-time, but there should be a plan to meet.

Fifth, I wonder how many of the citizens know who the ministers are. The forum of the current govt should have the ministers listed and their profile links mentioned. Same for the ministerial channels.

I will sign off with these 5 points for the time being, before the article gets too long and boring for you to continue. I know of people who never complete article 😉

But before I sign off, there comes the most important issue. Why should I do it? I mean the president and cabinet should ask. To spend so much time, what is the motivation of the cabinet and the president?
Therefore, I would suggest some benefits for the Govt Officials. Maybe free food, some gold every week. Something worthwhile, to make people want to be a part of government. To strive to be a cabinet member. I think to get active work out of the ambassadors too we need to pay them. Only when they are paid, can/should they be questioned about their work and role in the Govt.

Keep watching this space for more on this topic!

God bless you all!