It is a widely accepted fact that ANY addiction is not a healthy state of being.
That being the case we accept that such afflictions as drug addiction, alcohol addiction, smoking addiction, betel-nut addiction, among many others, are not only detrimental to our health, leading to chronic illness and disease, which results, ultimately, in a very unpleasant and lingering death for the unfortunate addicted person.
There is also much evidence to support the statement that, virtually, every thinking adult acknowledges that these addictions are unhealthy and thus, most parents try and advise their children to avoid such unhealthy and poisonous lifestyle choices.
Sadly, in addition to the above, the Solomon Islands, as a nation, is suffering from another fatal addiction that will result in a lingering illness leading to the very unpleasant death of civil society, in the form of another civil war.
Over the past twenty years the Solomon Islands has been engulfed by the fatal repetition of Election Addiction whereby the nation persistently returns the same politicians, who have proved themselves utterly poisonous to the health of the nation.
Just like the drug addict who knows that what he/she is doing is detrimental to their own health they seem incapable of changing their behaviour, as the addiction is simply too strong.
The result is that the election process simply returns the same failed politicians to carry out the same failed policies disguised under the cloak of grandiose but hollow rhetoric that is simply designed to allow them to scam their fellow citizens for yet another three years. How true it is of every elected government that the glow of election victory and hope so quickly turns into national dismay when reality quickly bites, as, once again, Solomon islanders realise that they have, again, been fooled by these “big men” …aka “con-men.”
The lure of the bribe, the opportunity to scam the nation and the allure of power have fundamentally changed the Parliamentary motto from “To Lead is to Serve” to the mantra of the political addict…. “Money for Nothing”
When we realise we have a medical problem that, despite our best endeavours, proves impossible to address, we turn to a doctor to firstly, diagnose the problem by examining the patient and symptoms, identify the problems, inform the patient, prescribe the medicine and monitor the healing. We call this process “medical intervention”
However, when the patient seeks the help of the doctor then ignores the remedy but pretends to comply with the prescription, the problem only worsens.
For the past 13 years this is exactly what the various governments have studiously adhered to. Firstly they looked with dismay upon the outbreak of the civil war that disrupted “business as usual” and turned over the business of scamming the nation to the militants.
Realising this unsatisfactory state of affairs, that they alone had created, but had lost control of, they sought the help of the doctor, in this case.. Australia/RAMSI, to provide the necessary intervention.
They, the politicians, then took a back seat and waited while RAMSI did the “dirty” work of disarming the combatants and providing essential law and order throughout the country.
Meanwhile the politicians pretended to be compliant and grateful until they, once again, got their hands on the reins of government and the nation’s empty money box..that was quickly filled up with aid money.
They listened to the diagnosis of RAMSI, agreed with the “condition” of the nation and the remedy required to return the nation to a peaceful state.
Sadly, RAMSI, imbued with political correctness allowed the “patient’ to not only administer the remedies but also to address the underlying symptoms with the medicine of “aid’ in the form of money and advisors.
The Australian High Commission referred to this as “institutional strengthening”..Cynics referred to this as ‘walking against a brick wall” thus ensuring that that change became impossible due to the constrictions placed upon advisors within their scope of their job description.
The methodology of delivering peace and prosperity to the nation was left, completely, to an unfretted parliament whose public agenda was widely promoted as being designed to address all the wounds of the civil war and create the basis for developing the country to allow civil society to underpin the steady redevelopment of the country.
For the past thirteen years successive governments have ensured that they paid their sponsors, ex-militants, with so-called compensation, that once spent, saw the same militants, year after year, demand yet more “compensation’ for the trauma they caused the nation….just like an addict requires more and more of his drug of choice…in this case..money.
No government in the past 13 years has been able to withstand the implied threats of ex-militants so they simply pay-off the extortionists and hope there is enough money left over for themselves,…just like the militants.they have abandoned the Parliamentary motto for the more personal allure of..”Money for Nothing”!!
As each election approaches this same actor’s line up for selection again. Their award-winning performances before a gullible public along with election “incentives” ensure and guarantee that the same type of people, with the same hidden agenda, are returned to continue the hard work of enriching themselves…No one doubts their work ethic,, they demonstrably work very hard while they are in parliament … because they may only have three years to enrich themselves.
Last week I presented a review of the “State of the Nation”….. Did you read it?, Did you disagree with anything in the review?
For those who did not read the review, this is what successive governments, along with a tired and political correct RAMSI have delivered to the people of the Solomon Islands..
Reviewing the State of the Nation after 13 years of RAMSI
1. Crime ……. Increasing
2. Power supply…. worse than before with blackouts every day
3. NRH… no change.. still the worst in the Pacific
4. Water supply….. unreliable and in places non-existent
5. Schools… struggling
6. Police… demoralised and ineffective
7. Public Service…. demoralised and inefficient
8. Airports… no change.. still primitive
9. Honiara harbour… no change.. totally inadequate
10. Roads…shocking with little maintenance
11. Employment prospects…. Virtually nil
12. Youth unemployment.. record high levels
13. Fire service… virtually non-existent
14. Ambulance…..virtually non-existent
15. Bridges, wharves and other infrastructure… totally neglected
16. Illegal squatting.. rampant with police and land owners powerless
17. Domestic violence.. widespread with no facilities to assist victims
18. Commercial investment.. dismal
19. Quality of life… very very low
20. Future prospects….. MORE OF THE SAME.
John F.Kennedy, a former President of the United States, served as a PT boat commander in the Solomon’s during the World War Two.
He is famous for escaping from personal disaster in Gizo, leading his men to safety against enormous odds, armed only with his courage and his conviction, leading through example.
He became the leader of his country before succumbing to an assassin’s bullet. He famously uttered an admonition to his country that can well serve the Solomon Islands today and in the future when he said “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”
The journey to health and prosperity for the Solomon Islands is indeed a long one, but to succeed, collectively, we must begin this journey by taking those first faltering steps that we all realise, in our hearts,, we must find the courage to take.
“By their deeds ye shall know them’ states the bible, why then do we, as a god-fearing nation ,continue to listen to the grand Churchillian speeches of these so-called leaders, both in parliament and on the election trail, that result in nothing for the nation, year after year after year.
Hundreds of years ago the famous playwright William Shakespeare stated, through his character King Lear,..”Nothing will come of nothing..speak again!!”
So the choice is yours and the future of this beautiful country is really in your hands..Will you do nothing or will you begin this “journey of a thousand miles’ by taking that first bold step and start talking about “your country”. It is your birthright to have a future for your children, it is your birthright to have good health and education and it is your birthright to have a clear pathway towards a better future.
Don’t listen to those who you know have disenfranchised you from reaching your potential and who have robbed your children of their future. You know in your heart right from wrong, you know in your mind where the truth lies and you know in your consciousness where your duty lies to yourself, your children, your family and your nation…”Nothing will come of nothing..speak again”… take back your country from those who have betrayed you.. Your choice is as crystal clear as the sparkling blue waters of our beautiful country…I leave the final words of this article to John F Kennedy..”Ask not what your country can do for.you… ask only what you can do for your country”.
By Dr Den T Firma
