New epidemic: extension syndrome

If anything stands out as a long-standing problem in law enforcement, it’s the non-enforcement of laws that mandate government agencies to develop plans for the replacement of professional and technical people from without. Regrettably, we have failed in this department with grand consistency. Interestingly, too, we’ve found convenient scapegoats along the way, blaming others for all our inadequacies in perpetuity.

Obviously, we are victims of our own incoherence and gargantuan appetite for mañana and quick-fixes. We lack resolve to establish a planning agency to integrate all programs so we have a coherent glimpse of their requirements, thoroughly thought-out goals, i.e., unified approach in nursing and teacher development programs, among others. This apparent negligence forces us to nurture complacency as to contend with hefty costs associated with hiring more foreign nurses or off-island teachers.

With self-inflicted neglect, we still bluff navigating the treacherous seas of mañana hiding behind laws we’re supposed to follow. We’ve learned and honed the complaint culture as a paper tiger. We preferred expediency or instant gratification over well though-out plans. It’s a microcosm of our tendency for quick-fixes over the more lasting though difficult decisions.

Perhaps this is the reason I love government with a passion and solely because, more often than not, it doesn’t work. Well, take a quick glimpse at all the towering speeches to bring some tangible results addressing and resolving qualitative issues affecting our people. Measure it against all that our politicians have failed to do. Unsettling as it may be, the net result is a big fat zero!

To illustrate a point, CHC still lacks some 60-80 nurses. Our schools suffer the same fate of insufficient teachers. Yet, there’s a policy in our books that affected agencies plan for more nurses, teachers and others. The apparent lack of an integrated plan among agencies translates into the new and often requested excuse known as the “extension syndrome”. Well, agencies had their rude awakening when Speaker Ben Fitial asked for a set of plans to address and resolve this issue.

What does this reveal? The previous leadership had their self-importance up their heads as to completely neglect the task at hand. No wonder proactive members of this community had to nurse frustrations to retain sanity. How appalling the net result of obvious neglect and misinterpretation of the very definition and role or leadership. On a scale of 1-10, most have failed this critical test. And thanks Speaker Fitial for bringing our well paid public agencies back to their senses. Disgusting, isn’t it?

I’ve even gone soul-searching to secure a clear glimpse of all that may have gone wrong in paradise. Indeed, we were derailed by the Asian Crisis and federal agenda to compromise the very essence of the Covenant Agreement. But the greater crisis, no matter how critically it’s dissected, is leadership. The only person who has offered some measure of hope (but often misunderstood too) is Speaker Fitial. He flies alone while the rest take comfort in the company of the flock. No wonder the latter can’t seem to come to grips with proactive measures of substance. It’s trivia from day one!

The House of Representatives has taken the budget review to a more critical level among agencies–a requirement for performance records. This is where transparency illuminates who knows his/her fiduciary responsibility as an agency head. Indeed, this is where accountability is forged among those who have taken a long ride collecting unearned loot from the public coffers. My salute to the House leadership. Let’s get rid of the new epidemic known as the “extension” syndrome. Si Yuus Maase`!