INCREASING THE VALUE OF THE CITIZENS THROUGH SOCIAL PROJECTS.
1. Education.
The question we need to answer now is “How can a competent and reliable country or the government increase the value of its intangible assets i.e. its citizens? By making them “more knowledgeable.” But how can a competent and reliable government make its citizens more knowledgeable? Before answering this question, we need to answer another question. Why does the government need to make its citizens knowledgeable? Because “Knowledge is Power!” The more knowledgeable a citizen, the more productive he is going to be to his country and himself. And the more productive a citizen is, the richer his country. Obviously, it’s a win-win relationship between the state and the citizen. Now, let us go back to our unanswered question. How can the government make its citizens more knowledgeable? By investing heavily in their education from tertiary to university level. What does investing heavily in education involve? Investing heavily in education involve the following:
a. Giving access to as many of its citizens as possible by building as many schools and universities as possible;
b. Equipping old and new schools and universities with modern teaching facilities;
c. Building modern libraries in schools and universities;
d. Paying teachers and lecturers very good salaries in order to keep them and attract more of them with modern;
e. Making education free or affordable to all its citizens.
2. Health Care Programs.
How else can the government increase the value of its citizens? By investing heavily in his health. But why does a competent and reliable government need to invest heavily in the health of its citizens? Because “Health is wealth!” Investing heavily in the health of the citizen make him healthier, and get sick less. And the healthier the citizens, the longer they live. The longer well educated or knowledgeable citizens live, the more productive they are. And the more productive the citizens, the richer the citizens and the government. Another “win-win” relationship between the citizens and a responsible and competent government.
But how can the government make his citizens healthier? By investing heavily in health care programs. What does investing heavily in medical care programs involve? It involves the following:
a. Making sure that as many as possible of its citizens have access to medical care programs by building hospitals all over the country;
b. Equipping all the hospitals with modern medical equipments in order to allow medical personnel carry out their work impeccably;
c. Supplying all the hospitals with drugs;
d. Designing efficient medical insurance programmes that will make medical services affordable or absolutely free for its citizens;
e. Paying medical personnel very good salaries in order to keep them and attract more.
3. Protection of lives and properties.
As was pointed out earlier in this article, one of the main responsibilities of a responsible and competent government is the protection of lives and properties of its citizens. Why does the government need to protect the lives and properties of its citizens? Because the longer the citizens live, the more productive they are. And the more productive the citizens, the richer they and the government respectively. In addition, it’s the obligation of the government to protect the properties of its citizens acquired from their sweat.
Citizens look upon the government to defend them, maintain law and other in general. Without law and order, anarchy reigns. Breakdown of law and other is not desirable by the government and its citizens because in such a situation, it’s impossible both for the citizens and government to operate optimally or go about their respective businesses. perform. In other words, chaos deprive the citizens the ability to maximize their productivity or output. If the citizens are unable to maximize their productivity, both the citizens and the government get poorer, which undoubtedly is undesirable.
There is also a psychological aspect to this issue. By investing heavily in law and order, which obviously include the protection of lives and properties of its citizens, the government is sending a “strong and pleasant psychological message” to its citizens that their lives and properties are not worthless but are instead invaluable to it. It’s a way of telling its citizens that it cares. Undoubtedly, this not only solidifies the bond or emotional attachment between the citizens and its government but also raises the level of patriotism between the two.
Therefore, both the government and the citizens are both interested in maintaining law and order. How can the government maintain law and order? By investing heavily in security. What does investing heavily in security involve? Investing heavily in security include:
a. Organizing and maintaining a well trained police force;
b. Paying the police good salaries in order to keep and attract more eligible personel;
c. Providing the police with modern and adequate equipments in order for them to carry out their responsibilities impeccably.
THE PECULIARITY OF SOCIAL PROJECTS.
In a way, social projects can be compared to the invisible sophisticated software program that runs a computer. Without the software, the computer is practically of little value. The main distinction between social, infrastructural and private projects is that social projects take much longer to recoup, and the emphasy is on man power development and the welfare of the citizens. Apart from the cash flows of an investment project, private investors also take into consideration the payback period or the time it will take to recoup their investments. Since private investors normally are very reluctant to take on projects that take more than 5 years to recoup. In addition, social projects, like infrastructure projects, in most cases are capital intensive. For example, it takes about 14 years of studies in order to be a graduate. A reliable and competent government must ensure that the citizen is healthy throughout the 14 years of his studies and afterwards so that he can be productive to the society and the investment made on him recouped. Therefore, citizens rely on their government to take on such projects.
TO BE CONTINUED …
