Make the people believe in your achievements [Archives:2002/36/Viewpoint]

We have recently been -as in every election campaign- hearing loud voices from the government and ruling party pointing to the ‘great’ achievements accomplished during the last four or so years.
You hear reports of those so called achievements on radio and TV. They are repeatedly mentioned over and over again. Those achievements range from cutting ribbons to laying foundation stones, and from signing agreements to launching projects. Government media sometimes just don’t stop praising and hailing the authorities for those ‘achievements.’
On the other hand, on many occasions, such an ‘achievement reporting’ campaign may well backfire at the authorities because of a number of reasons.
First of all, Yemenis are aware that those projects are not something to praise the government for, simply because achieving them resembles its duties and responsibilities. Praise should only be for accomplishments that are beyond the scope of the government’s duties. This is something normal and the Yemeni government is neither the first nor the last to implement such projects.
Secondly, some people believe that the louder those praising voices are, the less successful the government appears to be because a government that feels it needs to shout and make a big fuss out of something it did, probably wants to divert attention from its failure in doing other things.
Thirdly, the people have been hearing those statements for so long but found very little on the ground. Their conditions continued to deteriorate, the quality of life kept on worsening and no substantial improvement has been felt by those poor segments of the society. On contrary, some feel that the government is making a fool of itself among when it reveals something that the majority of the people don’t think is affecting their lives positively. People cannot be impressed by some achievements that are only felt by the officials, while the public continues to starve.
Fourthly, the globalization effects taking place all over the world including Yemen are bringing into focus the huge gap between Yemen and the rest of the world in terms of growth and achievements. People are now aware that what is said on the official TV channel doesn’t compare to the greater achievements in other countries of the world.
Fifthly, the same globalization effects show that the governments of developed countries never tempt to expose their achievements because they are directly lived by the people. It is their citizens who decide whether the government or authorities have achieved something that made life easier for them or not.
Hence, we come to the conclusion that the racket that those pro-government voices are making does not necessarily mean that the public are happy about them. People want to see their lives improved and their conditions enhanced. They want to guarantee proper education for their children, employment for their youth, and most important of all, food for their tummies. They are fed up with so many statements, lectures, and huge campaigns that at the end of the day end up as mere propaganda.
If the governing body wants to be frank with its people and with itself, it needs to realize that it is the people who should mention those claimed achievements. They are the ones who should be served, and ultimately they are the ones who could tell true accomplishments from nonsense.
It is believed that more than 90% of the people in Yemen are in having a lot of problems in surviving amidst such harsh conditions. If this large portion of the public sees no improvement in its life, it has the right to disregard all what is said about achievements. And if it does so, it cannot be wrong.
Yes indeed, 90% of the population cannot be wrong!

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