President Nasheed’s campaign promises

I went to home with lot of dreams but I left home keeping the dreams as dreams. When we look into the political or social atmosphere nothing much has been changed yet. Some people may argue that the current government needs more time to bring stability into this small paradise nation.

Mr Nasheed and his aides are campaigning in Italy to bring more tourists into the nation. The ultimate truth is that the tourism campaigning will not bring any fine recipe during this financial crisis into our nation. Europe and America are seriously suffering from this financial meltdown whilst their focus is on their very own economy and passing bill after bill as stimulus packages to save the suffering economies. Italy is one of the countries in Europe which calls for financial backings from its allies.

The fact to the matter is that 100 days have been passed in his presidential term but nothing much has been changed in the wider community yet. Most of his campaign promises are untouched but his transport network is most loquacious plan even as the plan sounds uneconomical.

So far the things he has done were some what parallel to the past regimes system of governance. By promoting his ideas along with the upcoming Parliamentary election campaign, appointing cabinet ministers, state ministers and forming new agencies are similar approach. Further, discrediting the educated community and offering them a discriminate salary package sounds foreign to them. Though, the welfare package for the aged was a thoughtful move but critics think that is too costly move at current financial crisis.

Clearly, during his presidential campaign the voters have been heard his voice. Every time he faced to the public he cried out with a hopeful tone that he will bring down the food prices to an affordable rate but instead the prices of foods have been gone skyrocketing since after the election. We all thought that the high prices of food were because of the past regime’s dreary course of action and blamed and pointed out our fingers to Gayyoom.

The price tags we see from the local market to the corner shops are appalling. Reprehensibly the local tuna canned fish cost more than a dollar to buy from our local shops which are made locally. Supposedly, we could by the same tuna can or well known brand for less than a dollar from overseas. This proves nothing is cheap to us whether a product is made in Maldives or not.

At first, we do not need a multimillion dollar transport plan but people need to buy food products for cheap rates from the corner shops. Secondly, drugs and alcohol prices have been dropped from the corner streets and available at any given time from prison to our doorsteps. We have heard Nasheed’s voice by telling us that he will bring social justice and halt smuggling of illegal drugs into the community.

Besides, my first footsteps from overseas, I have encountered a strange chap who was driving the cab I was on the day I arrived and surely the guy was on drugs. When we asked to take us home he drove to his own course and talked gobbledygook without resting his mouth. I asked him to stop the car. My mom and I jumped out the car by throwing cab fare onto his face. I called the taxi centre and complained about the cab but instead of apologizing or taking a lawful action he laughed on the phone and said that the encounter was not out of ordinary and hung up the phone by promising to send us a cab with a normal driver.

What a legitimate and peaceful Islamic nation I call home? We need accountability and responsibility from the government. Disregarding the public cry will not make a successful government but failure will be the ultimate outcome of the public’s price tag.