Year in, year out, we have to assist to the annual farce of what I term as budgetary boredom! We have to witness the farce of the Finance Minister, beaming himself into the Chamber of our House of Representatives, accompanied by the Speaker of the same House, carrying an attaché-case in which supposedly rests the wisdom of many a mind to formulate the financial development and hopefully wealth of our country for the financial year that is to follow.
This is the prelude to this annual farce, following which the people who have the nerve listen to a drawling speech written by only-god-knows how many different hands. These listen to countless points, the vast majority of which are of absolutely no interest to the average citizen.
Following what is usually a most boring time listening to such a nauseating speech, the people of this country have to spend the last weeks before Christmas listening to a number of ministers, parliamentary secretaries, the opposition and other “experts” explaining the various achievements or criticising the budget!
In this light, it is important that we alter the whole system in this information technology age as to how the budget is discussed with the public at large, rather than the present pedantic, autocratic style of bulldozing the budget into the minds (those who can afford to perceive it) of the public-at-large!
It is high time that budget time is tailor-made in a discussion format over a period of weeks with the public-at-large. This is to be done through the media – after all this is what democracy is all about!
Hence, this unsurprising surprise that budget time is meant to convey is to be eliminated as a stereotyped system, which is no longer viable in modern-day information technology.
This is to be substituted by a weekly discussion in the media where a number of ministers analyse and discuss with the electorate what should be done and what should not be done; how it is to be implemented or what solutions may
be suggested on any topic that it is in the interest of the
government.
This debate should be held before the budget is
formulated with the consensus of the people, without all this nonsense that goes on at present where a handful of people appear to be the consultants of what the people need or do not need.
Naturally that is why there is a Prime Minister and his team of ministers and parliamentary secretaries – to piece together all the information gathered from the electorate.
It is important that this is done in weekly sessions over a number of weeks commencing, say, from the beginning of October or from the beginning of September to the beginning of November.
In this way, the budget time will be a time when everyone is interested in listening as to how the collective effort by the public has been translated by the representatives of the people, and not by the rulers of the people, as the current system would appear to hint more at!
This is the new system which ALPHA: partit politiku would advocate in the interest of all sections of the public-at-large. If we were to analyse the budget we have just had, it is obvious that the interests of the vast majority of the electorate have not been addressed.
In conclusion, therefore, let us make immediate plans so that this budgetary boredom is eliminated once and for all. All of us are invited to contribute in a truly democratic way to our common budget, which is meant to assist each and every one of us towards a better country and less hardship on each and every citizen.
Emmy D. BEZZINA:
Chairman/Founder-ALPHA: partit politiku
Valletta