We know that growth rates should be taken with a big grain of salt. Still, when an Indian state like Bihar -- not exactly the poster child for economic development -- clips an average growth rate of 11% over the past years 5 years it is worth finding out how they did it.
Turns out they changed little things and that had a huge impact. By the way, 11% that's two-and-a-half times our growth rate since July 2005.
Ayo papa-oh...! Mo larme couler quand mo'nn lire sa:
ReplyDelete- The order went down to the lowliest constable — the law was to be enforced, and criminals would be punished, no matter their political connections.
- Powerful men were arrested, many of them sitting members of Parliament and the state assembly. They were convicted quickly in fast-track courts.
- More than 2.5 million school-age children were not attending classes; by 2010 that number was reduced to fewer than 800,000.
- Clinics that had been seeing 30 patients a month because they had no medicine or doctors were staffed up and restocked. By 2006, the patient load had increased tenfold.
- Before, projects costing little more than $50,000 required cabinet-level approval, and piled up on the desks of senior officials as the fiscal year ticked away. Mr. Kumar raised that limit to $4.4 million, and billions of dollars in infrastructure have been built.
And the results:
Reaching the village of Pawna from the district capital, Ara, once took more than two hours, but today it is a 30-minute drive. Solar lights illuminate narrow lanes. The street market that used to shut promptly at sundown because of bandits now bustles late into the evening. The village has a new police station, more schools and new water pumps.
Mais dire moi enn coute, c'est pas enn miracle ça - l'article-la inn bien summarise: "Bihar is a textbook case of how leadership determines development"
Tant ki dans Dodoland:
- la-police hésiter/pas fouti donne enn simple contravention enn propriétaire Aston Martin / Porsche / Jeep / Jaguar / Mercedes / Bé-èm
- la-police mem pe park lors double la-ligne jaune
- Propriétaire enn valise (ki ti contenir la-drog et passeport propriétaire-la) gagne permission quitte pays aller et ministre sous soupçon de "facilitating" selling of state land continuer reste en poste
- Laisse bann lekol ZEP proliferer sans address real poverty issues
- Continuer laisse bann Jeetah-type administration of hospitals
- Continuer laisse fonctionnaire comptable administrer bann infrastructure projects et guette tout promoteur unsollicited bids couma dire bann requins gourmands la-mine dipain
abé nou pou continuer ress guetter mem couma bann l'ekonomie sans ressources naturelles (e.g., Singapore, our ultimate fantasy) pe continuer prosperer...
We should not forget that the majority of indian immigrants came from Bihar. Bihar has long been le parent pauvre of development in India. It seems the wheel has now turned. Mauritians should take a particular interest in what is happening there and reflect on the way forward for our country. If Bihar can, Mauritius can. YES WE CAN. We need our own Nitish Kumar. Where is he?
ReplyDeleteWhere is he? Or where are they? I believe that we may have had many Nitsh Kumar's in Mauritius. The way some people speak about Harish Boodhoo, it seems that they like him at the same level that others dislike him. Probably because HBoodhoo has blew all his chances by making critical tactical errors in the past. What about Guy Ollivry, whose party had as motto "L'élite, d'où qu'elle vient": was he as good as his motto? These politicians were active when I was not even born, so, could someone tell more about them?
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to mention two other feats of Bihar: rampant corruption and lawlessness. Does this ring a bell with mauritians?
ReplyDeleteIt just shows to us that if someone really truely wants to work for the country then that country will prosper!
ReplyDeleteThey were all simple directives from Mr Nitish Kumar, not something that would need the intellectual capacity of a rocket scientist and a lot of foreign advisors!
Like all big task at hand, he just started with simple things and reaped the reward. In Paradise island, we always aim big but never achieve anything.
On another note, I heard an interview/debate between two opponents from No 3, I think Aadil and Shakeel. Im not to sure of the name. Anyway, Shakeel kept mentioning that it takes very long for projects in Mauritius to takes off; i.e from the conception stage to the construction stage, justifying why so many projects were starting just before the elections.
It struck me as ridiculous, as why no one in the government never thought of really streamlining this process so that projects do no get delayed! I think we can take a few leaves off Mr Nitish Kumar book. Why not appoint him as the advisor to the new PM :P
@akagugo: ena de kwa pu larme kuler la. To bien okuran pu kiken ki pa ti enkor ne.
ReplyDelete@kozemotande: Yeah, you don't get a better wake-up call than this!
@ConversationLimited: Couldn't agree more: things improve if you roll up your sleeves. Shakeel is morphing into another Cader. Ramgoolam should indeed talk to Nitish Kumar.