Dear editor,
The prognosis in the Oct. 10 Korea Times editorial, “Waste of taxpayers’ money,” makes sense for the efficiency, sufficiency and equity which are worth adopting and replicating elsewhere.
To create a new healthy culture of good governance in South Korea without bankruptcy of municipalities, the active role of citizens to monitor the wasteful expenditure is crucial. It is necessary to create a conducive climate of economic efficiency.
There is certainly a strong case for a feasibility study for undertaking every project anywhere including Korea and India. We should not allow politicians to waste our resources on populist politics for winning elections.
The quality of construction should not be compromised under any program of infrastructural development such as “build, operate and transfer” (BOT) which otherwise is very good in times of fiscal crisis at any level of government including local self.
I was in South Korea between August 2010 and July 2011, and observed everything with keen interest. But now, we need to follow the South Korean development model of rural development called “Saemaeul Undong” or New Community Movement. The Saemaeul spirit included diligence, self-help and cooperation.
Saemaeul operated projects of environment improvement, income augmentation and mental reform jointly. It was implemented from grass-root village level under the combination of villagers, dedicated Saemaeul leaders and local government officials.
There used to be a project evaluation and observation system of pre-reports of feasibility study, midterm reports and final reports. The government should not provide the funds, but need to provide the technology and essential materials.
The projects have to start from the easy work with cooperative networks and use the available local resources and that should be profitable for the villagers.
First of all, the villages should be rich villages mentally and materially in the nation under the income multiplication system and the city will be rich because of rich villages and the nation will get more tax and convert into a rich nation.
The Korean government should apply and implement the Saemaeul model in urban locations too.
The editor deserves a pat on the back for his economic wisdom. This will make history in the healthy practices of the democratic traditions to strengthen faithfulness to the intentions and the will of people in all times to come.
Let us change our looks, actions and words which become the law of the land for municipalities by leaning from the Saemaeul model of rural development and the editorial with its diagnosis of economic health for a municipality in Korea as well as India.
Dr. M.M. Goel
Dean/faculty of social sciences
Kurukshetra University
Kurukshetra, India