The role of government, schools, business and the funders

A country is made up of the land and its people and the state of the country depends on what the people will do with their land resources. Just like a beautiful house, a country cannot be beautiful without careful planning and funding and without the people acquiring the proper training and education and without healthy and growing companies employing them and, finally, without a good government that orchestrates all governance.

It is apparent, then, that there are four groupings or sectors that play significant and indispensable roles in the crafting of a beautiful country, that is, the government sector, the educational sector, the business sector and the funding sector. All four groups must work closely and in harmony so that a country can achieve its goals both for the land and the people. Let us dissect each sector in order to better understand their respective roles.

The educational sector

To begin with, the people can only be employed if they are employable. This means that they should have acquired the requisite knowledge and skills to position them to make a tangible, positive contribution to the country’s efforts at development. In this regard, it is the role and goal of the educational system to properly equip the people with the right knowledge and skills to make them productive. After all, ignorance is the root cause of poverty and only through the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom through education can the masses of the poor extricate themselves from the bondage of poverty.

Poverty itself must never be an excuse for the lack of education and training. Everybody, the poor specially, must have access to quality education through a "study-now pay – later" program. Everyone of school age, the disabled included, must be required to attend school.

The schools must be properly built and equipped. Classrooms, libraries, books, computers and other teaching aids must be amply provided. The most important component of the educational system, the teachers, must be adequately paid so they can devote themselves completely to the sacred task of molding the minds of our children and youth.

The educational thrust, itself, must be exact and purposeful. The educational system must focus and zero-in on a curriculum that is geared towards the dissemination of information, knowledge and skills in the field especially of science and technology. In this modern age where infrastructure, power, transportation and communication, computer and the like are all part of our daily fare, it is not difficult to conclude that the educational courses that matter, and the knowledge one must possess must be in the fields of science, technology and engineering.

In the case of Japan, they did not wait for their people to acquire these essential knowledge and skills at home, although they too devised an educational system that produced highly educated and motivated Japanese labor force that would serve as the strength by which their target industries can be fostered. More urgently, technology and technological know-how were obtained and acquired by the government and private firms by sending the Japanese abroad on a mission to search and bring back. Having studied and learned the technology of given products and processes abroad, the Japanese spies, so to speak, then came triumphantly back home with the bacon.

The Japanese knew exactly where they wanted to go and how to get there fast. Taking, therefore, the cue from our Japanese neighbor, our educational system must be charged with ensuring an ample future supply of scientists and engineers, who, apart from being trained as to technical know-how, must also be motivated, honest and dedicated workers. The key is for the educational system to transform each student to have the best mind and brain that will be used for the good of his country, his fellowmen, his family and himself.

The government sector

Government is set up by the people in order to serve them. Government positions are offices of public trust. Government officials are public servants, not public masters, and are there to serve the public interest, not theirs. As servants, they must consult their masters, the people, not only in times of elections when they are courting the people’s votes, but more importantly during their terms of office.

The government is the repository of sovereignty and the entity that lays down broad national policies and directions. It is in the distinct position of presenting the blueprint for development and industrialization as well as the national economic agenda, the strategy development. In this connection, government must have at least a 25-year infrastructure and utilities development program to build all the roads, highways, bridges, ports, airports, schools, markets and government buildings as well as to establish all the water, power and telecommunications facilities. To finance these enormous undertakings, government must be allowed to float long-term bonds secured against future taxes that the central bank should be mandated to buy by printing the corresponding new local money. This way, the entire breathe of the country will be accessible to the people by land and by telecommunications thereby increasing the property values through their highest and best use.

The business sector

With the national economic agenda already defined and detailed by the government, the private business community will be sufficiently guided on the areas of economic activities and projects that have governmental priority so that they will thus be able to act accordingly.

Crucial to the role that the business sector can perform in the task of nation-building is the government support they receive by way of long-term, low-interest credit facilities that government can extend to them. In our own case, the National Development Corp. should be at the forefront by providing continuous capital to the local corporations in the form of such loans and/or equities by purchasing directly the shares of the development companies listed in the stock exchange. Local companies should, in turn, be encouraged to list themselves at the local stock exchange in order to avail of capital funding through equity purchases.

The local businessmen themselves must conduct and manage their business affairs with utmost honesty and efficiency bearing in mind that they are undertaking a most sacred task of providing the needed goods and services for the country and people. Their unbending passion should be to provide to their countrymen the goods and services at the most affordable price possible while still making a profit that will make them expand and grow to employ more people, pay better wages, as well as pay higher taxes.

The funders

Finally, the most determinative role that is played by any sector in the growth and prosperity of a nation is the funder’s group. This is the entity that provides the money and wherewithal for all government activities, educational programs and business ventures that the other sectors undertake. To be helpful and effective, however, the funder must extend the necessary credit facilities that is substantial enough to meet the business needs of the borrower, long enough to afford the debtor ample time to generate income and profit from the envisioned business activity, and low enough in cost and interest to make the loan affordable to the borrower.

In essence, we are referring to the central bank of a country which, as the primary government agency in charge of the monetary affairs of a nation, is at the forefront in providing the funds and capital for development. In our own case, however, our central bank is stymied by its charter itself to provide the needed local funds to spur economic and development activities. As it is, our Bangko Sentral under section 117 of said law is prohibited from buying government securities such as bonds. With such a shackling provision, the central bank cannot buy long-term governments bonds that are collaterized against future taxes. Funds cannot, thus, be locally generated to finance our development requirements so that we continuously turn to foreign funders for loan thereby exacerbating further our foreign debt situation.

There is, therefore, an imperative need to amend the charter of the central bank to allow and even mandate the Bangko Sentral to buy government long-term bonds that are secured against future taxes by issuing the corresponding new local money. This new local money shall be managed in such a way that it shall be made available, through long-term, low-interest credit, to the productive sector of society that shall engage in the vital activities of building roads, highways, bridges, ports, airports, schools, hospitals, markets government buildings and water, power and telecommunications facilities.

In the process, government will be a prime-mover of the economy, the local private companies can expand and grow and employ more people at better wages, and at the same time pay more in government taxes. In short, in the overall scheme of team effort, the government prepares the plan and extends the long-term, low-interest credit, the educational system trains and produces the apt manpower, and the business sector actually participates in the national economic development activities. With this symbiosis between the government, the educational system and the business sector, including the government funder, the country can finally move forward as a nation and people, proud and equal as its neighbors.

You may write your comments / suggestions at 15/F Equitable Tower, Paseo de Roxas, Makati City or through e-mail at mailto:[email protected]

(Note: We beg the indulgence of our readers who are at times tasked to read a lengthy piece. The purpose of our writings, however, being advocacy and not merely commentary in nature, compels us to dissect a given problem, analyze its causes and effects, and offer studied solutions. The length of the article should be irrelevant to such an approach.)