After every transportation accident, whether deliberate or unintentional, a chorus of condemnation and criticism breaks out in the country. A wave of tragic incidents, claiming scores of innocent lives, has rocked the nation in the past few weeks.These incidents, including train crashes and road mishaps, as well as building collapses and fires in public buildings, have triggered a row over the performance and competence of the Hisham Qandil Government, which defends itself by saying that it has inherited a heavy legacy from a regime that lasted 30 years.The Government, in response to the growing criticism, has done nothing but pay lip service to placate an angry public after each incident. Every minister has verbally pledged that this or that incident will be the last of its kind. But, to the people's dismay, every day witnesses a yet more tragic accident than the previous one.The Government has yet to come up with a realistic solution to the problem of transportation accidents, because it has no concrete plan to rectify the deplorable condition of the nation's trains and buses.According to governmental assessments, more than 85 per cent of trains and homes are unsafe for commuters and householders respectively, because they are either old or do not meet the necessary safety criteria. The Government, instead of finding excuses to justify its mistakes, should do two things. First, it should come up with a realistic plan for resolving all the outstanding transportation problems and developing this vital sector nationwide. Second, it should launch a comprehensive campaign for uprooting the culture of negligence which has become rife among its various ministries, especially those that have delivered direct services to the people over the past three decades. If the Government is unable to solve these problems, it could always hire the services of ministers and senior officials from other countries, for example China, which had similar problems and has managed to solve them for good. By the Way: We used to have a folk song saying: “Oh dear train, tell me where you're heading to". But, in the wake of all the deadly railway accidents, the lyrics ought now to read: “Oh dear train, tell me when we're going to crash". The Government should also stop broadcasting train songs, because they are a bad omen for the passengers and the drivers alike. She does not look at him, but stares at her beauty that shines in his eyes. [email protected]
