The world is blessed with various resources which makes it worthwhile for human existence. In addition, an adage says "fingers are not equal" which is very true as it concerns human physiology and in reality, we can't access these resources in equal position because some are at vantage position than others by the virtue of position, power, influence, environment etc they have. According to Maslow's theory, the human basic needs of food, clothing and shelter is important before other things. For a fair distribution and welfare of all, that's the more reason of having governments and leaders in helm of affairs to see to the fair distribution of these resources so as not to leave anyone left out.
In some developed countries, the government rose up to their core duties which welfarism of their citizens play a huge part and that's what makes for the progress we see all around. However, in the developing nation, things were on the contrary even with neglect and decadence seen of the government (public facilities). I strongly believe that major needs of we humans like good roads, power, schools, good healthcare service shouldn't be privatised or the majority of it been within the public space with just some privatised as a complementary to that within the public reach.
Based on what i have seen in over 3 decades of existence especially in my country and in other developing countries, privatization isn't complementary to that within the public space but full of greed and exploitation with very few insignificant proportion standing out. For example, the major blow to the power, education, health, telecommunications and some vital sectors of my country (Nigeria) economy came when we begin to privatised them as a result of government failure to manage them well in the face of fast growing population. This is unlike that of the developed countries where things were put into perspectives and check/balances measures were on ground to check flaws or inabilities.
Most importantly, one of the major reason of so-called privatisation is "for efficient provision and management" which on the long run are unaffordable to a "common man" or citizens of the nation because of high cost. Therefore, privatisation of essential services will only lead to monopoly, exploitation and chaos making life unbearable especially for the less privilege and also create a wide gap of extremes between the wealthy and the poor. For example here in Nigeria, the privatisation of the electricity generation, transmission and distribution hasn't really makes the power sector vibrant to the point of attraction to foreign investors but rather the opposite.
Finally, I believe that instead of privatisation of essential services, the government can opt in for an arrangement where they can be efficiently managed by both private or public companies but still owned by the government. In all, the government must deal with its citizens in all sincerity and honesty, devoid of corruption or selfishness even as they face the challenge of managing the resources within a growing population. Privatisation of essential services or amenities isn't a good one though few private companies can complement that in the public sector with check and balances on ground. Thanks so much for reading even as comments and contributions are welcomed.
This is my entry to @Hivelearners weekly featured contents, week 154 edition 03 on "Private Industry"
