Government owned facilities are supposed to make life easy for the populace. However, in a country like ours where corruption, ineptitude behaviour and negligence of duty is the order of the day, government owned facilities have become the two-faced conundrum, saving the populace on one side and killing them softly on the other.
For several years I never understood the concept of tax and the tax system. It's not as if I was so dumb that I couldn't really read and comprehend what it means. The problem was that what I understood the tax system to be was different from what was playing out right in front of me.
So, when a piece of my salary was deducted from the first government job I had some years back, I boldly asked my superior why my money was deducted without my consent. He looked at me and yelled in disgust, "Yo, where do you think the government gets money to build and maintain all these roads and schools and facilities?"
Never the one to take shit, I snapped back, "Sir, these death traps called roads have been constructed for years. And clearly, no one is maintaining them. Most of the facilities are dilapidated too. So what are they using our money for?" The man looked at me and was like, "You are just a stupid boy. You don't know anything." And then he yelled, "Get out of my office."
One of the pros, if not the major pro, of government owned facilities is that they deliver cheap services. This is applicable in virtually every sector from the health to the education and even power sector. Government hospital's services are relatively cheap compared to what is on offer in the private sector.
Just last week someone around me delivered a baby via caesarian section at a popular private hospital in my neighborhood. When she was leaving the hospital she paid a whooping #450,000 for their services. In government hospitals, the going rate for cs is considerably less than that. In fact, less than half of that.
The disparity between government owned and privately owned institutions is even more prominent in the education sector in my country. For years, government higher institutions were regarded as the best in the country. In fact, there was a general scorn towards private higher institutions as it was believed that only low standard kids who weren't good enough to beat the competition to the prestigious government schools settle for private schools.
In my undergraduate days, we used to laugh at dudes attending private schools. We call them students of glorified secondary schools. Then, in terms of ranking, no private school in the country is in the top 10. Every parent, even the rich ones, wanted their kids in government schools like OAU, UI, UNIBEN and the likes.
My perspective about private schools changed when I needed to carry out an analysis. In the whole country only one school had what I needed, a SEM-EDX machine. The school? A private school. None of the glorified government universities or research labs had the machine.
When I travelled to the school, the experience was eye opening. While their lecture theaters were spacious, well arranged and fitted with air conditioning systems, those of public schools are always overcrowded and uncomfortable. It reminded me of my 100 level days where 2000 students were expected to receive lectures in a 1200 capacity lecture theatre.
In the end, government facilities will continue to serve its purpose. In a country where over 60% are living below the poverty line, cheap and affordable government facilities will always come to the rescue of the common man. As regards efficiency, government facilities will continue to be slow and imperfect; and as for private ones, they prioritize money above everything else. They can't serve everyone but they will always have clients.
The way forward?
I've always believed a public-private partnership on many of the projects out there will do a lot of good. With the government holding the reins and private organizations supplying efficiency, I once hoped there would be proper monitoring and maintenance. However, we've not achieved that since the power sector went that route.
My Preference?
What determines that will be my financial strength. Why would I want to queue for two hours just to get a hospital card before seeing a doctor when I could get one and see a doctor in five minutes?
