Citizenship
A strong regional
identity will be created and maintained within the SAR through the
implementation of a voluntary citizen’s charter and the strict enforcement
of citizenship laws. A new simple ID
card will be issued to all citizens and this will containing biometric
data. Ownership of this card and
acceptance of the citizen’s charter will differentiate citizens from
non-citizens. An efficient process for applying for residence, work
permits, permanent residence and citizenship will be implemented. No right of abode or benefits will be
available to illegal immigrants beyond emergency medical treatment and
repatriation.
Housing
To upgrade the living
conditions of the region’s poorest, free government stamped building blocks
will be made available to all citizens as well as simple building plans for
constructing basic housing. These
blocks will be manufactured by prison labour and
will be free to all citizens. The
blocks will be easily identifiable as free housing blocks and must be used
exclusively for housing. The blocks will not be resalable. The objective of this initiative is not
to develop middle class housing but to improve the living conditions of the
very poor.
Water and electricity will
be provided at a nominal charge to all throughout the region. Clean fresh water will be made available
to everyone within 500m of their home.
Education
Compulsory and free
education will be available for all citizens to the age of 19. This will be
based on a British A level equivalent or trade school option. Free university education will be
available for those admitted on a purely academic basis. Teacher resourcing will be bolstered
though an international teach abroad initiative as well as raising the
income of teachers in line with the private sector to ensure international
competition. English will be taught
as the first language and all subjects will be taught in English – this
will lower the cost of teaching and make teachers more versatile. Educational syllabus will be based on the
International Baccalaureate (IB) system.
Government grants will be made to businesses offering internships in
all industries.
Healthcare
Free and efficient
primary healthcare will be available to all through centralised
hospitals and a widespread network of clinics and nurses. Anti-retroviral drugs will be included in
primary healthcare and will be free.
Law enforcement
A low tolerance to crime
will be maintained with a policy of “three strikes and you’re out”. Policing and criminal punishment will be
fair, efficient and direct.
Substantial spending on
police recruitment and training will be made, including the development of
specialist training schools where law enforcement is taught as the
vocational branch of the compulsory education. Law enforcement professionals will have
their wages brought in line with other professionals in the public and
private sector.
Large state-run modern
prison factories will be built where prison labour
will be used productively to produce basic essentials for the good of all
law abiding citizens – manufacturing building blocks for building homes,
building a transport network, mining and agriculture. Prisoners will be
treated in accordance with the UN Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Prisoners will be rehabilitated
through skills training, work and responsibility development.
Prisons must be
profitable for society as a whole, without offering an incentive to get
arrested. Similar paying jobs will be available to non-criminals, offering
the very poorest in the community an alternative to crime, and those
leaving prison a halfway house before re-entering the community.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure will be
developed and maintained to a high degree. Infrastructure is the backbone
of an economy.
A low cost train, bus and
tram network between major centers will be developed. This will lower commuters travel time and
will raise the efficiency of the population.
Further development of
the cell phone networks will be made with free regional calls and internet
access available to all.
Deregulation of the network will allow further competition and
reduced cost. Fines will be imposed on monopolistic behavior. A high bandwidth internet connection will
be made available throughout the region and will be free. The importance of
a cheap and effective communicational system is imperative to the
development and education of a society.
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2008 Progressive Initiative. The Progressive Initiative
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