Our laws are quite advanced and progressive when compared to several other countries. However, the big problem facing this country is the need for more and better law enforcement. It is useless to legislate and then have a substantial number of people flouting the law with impunity before all and sundry.
Let me give some examples which I have personally encountered recently and which are known to all as flagrant breaches of the law. I was invited by a friend to go and have a drink with him in the bar of one of the village clubs where he lives. We entered the club at around 10 o’clock on a Sunday morning. As we sat down at a table, I could not help noticing that there were several “No Smoking” signs on the walls.
My friend ordered a couple of drinks which were brought to us by the barman. I was dismayed to note that the barman served our drinks with a lit cigarette in his mouth. To add insult to injury, a couple of patrons who had just sat down at a table proceeded to take out their cigarette packs and start smoking in front of everyone as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Ironically, they were seated just under a “No Smoking” sign. They were probably chain-smokers because they consumed one cigarette after another to the great annoyance of non-smokers present in the bar.
Deciding to do something about it, the next day I contacted a committee member of the club in question and complained about the fact that the ban on smoking in public places was being completely ignored by some patrons of the club bar and the barman himself. The committee member told me that they had to turn a Nelson’s eye to such abuses because, if the law was to be rigidly enforced, it would be bad for business as several people would no longer patronise the bar of their club!
Another form of abuse that has recently become rampant is that of using one’s mobile phone when driving. On one particular day some time ago, I noticed several people doing so and this occurred during a relatively short trip I made from my home village to a location a few kilometres away. On many occasions, I have seen a car being driven erratically and eventually discovered that the driver was totally distracted due to speaking to someone else on a mobile phone!
What is even more serious is the fact that sometimes the abuse of using a mobile phone while driving is perpetrated by minibus drivers carrying schoolchildren and coach drivers carrying tourists. An accident in such circumstances could have really disastrous consequences because of the relatively large number of people involved. Furthermore, in the second case, the negative example given to people visiting our country will surely not boost our tourist industry but will instead serve to damage it.
Abuses are also rampant in the building industry. Some weeks ago, I woke up very early to hear the first Mass on Sunday morning. As I made my way to church, I was amazed to notice a person who was on the roof of a block of flats which were in the process of construction and who was using a machine which was making a quite audible amount of noise. Now this was really early in the morning when the majority of people would still be asleep and one also has to remember that it was a Sunday!
Yet this person could not have cared less about the fact that there are some people for whom Sunday is the only day when they need not wake up very early to go to work. All he probably cared about was earning some extra euros even if it meant starting work at a time not permitted by law for purposes of construction work. People like these seem to have no place for “civic responsibility” in their vocabulary!
The last case I would like to mention is that of dog owners whose dogs foul the street and who fail to pick up their pets’ excrement. I know of several people who go out with their dog for a walk and take a bag in their hands to fool any warden they may meet during their walk. If their dog fouls the street and they see that there is nobody in sight, they simply walk away as quickly as possible, leaving their dog’s excrement as an unwelcome visiting-card for the residents of that particular street.
Such cases are most frustrating and some people are experts at such abuses and, unless caught red-handed, it is very difficult to take action against their abusive behaviour.
To conclude, we need more and better enforcement of the law. This article has not been meant as an attack on the efficiency of the police force and local wardens. They are doing their best in difficult circumstances.
My aim is to create awareness that a more sustained and better coordinated drive towards law enforcement is needed by the authorities whose responsibility it is to ensure that all laws are respected by everyone and that citizens are not inconvenienced by the lack of civic responsibility of some of their peers.