Barriers to rational decision-making

The City of Addis Ababa is full of contradictions. I remember, not too long ago, when environment hazard prevention supervisors in my sub-city were dashing from one bar, restaurant or grocery to another, checking on the cleanliness of their services. That time, some diarrhea epidemic was feared to have been spreading.
Of course, their efforts were not without results. They managed to control what was feared in the offing, as it is usually true that prevention is better and cheaper than after-effect medication and cure. But, the question is, how penetrating and sustainable would such efforts be? Could a one time show protect the environment from undesirable consequences, or could it guarantee the endurance of those supervisors who are at the front-line as reliable public servants on whom the city dwellers rely and attach trust to as their protectors?
Where are these people now? Are they waiting for the trumpet to blow again the breakout of another epidemic or danger?
One bright morning, I was waiting in my car at Mikililand Road until a friend returned settling a monthly electric bill, when I remarked a number of street dogs, to be exact nine males and a bitch at a mating ceremony, one dog only had a neck stripe.. “Oh Gosh”, I said, “even passing cars are queuing up spending that much time to pass through. Unfortunately, one dog was bitten badly by one of the others. This gave a chance for a zebegna who chased them off, giving cars the freedom to move again smoothly.
Mind you, my Ethiopian friends tell me often, whenever I am disturbed by whizzing flies, that China has totally got rid of its flies. Although, I have not got yet an official document that confirms that, however, I take it for granted that could be the case. On the other hand, although I could not recall my own experience in China, I would not dare say that I had noticed a single fly that I may recall whizzing around during my short sojourn.
Would it not be then, an irony of history to claim that ten fat street dogs have blocked the road in a mating ceremony at the nearing eve of our millennium’s celebration—an event waited with great expectations? One could imagine the multitude of unclean dogs that one finds in Addis if the above figure could be multiplied by thousands times taking into account the existing diameters of the city. Yet, the section of the city that I am talking about is relatively a clean corner, compared to the many slums one finds around. This is a clear indicator of the anomalies of bad leadership at the supervisory levels.
I think this is a reminder for all those engaged in the public service first to be honest to them selves and then to the public they serve before the news spreads out among the whistle blowers.
One’s commitment to duty should be continuous and sustainable. It should not stop in the middle of the road. It should be taken for granted and in such a way that the accomplishment of a given mission is the beginning of another one.
For environment hazard prevention people, the abolition of dangerous dogs from the streets should not be taken to mean a one time mission alone. In a social milieu where residents are less responsible and lenient, first line officers charged with the task should not leave any room for chance. They should be firm in their actions. After all, what could be feared more than the spread of rabies in a city full of children? Should one sympathize with street dwellers for keeping dangerous dogs which are hazardous to them and to others as well; or should such dogs be eliminated willy-nilly? In choosing the better of the two evils, it is common understanding that such dogs should be cleared off streets and residential areas permanently and at all costs.
In the end, what I would like to say is that, the barriers to rational decision-making emanate from our own attitude of lack of firmness and consistency to commitment, particularly, from the middle and lower-levels of supervision. To improve such a state of affairs, it is my hunch that placement of roving supervisors in all trades, for that matter, that report back to higher levels of management, might make a heck of a lot of difference.