Running parties like personal tuntemba
Running parties like personal tuntembaBy Editor
Monday March 31, 2008 [04:00]
ALL our political parties are presently facing serious problems as far as the issue of intra-party democracy is concerned. And they all need to confront head-on the danger caused by this lack of intra-party democracy. We do appreciate that this danger has its roots in several factors.
The way our political parties choose their leaders usually leaves a strong legacy of bitterness and resentment - "the walking wounded". This has cultivated tendencies towards excessive defensivism, and also habits of counter-factionalism in some cases.
We have also seen situations of the dangers of disciplinary measures being used to settle political differences.
None of our political parties is immune to what is perhaps the principal hindrance to the development of intra-party democracy - careerism and patronage. All our political parties need to be extremely vigilant about the grave dangers of abuse of the party and its resources for careerist and patronage purposes.
All our political parties should strive to actively advance perspectives on the kind of leadership collectives that are required to take them forward. These positions we are advancing in regard to this matter are principled and their consistent application will lay the basis for consolidating unity within our political parties and for contributing to what is supposed to be their broader tasks in the current conjecture.
As we have stated before in our editorial comment on UNIP, experience has repeatedly shown that a party without a strong culture of intra-party democracy, a party divided into hostile groups or factions loses its militancy. Intra-party strife can only be overcome by improvements in intra-party democracy.
Protracted intra-party strife inevitably results in party members' concentration on discords. The party becomes distracted from political activity and day-to-day work among the masses and loses its influence.
We really welcome Njekwa Mate's initiative to start this debate. And this debate should not be conducted as an academic exercise or in a power vacuum.
But we must be extremely vigilant not to allow this debate to become factionally divisive within our political parties.
And we shouldn't forget that this debate is being raised in an environment of declining political morality, ethics and values which have caused considerable strain on the moral standing of all our political parties.
We need politicians who are selfless and are not taking or influencing decisions based on their own interests; we also need politicians who are able to subordinate their interests to those of the broad masses of our people.
Achieving reasonable levels of intra-party democracy also calls for cadres who understand the broader national and international situation; cadres who view accountability as an important part of their work.
This will certainly require all our political parties to make internal systems of their strengths and weaknesses. Our political parties must once again be the hope of our people, especially the poor, in ushering in a more just, fair and humane society. And we need political parties that can directly mobilise our people for the establishment of such a society.
We need political parties that are democratic because this is the only way they can respond to the needs, aspirations and interests of the broad masses of our people, especially those who are poor. Our political parties should be organisations of power, influence and activism. And here influence means that the party presence is felt and decisions and interests of our people are met or served.
We have witnessed a serious absence of political education and cadre development programmes in all our political parties. There is need for all our political parties to invest in cadre development programmes, there should be continuous political education programmes for members.
We need to build political parties of activists and not merely card-carrying members who are not involved in the daily life of the party.
There is need for all the members and cadres of our political parties to give the fullest expression of their initiatives, which alone can ensure good performance in the political mobilisation of our people.
This initiative must be demonstrated concretely in the ability of the cadres and the party rank and file to work creatively, in their readiness to assume responsibility, in the exuberant vigour they show in their work, and in their ability to raise questions, voice opinions and criticise defects. Otherwise, political initiative will be an empty thing for them.
But the exercise of such initiative depends on the spread of democracy in party life. It cannot be brought into play if there is not enough democracy in party life. Only in an atmosphere of democracy can large numbers of able people be brought forward.
Anyone should be allowed to speak out, whoever he or she may be, as long as he or she is not a destructive person and does not make malicious attacks, and it does not matter if he or she says something wrong.
Political leaders at all levels have the duty to listen to others. Two principles must be observed: first, say all you know and say it without reserve; second, don't blame the speaker but his words as a warning. Unless the principle of "don't blame the speaker" is observed genuinely and not falsely, the result will not be "say all you know and say it without reserve".
Education in democracy must be carried out within all our political parties so that their members can understand the meaning of democratic life, the meaning of the relationship between democracy and centralism, and the way in which democratic centralism should be put in practice. Only in this way can we really extend democracy within our political parties and at the same time avoid ultra-democracy and the laissez-faire which destroys discipline. Intra-party democracy should be made to strengthen discipline and increase organisational effectiveness, not to weaken them.
First, it should be pointed out that the danger of ultra-democracy lies in the fact that it damages or even completely wrecks the party organisation and weakens or even completely undermines the party's organisational capacity, rendering the party incapable of fulfilling its tasks. Next, it should be pointed out that the source of ultra-democracy consists in the individualistic aversion to discipline.
When this characteristic is brought into the party, it develops into ultra-democratic ideas politically and organisationally.
If our political parties truly and genuinely aspire to be democratic, there is no need for them to fear democracy because the truth is on their side. And with democracy, develops a spirit of criticism and self-criticism. And with the weapon of criticism and self-criticism they can get rid of bad styles and keep the good.
As we say, dust will accumulate if a room is not cleaned regularly, our faces will get dirty if they are not washed regularly. The minds of the cadres, members and leaders of our political parties may also collect dust, and therefore also need sweeping and washing. The proverbs "Running water is never stale” and “a door hinge is never worm-eaten" means that constant motion prevents the inroads of germs and other organisms.
To check up regularly on our work and in the process develop a process of democratic style of work, to fear neither criticism nor self-criticism, and to apply such good popular maxims as "Say all you know and say it without reserve", "Blame not the speaker but be warned by his words" and "Correct mistakes if you have committed them and guard against them if you have not" - this is the only effective way to prevent all kinds of political dust and germs from contaminating the minds of the cadres, members and leaders of our political parties.
Opposition and struggle between ideas of different kinds should be allowed to constantly occur within our political parties. If there were no contradictions in our political parties and no struggles to resolve them, the lives of our political parties would come to an end.
Intra-party criticism is a weapon for strengthening the party organisation and increasing its organisational capacity. However, we know that in our political parties, criticism is not always of this character, and sometimes turns into personal attack. As a result, it damages the party organisation as well as individuals.
This is a manifestation of individualism. The method of correction is to help party members understand that the purpose of criticism is to increase the party's organisational capacity in order for it to achieve its objectives or mission and that it should not be used as a means of personal attack.
If they have shortcomings, they should not be afraid to have them pointed out and criticised, because they are there to serve the people. Anyone, no matter who, may point out their shortcomings. If he is right, they should correct them. If what he proposes will benefit the people, they should act upon it.
It is hard for any political party or person to avoid mistakes, but we should make as few as possible. Once a mistake is made, we should correct it, and the more quickly and thoroughly the better.
But if there is no intra-party democracy, there can be no serious discussions that can take place in any political party.
And moreover a political party, like its individual members, cadres and leaders, can only give what it has. If it has no democracy within itself, the nation should not expect democracy from it in its interaction with other organisations and institutions within the nation.
It should also not be expected to govern the affairs of the country in a democratic way when it gets into office. For this reason, there is need for us as a nation to ceaselessly demand more and more intra-party democracy in all our political parties regardless of their size, nature or history.
We should not allow any of our political parties to be run like a personal tuntemba because these are not personal organisations regardless of how they were started and how they are financed because they have the responsibility, if elected, to run the affairs of our country and in some way our very lives.
Labels: PARTIES
posted by MrK @ 4:21 AM
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