Maravi

‘We all have a role to play’

‘We all have a role to play’
By Editor
Wed 20 Jan. 2010, 04:00 CAT

For as long as some of our people feel they are not allowed democratic participation in decision-making processes, and cannot elect their leaders in truly free and fair elections, there will always be tension and conflict.

And as Bishop Paul Mususu has aptly put it, “Zambia cannot be democratic if certain sections of society feel their freedom is being stepped upon”. It is not going to help to stifle anyone and “the noble thing that leaders could do is to listen and not to be vindictive”. And there is need to heed Bishop Mususu’s advice on this score:

“We are all stakeholders and it is only fair to listen to one another. We all have a role to play in the country, in a democracy in educating and sensitising people on what is happening. If the people left politicians to do whatever they wanted, they would just concentrate to please what puts bread and butter on their plate.”

The great lesson of our time is that no regime can survive if it acts above the heads of the ordinary citizens of the country.

And those in our government, and all those in our politics should know that this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it’s a good place for all of us to live in.

Throughout the world, thugs and despots – some democratically elected, and some not – solemnly give lip service to “democracy” and “freedom”, while doing everything in their power to destroy them. We are seeing this in this country. Rupiah Banda and his friends are doing everything they can to destroy democracy and freedom in this country while giving lip service to them.

To have a free and peaceful nation, we must create a society in which the inalienable rights of the individual are again respected, and the powers of government are strictly limited. We must make sure that the exercise of power must be the constant practice of self-limitation and modesty.

This means abolishing most of our immunity roles and the abuse of our judicial process and ensure that friends and agents of those in power are not freed from legal responsibility when they steal public funds, torture or murder. It means creating truly independent judicial institutions with the power to investigate and indict corrupt government officials whatever their rank or connections. We should not allow the destruction of freedom under the guise of building and protecting democracy.

Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of democratic rights and freedoms. Freedom of expression is essential in enabling democracy to work and public participation in decision making. Citizens cannot exercise their right to vote effectively or take part in public decision making if they do not have free access to information and ideas and are not able to express their views freely.

Freedom of expression is thus not only important for individual dignity but also to participation, accountability and democracy. Violations of freedom of expression often go hand in hand with other violations, in particular the right to freedom of association and assembly.

The right to freedom of expression upholds rights of all to express their views and opinions freely. It is essentially a right which should be promoted to the maximum extent possible given its critical role in democracy and public participation in political life. There may be certain extreme forms of expression which need to be curtailed for the protection of other human rights.

Limiting freedom of expression in such situations is always a fine balancing act. One particular form of expression which is banned in some countries is “hate speech”. There is a fine balance between holding the right to freedom of expression and protecting other human rights. The success of such laws has often been questionable and one of the consequences has been to drive hate speech underground.

In the present situation of our country where poverty, ignorance, disease, among other problems, dominate, all Zambians should give the fullest expression to their initiative which alone can ensure the overcoming of these problems. This initiative must be demonstrated in their courage and ability to raise questions, voice opinions and criticise defects.

Otherwise, very little, if not nothing, will come from our efforts. But the exercise of such initiative depends of the spread of democracy in our country. It cannot be brought into play if there is not enough democracy in our country. Only in an atmosphere of democracy can large numbers of people be brought forward.

Anyone should be allowed to speak out, whoever he may be. And it does not matter if he says something wrong. Leaders at all levels have a duty to listen to others. And here, two principles must be observed: Say all you know and say it without reserve; Don’t blame the speaker but take 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”.

As Bishop Mususu has correctly suggested, education in democracy must be carried on in our country so that our people can understand the meaning of democratic life and the way it should be put into practice. Only in this way can we really extend democracy in our country and at the same time avoid ultra-democracy and laissez-faire which destroys discipline. Democracy is meant to strengthen discipline, efficiency, effectiveness and orderliness in the nation, not to weaken them.

The most fundamental goals of democracy, in our view, are to make rulers accountable and answerable for their actions and policies; to make the citizens effective participants in choosing those rulers and regulating their actions; to make the society as open and the economy as transparent as possible; and to make the social order fundamentally just and equitable to the greatest number possible.

Accountable rulers, actively participating citizens, open society and social justice – appear to be the fundamental ends of democracy. There is need to make those in government more accountable and answerable in their use of power. For most of the time, our politicians have their say. There is need to find time for the people also to have their day. For most of the time, our politicians are speaking to each other, at each other and past each other. They have parliamentary sessions and they have sittings of the National Constitutional Conference.

But beyond the walls of Parliament Building and Mulungushi International Conference Centre, there is growing impatience with their speechifying. Our people see it as the responsibility and task of their politicians to give each Zambian an essential piece of dignity in their lives – the dignity that comes from having a solid roof over your head, running water and other services in an established community.

For this reason, we see democracy as a growth in the confidence, in the power of ordinary people to transform their country, and thus transform themselves. We see democracy as a growth in the appreciation of people organising, deciding, creating together. And in the final analysis, we see democracy as a growth of fraternal love. This is why in democratic states, authority comes from people who have power to elect their leaders.

We value the democratic system in as much as it ensures the participation of all citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.

We see the value of democracy in enabling people to come together with different interests to work for the common good. All citizens are called to participate actively and responsibly in the governance of their country. Individual citizens are obliged to make their specific contributions to the common good – government and the people should co-operate together.

And for all we have said, democracy itself guarantees nothing. It offers instead the opportunity to succeed as well as the risk of failure. In Thomas Jefferson’s ringing but shrewd phrase, the promise of democracy is “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

Democracy is then both a promise and a challenge. It is a promise that free human beings, working together, can govern themselves in a manner that will serve their aspirations for personal freedom, economic opportunity and social justice. It is a challenge because the success of the democratic enterprise rests upon the shoulders of its citizens and no one else.

Government of and by the people means that the citizens of a democratic society share in its benefits and its burdens.

Josef Brodsky, Russian-born poet and Nobel Prize winner, once wrote, “A free man, when he fails, blames nobody.” It is true as well for the citizens of a democracy who, finally, must take responsibility for the fate of society in which they themselves have chosen to live. In the end, we get the government we deserve.

Labels: PAUL MUSUSU

posted by MrK @ 5:28 AM