Maravi

We get the government we deserve

We get the government we deserve
By The Post
Thu 13 Jan. 2011, 04:00 CAT

Phineas Bbala, a lecturer in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Zambia, says “democracy has been elusive to the Zambian people during the MMD’s rule”. This is true. But why?

The political and economic interests of the Zambian nation are too complex and by far larger than the similar interests of MMD leaders, members, cadres and the few hundreds of thousands of Zambians who vote for them.

Failure to realise this constitutes part of the explanation why the MMD’s performance has been seen by some citizens to be unsatisfactory in that the ruling party has sought to restrict rather than broaden democracy.

It is one thing to have democracy, theoretically, in the Constitution; its practical implementation is quite another.

It may happen that the system of government is controlled and manipulated by a reduced group of top politicians who are not interested in the common good but their own enrichment and prestige, but who always claim to act in the name of the people. In this case, what exists is totalitarian democracy in which there is no real participation and the opposition is frustrated in all sorts of ways from taking an active part in the political life of the country.

The formation of narrow ruling groups which usurp the power of the state for individual interests cannot be tolerated.

It must also be restated that no social group, for example a political party, has the right to usurp the role of the sole leader, since this brings about the destruction of the true subjectivity of society and of the individual citizens as happens in every form of totalitarianism.

In this situation, the individual and the people become objects in spite of verbal assurances, and declarations to the contrary.

When we were moving away from the one party state to the multiparty dispensation in 1991, we were full of hope that we were doing away with dictatorship and tyranny forever.

But what we didn’t seem to realise was the fact that although multipartism can indeed favour democracy, it cannot always guarantee it. Democracy, like any other human institution, is vulnerable and fragile.

Authentic democracy is possible only in a state ruled by law, and on the basis of a correct conception of the human person.

And accordingly, Bbala is right when he says that “people should not expect strong democracy in a country where there is a weak judiciary”.

This is so because you cannot have a state that is ruled by law where there is a weak judiciary, a judiciary that is open to manipulation by those in power and those in command of immense financial resources. We are seeing it here so repeatedly.

Those in power get what they want from our weak judiciary. And those with very deep pockets get things their way when they are not directly in conflict with the powerful political forces in government.

This is not a recipe for the rule of law.

A fundamental condition for the establishment of democracy is, therefore, the recognition of the rights of the people and social groups, be it children or adults, men or women, rich or poor, in power or not in power, without any social discrimination.

A real democracy has to be built on the basis of justice and moral values and have to look to the common good.

This common good is not simply the addition of individual, particular interest; rather it involves an assessment and integration of those interests on the basis of a balanced hierarchy of values; ultimately it demands a correct understanding of the dignity and rights of the person.

Clearly, democracy is a demanding form of government; and neither our leaders nor our common citizens are naturally prepared for it.

A long process of moral and civic education is required in order to understand and to implement a real participatory democracy.

Zambia has been on the road to democracy since its independence.

What is important, however, is to have a right understanding of what democracy is and what it requires in order to have a just and participatory form of government.

There is no perfect form of human government.

Abuses can take place in every system, but the fundamental value of democracy is to allow participation of citizens in the government of their country.

In this regard, democracy as a system of government is consonant with human rights and the respect of human dignity and freedom.

In fact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is explicit in affirming the value of political participation: “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of one’s own country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in one’s country. The will of the people shall be the basis of authority of government; this shall be expressed in periodical and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 21).

The right to political participation is equally enhanced by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ rights approved by the member states of the Organisation of the African Unity, now the African Union, in their meeting of June 1981 in Nairobi.

In any true democracy, more is needed than political institutions and practices such as voting and representation in parliament.

We must hold on to some values and norms, some expectations and aspirations.

This is the environment, the atmosphere, that makes democracy work.

This is the so-called political culture which we feel is so necessary in Zambia today if our multi-party democracy is to succeed.

The fundamental value we must have is a respect for diversity and acceptance of pluralism.

Gone are the days when everyone was supposed to think the same way, belong to the same political party, and support the same programme.

True believers in multi-party democracy welcome dialogue and debate over views contrary to their own because they realise that they themselves may not always be right.

They recognise that there is a specific role to be played by each different organisation in a spirit of unity amidst diversity.

This value of respect of diversity and dialogue mean a realisation that political parties are important but that they are not the only actors in democracy. Democracy rests on human rights.

These rights are not endowments of our government but the gifts of our Creator, and are enshrined in the Constitution of our country.

Clearly, the democratic form of government, like all human institutions, is full of shortcomings, but it is the form that suits the human person best, as an intelligent and free being and co-operator with God in the building of this future.

A fundamental element of democracy in any society is the space given to freely choose leaders in a free and fair election.

It is through this that other freedoms follow, such as holding our leaders accountable and replacing them through peaceful means.

Authentic democracy promotes the common good of all.

And what our people are seeking is genuine democracy in which the leaders are servants of the electorate and not masters.

With all that has happened since our return to multipartism in 1991, it is crystal clear that multi-party democracy itself guarantees us nothing. It offers instead the opportunity to succeed as well as the risk of failure.

It is then both a promise and a challenge. It is a promise that as free human beings, working together, we can govern ourselves in a manner that will serve our aspirations for personal freedom, economic opportunity and social justice.

It is a challenge because its success rests upon our shoulders as citizens of this country and no one else.

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 us as citizens of our country who, finally, must take the responsibility for the fate of the society in which we ourselves have chosen to live. In the end, we get the government we deserve.

Labels: DEMOCRACY, PHINEAS BBAALA

posted by MrK @ 8:47 AM