Can the people govern?
Michael Dingake | Wednesday March 5, 2014 10:13
The word ‘people’ is used repeatedly in the definition of democracy: “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, for the people! People come first in democracies. Why would anybody doubt that people can govern?
The question, ‘can the people govern’ however is pertinent because in spite of being the subjects and objects of democracy, people don’t govern! If the people can govern why would they remain poor, hungry, homeless, diseased, unkempt, indebted, jobless, despised by the big shots , who wield political power? Can they ever govern? If not why, not? As we prepare for the general elections in October we need to reflect on this conundrum why people don’t govern when they are supposed to govern. Those who at the moment go under the names of ‘election candidates’ for various parties, do they genuinely represent us, as voters? They’ll be launching their platforms/manifestoes which state what they plan do if we elected them to parliament and councils. The assumption is that what is in the party manifestoes outlines our interests as voters; the launch of the manifestoes is meant to be a form of contract with the party(ies) in case the party(ies) win the elections.
Do the MPs and councillors we elect to represent us fulfill the mandates while in councils/parliament? Very few do. Why? During the Athenian/Spartan - Greek democracy, the Greeks/people represented themselves directly, they chose who would make laws on their behalf, administer the laws, adjudicate disputes in the course of their term of office. If any who were delegated government duties failed in their functions, they were recalled by the people who elected/appointed them. Democracy was direct and alive! Nowadays democracy is indirect and largely dysfunctional. We the people, choose the MPs and councillors we wish and hope will represent us fully in the august institutions and half the time they disappoint us. Why and how does this happen?
There are many reasons why this happens. One reason is, often we don’t know the people we elect to represent us; two, we don’t know the political parties these representatives belong to and precisely what they stand for; three, we don’t understand what they say and do while they serve in these institutions. We are aware Batswana often elect representatives who seldom attend the meetings of these institutions and if they do, they do so just to register their presence for the purpose of drawing sitting allowance, paid to attendees; some attend regularly, but never utter a word to indicate they are the voice of their constituents nor ask any questions to have clarification on obscure issues of law and acts of government.
How can we trust representatives we send to parliament/councils? We can do this by trying to inform ourselves about the various parties that are registered in Botswana: their history, their values, their ideologies, what they believe in, the leaders who run them, are they persons of integrity? Do they care for others or only interested in themselves, their families and their friends? The best way to inform oneself about all this is to read various parties’ brochures and whatever documents they publish, talk to the members of these parties and ask questions : what do they stand for, how do they plan to achieve what they believe in and so on and so forth. Preferably join a party you may fancy; attend the party meetings and don’t be shy to ask questions and express yourself the way you feel on any political issue. By so doing you test whether the party you have joined is authentically democratic. Democracy doesn’t hold at the national or district level only, it applies everywhere and it’s everybody’s entitlement. Political leaders must prove they are democratic at the party level!
Besides belonging to political parties, it’s important as a Motswana, passionate about self-government to associate with other Batswana whether they belong to parties or not, to share political experiences. By interacting with others one gets to appreciate whether the government one elected in the previous general elections is carrying out the pledges in its manifesto. What to do if one discovers one’s favourite, victorious party, isn’t honouring its pledges?
To assert one’s right to govern, one doesn’t watch helplessly when things go wrong. Voters don’t elect persons to govern, outside the mandate they gave them. People shouldn’t wait for the next general elections to take action. In terms of the constitution citizens have inalienable freedoms: freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of speech. These are basic freedoms in any democracy! If a democratic government oversteps its mandate, it’s the duty of the people/voters to protest or demonstrate their disenchantment by calling for delinquent representatives’ heads!
Domkrag spoilt by 46 years in power would like people to ask for police permission to assemble/protest. Only a police state demands that, not a constitutional democracy! Requirement in genuine democracies is INFORM the police, not BEG permission! The people have the right to meet, speak and march without inhibition. So people can govern if they vote wisely, monitor representatives’ performance diligently and don’t hesitate to assemble, march, protest their dissatisfaction. Intelligent, courageous, informed and wise people can govern!