Democracy does not abolish public protest...!
Michael Dingake | Tuesday November 3, 2015 15:43
The Greeks, from whom we inherited the democratic concept had an element of recall in political institutions, to emphasise the fact that fulfillment of the public interest was key to incumbency phenomenon. Abe Lincoln, the American president summed up the concept for practical use, by defining democracy as ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people!’ Democratic offices are created for the objective of serving the represented!
It is wrong, altogether wrong, to see elected representatives pursuing their personal, sectarian and partisan interest instead of the public interest. It is even more wrong for the chosen few to take offence when they are pilloried for neglecting the public interest.
Recently we had outbursts from the president and his Minister of energy and water resources, going ballistic, when voters marched in protest against the short supply of these resources. The president protested that he was not God nor rainmaker to be blamed for the scarcity of water in the Gaborone dam or the country as a whole; he stopped short of asking people to blame God for their woes; the Minister was sarcastic and belligerent; he virtually challenged the protest marchers to mobilise more marchers to impress him: 200 marchers to create an impression was paltry and insulting to him. Huh!
The president and his Minister take Batswana for granted. They should know that in terms of political authority they owe Batswana intelligent and serious responses on their commissions and omissions. Provision of power and water, is a basic need for which the duo are answerable to Batswana; the moment they fail to provide the resources to Batswana, they disqualify themselves from the positions they hold. Batswana are legitimately within their rights to complain and demand provision of these basic resources. Passing the buck to God won’t rescue them from obligations. Derision about the number of protest marchers is arrogant and won’t do; since modern democracy functions through representatives, one Motswana representing a million or two is sufficient spokesperson to be heeded, particularly when the complaint cannot be denied by an appointed Minister. Dereliction of duty is unacceptable especially when the Minister is the first to admit, power and water supply in the country has reached a crisis point. Why does he expect the whole population of Gaborone to march in protest when the numbers could affect the day’s economic production negatively? If the Minister won’t deny energy and water crisis exists, why must he moan when reminded to shake off the lethargy possessing his body and mind, to deliver on his party’s pledges and public expectations?
‘People deserve the government they get,’ does not imply those chosen to be rulers can do whatever they like and escape criticism and the people’s wrath when they deviate. Five years between elections is too long a period to sit and watch underperforming authorities. Batswana have been indifferent to whether the elected representatives deliver on their elections mandate or not.
The reason why this has been so, is that voters were either ignorant of alternative methods to enforce the representatives’ compliance with their responsibilities. Many deviant ruling parties have been brought into line by mass protests. Remember the US government when it was bent on napalm bombing the Vietnamese into submission to the American imperialist yoke, to be carried on their necks and all South East Asians in perpetuity, while at the same time they claimed to be the torchbearers of Abe Lincoln democratic badge under which the US was leading the world to earthly democratic bliss. Naked hypocrisy! Fortunately, ordinary Americans rose as individuals and as organisations without waiting for general elections ritual.
Had they not done so, the international community from the South pole to the North pole, would still be suffering under the whiplash of the Ku Klux Clan disguised as US democracy, flying the star-spangled banner.
Vigilance and resistance is the best policy to preserve democracy as defined by Abe Lincoln in this world of dog-eat-dog. In short the survival of democracy depends on protest marches and peaceful demonstrations against any governing party that promises to deliver services at elections only to rest on its laurels between general elections!
Events of the past fortnight in SA are revealing. When the liberation movement called upon the South African masses to sacrifice themselves for SA freedom, the LM made promises in the Freedom Charter: “…The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture , to honour human brotherhood (sisterhood, not excluded) liberty and peace. Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children ….”
I know the men and women who drafted this beautiful Charter weren’t bluffing, they were genuine and meant every word they said about education. Why then did the ruling party, leaders of the liberation struggle have to wait to be reminded by the University children 21 years after the LM assumed power? Admittedly human memory is short and frail.
Fortunately institutional memory is evergreen. The ‘Fees must fall’ demonstrations of the past fortnight, were necessary to remind the government of, ‘free, compulsory, universal and equal education pledge.
The rulers had forgotten this important pledge, placed it on the back burner and no longer regarded it as priority. The protestors did a sterling job. And it was good to see President Zuma respond positively, without hesitation! In Botswana, would this have happened without further wrangling? Money, this and the other, blah blah…..!