Society Must Also Care For Itself

CICERO, Machiavelli and the American founders held that society must reproduce itself by producing good citizens.

By extension, this would mean that the measure of any good society in modern times would lie in the quality of its citizens, what they become in their pursuit of their ethical projects, that is to say what they become: doctors, taxi drivers, teachers, lawyers, engineers, leaders and so on. Taken in a loose and baggy sense, it is then assumed that the political task of the government is to create a well-ordered society, where social ills, interconnected as they are, such as crime and unemployment, remain under control or are ideally eradicated.In shorthand, we believe that it is the responsibility of government to cater for our human flourishing by intervening in various domains in society.And most of us have reduced our role to the bare minimum and forget about the role we have to play in this.Such a philosophical background is necessary to underline what could be the essence of citizenship and an organised society.At the beginning of the 2007 High Court year a few weeks ago, Judge President Petrus Damaseb, the Minister of Justice Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and the President of the Law Society of Namibia, Esi Chase, brought into sharp focus a litany of problems facing the judiciary and the administration of justice in Namibia.But what was striking about their speeches, notably those of the Judge President and Esi Chase, was their message that went beyond traditional expectations from Government into the realm of public-private partnerships.A lucid case in point was some law firms which availed staff over weekends last year to assist the Registrar of the High Court with filing to clear the backlog due to staff shortages in that office.Another initiative worth praise is the one by the Ombudsman where legal practitioners working in parastatals could volunteer to represent prison appellants.And more remarkable was the suggestion by the President of the Law Society for the legal profession to take responsibility for the development of Namibian jurisprudence through the law reports.Apparently, such reports are at risk due to a lack of Government funding, yet they are vital for members of the legal profession.For members of a profession that rake in riches to take responsibility for the preparation of such reports, is not only noble and maybe long overdue, but it is also exemplary.Such an assertion, remote as it may sound for us members of society who are not affected directly by such reports, does provide some home truths.I think that most us as members of society and not only organised professions, are faced in one way or the other with shortcomings, notably the inability of Government to care in some instances for our needs, even if it is the responsibility of Government to do so.But the point that should be driven home is that many social ills in society greatly demand our mobilisation and intervention as good citizens.Two issues deserve to be highlighted where our interventions as members of society could make a difference.The issue of crime, for example, is one where expectations are focused largely on the Police doing the job of making our streets safe and the courts meting out harsher sentences to those who make our streets unsafe.Our traditional argument is that it is the job of the Police to do so, without asking how communities can play a positive role in the fight against crime.In fact, I would have more respect for the Namibia Shebeens Association if they could tell us how they contribute to the fight against crime on our streets, instead of yelling and slaughtering a cow at Parliament.Secondly, in the education sector, parents would expect the school as a social institution to be a place of discipline and social engineering, whilst in some instances they neglect these values in their own homes.In short, we can’t expect the school, notably overstretched teachers, to do what we can’t do in our homes.I am not saying that societal activism is a panacea to our social ills, Government intervention is crucial in our lives and we should demand more, but we should stop looking at Government as an end in that process.I think that once we take this question seriously, we are bound to acknowledge that as good citizens we also need to take care of ours souls and play a complimentary role to the efforts of government.So, the case of the Law Society of Namibia taking initiative in assisting Government with the law reports to the benefit of not only the members of the profession itself, but also the administration of justice does provide hope and scope in a broader sense for society to start caring for itself.* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.Taken in a loose and baggy sense, it is then assumed that the political task of the government is to create a well-ordered society, where social ills, interconnected as they are, such as crime and unemployment, remain under control or are ideally eradicated.In shorthand, we believe that it is the responsibility of government to cater for our human flourishing by intervening in various domains in society.And most of us have reduced our role to the bare minimum and forget about the role we have to play in this.Such a philosophical background is necessary to underline what could be the essence of citizenship and an organised society.At the beginning of the 2007 High Court year a few weeks ago, Judge President Petrus Damaseb, the Minister of Justice Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and the President of the Law Society of Namibia, Esi Chase, brought into sharp focus a litany of problems facing the judiciary and the administration of justice in Namibia.But what was striking about their speeches, notably those of the Judge President and Esi Chase, was their message that went beyond traditional expectations from Government into the realm of public-private partnerships.A lucid case in point was some law firms which availed staff over weekends last year to assist the Registrar of the High Court with filing to clear the backlog due to staff shortages in that office.Another initiative worth praise is the one by the Ombudsman where legal practitioners working in parastatals could volunteer to represent prison appellants.And more remarkable was the suggestion by the President of the Law Society for the legal profession to take responsibility for the development of Namibian jurisprudence through the law reports.Apparently, such reports are at risk due to a lack of Government funding, yet they are vital for members of the legal profession.For members of a profession that rake in riches to take responsibility for the preparation of such reports, is not only noble and maybe long overdue, but it is also exemplary.Such an assertion, remote as it may sound for us members of society who are not affected directly by such reports, does provide some home truths.I think that most us as members of society and not only organised professions, are faced in one way or the other with shortcomings, notably the inability of Government to care in some instances for our needs, even if it is the responsibility of Government to do so.But the point that should be driven home is that many social ills in society greatly demand our mobilisation and intervention as good citizens.Two issues deserve to be highlighted where our interventions as members of society could make a difference.The issue of crime, for example, is one where expectations are focused largely on the Police doing the job of making our streets safe and the courts meting out harsher sentences to those who make our streets unsafe.Our traditional argument is that it is the job of the Police to do so, without asking how communities can play a positive role in the fight against crime.In fact, I would have more respect for the Namibia Shebeens Association if they could tell us how they contribute to the fight against crime on our streets, instead of yelling and slaughtering a cow at Parliament.Secondly, in the education sector, parents would expect the sc
hool as a social institution to be a place of discipline and social engineering, whilst in some instances they neglect these values in their own homes.In short, we can’t expect the school, notably overstretched teachers, to do what we can’t do in our homes.I am not saying that societal activism is a panacea to our social ills, Government intervention is crucial in our lives and we should demand more, but we should stop looking at Government as an end in that process.I think that once we take this question seriously, we are bound to acknowledge that as good citizens we also need to take care of ours souls and play a complimentary role to the efforts of government.So, the case of the Law Society of Namibia taking initiative in assisting Government with the law reports to the benefit of not only the members of the profession itself, but also the administration of justice does provide hope and scope in a broader sense for society to start caring for itself.* Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD fellow in political science at the University of Paris- Panthéon Sorbonne, France.