Thoughts On Our Democracy

LAST month marked the 17th anniversary of Namibia’s independence.

During much of this period, the Government has been busy with planning, that is, trying to establish priorities and to assign a more appropriate set of weights or levels of importance to the nation’s current preoccupations. Apart from trying to achieve rapid and sustained economic growth, to reduce poverty and inequity in the distribution of income and power, to reform the education system and to try to cope with the scourge of HIV-AIDS, the Government has set for itself the objective of institutionalisation of democracy as one its key priorities.In this specific regard, Namibia has been looked to as one of the promising countries on the African continent.But how do we ourselves view the progress our country has made over the last 17 years to advance democracy in the land of the brave? This article takes a look at the state of our democracy today.In so doing, it raises the question as to whether or not Namibia has done enough in the said period to ensure that ours has, indeed, become a flourishing democracy.Or, are we merely pleased with ourselves at having a façade of democratic governance without the substance of real democracy? By common definition, the word democracy means the government by the people.This means that the people should have the opportunity to participate in a country’s political process and be able to state their views on any issue that has something to do with their lives.Thus, citizens of our country embrace democracy with a view to shape that process towards better quality of life.In ancient Greece, from where the word originated, society was made up of a small community in which every member had the possibility to participate directly in the process of decision-making.That meant that everyone could directly express his or her position on any issue of governance.However, in our day and age, when society has become large, that kind of direct democracy is no longer feasible; and government by the people has taken on the form of representative democracy whereby decision-making is made through representative bodies, elected by the populace.In terms of its defining essence, the democracy is, in our time, the preferred political ideal and best form of government that there is.This is because democracy offers the inspiring promise of greater participation in a country’s political process.Greater participation is essential for the populace to be able to meaningfully influence the process of decision-making and management of state affairs.It is only through greater participation that leadership can be constantly kept in check regarding the politicians’ often vaunted commitment to effective delivery of the benefits of good governance.The Namibian Constitution provides a sound structure for a democratic government.This structure addresses the important question of separation of governmental powers, in the shape of an autonomous legislature, an effective executive branch and an independent judiciary.That state structure or arrangements thereof, which are found in most other democracies, serve an important purpose of “checks and balances”, aimed at preventing or minimising the danger of concentration of too much power in the hands of few people.Such concentration of power has been generally recognised as one of the disadvantages of modern democracy, as it has often led to the abuse of political power by those in whose hands that power is concentrated.0 Most people think of democracy mainly in terms of its structure.But they pay little attention to its substance.Yet, the existence of even the well-framed physical structure is no assurance that genuine democracy will be realised.Therefore, in addition to the physical arrangements stated above, the Namibian Constitution provides mechanisms for conducting free elections.Of course, for any democracy to be viable, it must adhere to the voice of the majority.Hence, our political system gives quite an articulate expression to this key tenet of democracy.But structure and electoral system of a country are by themselves not sufficient conditions for genuine democracy to exist.The substance of democracy is manifested when a country’s socio-economic and political institutions are able to truly extend freedom and power to the people not only to vote, but also to ensure, through popular monitoring and actual pressure, accountability and transparency in the operation of government.A genuinely democratic government must not only be willing and able to defend the peoples’ physical security and the safety of their property by effectively combating crime and other social evils like corruption.It must also be committed to safeguarding the people’s rights and freedom of association, expression and of the media.It must, furthermore, be able to level the playing field for all, and in particular, for business to operate freely and safely.The provision of quality education and health care are also substantive elements which a viable or functioning democracy is expected to deliver to the citizens of a country.The primary responsibility to expand the reach of democracy in our society lies, of course, with the government.But our society as a whole must actively strive to foster the culture of democracy.Thus, the different sectors of society, such as, political parties, NGOs, independent media, business community, the church, academia and all the other organised elements of civil society, have a critical role to play in the deepening and consolidation of the roots of democracy in our country.They must serve as the channels of its propagation.Since in a genuine democracy, the voice of the majority holds reign, our citizenry must be afforded information and knowledge that is necessary to enable the broad majority of our people the capacity for informed and reasoned judgment about the right choices regarding candidates for public office and about events as they unfold in the country.Therefore, in assessing how our democracy has fared over the last 17 years, we should ask ourselves a number of salient questions such as: * Is the system of checks and balances working? * To what extent has the ideal and practice of democracy made a positive impact on the political and socio-economic relations in the country? * Have the political parties done enough to popularise and cement multi-party democracy regarding the electorate? In other words, how serious have our efforts been towards the building of a just, vibrant and inclusive democracy in Namibia? Briefly, we can try to answer these questions first by saying that democracy has made a noticeable beginning in our country.But it has remained a tentative project.It is at a crossroads.It can continue to develop and mature or it can suffer a reversal or disintegrate if not properly nurtured; and there are many examples of such reversal in the world, and particularly in Africa.The electoral process is essentially in place, thus institutionalising voting.This does not mean, however, that political parties always agree that the process is always transparent or free and fair.Moreover, the separation of powers is marred by the preponderant role which the executive branch is playing in the initiation and passing of laws in the parliament.But we can surmise that it will be some time before a proper balance between the executive and the legislature is established.In the meantime, the executive is going to continue to play a predominant role in shaping the legislative agenda of the country.Namibia is also still far from meeting most of the people’s democratic expectations.For instance, we can all take pride in the fact that no Namibian citizen, be it a member of any of the opposition political parties or a journalist, has been arrested or imprisoned for peacefully espousing views that are contrary to those of the government.But we are regrettably still stuck with some of the most reactionary and undemocratic antics like the Government’s ban on The Namibian newspaper.This ban is truly anachronistic.It never served any progressive purpose; and I have to admit guilt for my acquiescence to its unsavoury imposition nearly a decade ago.It stands as an embarrassing blot on our democracy and, more seriously, as a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press.It must be done away with.Keeping it in place flies in the face of our democratisation process.Another sad blemish on our young democracy is the backward tendency of intolerance against those who are perceived to hold opinions that are different from those of some of the powers that be.The recent boycott of a workshop, organised by the Office of the Prime Minister and which was to be facilitated by Dr Joseph Diescho, at Oshakati, is a classic manifestation of such an autocratic intolerance.That workshop had been intended to strengthen the analytical and management capacity of public officials in the Oshana Region.But those in charge of the Oshana Regional Council could not countenance the thought of having constructive dialogue with him.Dr Diescho, who is a prominent Namibian intellectual, deserves to be heard.Namibians must learn to allow different schools of thought to contend.We must make conscious and honest efforts to defend and promote freedom of expression in our society.The boycotting of Dr Diescho’s officially planned presentation was an obvious display of backward thinking and intellectual cowardice which should have no place in our democracy.However, we must be constantly aware that democracy cannot be taken for granted.It will have to be worked for.And the work to bring its benefits to our society is never done.It is a system that holds forth great promises and bright prospects for the future of our nation.Such promises and prospects will touch all.And, as such, they must be defended and promoted by us all.* Hidipo Hamutenya is a Member of Parliament for Swapo.Apart from trying to achieve rapid and sustained economic growth, to reduce poverty and inequity in the distribution of income and power, to reform the education system and to try to cope with the scourge of HIV-AIDS, the Government has set for itself the objective of institutionalisation of democracy as one its key priorities.In this specific regard, Namibia has been looked to as one of the promising countries on the African continent.But how do we ourselves view the progress our country has made over the last 17 years to advance democracy in the land of the brave? This article takes a look at the state of our democracy today.In so doing, it raises the question as to whether or not Namibia has done enough in the said period to ensure that ours has, indeed, become a flourishing democracy.Or, are we merely pleased with ourselves at having a façade of democratic governance without the substance of real democracy? By common definition, the word democracy means the government by the people.This means that the people should have the opportunity to participate in a country’s political process and be able to state their views on any issue that has something to do with their lives.Thus, citizens of our country embrace democracy with a view to shape that process towards better quality of life.In ancient Greece, from where the word originated, society was made up of a small community in which every member had the possibility to participate directly in the process of decision-making.That meant that everyone could directly express his or her position on any issue of governance.However, in our day and age, when society has become large, that kind of direct democracy is no longer feasible; and government by the people has taken on the form of representative democracy whereby decision-making is made through representative bodies, elected by the populace.In terms of its defining essence, the democracy is, in our time, the preferred political ideal and best form of government that there is.This is because democracy offers the inspiring promise of greater participation in a country’s political process.Greater participation is essential for the populace to be able to meaningfully influence the process of decision-making and management of state affairs.It is only through greater participation that leadership can be constantly kept in check regarding the politicians’ often vaunted commitment to effective delivery of the benefits of good governance.The Namibian Constitution provides a sound structure for a democratic government.This structure addresses the important question of separation of governmental powers, in the shape of an autonomous legislature, an effective executive branch and an independent judiciary.That state structure or arrangements thereof, which are found in most other democracies, serve an important purpose of “checks and balances”, aimed at preventing or minimising the danger of concentration of too much power in the hands of few people.Such concentration of power has been generally recognised as one of the disadvantages of modern democracy, as it has often led to the abuse of political power by those in whose hands that power is concentrated.0 Most people think of democracy mainly in terms of its structure.But they pay little attention to its substance.Yet, the existence of even the well-framed physical structure is no assurance that genuine democracy will be realised.Therefore, in addition to the physical arrangements stated above, the Namibian Constitution provides mechanisms for conducting free elections.Of course, for any democracy to be viable, it must adhere to the voice of the majority.Hence, our political system gives quite an articulate expression to this key tenet of democracy.But structure and electoral system of a country are by themselves not sufficient conditions for genuine democracy to exist.The substance of democracy is manifested when a country’s socio-economic and political institutions are able to truly extend freedom and power to the people not only to vote, but also to ensure, through popular monitoring and actual pressure, accountability and transparency in the operation of government.A genuinely democratic government must not only be willing and able to defend the peoples’ physical security and the safety of their property by effectively combating crime and other social evils like corruption.It must also be committed to safeguarding the people’s rights and freedom of association, expression and of the media.It must, furthermore, be able to level the playing field for all, and in particular, for business to operate freely and safely.The provision of quality education and health care are also substantive elements which a viable or functioning democracy is expected to deliver to the citizens of a country.The primary responsibility to expand the reach of democracy in our society lies, of course, with the government.But our society as a whole must actively strive to foster the culture of democracy.Thus, the different sectors of society, such as, political parties, NGOs, independent media, business community, the church, academia and all the other organised elements of civil society, have a critical role to play in the deepening and consolidation of the roots of democracy in our country.They must serve as the channels of its propagation.Since in a genuine democracy, the voice of the majority holds reign, our citizenry must be afforded information and knowledge that is necessary to enable the broad majority of our people the capacity for informed and reasoned judgment about the right choices regarding candidates for public office and about events as they unfold in the country.Therefore, in assessing how our democracy has fared over the last 17 years, we should ask ourselves a number of salient questions such as: * Is the system of checks and balances working? * To what extent has the ideal and practice of democracy made a positive impact on the political and socio-economic relations in the country? * Have the political parties done enough to popularise and cement multi-party democracy regarding the electorate? In other words, how serious have our efforts been towards the building of a just, vibrant and inclusive democracy in Namibia? Briefly, we can try to answer these questions first by saying that democracy has made a noticeable beginning in our country.But it has remained a tentative project.It is at a crossroads.It can continue to develop and mature or it can suffer a reversal or disintegrate if not properly nurtured; and there are many examples of such reversal in the world, and particularly in Africa.The electoral process is essentially in place, thus institutionalising voting.This does not mean, however, that political parties always agree that the process is always transparent or free and fair.Moreover, the separation of powers is marred by the preponderant role which the executive branch is playing in the initiation and passing of laws in the parliament.But we can surmise that it will be some time before a proper balance between the executive and the legislature is established.In the meantime, the executive is going to continue to play a predominant role in shaping the legislative agenda of the country.Namibia is also still far from meeting most of the people’s democratic expectations.For instance, we can all take pride in the fact that no Namibian citizen, be it a member of any of the opposition political parties or a journalist, has been arrested or imprisoned for peacefully espousing views that are contrary to those of the government.But we are regrettably still stuck with some of the most reactionary and undemocratic antics like the Government’s ban on The Namibian newspaper.This ban is truly anachronistic.It never served any progressive purpose; and I have to admit guilt for my acquiescence to its unsavoury imposition nearly a decade ago.It stands as an embarrassing blot on our democracy and, more seriously, as a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press.It must be done away with.Keeping it in place flies in the face of our democratisation process.Another sad blemish on our young democracy is the backward tendency of intolerance against those who are perceived to hold opinions that are different from those of some of the powers that be.The recent boycott of a workshop, organised by the Office of the Prime Minister and which was to be facilitated by Dr Joseph Diescho, at Oshakati, is a classic manifestation of such an autocratic intolerance.That workshop had been intended to strengthen the analytical and management capacity of public officials in the Oshana Region.But those in charge of the Oshana Regional Council could not countenance the thought of having constructive dialogue with him.Dr Diescho, who is a prominent Namibian intellectual, deserves to be heard.Namibians must learn to allow different schools of thought to contend.We must make conscious and honest efforts to defend and promote freedom of expression in our society.The boycotting of Dr Diescho’s officially planned presentation was an obvious display of backward thinking and intellectual cowardice which should have no place in our democracy.However, we must be constantly aware that democracy cannot be taken for granted.It will have to be worked for.And the work to bring its benefits to our society is never done.It is a system that holds forth great promises and bright prospects for the future of our nation.Such promises and prospects will touch all.And, as such, they must be defended and promoted by us all. * Hidipo Hamutenya is a Member of Parliament for Swapo.