A Monkey Does Not Set a Forest on Fire
- Category: Governance
- Date 17-07-2005
- 426 views
The Union Parliament Speaker Mheshimiwa Pius Msekwa recently warned of the possibility and danger of dirty campaigns that might typify the forthcoming general elections.
According to Mh. Msekwa, however, the problem is not the mere immorality of political rivals adopting smear campaigns. Rather, he is worried that rivals might exploit the shortcomings of the sitting parliamentarians, reveal their failures to the voters and, ultimately, jeopardise the incumbents’ chances of re-election.
Mh. Pius Msekwa pointed out that dirty campaigns are targeted at the current Members of Parliament (wabunge) who are often accused of doing very little to cause development in their respective constituencies. The Speaker said that the serving legislators should be neither blamed for the development gaps in the constituencies they represent nor criticised for being inactive in parliamentary debates.
He added that people should shun politicians who go round talking negatively of incumbent Wabunge[1] (Msekwa hits out at dirty campaigns, The Citizen Tuesday 5th July 2005).
With all due respect to the Mheshimiwa Speaker, I beg to disagree with and blame him for discouraging us from bringing incompetent parliamentarians to book. When inefficient members of the national legislative assembly are evaluated to determine if they indeed are meeting the expectations of their constituents, the Speaker has no point getting anxious or upset about it.
In fact, it should please him that the voters are interested in electing vibrant, sharp-witted representatives. We need Wabunge who can never snore in Parliament and are development oriented. This country desires nothing but development.
It should be politically dangerous for any Member of Parliament who wins elections but fails to perform to the voters’ expectations. Their victory at polls should be a mere flash in the pan.
The absence of development initiatives coupled with a legislator’s ineptness in parliamentary debates is the exact proof of the legislator’s incompetence. Such members of the House are fit for nothing. They should be winnowed out of the national assembly at the next elections, given that it is practically impossible for the electorate to recall their representatives once the elections are over.
A parliamentarian’s performance is measured from his participation in the development programmes in the constituency and the country at large. He is not merely a bringer of development but a participant and often a leader in the development process. His success is also ascribable to the quality of debate he puts up in parliament, failure at which must never go unpunished.
No responsible citizen should be expected to cheer a parliamentarian who has failed to deliver.
The public has a duty to scrutinise the leaders they elect, so criticism should be regarded as part of the public effort to bring the parliamentarians to account. Anyone who opts for a public office accepts responsibility, which goes with accountability.
Moreover, the candidates at elections are never coerced to make promises to the voters whom they give the impression that they would cause amazing progress. The candidates, on their own volition, make such promises during the campaigns.
Therefore, if candidates are sure it is not their duty to bring about the stated progress, then they are either elected on the strength of their lies or on the basis of their ignorance about their roles.
Tell us Pius, if the promised development does not come, who should be blamed? What crime does a political rival commit to remind the voters that the person they elected was not equal to the task?
To say that the failures of bona fide members of parliament should not be discussed is a rude joke. No matter how much their shortfalls may be covered up, if they are real, everyone is guaranteed to know them soon or late. Our expectation is that the concerned Mbunge[2] would have the courtesy to apologise and resign.
Parliament is the country’s vastest melting pot, whereby a slumbering member robs it of its intended diversity, vibrancy and productivity. Defeating an incompetent parliamentarian at the subsequent elections should demonstrate that the constituents are awake about their rights and duties in their country’s development.
When a monkey pleads for a forest not to be set ablaze, it has no reason to give to preserve the jungle, only that it is a familiar dwelling. Similarly, Mh. Msekwa is only obsessed with the familiar faces in Parliament.
By Venansio Ahabwe
Source: Sunday Citizen