It’s Time to Pull Deadwood Out of Parliament
- Category: Governance
- Date 20-09-2009
- 283 views
You recall vividly the political slogan that Jakaya Kikwete (JK) espoused as he ascended the presidency of Bongo four years ago. Everything would be new: ‘New vigour, new zeal, and new speed’.
With any luck, his government would not become the proverbial new wine in old bottles. Under the new administration that proclaimed novelty, there possibly would be no place for deadwood in the legislature, judiciary or executive, except in very desperate circumstances.
If there scarcely has been something new, wabongo have gained new ways of thinking, fresh and unique to the African terrain. That the term of office for a member of parliament should be regulated is surely a first from Bongo and an idea that deserves urgent attention and implementation. That is how to make history.
It has been reported that some wabongo see no sense in allowing a person to remain a mbunge for decades as though a constituency or parliamentary chambers are his personal property. Even worse as mothers churn out babies that will require political space in a few decades (See: “Call to limit terms of legislators”, The Guardian, 9th September 2009).
Why do some people get elected again and again beyond their productive years? Most of the reasons for this are laughable. The English say that ‘experience is the best teacher’ and this is where some inert persons derive an excuse to do or be the same things over and over again.
Some individuals encourage the fallacy that parliament or government would crumble if they were not part of it; the endemic mentality in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Gabon, Togo, Libya, and Ethiopia. However, people who boast of ‘experience’ often are experienced at doing things wrongly.
A competent servant must have objectives and targets, smart enough to achieve in a limited period. Doing the same job for so long may be evidence of failure to deliver proper results. A person who assumes office without clear goals will spend their career quibbling and will never know if the task is accomplished. Not knowing what really they wanted to achieve, they will keep working on the project till God-knows-when.
The issue of preserving culture too has been cited, as every system or institution indeed cherishes a culture. Some wabunge regard themselves as custodians of the country’s legislative tradition. Yet culture is dynamic and cannot be preserved through inert grandees – mere mortals – and being mortal, every leader ought to realise that they are dispensable. When leaders nurse such tendencies, society can and should intervene and force them to retire through term limits.
Insatiable lust for power may be another reason for sticking to political office by hook or crook. Many wabunge are trapped within a lavish political cachet and cannot imagine how to survive outside of it. Ensnared, they can only submit to the dictates of political lust, which grows more inflamed and madder the more one enjoys. Term limits would certainly untangle the bonds and set the captives free.
Wabunge certainly enjoy their status but they may abuse it if not regulated. According to Laurence Peter (1972) ‘a single human organism can over-consume the best of nutritious life sustaining food and develop indigestion or obesity that will impair his health and endanger his life’.
Overstaying in office leads to incompetence, so whether an aged man begs to render free services or promise to deliver heaven on earth, it is mostly wise to reject such a volunteer.
Progress is marked by change. Barrack Obama has taught us that every situation can change. Young men and women should assert their energies to bring about the change they need. Lamenting about the grandees’ endless tenure in the bunge is not any form of answer to the problem.
Where are the girls and boys with sufficient courage and resolve to take the bull by the horns and drag deadwood out of the congress?
By Venansio Ahabwe
Source: The Comrade, The Guardian on Sunday