Government ought to listen even more

BY EDITOR

1st August 2013

Editorial Cartoon

“Government of the people, by the people and for the people” is arguably one of the oldest, least contentious and most popular definitions of democracy. Of course, its practicability in real life raises difficult questions.

The definition presupposes that members of a given community elect a leadership through a voting system of their choice and entrust that small group of representatives with oversight over most aspects of their survival and development, including well being and security.

To empower the activities of this group of leaders, members of the community contribute money – in the form of taxes, etc. – to the government. By merit of the citizenry’s votes and taxes, the country expects the government to carry out activities geared towards improving the people’s welfare.

This perception is challenged time and again, particularly when the government fails to deliver on its end of the bargain. The corrupting influence of power soon takes effect, greed sets in and some of those in authority begin pursuing personal interests. Anarchy then erupts, the Arab Spring serving as the most recent of modern-day examples.
It is in this vein that we salute our government for keeping, though for sure not that fully, its end of the bargain in that people vote and pay tax and it steers the country into better living conditions.

President Jakaya Kikwete’s stand on the proposed introduction of simcard tax, which has touched off an avalanche of criticism, is worth mentioning.

There citizenry may not be that unanimous on the issue, but many are insistent that this is a burden for ordinary Tanzanians to bear. The president responded by meeting representatives of stakeholders and the relevant ministries, and now a bill on the matter is set to return to the National Assembly for amendments yet to be revealed but most likely for the good of the consuming public.

The people spoke, the government responded – in swift though partial fulfilment of the requirements of democratic practice in line with the “government of, by and for the people” spirit.

Finance minister Dr William Mgimwa has chipped in, declaring: “We are not going to start charging…because we are still addressing the concerns raised.” These remarks may have been made rather belatedly, but no matter if the people’s misgivings are attended to.

Another commendable move by the government that expresses respect for democratic representation of the people is the inclusive process adopted during the run-up to the formulation of the draft of the country’s new Constitution.

The Constitution is supposed to be the “mother law” in any country and drawing it up without enlisting the people’s views would be worse than – actually defeating the very purpose of having it.

Not that the Tanzanian government is blameless, especially what with the corruption, misappropriation of public funds, abuses of office and excessive use of force by law-enforcement agents we keep witnessing. All these point to serious problems with governance, including lack of effective checks and balance, and it is an unacceptable and indefensible situation.

But as the Kiswahili saying goes, we need to condemn the guilty but also guarantee them their due rights. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN