The resignation of Thabo Mbeki from the South African
Presidency is the biggest victory for democracy in Africa in recent times.
It
is unprecedented, and reassuring to those of us who hope to entrench the position of
ideas and of political parties in governance. It is unprecedented for the simple fact that
such magnanimous acts are unheard of in Africa's fractious political landscape.
In our still nascent democracies, the opportunity to serve in leadership is,
once attained, viewed as a God-given right, a privilege. The holders of such
office are loathe to relinquish their positions and unlikely to bend to such
forces as intend to check their exercise of power.
However, this is not merely an attitude of successful
politicians. As was recently the case in our own country, this attitude is
begins in the manner in which elections are contested and the wealth of
irregularities that inform the entire elective process.
That most African leaders are products of such flawed,
repressive and compromised electoral processes explains their attitude of
disdain toward their citizens and the customs and traditions required for the
functioning of a democratic, well-governed state.
It is against this backdrop that the Mbeki case represents a
radical departure for Africa. While credit must go to the party functions that
propelled him to power, he must also be lauded for his courageous step. These
two form the basis of my submission, that political parties are institutions
for fostering good governance and deepening democratic ideals.
The political party system in Africa is in a shambles. Apart
from their core objective of mobilisation toward the achievement of political
power (ostensibly for the implementation of advertised programmes), there is
little else in our party system that bears similarity to those of more advanced
democracies. They are instead an extension of the personal property of
potentates, used as vehicles for the scramble for and partition of political fiefdoms
and subsequently, for the most primitive accretion of wealth.
As most political parties are cash strapped, they have no
lives once cut off from the support systems of the party leaders and their
cronies. This dependency creates a culture of dictatorship and patronage that
elevates the party chiefs into demi-gods and precludes true democracy. The
party leader then decides at the nomination stage, which contestant his
resources get to support on the party ticket, and what officials run the
political party that his fina
The party memberships, its regular members, remain mere
pawns in the running of party affairs.Parties rarely hold meetings, consultation is unheard of, and all
decisions are handed down from on high. This is why the examples of ANC and to
a lesser extent Tanzania's CCM are refreshingly different.These parties ,well grounded on solid
ideological positions, have clear visions and pragmatic action plans. The
parties have practical and effective organs with the capacity to address
emerging issues of any magnitude (see the seamless transition in South
Africa).The ANC has been and remains
such a monolith primarily because its structure is known, predictable and
efficacious. These parties are designed in a fashion that ensures both their longevity
beyond that of prominent personalities, and also that they will remain responsive
to issues of post
The ANC Youth League
and Workers Congress for example are organs whose particularly progressive
stances keep the party's soul in constant touch with its founding premises.
These you will note, have persisted at once as the formations that resist
attempts at either veering off the purposes for which the party was
founded,and the sources for renewal and
rejuvenation.
It is thus that the recent upheavals in the ANC represent
not change, but continuation, even an affirmation of the party's precepts. The
ANC's change of leadership and the change at the national level evince a spirit
that insists on the superiority of the many over the individual. This subordination
of the individual to the wishes of the majority and on party structures
underscores the fact that leaders are servants of those whose energies put them
in positions of prominence.
As Kenyans contemplate the impending Political Parties Act,
it is my hope that our political parties are transformed into similar
organisations. The Act promises to revolutionise the mobilisation and
management of party finances. If successfully implemented, it has the capacity
to transform parties into viable, vibrant organisations with national outlooks.
It promises to create political movements collecting Kenyans around specific
issues and channelling their efforts towards results greater than successful ethnic
mobilisation. Parliament's effort will
serve to weed our political field of a multitude of briefcase parties and promote
instead the collection of these into ideological formations.
Under the Act, parties have the opportunity to transform
themselves and Kenya's politics from the opacity and backwardness of
personality cults into transparent and accountable establishments that enjoy
the participation of the Kenyan people in the conduct of their affairs.The diversity and legitimate competing
interests of our fellow citizens will play out into satisfactory compromises,
as businesses, the youth, women, the disabled, students, workers and farmers
are unshackled from allegiance to ethnicity. Those parties that are successful
at attaining political power out of this competition and from this structural background
will be far more likely to respect the rule of law, common decency, minority
rights and fundamental freedoms. They will have none of the background in bare-knuckle,
zero-sum politics that plagues our politics today and precludes its service of
Kenyans needs.
Politicians passed the Political Parties Act because they wanted state funds to run their parties. The Act turned out to have more teeth than the politicians expected. Now, they're ganging up against it. Please refer to this article from the Standard:
Parties unite against ‘offending’ Act Published on 29/09/2008 By Joseph Murimi
Major political parties have joined hands to plot an overthrow of the Political Parties Act that they fear may spell their doom.
In a rare show of unity, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Party of National Unity (PNU) and ODM-K have enlisted the support of 78 political parties to subvert the implementation of the Act.
Several parties are to team up with the Centre for Multi-Party Democracy-Kenya (CMD) to move to court and file a constitutional reference with the aim of declaring the new law unconstitutional.
The CMD oversight board met last Thursday and concluded that some sections of the new law are "unconstitutional and would lead to the stifling of multi-partyism in Kenya".
If you still had hope in Kenyan leaders, I suggest you start forgetting about it right now!!
report abuse
vote down
vote up
Votes: +0
... written by ZODIAC , October 16, 2008
The report is spot on. The underlying issues are ineptitude and below average perfomance of my Kibaki as concerns politics and social well-being of Kenyans in general. The other is culture of impunity and raw hubris from people who by then were close to the sunctum of power. Am talking of the likes of Michuki,Karume, and surprisingly Uhuru (This one, and Kabando organised Mungiki goons to unleash terror on defenseless women,children and passengers in Naivasha). All this noise that RUTO and Rift valley MPs planned and sanctioned the violence could be just speculative and merely out of hate. Who does not know that Kikuyus hate Ruto and Raila. They can never have good words for the duo.
Lastly, you can only be surprised by the police indictment if you are naive. The force is replete with myriad shortcomings. On a many occasions, you will hear that "my boys challenged the thugs and the thugs started firing at them. My boys then returned fire killing two of them and one escaped; We recovered 'a TOY PISTOL'". Simply put we have a force that does know what maintaining law and order is about and the tragedy is that its headed by an arrogant army general.
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
If you still had hope in Kenyan leaders, I suggest you start forgetting about it right now!!