Looking at democracy from its practical discourse, it could be contested that the central promise of democracy in any nation-state is to deliver good governance as evidenced by the sound social rapport existing between those in power and the electorate. Within the functional framework of a democracy, it is an open secret that those holding political positions must be held accountable especially for their performance and lack of performance thereof. Repeated dissatisfaction as evidenced by poor performance by those in positions of power threatens the values of democracy and makes the whole concept of democracy a mere political gimmick. Democratic breakdowns in many states result from entrusting incompetent leaders with positions of power and when leaders fail to rise to the challenges of a democracy, the process of democratic rule can become tyrannical. When that happens, both the minority and majority become victims and orphans in the ultimate since democratic values will cease to be upheld. When leaders fail to perform consequences of poor governance begin to come to the fore and consequently democracy breakdowns and goes into recession. Botswana’s democracy today is not only an orphan by it has gone into recession. The nation is whipping because it is experiencing “democratic downturn/breakdown” for the first time since this nation was relieved from the chains of colonial rule and bondage.
The public service strike which was initially undermined and downplayed by those in superior positions of power has escalated to a temperature which is too hot for anybody to handle including those who were non-responsive to the challenges of the strike when the smoke began to rise. Now we hear that some of them are running helter-skelter for their lives at different social platforms – an indication that the strike is real and is becoming venomous. My fellow countrymen, let us be reminded that the Greeks were not flawed in their philosophy when they perceived the fact that democracy (demos-for the people) and (kratos-rule) can only function if the people are involved rather than being run through authoritarian ambitions. Democracy and autocracy or dictatorship is like oil and water; they will never mix. Whenever the masses decide to rise against those in positions of power, let us be warned given the Greek’s interpretation of the concept of democracy that democracy will never exist without the involvement of the people. Chaos always becomes a public eyesore if the leaders decide to ignore the people within the democratic process. As such, the attitudes and behaviors of our leaders in the middle of this strike which is slowly but surely crippling our economy and tarnishing our image in the global village, should change for the better.
If anything, let those who are not willing to give an ear to the cries of the people resign their public offices so as to preserve the integrity and identity of this democracy.
For the sake of continued survival of this democracy, our leaders ought to reassess themselves and be able to answer these questions; Is what we are doing really good for the citizens of this country? If I remain silent when the country is in flames, am I doing justice to this country and generations to come? Why should I continue earning a paycheck if I cannot defend this country’s democracy? What kind of a legacy am I really going to leave behind? Did the masses vote me into office (if voted) so I can become a spectator whiles the nation is going to the dogs? What really matters to me-the money and luxurious life I am living or the democratic future of this country? For how long am I going to be a boot-licker and a worshiper of the politics of the stomach doctrine? If I were to die today (God forbid), what do I want Batswana to remember me for? These are difficulty questions which every leader in a political position of power should ask themselves and change their focus from hanging into their one-time opportunities to be rich at the expense of sustainable democratic governance of the state.
Botswana today is witnessing failure of political accountability and the quality of those we call our leaders is truly disheartening. Patron-clientilistic tendencies (scratch my back I will scratch yours) within this democracy are becoming very clear taking into account the revelations from the strike. I mean we have seen the most disgraceful moments from our leaders since the strike started.
Do you remember assertions like; Oh yah everything is well and the strike has no impact, Yes our schools are running smoothly and God continues to be good, No crisis in the health sector people are working hard, Generally the strike has no impact blah-blah. After two minutes then the language changed, Oh gosh, now things are tough we are closing down schools, hospitals and clinics are getting closed, sewage is lying all over, people are on strike, we shall use any means necessary to maintain order, why do people want to bring down the country, please people should go back to work etc. Folks, you should have known from the word go that arrogance will never build nor run a democracy. Just as we confess time and again that ntwa kgolo ke a molomo, from the word go the workers should have been given attention and be addressed rather than being ignored and called names such as irresponsible and opportunistic citizens. Whether they would have been given the 16% or not is not the issue.
The issue is they should have been given audience rather than being verbally assaulted. A democracy cannot be run by misdirected personal emotions. The democratic process functions productively through leaders who can listen to the concerns of the people and disagree with them amicably rather than becoming emotional and irrational. Democracy survives on diversity of opinions.
I have warned this nation before through this column when the strike began that the differences that exist between the employer and the employed will never be resolved through the courts nor through negligence and arrogance and I still want to re-channel my message to those leaders who care to listen that this strike needs nothing else but leaders who are good listeners and willing to narrow themselves down to the levels of the ordinary citizens. We need some equilibrium oriented behaviour of leaders in order to resolve the impasse. If you cannot usher in ideas as a leader on how the strike should be stopped then do the honourable thing by resigning your position(s) for the integrity of this nation in general and for the continued sustenance of a democratic culture in Botswana. Remember that we ought to preserve this democracy for generations to come-the world does not end with us. I do not believe that as a nation we should resort to undemocratic ways or running the country so as to maintain or hang-on to power. In summation, my analysis yields that the current crisis in our democracy reflects failure in leadership in many dimensions and if individuals are not willing to self-introspect and act logically for the sake of saving this democracy then truly our democracy will remain an orphan.
*Dr Agreement Lathi Jotia is Senior Lecturer and a scholar of Democracy and Education at the University of Botswana
