Our Democracy Needs Volunteers And Activists

THE ideological blueprint of Swapo, including its dominant crop of leaders, was minted in the 1960s. With independence, which occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union, facilitated by the end of the Cold War, the Marxist-Leninist ideological anchors of Swapo were shaken with Namibia forging ahead on the basis of political and economic liberalism.

Our Constitution is undoubtedly a celebration of liberal values. As a result, Namibia ought to be a country inhabited by liberal men and women. In short, we all ought to be liberals. However, when you look at the state of Namibia today, our democracy appears increasingly transitional, stuck in that phase, and as a consequence more fragile.The 1990s, which was a golden era for our democracy and institution-building process, now seems more like a brief historical interlude, and a mistake in the political engineering of our republic. Why is our democracy stuck? Importantly, what are the consequences of a democracy stuck in a transitional phase?Our democracy is stuck because the ruling party has increasingly become accountable to itself and not necessarily to the people who elected it to power. A vote for Swapo has come to mean the confirmation of self-interested pitches, which now have translated in a return to the liberation vision of the 1960s.This view is pretty evident when you observe how development is no longer cast in terms of priorities, but more on the basis of pride and how much individuals can gain from state-projects.The construction of the new State House, the Heroes Acre and the Independence Museum confirm a litany of ill-timed and ill-informed projects, which have less to do with the cultural and historical vitality of our state, but are more about the confirmation of self-interested pitches.The fact that these are inspired, constructed and funded by countries that do not share our liberal ideals, confirm the extent of our democracy as a historical accident.Being stuck confirms the thesis of our democracy as something that has been done to us by the West at the negotiating table.Accepting democratic rule at independence was not a democratic end in itself, but a means to other ends – being independent and negotiating differently the rules of democratic governance as the years wore on.Also, as the years wear on, Swapo has sucked out the lifeblood from our democratic institutions, including the legislature and the judiciary.The corrosive effect of the constant tampering with the ethos of democratic governance translated in our judiciary and many other implicit democratic institutions becoming cautious enterprises, watching closely the political pulse of the ruling party before they act on some of the pressing challenges before them.If former President Sam Nujoma appeared on occasion to threaten the form of our democratic life, under President Hifikepunye Pohamba, the substance of our democratic life is on shaky ground. As Namibia’s second President, Pohamba’s rule was supposed to be characterised by the consolidation of our democracy.Instead, the weak governance that is the hallmark of his presidency is an even bigger threat to our democratic project.The shocking indifference and the nonchalant attitude of President Pohamba with regard to corruption and incompetence threatens the long-term sustainability of our republic.When corruption is not dealt with, it breeds powerful and untouchable men and women who negotiate their interests on equal terms with politicians, the executive, and other institutions of democratic governance.The entrenchment of such a culture may not necessarily compromise an indifferent ruling party benefiting from corruption, but the integrity of a democratic political system would certainly be at stake.The overbearing political projects in which many Swapo leaders were socialised during their years of exile are those of Zambia, Angola and the former Soviet Union.The thinking of these archaic systems increasingly dominates our political life.The hardening and radicalisation of language in Swapo, including indifference with regard to integrity in public office, is shaking the long-term prospects of our democracy. To reverse this trend, volunteers and activists must step up the fight to protect our democratic project. * Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is a PhD-fellow in political science and researcher at the Centre for Political Research at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, France. He is currently a guest lecturer in European Studies at Rouen Business School, France.