Our Politics Should Return To The Founding Compromise Of The Republic

THE birth and independence of our republic is a mixture of primary resistance, the armed libera- tion struggle, internal defiance and finally political settlement through compromise. As the years were on, I should emphasise the ability and willingness of protagonists to sit and reach a political settlement and compromise as having been one of the most significant of these aspects.

Without a doubt, the end of the Cold War did facilitate the willingness of all parties to discuss the future of contested territory. Looking at the birth of our nation through the angle of compromise is pretty instructive because it should ordinarily provide the basis through which Namibians unpack the political conversation and the future of the country.In another form, but marking continuity from the political settlement, the process through which our Constitution was written and the compromises that were made are reflective of the desire for a certain type of society and country. This desire was based on democratic instincts. However, the desire on the part of our political class to speak to each other and with us as citizens in a meaningful and engaging manner seems to have been forfeited. If many of us are to varying degrees responsible for having lost the desire to participate actively in a democratic political conversation, the ruling party should take much of the blame. In crafting the debate, if at all it does these days, Swapo has become an inward-looking outfit, mostly aggressive and unable to engage and participate candidly without name-calling in the conversation about the development of this country. In light of the power it holds over the state and many of us, it has lost the focus and the need to engage other Namibians who do not necessarily share the tunnel-vision outlook it has started to articulate for the country.The knock-on effects of this lack of vision have been visible in the manner in which Swapo politicians, including its media machine engage with other Namibians. The limits of such an approach, which implies more an absence of confidence on the part of other Namibians, should be pretty obvious for Swapo to see. Yet, it does not. The ruling party continues to push the agenda of this country without seeking to involve many of the critical, but progressive forces, that are necessary to steer Namibia on a path of greatness.Without a commitment to shared values and principles in a democratic space that is shared, our prestige and the shining example we once were, is all but lost. We have receded through indifference with regard to the ingredients of what makes others successful. Our failures are largely rooted in our inability to construct a meaningful, pragmatic and honest conversation about our country.Those who operate on the margins of decisions ought to find it extremely shocking when leaders refuse to be accountable and transparent when it comes to policy processes. There is an apparent indifference with regard to what many think of what is happening in government, including how government business is conducted. In light of this, Swapo has retreated from an honest conversation with Namibians, which should include participation in the internal intellectual debate. On the contrary, we have not seen in recent years, policymakers, particularly cabinet members, engaging in public discourse through panel discussions and public lectures. Such platforms, common features of our first decade, are seen as enemy platforms at which ministers should not be seen or heard.The key question is: how do we develop a sound country when the men and women who ought to engage and be questioned choose to ignore the conversation that they should have (and the compromises they should make) with important constituencies and stakeholders in a republic? When last have we seen a minister participating in a panel discussion on Namibian soil? They are quick to do so on foreign soil to pick up allowances. Yet, what ought to happen in a republic founded on compromise are politicians who are local, but are thinking global. We have seen that parliamentary debates are essential as they compel the men and women in power to hear competing views. But the manner in which Swapo has chosen to engage the opposition in parliament has made that chamber an insufficient platform for the conversation about the country.The current state of events should not stop us from looking beyond these present problems. We have to think seriously about how a community of Namibians might come together to a have greater say in a country in which our influence and voice has been waning. It implies rethinking what the compromise at independence entailed. It also implies harnessing all our talents for the greater good of this country. * Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari is Head of the South African Foreign Policy and African Drivers Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs, based at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.