Political perspective

IN VIEW of the often abysmal standard of debate in Parliament, I would really be one of the first to demand that MPs provide the public with their qualifications and CVs, where applicable.

We do need some standards, after all. Sure, there are many people who’ve made their political mark with little or no formal education, so I wouldn’t set this as the only criteria, but at the same time our MPs (of whatever party or persuasion) ought to be knowledgeable people.The public is continually called upon to ‘respect’ them but it is up to elected officials to earn that recognition and, in my view, few have done so.MANY of them not only expect to be called ‘honourables’ by others, but they also apply the term to themselves, which in my view is in the worst possible taste.It’s like people who call themselves ‘advocate’ when they’re not in court! The sooner we lose the term ‘honourable’, the better.It’s about as inappropriate and out of date as ‘comrade’, and I personally won’t call anyone ‘honourable’, not even people I respect.There are ways and means of showing respect without such references, which only demean the person who makes use of the term.But back to the standard (or lack of it!) of debate in Parliament on the issue of corruption this week.One of the ‘seniors’ in Parliament, Minister John Mutorwa, did the ‘we’re all guilty’ speech.Come on, Minister, we’re not talking about forgetting to pay a parking fine here, and nobody is saying everyone is ‘faultless’.But there are degrees.And people in positions of high office, who abuse the trust placed in them, and embezzle millions, for example, cannot be compared to ordinary mortals who make mistakes.Housing Deputy Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo really didn’t make much sense.It was ‘unjust’ for ordinary people to ‘judge’ others.Who’s ‘ordinary’ anyhow? The voting masses, perhaps? Haven’t they the right to judge the very people they put into office? In the end you weren’t sure whether he was trying to applaud corruption, rather than deter it.He favoured a court pronouncement of ‘guilty’ before action was taken against someone accused of corrupt practices.Not that he’s wrong in principle, especially when there’s doubt, but generally speaking, corrupt activities are sometimes clear enough for all to see.And higher office should come with increased responsibility and accountability.And Gender Equality Minister Marlene Mungunda with the ‘we must love each other’ speech! She needs a reality check.Is she a ruling party member or not? It’s not quite the ‘Night of the Long Knives’, but things are getting uglier by the minute in the upper echelons of Swapo.And then to top it all, the next day Swapo Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange threw a complete wobbly in Parliament, asking whether the media were there to spy on their every move.He forgets it is a public forum, which is televised for all to see, and that print journalists are merely describing the activities as they unfold.So if he was scribbling furiously while MPs spoke, what’s the problem with saying that? Really, it is only a matter of time before they request Parliament sit in camera (and that actually means without cameras and reporters, in case some of our MPs don’t know!).Finally, when one talks about corruption, one is not talking about human failings and foibles, from which, as Mutorwa said, no one is exempt.We are talking about premeditated theft and greed, often of State resources, practised by those in high office, and to the detriment of the poor and needy.It is as plain and simple as that! So we shouldn’t try and beat around the bush on this one! And some of these mealy-mouthed MPs tend to act as though they don’t know what the word means.And that’s the worst of it.How many can say they’ve never fiddled their S & Ts; have declared all their interests to the taxman; have spurned every ‘gift’; or have reported anyone that they know has done any of the above and more? So back to the top: let them all do a little more homework about the topic of corruption.It manifests in many different ways and means.And believe it or not, it’s happening most of the time.So, in short, when they’re more honest with themselves and the public, they’ll get more respect!Sure, there are many people who’ve made their political mark with little or no formal education, so I wouldn’t set this as the only criteria, but at the same time our MPs (of whatever party or persuasion) ought to be knowledgeable people.The public is continually called upon to ‘respect’ them but it is up to elected officials to earn that recognition and, in my view, few have done so.MANY of them not only expect to be called ‘honourables’ by others, but they also apply the term to themselves, which in my view is in the worst possible taste.It’s like people who call themselves ‘advocate’ when they’re not in court! The sooner we lose the term ‘honourable’, the better.It’s about as inappropriate and out of date as ‘comrade’, and I personally won’t call anyone ‘honourable’, not even people I respect.There are ways and means of showing respect without such references, which only demean the person who makes use of the term.But back to the standard (or lack of it!) of debate in Parliament on the issue of corruption this week.One of the ‘seniors’ in Parliament, Minister John Mutorwa, did the ‘we’re all guilty’ speech.Come on, Minister, we’re not talking about forgetting to pay a parking fine here, and nobody is saying everyone is ‘faultless’.But there are degrees.And people in positions of high office, who abuse the trust placed in them, and embezzle millions, for example, cannot be compared to ordinary mortals who make mistakes.Housing Deputy Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo really didn’t make much sense.It was ‘unjust’ for ordinary people to ‘judge’ others.Who’s ‘ordinary’ anyhow? The voting masses, perhaps? Haven’t they the right to judge the very people they put into office? In the end you weren’t sure whether he was trying to applaud corruption, rather than deter it.He favoured a court pronouncement of ‘guilty’ before action was taken against someone accused of corrupt practices.Not that he’s wrong in principle, especially when there’s doubt, but generally speaking, corrupt activities are sometimes clear enough for all to see.And higher office should come with increased responsibility and accountability.And Gender Equality Minister Marlene Mungunda with the ‘we must love each other’ speech! She needs a reality check.Is she a ruling party member or not? It’s not quite the ‘Night of the Long Knives’, but things are getting uglier by the minute in the upper echelons of Swapo.And then to top it all, the next day Swapo Secretary General Ngarikutuke Tjiriange threw a complete wobbly in Parliament, asking whether the media were there to spy on their every move.He forgets it is a public forum, which is televised for all to see, and that print journalists are merely describing the activities as they unfold.So if he was scribbling furiously while MPs spoke, what’s the problem with saying that? Really, it is only a matter of time before they request Parliament sit in camera (and that actually means without cameras and reporters, in case some of our MPs don’t know!).Finally, when one talks about corruption, one is not talking about human failings and foibles, from which, as Mutorwa said, no one is exempt.We are talking about premeditated theft and greed, often of State resources, practised by those in high office, and to the detriment of the poor and needy.It is as plain and simple as that! So we shouldn’t try and beat around the bush on this one! And some of these mealy-mouthed MPs tend to act as though they don’t know what the word means.And that’s the worst of it.How many can say they’ve never fiddled their S & Ts; have declared all their interests to the taxman; have spurned every ‘gift’; or have reported anyone that they know has done any of the above and more? So back to the top: let them all do a little more homework about the topic of corruption.It manifests in many different ways and means.And believe it or not, it’s happening most of the time.So, in shor
t, when they’re more honest with themselves and the public, they’ll get more respect!