President Uhuru Kenyatta signs the Security Laws (Amendment) Bill at State House, Nairobi, on December 19, 2014. PHOTO | PSCU
The Jubilee Government has taken the unfortunate path of ramming
through legislation, ignoring opposition from citizen groups and
political parties just because of its numerical strength in Parliament.
While this may work in the short-term, it is likely to have negative consequences in the long run.
To
be effective, legislation, in security or any other sector, ultimately
requires the cooperation of all citizens. Therefore, popular support
should as much as possible be garnered through broad consultation.
Granted,
some initiatives may still attract strident opposition but efforts
should be made to create goodwill. Riding roughshod over people’s
feelings produces resentment and leads to lacklustre or false support
for government programmes.
Steamrolling legislation
through Parliament and in the same breath asking people to cooperate
with the security agencies is ill-advised and unworkable.
We
must have a system of participation and engagement. People must be
heard even if their views do not eventually prevail. But if every
measure becomes a stand-off between the government and other
constituencies, with feelings spilling over to pandemonium in the
streets and in the supposedly august House, Kenya will regress into the
past instead of consolidating the gains of the new Constitution.
Politics
is about horse-trading, making deals and compromises so that when you
need the support of the opposition and civil society, you can reach out
for it.
It sometimes appears as if the Jubilee
Government is bent on burning bridges and only putting stock in its
unassailable position in Parliament, forgetting that the nation is
larger than the ruling coalition. While the opposition, Cord, has not
behaved like angels either, the buck stops with the ruling coalition.
ONE PARTY MENTALITY
It
is important to get rid of the one-party mentality that bedevils the
current administration where every opposing view is interpreted as an
affront to the government. Kenya is and must remain a democracy where
divergent ideas are welcomed. In fact, having a diversity of views is a
strength as it ultimately improves the quality of decision-making.
In
a democratic society, one pushes through his or her agenda through
persuasion, not force. Talking to people and their representatives,
listening to their point of view, negotiating and agreeing and
disagreeing is the nature of modern-day politics.
No
one has a monopoly on ideas or patriotism. It is, therefore, imperative
to respect other people’s views even as we seek to assert our own.
President
Obama has lately taken to issuing executive orders as his term nears a
close. It is only after trying over and over to work with Congress and
being rebuffed that he decided it is time to act alone if critical
issues such as immigration are to be addressed.
I do
not believe that the door is closed to reaching out to critical
constituencies such as the opposition in Kenya. Strength is exhibited
through taking people with you rather than forcing them to bend to your
will.
Our political leaders often say the terrorists
are seeking to divide Kenyans along religious lines. What are they doing
to promote national unity and, thereby, defeat the ploy of our enemies?
They must ensure, by their words and deeds, that they are bringing
people together to collectively achieve our national goals.
Dr Njoroge is a communication lecturer at USIU in Nairobi. (dwanjiku.n@gmail.com)
No comments :
Post a Comment