Supporters of the opposition Chadema party in Dar es Salaam. As small in
quantity as they may be in Tanzania parliament, opposition MPs make a
massive difference. PHOTO | FILE | NATION
Chocolate, single scoop in a cup, from that one place in town,
you know where I mean. Oh, and a sandal-maker in Stone Town whose shoes
are basically the only footwear one needs in a humid tropical life.
These
are things that anyone could understand developing a life-long
attachment to. Quality products, right? Political parties, though. They
are proving to be a challenge.
Democratic despair is a
chronic condition that can be found in many a country in the 21st
century. But, no! As a new generation of voters comes into play, I want
to welcome them by saying: These things matter. They do – seriously.
Because
it is always fun to swim upstream, this year by way of putting your
mouth where your foot is, I thought I would try and find a party or
parties to believe in as an exercise in anti-cynicism. Having spent so
many years and expended so much hot air defending the ideals of
electoral representative democracy, it was time.
Just
to be clear: Believing in a party isn’t the same thing as joining one,
right? This isn’t religion after all, it’s just politics. As it turns
out in my local arena there is no shortage of organisations to repose a
little faith in. The superbly dependable Grand Old Party has always been
there, and always well be, rocking its Jah Rastafari collars and being
comfortably staid and predictable.
Big Opposition in
the form of Chadema is also credible in that whatever the ruling party
has to say, it will offer the opposite. One would think such a situation
would be chaotic but on the whole they balance each other out for the
benefit of the nation.
CCM’s open-door policy has the
unfortunate effect of filling the legislature with people who are not
always qualified to make laws. Some are capable, and I like them,
especially the young bucks who can ken issues that affect our immediate
future like technology, agriculture and the importance of contemporary
education policies.
But we also see the doddering folk,
the far too many who clearly have no clue what they are voting for or
against on any given day.
Contrast this with any
opposition Member of Parliament; since it is a jungle out there and they
are outnumbered, it takes a certain fitness to survive. They are
dependably literate, numerate, often most wonderfully well-spoken and
sharp. As small in quantity as they may be in our parliament, they make a
massive difference.
Finally there are those crusty
little parties that I am horribly fond of for ideological reasons and
also sentimental ones. People who do politics because they are in love
with their country. Sigh. With that in mind, you can imagine that it has
been a very stressful year watching people cross party lines all the
time. Why would they do it?
We’ve all heard the
arguments: Money, moral ineptitude, the temptations of power, blah,
blah. While completely valid, I don’t know that we have exhausted the
possibilities here of why people engage in politics. Sometimes it is
about a little bit more than crassness. Not often, but sometimes.
But
this past week we saw a rather unusual movement: A CCM cadre shifted
himself from a ruling party position to a willingness to court the
opposition. I know, right?!
Chocolate, single scoop in
a cup, from that one place. Oh, and a sandal-maker in Stone Town whose
shoes are basically the only footwear one needs in a humid tropical
life. These are things that anyone could understand developing a
life-long attachment to. Quality products, right? Political parties,
though. They are proving to be a challenge.
Elsie Eyakuze is an independent consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report. E-mail: elsieeyakuze@gmail.com
No comments :
Post a Comment