Abolish African Parliaments
When one looks at the present state of affairs in a lot of African nations, it becomes crystal clear that these nations can easily do without their parliaments, in their existing forms. Over the years incumbent governments have increasingly consolidated power in the hands of their respective Presidents/Leaders. It is to the point that even members of the ruling party have very little say in the actual running of the country. Due to the patronage/graft system used to pacify supporters, leaders have used the greed of the people to consolidate their power, with the greed carrot extended just beyond reach. It is very interesting that even if/when governments appear to change hands the consolidation of power continues. The sad thing about it is that even the “learned” in the inner sanctum of the hangers-on, do continue with the precedence set before. (Photo: Sewanu Kponou, author)
Parliamentary positions are much less glamorous than Ministerial positions. A parliamentarian has to be on ground zero to campaign, get into fights, physically and literally to get to their positions. What do they get for all of that? Very little in terms of spoils. Very seldom do you hear of parliamentarians who have amassed wealth while serving. On the other hand Ministers go from broke to millionaires overnight, without having any constituency to report to, except the President. Due to what their Parliamentary predecessors did and what the new set of Parliamentarians do, they unwittingly sideline their very importance, sometimes with the hope of being chosen as ministers, whether, or not, they are part of the incumbent group.
Over the years African parliaments have gradually ceded power to de-facto dictators. These dictators have learned new ways to cover their dictatorial tendencies, mostly by delegating abuses. Until African civil society and Judiciaries get a whole lot stronger there is very little hope. The only glimmer of hope might be if the young, 21-40 yrs of age, are given the opportunity to participate in their democracy by running for office, instead of been “youth” enforcers.
Dictators come in different shades. These days dictators may give up power due to the leverage of the country’s parents (Donors/NGO’s), or UN advocated bombing. Quite a few dictators have been eased out of power, after consultations with Donor parents. The new tactics developed by Parliaments have been to call for higher salaries as compensation. Some of these salary requests have been at levels maybe double, what their counterparts in developed nations make, without taking into consideration the much lower cost of living, and wages, in these African countries. Take the case of Kenya, the interesting thing is that the leaders have to keep everyone happy to keep their positions, and eventually acquiesce, especially if they are already surrounded by a known bunch of cooperative (and corporate) looters.
The case for Opposition Parliamentarians is even more pitiful. They just get up and go to work, pick up a check and that is the life of the opposition. Very seldom are bills proposed by opposition groups, possibly because they know they will be ignored, especially if they had ignored other folks in the past. Most bills passed in Parliaments have direct connection to legalizing a crooked deal in the works and are usually rushed through lame duck parliaments, under cover of “development” purposes. Having lived in squalor for decades, what is the urgency in avoiding a full review of a bill that may take just a couple of weeks. Bills that would embrace social change are hardly worth the paper they are written on, especially when coupled with lack of redress.
If we are to continue in the direction we are headed, then I say dissolve all these ineffective Parliaments and give the “Big Man” all the power he wants and maybe deserves. Fat chance, most will say.
By: Sewanu Kponou, Atlanta, USA
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