Morning Constitutional

I was trying to squeeze the last drops of sleep out of my Saturday morning when The World's Best Housekeeper switched on the radio. And just like that I was up and out of bed: someone was discussing the constitution! To be precise, ITV and Radio One were broadcasting the second discussion on the proposed Bill to review the constitution that's going to appear in Bunge Anytime Now. They are holding these debates at the University of Dar es Salaam, and Nkrumah Hall was overflowing with young men and the odd young woman. The front rows held all the usual suspects: a row of professors, lawyerly types, opposition politicians and other famous talking heads.

Happy days. It's easy to focus on what's not functioning in a system, makes for better copy most of the time, but the truth is that part of this blog's work is to document (haphazardly) the democratic evolution of this one African polity. We're doing alright, yeah. I don't think my parent's generation was personally invested in the constitution in their day- these were not matters that plebs discussed when there was Nyerere to tell us how to think and what to do and when to do it. My generation does not have that luxury, nor do we want it.

Which is why I had to roll out of bed- we're breaking new ground here. No Bananas and Oranges, no oversimplification, no donor-interests in the driver's seat. Just straight up talking about how we want the country to be run- that's the stuff of democracy. And it's happening at the hill. That's a quiet achievement worth celebrating.

No, we're not likely to pull a South Africa. If the constitution does get amended, I expect we'll have a lot of hair-pulling and name-calling left to do. As it is the Commission that is tasked with doing this review is working under dodgy circumstances, as Presidential commissions are wont to do- no transparency. The opposition parties are doing their fire and brimstone thing, obviously hoping that someone will give them a fight so that they can look like political martyrs. CCM- conspicuously, and wisely, absent. Quality of discussion: variable.

But all of these are expected hiccups on the road to a new and improved constitution. At least if we do this one thing and pass the Bill, the door will be opened up and we'll do more as time and public opinion dictates. My favorite part: this older gentleman stood up and pointed out that public servants have forgotten themselves and gone feral. How is it that we have allowed our public sector to run off unhinged and start dictating to We The People how things must be done? A complete perversion of the governance relationship if there ever was one. We are a democracy, after all and this babu had reminded us of a crucial truth.

Too often we forget that the government is here to serve us, and not vice versa.

I only have the one worry when it comes to this constitutional review thing: freedom of expression. Watching the discussion, it is obvious that the moderator is trying to control the crowd so that nothing too offensive gets said. On the one hand, this is fine: courtesy by all means. On the other hand, the moderator is stifling contributors. It's a fine balance and I don't know if he's getting it right. I'm watching a young man having a Live TV meltdown over his problems: cost of living, hard life, corruption. Very vigorous, but totally offpoint. Not to mention hysterical.

Ah well. At least we're talking, neh?

A Little Help From My Friends

Sorry- I didn't mean to be so offline in the first weeks of January but somehow they always get away from me. Like, the year officially starts in February which is great because it's also the shortest month of the year...

... right, you're here for content. Let's get to it then. First up, a bit of discussion on the issue of the Constitution. As you may know from the papers, Jay Kay has listened to the recommendation of his Grand Vizier and his government will set up a Commission to Review the Constitution. Commission my African Heritage! That's the kind of "maybe" that really means "no, dear." Anyways, I am in favor of a review but I have to admit that talking to a few brainiacs here and there and reading a little bit has made me wonder about how well-prepared I am to even broach the subject. Swahili Street has a very valid, fundamental point to make about the simple issue of Which Constitution Are We Talking About, for example. Since I gotta do my homework am gonna be quiet on this until I have more of a sold platform to rant from.

According to the recent TMR poll on said Constitution, 3/11 have read the whole hog (well done!), 5/11 of you haven't (why not?) and another 3/11 of you have read bits and pieces (i'm with you there). Big deal? I'm not sure what to make of these numbers yet except to say that obviously the majority of us have bumped up against the constitution at some point. I wonder if we wouldn't benefit from that interesting exercise that happened in Congress recently...

This is an interesting article on the issue of governance, or rather the role of politics in development. It's amazing that something so self-evident actually has to be "discovered" or discussed as thought it is new thinking. When did humanity forget that "Good" Government= Agreed Results= Happy, Amenable Citizenry? I suppose I should be pleased that this train of thought is getting attention from the Men in Suits rather than sarcastic. But, you know? Africa works exactly the same as anywhere else, dude.

That demonstration in Arusha that ended in violence? We can expect to see more and more violent conflict erupting as we wrestle our way out from under the sweaty thumb of the state. We're the same people who stone ministerial and presidential motorcades. I hate this bullish attitude, and as a pacifist I don't believe in (and will not be convinced to believe in) violence as a reasonable agent of positive change. Not one bit. But as an indicator of frustration- especially young male frustration? It doesn't get any more explicit than that.

Question is... what's The Establishment going to do about it? We're watching you...

One final point, appetite whetter. Remember this great story? I know some y'all read it even if you avoided the comments section like the plague. Well, I am happy to announce that TMR may be hosting a few more of Neema's writings in the very near future! Keep tuned in.

The Constitution

It has been a quiet time in the political scene. Okay, maybe not but I have been taking a news break and so far not even the WikiLeaks saga has managed to suck me back into the vortex. But this Constitution thing, it's got me itching. Twitching.

But first I have to ask, on the right hand side in a poll: have you read the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania?

Independent candidates and other excitingly murky political developments

Some days, it all comes together beautifully. I have been procrastinating about doing some research on MP performance in Bunge when I stumbled across this article. Apparently Twaweza has been there and done that. When I get my hands on the actual report, I plan to mine for information about the female MPs and the young MPs because I am sure there is something exciting going on there.

Another process I have been keeping half an eye on is the Independent Candidate issue and today's main story in the Daily News was wonderful in that regard. As the story goes, our constitution makes allowances for independent candidates to stand for election...which was conveniently irrelevant until we actually went multi-party in 1992. I remember my mother describing her voting experience during those days- apparently there would only be the CCM candidate on the ballot. What an embarrassment of choices. Do you vote yea? Do you vote nea? I can't believe anyone bothered getting out of bed to do this.

Anyways, recently the Reverend Christopher Mtikila- a politician after my own heart who specializes in activism using the court room as his battleground- petitioned the government to allow private candidates in 2005. The High Court saw nothing unconstitutional in his petition, and in May of 2006 'gave the AG between the date of delivery of the judgement and the next general elections to put in place a legislative mechanism that would allow private candidates to participate in elections alongside those representing political parties.' The government, naturally, appealed.

February 2010: the government has just remembered it hasn't taken care of the independent candidate problem and there are only ten months and maybe four Bunge sessions left to push through antagonistic legislation. So the Deputy Attorney General shows up in front of seven justices of the High Court to fix the matter by claiming that the government's appeal against the High Court's decision is 'a stay of execution upon the decision sought to be appealed against'. Mr. Masaju was met with this gem:

"We wish to refresh the memories of the learned Deputy Attorney General and his team that an appeal does not operate as an automatic stay [...] as it is at the moment and onward to the General Elections in October is what the High Court has decided, that is, independent candidates are allowed."

Apparently not all our public servants are comatose at the wheel, and I intend to savor this moment in our political development because some other issues are defying my comprehension: the legalities of the proposed coalition government in Zanzibar. Does anyone out there have a clue to spare? I can't tell what my fellow citizens are thinking or intending, exactly, over there on the island and I have a horrible suspicion that they don't know either. Also, Freeman Mbowe's newspaper has been saying some strange things about it and it is giving me a headache.