Circumstances dictate that occasionally you pen a different article to that originally thought out. This is one of those occasions – the situation is desperate and playing deaf or blind is no solution; it will simply not go away.

The past week’s events have strengthened my resolve to keep on advocating for change. We cannot let civil society degenerate to these levels. Our politicians have to mature; they need to realise that they have a moral ground on which to fulfil their mission and we will not settle for anything less.

 

The Pulse debacle

The manner in which Pulse celebrated its Junior College election victory is emblematic of the failure to educate and instil a basic degree of tolerance and discipline. Victory does not bring with it unlimited rights to bring the place down or to turn violent. It seems to be intricately ingrained in our education formation that celebration necessarily brings with it an onslaught of insults.

The hysterical manner in which the celebrations took place, led to the grievous injuries sustained by a member of the Police Force called on site to maintain some form of law and order in what was clearly an unruly situation. The shocking videos which emerged on social media begs the question of whether this is what we are prepared to accept as a society. What about the marked silence of the Police Force in the face of this serious incident? Why were no press statements published? Will the perpetrators be charged?

While in no way justifying what took place, one has to question why and how did we, as a society, arrive at such a situation. I sincerely believe that the answer can only be provided following an appraisal of local politics and the examples that our politicians have given and continue to give to these young budding future politicians.

 

The Public Accounts Committee

My visit to the Public Accounts Committee earlier this week reconfirms my conviction that our politicians themselves need an education; they need to realise that the examples they give, are the examples that will be followed; they are the examples that the younger generation emulate and that future generations will embrace. One always follows his peers – if our higher institutions let us down by sowing division, how can we expect better from our youngsters?

My visit to the Public Accounts Committee in the course of the exercise of my legal profession turned out to be another disappointing recognition of the state our politicians have sunk to. My client was a witness in such proceedings and not the person charged with any misdemeanour. He was there to shed more required light on the topic being discussed, a commercial matter which the Committee is well within its powers and rights to investigate. But it is the commercial matter that they have a right and a duty to investigate and nothing else. Unfortunately, it seems that some of our politicians believe that once elected to Parliament, they have a divine right, questionable by no other mere mortal, to do and act as they please.

Why should a witness be subject to a number of questions leading to entrapment, rather than the search for the truth? Why should a witness be harried as though he was the person accused? The subject matter of the investigation led by the Public Accounts Committee was sidelined by most of the questions asked and the focus became that of obtaining and gaining political mileage, rather than the scrutiny of the use of public funds. The aggressive tone, the personal questions, the constant jibes, the heated discussions between the parliamentarians all beg the question as to whether this Committee today serves any purpose other than to give politicians yet another platform for political exposure and gain.

The Committee has a set of guidelines which should regulate the procedures, a set of guidelines which the Speaker of the House of Representatives has defended arduously before the Civil Courts as guidelines which protect one’s fundamental human rights. Mr Speaker, they protect anything but one’s fundamental human rights! Evidently, the Speaker does not monitor these Committee sittings because he, being a reasonable man, would surely have changed his stand on the matter. Having guidelines in place is all well and good, but if the members of the Committee have other goals and no intention of adhering to the guidelines, then the abuse becomes unstoppable.

The pathetic outcome of the Committee’s sittings necessitates the question as to whether these sessions should be open to the public and worse still, whether they should be broadcast. Could it be the latter which is driving the tone and direction of the discussion? Is it time for politics to stop pandering to the media and its viewers?

It is evident that our political system needs a rethink; it requires better regulation and more discipline; our politicians seem oblivious to the harm they are bringing upon themselves and the institutions and, of more concern, to civil society. It is no wonder that politics is being shunned by more and more individuals each day.

The fight for change goes on. We the people have the right to expect better from our parliamentarians, from our executive and from our institutions. We cannot accept further the perpetration of a divide in our society. Do we want to leave this legacy for our generations to come? We are fortunate not to have a society with deep-rooted cultural differences; however, we are allowing the powers that be to create an artificial divide. We have limited resources and they should all be directed at one goal, that of the enhancement of the common good embracing the betterment of one and all, while eliminating factions and hate and, more importantly and fundamentally, entrenching respect towards each other and for each other’s diverse opinions.

Power is handed over temporarily to all in authority and politicians should never forget that. We are all equal and citizens must unite to remind politicians about this and demand that their calls for change are heard. Citizens should never give up their right to participate actively in their society to determine and to shape the society they live in. Participatory democracy does not simply mean voting in a general election once every five years. Everyone has a role to play in our democracy. This is a time to participate. Can society count on you? In default, how can you expect better?