All politicians are guilty by association
An accomplice is a fellow traveller – a collaborator or accessory if you will. If a crime is committed he also shares part of the blame, because he is a partner in crime, whether by deed or omission. He cannot be absolved, he is liable – the extent or magnitude of the liability shall be determined by the presiding judge in that case. On this basis, it defies logic, even common decency that our politicians want to have their cake and eat it! Our brothers especially Members of Parliament on the Alternative Side (read Opposition Parties) want to distance themselves from the actions of the National Assembly to which they are currently members.How this can be countenanced beats me! When a man or woman expresses interest - starting at the party level - to stand for election at either local or national level, he or she has already accepted the responsibility that goes with that office. Once he or she has won either the Council or Parliamentary election, he/she becomes a Member of Council or Member of Parliament. It does not matter whether you come from either the ruling or opposition party. Neither does it matter if you are a man or woman – you are only recognised as a Member of that structure. As an MP, you are a member of government! Why, you ask? It is simply because Government consists of three branches – Executive; Legislature and Judiciary. Therefore as a member of the National Assembly, you can’t hide your head in the sand and absolve yourself from the bad legislations that are passed by the majority party in Parliament and claim that you are not part of them.You are a Member of Parliament, full stop. Your salary is paid from the National Treasury. And your pay slip does not discriminate on the basis of party affiliation – it only recognises one classification – that of MP. Whether you supported or opposed a Motion, Bill or Law is of no consequence, at the end of the day the decision of Parliament becomes a Law that binds all citizens. And when history is written you’ll be mentioned as a Member of that Parliament that passed the law, whether it is deemed obnoxious or delightful.Therefore, it behooves us the electorate to understand the power we wield over our representatives. It’s unfortunate that our politics and politicians have preyed on our apathy for so long to the extent they have changed the role plays. They have since become the masters and we the servants! Yet, you the electorate are the master, you call the shots! Don’t ever let the politician lie to you! Ask him to account for his actions because he claims to be acting at your beck and call, but is he? Why if it be so, are you still groaning under his heavy hand; why do you not have control over your natural resources; why does he tell you when you can go hunting and when you can not, whilst he has fenced all the wildlife in his farm/ranch? In a true functional democracy there is no law that can be passed by a group of 50 men and women on behalf of 3, 5 million people without the express consent of the 3, 5million electorate. Politicians take the electorate for granted and in turn the electorate undermines itself by not exerting its real influence over events that shape life. Think about it, in Botswana if your corn/sorghum field is found to have mineral deposits, say diamonds for example, you are immediately told to move out? Why then is it that these men and women sitting high and lofty in the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary own ranches and farms that are teeming with game or wildlife, - why is this wildlife not chased outside the ranches; why does it become private property? The electorate must demand a just economic system in which all the resources of the country are distributed equitably amongst citizens! One group cannot live in the lap of luxury whilst another is made – form the cradle to grave -to scrape the crumbs that fall from the table.