More than twenty human beings have died in the Nakumatt inferno, while the loss from Sanchang’wan tanker fire in Molo is long over 130. As the forgetful nation we are, we will soon return to normalcy having buried our dead and cursed the politicians for not preventing the two most recent disasters. The fire in Nakumatt Downtown was not just preventable, but the extent of human casualties would have been lessened if we were a working nation.
You don’t have to have lost a relative in either fires to feel angry and saddened by this wanton destruction of human life. But like the 1998 bomb blast, to Kikambala, the collapse of a building in Nyamakima and many fire incidents in between, we often come out to rehearse the same chorus of condemnation at the politicians, the city councils, hapless firefighters, and human selfishness among other agencies. Afterwards we recoil into our cocoons and await the next disaster, comfortable in the knowledge that we have exercised our patriotic duty of ‘cursing the devil.’It is obvious that these uncoordinated outbursts have not helped our country. We now know that the for the past seven years, Moi and Kibaki cabinets have been sitting on critical recommendations that would have established a coordinated response to disasters and availed resources for the same.
But looking at the Nakumatt fire, it is emerging that legislation alone will not put a stop to this madness. A few years ago, a factory fire in industrial area killed people because night shift employees were usually locked in to prevent theft! In Nakumatt, we now know that the management’s primary instinct after the explosion was to close the doors and the steel shutters to prevent looting, not knowing the depth and breadth of the disaster unfolding within. From Nairobi city Council, we are informed that safety inspectors were frequently turned away, while fire fighters at the scene have said that if the fire exits had not been sealed off from within to create room for more goods, they would have rescued more people. The irony was not lost to me that while the Internal Security Minister castigated those who perished in the tanker incident as typical of Kenyans’ greed and inclination to free things, he had no similar word for those who perished while paying for goods in Nakumatt. The difference is that in the latter case, it is the greed of the rich, not the poor that caused the deaths. It is the epitome of insanity and insensitivity to blame the recklessness of a desperate (wo)man.
Your bet is as good as mine on whether someone will pay for the lives lost, livelihoods shattered and futures distorted. The most we will get is a brief soap opera in the courts, and perhaps a brotherly jail term that will then be quashed after an overdrawn appeal. In the mean time, the management will be out on eternal bond, doing business as usual. Does anyone of us still remember Cholmondeley and the peasant he killed? Or Pattni and the tragi-comedy that was the Goldenberg hearings? Or the Kimunyas and the mortgaging of a nations heritage? This trend is bad, and this is why we must shift our focus from the politicians and take matters in our very hands. There are things we can fix with sheer thoughtfulness, determination, and commitment to our collective betterment as a people. To expect lasting action from the bunch of pseudo-leaders who occupy state house, parliament and Sheria house is foolish to say the least, especially since it is not an election year.
Perhaps we can begin by being the change we want, being active participants ion the change process. As consumers, let us organize, not agonize! Let the government catch up with us in policy issues. Despite the convenience, we can start a campaign to abstain from supermarkets that will continue stocking gas in their premises, those that are congested with absolutely poor ventilation (I often wondered how the cashiers sat still for an entire shift in Nakumatt Downtown without fainting, the place was packed to the door). Even as we organize, we must demand to see Nakumatt management in court enroute to serving life imprisonment for the deaths of many Kenyans because they not only failed to prevent the disaster, but their greed made it impossible for help to reach their dying clients at their hour of greatest need. No amount of monetary compensation can heal the wounded and return the dead, but it is a justified starting point. Punitive compensation and awards will also serve as deterrence for future and on-going offenders.
Yet I am profoundly aware that these wishes cannot be guaranteed within our pathologically dysfunctional legal system. Regardless, if Nakumatt is not held to account for negligence, murder and endangering the lives of Kenyans, then we must abstain from all its stores in Kenya. This campaign should start at the table of every household in respect to those we have lost. We must take the initiative to defend ourselves from unscrupulous and heartless businessmen and women whose primary goal is profit to the exclusion of any value of human life. Above all, those who die everyday from road accidents, robberies, professional negligence in hospitals, avoidable starvation, police bruatlity and sheer hopelessness (all offshoots of corruption, greed and individual indifference) demand of us, at the very-very personal level, a fundamental transformation in our hearts and minds.
08 February, 2009
The Pan-African Parliament: A Balance Sheet of Progress
(Originally written for publication on 01.13.09)
All eyes will be trailed on Tanzania next week when African member states convene in Dar es Salaam to consider reform proposals on the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) due later this year. Discussion will focus on the protocol establishing the PAP with a view to granting it legislative authority. Challenges and opportunities abound on several fronts such as the proposal to have members of the PAP elected directly by universal suffrage rather than the current practice where national assemblies second members.
In addition to the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), the Peace and Security Council, and the African Court of Justice, the inauguration in March 2004 of the Pan African Parliament was a brave and gigantic step towards asserting the AU’s stated commitment to the pursuit of broad-based understanding, representativeness, and inclusion of citizens’ voices in important affairs of the continent.
Sitting in Midrand, South Africa, the Pan-African Parliament was established as an advisory and consultative body. It was envisaged as a critical platform for informing and involving Africans and their grassroots communities in discussions at the African Union. In 2008 for instance, the PAP – among others – sent electoral observer missions to member countries, it discussed the African Charter on Democracy and Elections Observer Missions and hosted a session on Security in Africa with a special focus on the situation in the Great Lakes region including Somalia. Together with NEPAD and the South African Parliament, the PAP also organized the International Women’s Conference that adopted the Commitment Platform Declaration which inter alia, recommended that African countries end indiscriminate privatization of water and sanitation services and retain greater responsibility over the provision of these and other essential services.
While the Pan-African Parliament is one of the flagships of this rejuvenated AU, the organization has won acclaim for being at the vanguard of change and transformation in Africa. By consolidating its achievements and learning from its predecessor’s weaknesses, the AU has proven amidst enormous challenges that it can fair better in the pursuit of peace, justice and social transformation for Africa’s people. Indeed, its very existence today is a big step towards continental solidarity while its ambitious proposal for a Union Government – still viewed as a mirage by some – remains an inspiration to all those who believe in the promise of an era of possibilities.
While achieving such a fete presents far-reaching logistical challenges and political implications, it would test the commitment of AU member states to this belated pursuit of continental government. In particular, the extent to which member states would be willing to cede and/or confer authority to a continental authority outside their individual governments and regions.
When in September 1999, Heads of State and Government of the now defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU) delivered the Sirte Declaration in Libya calling for the establishment of the African Union to, among other aims, facilitate and fast-track the long-held dream of continental integration, this was widely considered an ambition as far-fetched as it was distinctly unoriginal. This cynicism was fuelled partially, and understandably, by the then dominant (mis)perceptions of the OAU in the court of public opinion as little more than a post-independence club of despots uncommitted to the basic tenets of democracy and popular will of the ruled.
Regardless, successive summits like the Lome (2000) and Lusaka (2001) would further consolidate this dream eventually leading to the momentous launch of the African Union in 2002 at the Durban Summit in South Africa. From this moment, those citizens long immersed in decades of conflicts and political turmoil found it possible to hope for tranquillity since the new institution would be critical in brokering sustainable and home-grown peace, just as it would spearhead the continent’s search for a more dignified life away from numbing tentacles of historical poverty and deprivation.
But even as this watershed event took place, genuine concerns remained as to the prospects, potential and ability of the new institution to realise these dreams, to bring forth a much-desired solidarity as well as to create spaces for public engagement in continental affairs.
Next week’s deliberations in Dar es Salaam must not lose sight of the challenges that the Pan-African Parliament must gear itself for in the years ahead. As it gears itself for these challenges, the PAP must pay attention to several imperatives.
Firstly, the PAP must enhance and expand mechanisms for constructive engagement with the civil society organizations, especially those at the forefront in the struggle to turn back the enduring tide of poverty, disempowerment and hopelessness on the continent. Even when it may seem (as it will sometimes) to border on the adversarial, this symbiotic relationship between PAP, grassroots and civil society organizations must be construed and maintained essentially as that of partners pacing one another on the road to perfection. By their very nature, civil society organizations can inject valuable insights into the parliament’s agenda and debates.
Secondly, it will be critical for the PAP to embrace ICT in its broadest possible extent, making it work for the PAP and the peoples of Africa. Harmonisation of ICT policies, joint investments and harnessing new media technologies will enhance e-commerce and support the rise of a vibrant information economy and an informed citizenry. Of necessity, and with regard to fostering linkages with grassroots people, a vibrant, up-to-date and interactive website would be critical in linking Africa not only with its diverse Diaspora, but even more importantly, with itself. Towards this end, continental internet connectivity, quality and affordability should be a leading agenda for the parliament in an era where the youth who dominate Africa’s population now spend more and more of their time in cyberspace.
Finally, a most welcome and timely proposal is that of regional contact points to act as links between the parliament and the people. To be effective though, this initiative must be matched by commitment of resources. As it aspires to become a legislative body, the Pan African Parliament must remain instrumental and committed to opening spaces for public participation in the processes of governance as well as voicing the fears, aspirations, and achievements of Africa’s citizens. The deliberations in Tanzania next week should strive to create the necessary legal and institutional frameworks that grant legitimacy to citizens’ and grassroots initiatives, hence, enabling citizens and their chosen representatives to fully contribute towards the realization of the historical and contemporary pan-Africanist objectives of the African Union which include, among others, strengthening continental solidarity and promoting principles of human rights, transparency, accountable and effective governance, cooperation, peace and democracy in Africa.
All eyes will be trailed on Tanzania next week when African member states convene in Dar es Salaam to consider reform proposals on the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) due later this year. Discussion will focus on the protocol establishing the PAP with a view to granting it legislative authority. Challenges and opportunities abound on several fronts such as the proposal to have members of the PAP elected directly by universal suffrage rather than the current practice where national assemblies second members.
In addition to the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), the Peace and Security Council, and the African Court of Justice, the inauguration in March 2004 of the Pan African Parliament was a brave and gigantic step towards asserting the AU’s stated commitment to the pursuit of broad-based understanding, representativeness, and inclusion of citizens’ voices in important affairs of the continent.
Sitting in Midrand, South Africa, the Pan-African Parliament was established as an advisory and consultative body. It was envisaged as a critical platform for informing and involving Africans and their grassroots communities in discussions at the African Union. In 2008 for instance, the PAP – among others – sent electoral observer missions to member countries, it discussed the African Charter on Democracy and Elections Observer Missions and hosted a session on Security in Africa with a special focus on the situation in the Great Lakes region including Somalia. Together with NEPAD and the South African Parliament, the PAP also organized the International Women’s Conference that adopted the Commitment Platform Declaration which inter alia, recommended that African countries end indiscriminate privatization of water and sanitation services and retain greater responsibility over the provision of these and other essential services.
While the Pan-African Parliament is one of the flagships of this rejuvenated AU, the organization has won acclaim for being at the vanguard of change and transformation in Africa. By consolidating its achievements and learning from its predecessor’s weaknesses, the AU has proven amidst enormous challenges that it can fair better in the pursuit of peace, justice and social transformation for Africa’s people. Indeed, its very existence today is a big step towards continental solidarity while its ambitious proposal for a Union Government – still viewed as a mirage by some – remains an inspiration to all those who believe in the promise of an era of possibilities.
While achieving such a fete presents far-reaching logistical challenges and political implications, it would test the commitment of AU member states to this belated pursuit of continental government. In particular, the extent to which member states would be willing to cede and/or confer authority to a continental authority outside their individual governments and regions.
When in September 1999, Heads of State and Government of the now defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU) delivered the Sirte Declaration in Libya calling for the establishment of the African Union to, among other aims, facilitate and fast-track the long-held dream of continental integration, this was widely considered an ambition as far-fetched as it was distinctly unoriginal. This cynicism was fuelled partially, and understandably, by the then dominant (mis)perceptions of the OAU in the court of public opinion as little more than a post-independence club of despots uncommitted to the basic tenets of democracy and popular will of the ruled.
Regardless, successive summits like the Lome (2000) and Lusaka (2001) would further consolidate this dream eventually leading to the momentous launch of the African Union in 2002 at the Durban Summit in South Africa. From this moment, those citizens long immersed in decades of conflicts and political turmoil found it possible to hope for tranquillity since the new institution would be critical in brokering sustainable and home-grown peace, just as it would spearhead the continent’s search for a more dignified life away from numbing tentacles of historical poverty and deprivation.
But even as this watershed event took place, genuine concerns remained as to the prospects, potential and ability of the new institution to realise these dreams, to bring forth a much-desired solidarity as well as to create spaces for public engagement in continental affairs.
Next week’s deliberations in Dar es Salaam must not lose sight of the challenges that the Pan-African Parliament must gear itself for in the years ahead. As it gears itself for these challenges, the PAP must pay attention to several imperatives.
Firstly, the PAP must enhance and expand mechanisms for constructive engagement with the civil society organizations, especially those at the forefront in the struggle to turn back the enduring tide of poverty, disempowerment and hopelessness on the continent. Even when it may seem (as it will sometimes) to border on the adversarial, this symbiotic relationship between PAP, grassroots and civil society organizations must be construed and maintained essentially as that of partners pacing one another on the road to perfection. By their very nature, civil society organizations can inject valuable insights into the parliament’s agenda and debates.
Secondly, it will be critical for the PAP to embrace ICT in its broadest possible extent, making it work for the PAP and the peoples of Africa. Harmonisation of ICT policies, joint investments and harnessing new media technologies will enhance e-commerce and support the rise of a vibrant information economy and an informed citizenry. Of necessity, and with regard to fostering linkages with grassroots people, a vibrant, up-to-date and interactive website would be critical in linking Africa not only with its diverse Diaspora, but even more importantly, with itself. Towards this end, continental internet connectivity, quality and affordability should be a leading agenda for the parliament in an era where the youth who dominate Africa’s population now spend more and more of their time in cyberspace.
Finally, a most welcome and timely proposal is that of regional contact points to act as links between the parliament and the people. To be effective though, this initiative must be matched by commitment of resources. As it aspires to become a legislative body, the Pan African Parliament must remain instrumental and committed to opening spaces for public participation in the processes of governance as well as voicing the fears, aspirations, and achievements of Africa’s citizens. The deliberations in Tanzania next week should strive to create the necessary legal and institutional frameworks that grant legitimacy to citizens’ and grassroots initiatives, hence, enabling citizens and their chosen representatives to fully contribute towards the realization of the historical and contemporary pan-Africanist objectives of the African Union which include, among others, strengthening continental solidarity and promoting principles of human rights, transparency, accountable and effective governance, cooperation, peace and democracy in Africa.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)