Elections are coming. All elections are consequential. And so are these. The stark choice in front of us this time is about the very idea of democratic government and what it means.
For 16 years, since the 2006 military coup (the reasons for which few of us can even remember) we have had a government that seems determined to rule over us, telling us what to do. We have been told, since 2013, that we have “true democracy”.
A good government thinks of the people first. It is hard to understand why, for ordinary people, interacting with the authorities is so difficult. Think of the people in Vanua Levu without e-ticketing stations.
But democracy, we all know, is rule by the people – not the government. That does not just mean a once-in-four-years vote.
It means that at all times between those elections, we have a government that allows us to take part as citizens. We would be blind and deaf if we couldn’t see that our ability as citizens to take part in the leadership of our country is shrinking. We get no say in our laws.
They are simply served up to Parliamentarians on a Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday – and voted into law under urgency on Thursday.
We are no longer allowed to be leaders in any area of national life. We have had no local government elections for more than 10 years, even while our town and city councils become stagnant and unresponsive. Whether it’s COVID or crime, the Government does not want to work in co-operation with others.
It is only about what the Government will do, the laws the Government will make, the money the Government will spend. Criticism is not allowed.
Negative comments on the Government’s selfcongratulatory Facebook posts are quickly deleted – even though they could be a good source of learning.
Electoral laws have been repeatedly and suddenly changed – and all of a sudden, as we head into the election period, opposition parties and politicians seem to be under siege from public officials.
So perhaps we have all forgotten what we are entitled to expect from a democraticallyelected government that, between four-yearly votes, actually acts like one.
So here are 10 ideas about what a good government would do. They’re not very well thought out (they never are in front of an editor’s deadline). And a lot of the ideas cross over into each other (although in some ways that’s the point). What should we expect of a good government?
• A good government consults before acting. No government has a monopoly on wisdom. In fact, politicians are rarely experts on anything. Their job is not to be the experts. Their job is to use the power of government to bring together the people – those affected by the laws and policies they want to make, and those who know and understand what will happen if they do. But this takes time, planning and patience. Too often what we see the government thinking up an idea on a whim, and deciding it must be law by the end of the week. No one is asked if it is a good idea. No one is asked if the law can be made to work better. So what is the result? Poorly executed government action which no one wants and few understand. Which is why, so often, it doesn’t work.
• A good government lets the people lead. Because how can it be otherwise? A good government uses its power to bring all of our national talent together. The more people who are participating in national life – debating, criticising and sharing ideas – the better it is for all of us. In that way we have a stake in what is happening. The responsibilities of leadership are shared. And the next generation of national leaders is trained. This is where local government is so important. Central governments don’t have time to build swimming pools, patch residential roads and make zoning decisions. Why not let elected local councillors lead the way?
• A good government respects permanent institutions. Let’s take Parliament as an example. Clearly there were some rules that the current government found inconvenient. Having an Opposition MP to chair the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) turned out to be embarrassing from time to time. So did having people presenting petitions to Parliament about things they did not like. So the Government changed the rules for its convenience. The PAC would be chaired by a Government MP who would cause less embarrassment. It became harder for people’s petitions to be debated and considered by Parliament. No doubt this was good for government politicians. Not so good for the people. But whose government is it? And is it good for the rest of us?
• A good government encourages self-reliance. It might be ego-boosting for a politician who has thrown around some public money on a project to bask in the praise of the people for a little while. But the government cannot do everything – and why should it pretend that it can? Instead, shouldn’t the government be promoting local leadership to mobilise people to solve local problems? And letting those leaders build their profiles and be seen – instead of waiting for a minister to turn up to take the credit?
• A good government thinks of the people first. It is hard to understand why, for ordinary people, interacting with the authorities is so difficult. Think of the people in Vanua Levu without e-ticketing stations. Or the voters who must all change their identification documents to match their birth certificates. Or why (as The Fiji Times reported last week) it can take a year for iTaukei parents to register the birth of their children. And the government’s answer is never “let’s look into this and see how we can make things easier.” Instead it is “these are our rules”. But surely the Government’s job is to make the people’s lives easier. Have they forgotten? The Government works for the people. Not the other way round.
• A good government acknowledges its mistakes. Few of us are perfect. Government is a complicated, difficult business. Things will go wrong from time to time. Our current government seems incapable of admitting when it has made a mistake or created a problem. It would rather attack the people who have pointed it out. So we cannot see a government that is prepared to acknowledge its mistakes and learn from them. And the defensiveness and counterattacks mean only that fewer people trust the government. And that becomes a problem later, in a crisis, such as COV- ID-19 or a natural disaster, when the government needs people to trust it and follow it.
• A good government is generous with its power. Each year the Government raises billions of dollars in revenue. It has tens of thousands of civil servants who do its bidding. If there is something it doesn’t like, it has the legal power to make laws and regulations to change it. So you might think that when its actions are challenged or criticised, the Government might be able to say: “OK, maybe you have a point. Let’s look at this and ask some civil servants to help you.” Instead – and invariably – it is “no, we are right and you are wrong and if you don’t like it you can challenge us in court”. So now the people must go up against the might of the Government – the very Government that belongs to them. This is not what a good government should do. It needs to recognise that the power it has belongs to the people. It should be used for their benefit, not against them.
• A good government keeps things simple. Everywhere we look – whether it’s investment or business regulation, applying for a government grant or getting other government help – it is complicated. Form-filling, passport photos, birth certificates, certified copies – and all for what? Yes, government can be a complicated business. But it’s Government that has the money and the people – and the time – to deal with complex problems. We do not. It’s the Government’s job to absorb and deal with the complexity. Its focus should be to keep things simple for the rest of us.
• A good government gives us time to think and plan. As a result of sudden, surprise legislation, citizens have no time to plan ahead for the consequences of new laws. Businesses and employers suddenly have to scramble for advice and change their policies and procedures. Often – because a law has been badly drafted and implemented – it’s not clear to anyone – not even the Government’s own officials – what the law means. All of this creates disruption, disturbance and expense – and wastes productive time. But the government doesn’t want us to know what it is thinking ahead of time. It seems to think that if it shares its ideas with us, we will cheat it somehow. And finally:
• A good government plans for its exit. Few politicians want to face the fact that one day they will be voted out of office. But a good government knows that in a real democracy, that is what will happen. So a good government plans for its legacy – to ensure that the country keeps the things it has worked hard to achieve. How does it do that? Because it has thought ahead. It has done its homework. For the previous four years, it has informed and co-operated with the opposition. It has worked to persuade the opposition that its ideas are worth keeping and should not be changed. Or it has consulted with the opposition in the first place – and secured the opposition’s support. This is why we have a Parliament, a careful process for lawmaking and bipartisan select committees where political opponents talk to each other. But all of which – unfortunately – our current government ignores. No government is perfect. Events – natural disasters, diseases, economic crises – are part of the hand they are dealt. They will throw the best-laid plans off course. But a good government, starting with the right attitude and approach, can still manage and lead. A good government keeps us together, focused on making our country better, even while we disagree. Something to think about, maybe, when we vote?
• RICHARD NAIDU is a Suva lawyer. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of The Fiji Times.
