IEC rekindles minimum qualifications debate
FRANCISTOWN: Political analysts have weighed in on the debate as to whether there should be minimum education for aspiring Members of Parliament (MPs) and councillors..
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) recently reignited the debate, having made, amongst some recommendations to Cabinet, that there should be mandatory educational qualifications for councillors and MPS. The recommendations formed part of contributions from various stakeholders on how to enhance the country’s democracy.
There is a popular debate that having a political system that prescribes a minimum educational qualification for politicians might deliver leaders who are able to effectively tackle various challenges in the country. The low quality of debate in Parliament and at the council chambers has mainly been attributed to a political system that allows voters to vote for less academically sound leaders. Many believe that the trend could be curtailed by allowing voters to choose from a pool composed entirely of educated candidates.
Those against having a set of academic requirements for political leaders argue that having such requirements is discriminatory. Their reasoning is that sometimes there is no correlation between academic qualification and effective representation.
They say that examples are abound with superior performances by those deemed to be less educated. Those are against academic qualifications for politicians also argue that, political knowledge is more important than academic qualifications. According to them what is important in politics, amongst other considerations, are leadership skills and emotional intelligence.
Political analyst Adam Mfundisi who is a lecturer in political and administrative studies at the University of Botswana equivocated on the matter, electing to agree or disagree with suggestions that there should be mandatory academic requirements for aspiring councillors and MPs.
He said that there were pros and cons of setting educational qualifications for those who want to contest political office. One of the pros according to him is that public policymaking is becoming a complex and dynamic process that requires some form of educational attainment.
“There are laws, rules and regulations that have to be perused and analysed thereby requiring some form of knowledge, skill, attitude, and behaviour to effectively execute. Political debates at both council and Parliament sometimes live much to be desired. We need vibrant and resilient representatives of the people adaptive to the internal and external environment. In the absence of educated political leadership, bureaucratic dominance becomes apparent. Bureaucrats are appointed into office whilst most politicians are elected into office. Political representatives must ensure ethics and accountability in bureaucratic management.”
He added that the 21st century is about knowledge management, knowledge economy, knowledge government, knowledge representation and knowledge worker. In US qualifications, for example, Senators are supposed to have business or teaching experience coupled with exceptional organisational, leadership and communication skills. “The question is whether we can achieve through mandatory prescriptions or through the political process is the major issue? This needs a thorough discussion amongst various stakeholders,” Mfundisi submitted.
On the other hand, Mfundisi said to prescribe academic qualifications for assumption of political office would be discriminatory for those who have not attained such, but are politically active and resonate well with the voting public.
He went on to explain that education might not be necessary for politicians or a panacea for effective representation.
“We must distinguish between being learned and educated. Education is a broad concept that encompasses the ability to adapt to the environment within which you find yourself. Some politicians have proficiency in public communication and organisational capacity, but do not possess academic credentials.
On the other side, we have politicians who possess higher educational qualifications who do not possess political skills. These politicians are unable to effectively represent their voters in either council or Parliament. They are unable to translate their academic attainment into effective deliberations in political forums.”
Mfundisi also posited that political parties must strongly equip their cadres with requisite political, leadership and organisational skills to cope with the ever-changing socio-economic and political environment.
“Mandatory academic qualification for holding political office may erode our representative democracy,” he added.
Furthermore, the UB academic noted that politics is less attractive to some educated people because it is perceived to be a dirty game amenable to those who want to enrich themselves through lucrative tenders and positions in government.
“The Legislature is also a lapdog, rubber stamping policy proposals emanating from the Executive. For example, the budget, which is a major policy in determining, lives of citizens. MPs will pass it as presented.
This inability of MPs to influence public policy discourages intelligent and business-minded individuals to join politics. The situation is worse at Council level where the political leadership has no executive powers. The bureaucracy determines policy and councillors rubberstamp it,” he said.
Another political analyst, Dr Kebapetse Lotshwao who is also a lecturer at UB said that he did not entirely agree with growing opinion that there should be set mandatory academic qualification for some councillors.
According to him, service delivery was something you do not have to be educated to do well. “Uneducated legislators may serve the needs of their constituencies equally well, and this is all that matters to constituents. We have politicians who are not educated, but are routinely elected and re-elected to their constituencies or wards because they are know how to get things done.”
He added that there was no doubt that political representatives should have some educational qualifications. However, he said, educational qualifications on their own did not make one an effective representative. “There have been educated MPs and councillors who nevertheless were very weak and ineffective.
Thus, alongside formal education one must also understand the beliefs and policies of political parties and be guided by them when discharging the representative functions. In addition, one should have the electorate and country’s interest at heart not those of local sponsors and handlers.”
The Alliance for Progressives secretary general Dr. Phenyo Butale did not entirely agree with a proposal to set minimum requirements for legislators and councillors. “Representation is a foundational component of democracy and should therefore take much more than just academic qualifications, but a combination of those plus other leadership qualities,” he said in an interview.