Change how we elect public representatives

WHILE we exist in a democracy we are far from democratic.

For the past 15 years, I have been screaming for a revamp of our Constitution in terms of how we elect public representatives.

How many citizens know the names of the parliamentarians representing them? How many know the name of, let alone having seen, their municipal councillor?

Public officials are often conspicuous by their absence. There is a lack of consultation with the electorate and the community in terms of accountability and delivery.

As the vote harvesting season approaches, ringing ominous bells of déjà vu, we will be inundated, harassed, cajoled, pampered and promised the world by marauding cacophonies of chants and slogans meant only to lure us into a forsaken belief that our “X” on the ballot paper will make a difference.

Our proportional representation system has long past its expiry date, whereby we, the citizens, “elect” a political party and they in turn “select” their comrades/friends/ families/potential business partners/ uninterested career politicians/ influential party bosses and the like, which vitiates the ethos of fair, just and accountable governance.

A government of, by and for the people should mean exactly that.

Yet, we yield painfully to placing public representatives who are not chosen by the people, who lack political vision and acumen. Many of them see it as an opportunity for self-enrichment.

We need a system whereby public representatives are directly elected by the people so that they are directly accountable to the people and not to their party bosses or those whose internecine interests they serve.