THINKING ALOUD: Goodbye democracy if ministers can indeed jail people

It is an uphill task for most countries to achieve bona fide democracy, and every effort should be made to preserve it when achieved.

Look at it this way. The Deputy Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office (Union and the Environment), Mr Kangi Lugola, was widely reported recently as threatening imprisonment for anyone who resists construction of the proposed hydropower project on River Rufiji.

Coming from a senior government official in this day and age, this attitude is pernicious, encroaching upon the natural and constitutional right to voice an alternative view. If the deputy minister can get away with that, then the time has come for Tanzanians to bid farewell to genuine democracy.

What MPs and Tanzanians in general want is an aboveboard environmental impact assessment (EIA), full details of which should be readily accessible to all and sundry.

If all is well regarding the proposed hydropower project, then there is no need to be overly secretive, or threaten to jail people who seek the truth.

While I am a firm supporter of poverty alleviation through development projects, in all honesty I cannot support someone who threatens to jail anyone with different views. It simply is not a sign of good, mature leadership.

This piece is NOT about the merits/demerits of Stiegler’s Gorge power project. It is about leadership in present-day Tanzania.

One great thing about democracy is that it allows anyone – no matter their position in society – to rise to higher positions of influence and power. But the worst thing about democracy is that it also allows anyone – no matter their shortcomings – to also rise to positions of great influence and power.

There are three types of leaders. First are accidental leaders, who gain power without consciously seeking it, but mostly due to a combination of privilege and merit.

In my view, UK prime minister (2010-16) David Cameron is an example of this.

The second types are idealistic and altruistic leaders. A somewhat rare type, such leaders feel impelled to gain power for altruistic reasons. Aware of injustices in society, they feel impelled to gain power in order to alleviate the injustices.

In Africa, Mwalimu Nyerere (1962-1985) and South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela (1994-1999), are examples of idealistic altruistic leaders. The third – and most common example – are narcissistic, psychopathic leaders, whose sole motivation for gaining power is self-serving. Authoritarians frequently come to power through democratic means and then erode democracy every which way.

Indeed, this is partly what democracy is designed to protect us from – and it certainly does to some extent. True democracy provides constitutional checks and balances designed to prevent leaders from becoming tyrannical once in power.

But what it doesn’t do is prevent flawed personalities from attaining power in the first place.

Democratic leadership – also known as participatory or shared leadership – is a leadership style whereby group members participate in decision-making processes, freely sharing ideas and exchanging views.

While democratic processes tend to focus on group equality and the free flow of ideas, leaders are there to offer guidance and measured control.

Researchers have established that the democratic leadership style is among the most effective types, leading to increased group morale, better contributions from group members – and, therefore, higher productivity.

History-making is mostly a process of trial and error. People in different socioeconomic activities learn from mistakes, and seek to avoid repeating them.

In politics, though, things are slightly different. Politicians can only err once – and when they commit serious mistakes, they step aside and let others take over.

According to research, good democratic leaders possess specific traits that include honesty, intelligence, courage, creativity, competence and fairness.

Truly democratic leaders inspire trust and respect among their followers. They are sincere, basing decisions on their moral values.

Good leaders also tend to seek diverse opinions from others, and do not silence dissenting voices – or those offering less popular views.

Their followers feel inspired to take action and contribute to the group.

Tanzania does have a Union constitution and other regulatory frameworks, and a Judiciary mandated to jail convicted offenders after due judicial processes. Deputy ministers are not judicially-mandated and have no business threatening people with imprisonment.

For us to progress, we must build, nurture and preserve bona fide democracy.