Lahja Nashuuta
The ongoing Boundaries Delimitation and Demarcation Commission consultations should not be used to achieve political objectives, local pundits have warned.
Over the years, accusations of practices of gerrymandering have cast doubt over the work of the commission, with some regions and towns to this day lamenting that some of the outcomes have left them in worse positions.
Yesterday, residents of Khomasdal in Windhoek complained of being joined to part of Katutura’s Single Quarters location.
Salomon Isaacs, one of the critics of the commission, complained that “there are clear examples of where this has transpired, as with Khomasdal (in Windhoek), which was thrown in together with Katutura’s Single Quarters to silence that area’s voice. He also gave as another example Kronlein outside the Keetmanshoop Urban Constituency, saying it pays rates and taxes to the Keetmanshoop municipality.”
These recommendations by the Commission created the impression and accusation that some political parties were politicising the demarcation processes to protect their votes, according to the analysts.
Political analyst and Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) executive director Graham Hopwood warned against gerrymandering, stating that it can have a “deleterious effect on the principle of democratic accountability” because it often sets the outcome of electoral processes to favour incumbents or a certain political party.
“There needs to be time to consider the recommendations of the commission to ensure no gerrymandering [the manipulation of boundaries to favour a political party] or other irregularities take place,” he said.
Hopwood also said the time given to the Commission to execute its duties is not sufficient.
“The delimitation commission has started its work rather late in terms of the electoral cycle. The last delimitation commission completed its work in 2013 — more than a year before the scheduled elections that took place at the end of 2014,” he said.
He further pointed to the issue of transparency, stating that the fact that in 2013, State House refused to release the final delimitation report, despite repeated requests, should be a concern to the public.
“I am relieved that this time, President Nangolo Mbumba has already said the report will be published,” he said.
Hopwood believes there is need for a specific law on delimitation that will build on and expand on the Constitution’s references to the Commission.
Meanwhile, lawyer and political commentator Natjirikasorua Tjirera cautioned the Commission to be careful when creating new regions and constituencies. “I believe there is a need to merge some regions and some constituencies to ensure that a significant amount of the budget goes to developmental projects, and not to the salaries and allowances of politicians. We should be aware of the reality that the office of the governor alone gets the government millions of dollars in salaries and allowances,” Tjirera said.
He added: “Their travel expenses add salt to the wound of a bleeding economy. Our nation should be reminded again and again that political positions are not supposed to be some form of political employment or some career; they should be an act of service, and a developmental budget should never compete with politicians.” Tjirera further cautioned the commission to guard against
tribalists, who may want to demarcate regions and constituencies to fit certain tribal narratives.
“We should all, the commission included, ensure that the vice that is tribalism is rejected with maximum force. The commission should be aware of the reality that Zambia and South Africa have a total of 10 and 9 provinces respectively, despite their huge populations. Thus, the number of provinces is not the route to development,” he said.
The commission is busy consulting stakeholders at the regional level, as per the directives of President Mbumba.
Upon completion, the Commission will submit a detailed report to the President.