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Topic Discussion II
Building Public Trust
Elections & Legislatures
Room 3
(2 of 23 pages)
Chair: Good morning. The format that we are going to take for this morning's
session is a very similar one, just like the one yesterday afternoon. We are going to discuss building public trust,
especially the process of elections and legislatures. This is a very important process to become the leaders accountable
to the people who they should be responsible for.
First, we will have three speakers and then discussions. The general rule is that the journalists can take notes
but they cannot quote by name or by country. Just they can report what is generally discussed in this room. Otherwise,
we can talk quite freely here.
First, we will have presentations of three speakers at the beginning and then I will open the floor for everybody
else to make comments and have interactions. So can I first of all call on the Honorable Hage Geingob, Namibia's
Prime Minister.
Honorable Hage Geingob: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We are going to discuss today confidence building in gaining
the public trust, elections, governments and communications. We all know that politicians these days, or their
credibility is very low. People think when you're a politician, you're a crook and I think since all of us aren't
crooks, we're honorable gentlemen and ladies, it's up to us to change that image. Now how do we build confidence?
I will just run through some of the things I noted down in answering the questions listed here.
Political leaders in this day of information revolution, need to be well informed and have strong ethical values
to try to reestablish the confidence of people, in politicians. I think we have to be informed. We have to know
what is happening in the world. We have to be on top of the situation. But the most important thing is the ethical
considerations. Politicians have been bedeviled by people who are dishonest, siphoning the state funds to their
own, and because of that the credibility was gone. So it's now incumbent upon us to restore that credibility. Honesty
and commitment are important if politicians are to regain the trust of the people. This applies as much to opposition
politicians. Sometimes we think only of those in a ruling party or ruling government. But it also applies equally
to the opposition leaders, that they also must be credible. They are there just to oppose for the sake of opposing,
but in national interest, all political leaders both ruling and opposition, must be credible. Political parties
in power and those in opposition should be able to act together on national issues. In relation to opposition things,
they must oppose for the sake of opposing, but in national interest sometimes they have to stand together and we
are productive people who are leading now, these leaders are doing something now in the national interest, all
of them together.
As the leader of the opposition said, in South Africa, just recently, he said, "We will stand up with you,
Mr. President. We'll sit down with you when necessary." It means you have to oppose, whether there is a need
for opposing, in a very constructive way but you must also sit down and agree and build together. Laws must be
made after thorough review, if we are going to establish credibility. Bill drafts are finalized by the Cabinet
and then submitted to the Parliament. The Parliament can then send them to the standing committees for debate.
The standing committee system is very, very useful because it allows the experts and public to now participate
in debating the draft bill. That way you are bringing in the public to participate in law making.
We have here, the Deputy Minister of Trade, who has a very effective chairman of such a committee. They were travelling
all over the country, having public hearings from ordinary people to participate in that draft bill. Some bills
are more important, so to say than others, and they demand more participation from people. This confidence deals
with good governance. Good governance requires that leaders are in sync with new thinking and new communication
skills. That cannot be over emphasized. They must be in sync with what is happening, computer knowledge, all these
things if they are going to enter the 21st century and provide good governance. In the year ahead, the 21st century,
political leaders must be educated. I am not saying here that they must have PhDs. They must be self-educated.
They must inform themselves. That is what I'm saying. It would be good to have PhDs but obviously it should be
education to know what's going on around you. Opposition leaders should not think about opposing the government
as its only reason to exist. I already touched that. Important legislation is considered by Parliament committees
where opposition members -- they are beginning to allow that in our system, some committees are chaired by the
opposition leaders, in others, by the ruling party. If there is a chairman, a ruling party who would be a deputy
chairman, that's how it has changed. So that way, we are all participating in law making.
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