What we expect and what we deserve

24 Jul, 2016 - 00:07 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Chris Chenga Open Economy
In a republic such as ours, and in all countries with representative structures of governance, it is easy for a society to focus all its socio-economic developmental expectations on elected representatives. The predominant conscious perception is that as the people have certain socio-economic aspirations, incumbent politicians and the developmental organs they manage are supposed to be agents towards creating conforming desirable outcomes.

This mindset is present as well in terms of civil governance. The crafted organs of governance such as the courts, industrial regulators or police are all perceived as agents to enforce sustained order and protection that encourages civic and economic harmony in a country.

Very rarely do societies evaluate their own roles and contribution to the harmony of which they expect.

Also, one can suggest that societies have a tendency to discount their own deficiencies in contributing to desirable socio-economic outcomes; whether active or passive.

The notion of social contracts, while retaining a comfortable expectation held on politicians and structures of governance, hardly finds reverence in holding society itself to a demanding rubric of expectation.

As a Zimbabwean society, we have an affinity towards aesthetics meant to resemble an elevated consciousness of social contracts, especially as it relates to holding politicians and institutions accountable to society.

I would proffer a bit more reflection on balancing expectation to a similar weight on warrant.

A reverse query that holds society accountable to the nourishment of its politicians and structures of governance typically seems to garner less enthusiasm in Zimbabwe.

Recently, evidence of this imbalance and the unsustainable norms of conduct it creates have shown in our country.

Consider the tension between traffic police and informal transporters represented by drivers, hwindis and touts. The narrative is that police have carried out a heavy handedness on informal transporters, supposedly squeezing them off profitable income.

Certain quarters in society have even seemingly sided with informal transporters. This narrative emphasises a unilateral social contract of empathy, in this case disregarded by police.

However, perhaps better inquisition would interrogate how informal transporters have disintegrated their social contract with law enforcement.

It is estimated that over 20 000 active kombis operate in major cities without legal registration. Paying fines and, in many instances, outright bribery have become norms by informal transporters.

Hence, does the expectation even out with what is deserved by informal transporters?

Very few private motorists would stand as supporting witness to informal drivers being abiders of road rules and civil conscious road sharers.

Similarly, users of informal transporters would struggle to vouch for them upholding customer safety.

In this regard then, there is an over-extended expectation by informal transporters as they have enabled a social contract in which they can no longer sustain.

Civil servants recently elevated their discontent with the respective public structures that represent their interests.

Indeed, I empathise with any workforce that does a job and finds difficulty in getting paid for it. However, there is rampant corruption in some public institutions, on multiple levels.

For instance, public schools have suffered a growing culture of bad conduct in the classroom, and in sports and recreation.

Cases of sexual abuse or childhood marriage caused by early pregnancies often trace back to the same educators with whom we entrust our children.

Less evident are instances of grading misconduct.

While organisations like the Zimbabwe Teachers Association function to advance the concerns of educators to structures of governance, there is a lot of work to be done in assessing the conduct of teachers themselves.

As a nation, we have experienced years of poor sports management that reflects in the performance of our senior national teams and the chronic shortage of supportive resources.

Well, the cancer has resided at grassroots sports development in our schools where teachers are culpable of mismanagement and disregard of administrative rules.

For example, there are many rural communities where schools invite leavers to take part in high school competitions. Everybody — from the headmaster, coaches, and even traditional communal leaders – are complicit in this. This has existed for years in our rural schools, but urban dwellers perceive it as simply folk tale.

In the medical field as well, empathy can be extended to underpaid doctors, but public health centres are losing credibility in terms of trusted competence.

Gross negligence by doctors is frequent. Junior doctors are often caught conducting themselves unprofessionally on medical premises. Patient care standards are not assuring. Hospital managers have been caught misallocating funds.

In industry, quite often the same vices that hinder leadership in economic governance mirror those in the private sector. Disappointing performance in capital markets is frequently interpreted in a macro-economic context.

However, bad practices like financial reports and inadequate regulatory compliance are micro-deficiencies that contribute just as much to low investor confidence.

It is necessary to present our societal deficiencies in a broad generalisation. One can easily come across as picking on certain segments of our society. Yet, our societal interactions make multiple stakeholders culpable of a blanket societal decadence.

Unfortunately, economic uncertainty and emphasis on expedient solutions have reduced our propensity for thoughtful self-introspection as a society.

As we consider our social contracts we should always ask: What we expect, do we deserve?

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