EDITORIAL: The malaise of money in politics
Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist George Bernard Shaw once said: “Holding money above all else, for as long as our society has, has created generations of greedy individuals, and we have repeatedly rewarded greed by praising the ability to take advantage of people as a certain strain of ingenuity, and by giving the greediest among us a higher platform, political seats and unspoken power to further their agenda”.
This rings especially true in an environment where party financing is generally non-transparent, and Namibia is no exception.
It creates real risk that interest groups and wealthy individuals buy influence in political parties, and in so doing, erode public confidence in the political system.
As many critics have opined over the years, this is because ‘donations’ are neither open to public scrutiny nor subject to any legislative restraints.
This lack of transparency and openness, as well as mechanisms to prevent this malaise, provide ample ground for influence-peddling, where those who essentially pay the piper dictate the tune.
The contribution of money to political parties and candidates is an important way in which unscrupulous interests have gained a foothold in our body politic.
The challenge now for all political parties is to come clean around whose vested interests they have entertained through accepting political funds. They must shine a light in these dark and often compromised spaces.
This rings especially true in an environment where party financing is generally non-transparent, and Namibia is no exception.
It creates real risk that interest groups and wealthy individuals buy influence in political parties, and in so doing, erode public confidence in the political system.
As many critics have opined over the years, this is because ‘donations’ are neither open to public scrutiny nor subject to any legislative restraints.
This lack of transparency and openness, as well as mechanisms to prevent this malaise, provide ample ground for influence-peddling, where those who essentially pay the piper dictate the tune.
The contribution of money to political parties and candidates is an important way in which unscrupulous interests have gained a foothold in our body politic.
The challenge now for all political parties is to come clean around whose vested interests they have entertained through accepting political funds. They must shine a light in these dark and often compromised spaces.
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Namibian Sun
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