A lot has already been said, but I still extend very best wishes to my African friends and fellow citizens on the Emancipation celebrations.

The Emancipation journey, however, is far from complete, as we continue to endure restraining mental and political trappings.

This reminds me of the big elephant tied to a post.

"Pa," the son asked, "why is this big elephant remaining tied?"

The father replied: “Son, it is because it is used to it.”

Talking about “Emancipation” in this country will remain a floating abstraction if as a start there is no reference to our inefficient, obstructive and unjust parliamentary structure, the place where our rights and freedoms are formulated. Cultural emancipation, dignity and respect, will not succeed without political emancipation.

Westminster socialised us into the concept of separation of powers among the executive, legislative and judiciary – to help ensure fairness and accountability. The theory in the first place is that the executive should be accountable and answer to the legislative.

But, as I previously repeated, the reality is that the executive (ministers) comfortably sits and controls the legislature.

The head of the executive is also the political head of the legislature. The legislature protects the executive (ministers).

What kind of democracy is this? There is need for political emancipation here.

Or was Sparrow right? Do we really like it so, remaining chained to an archaic system where equity and accountability have more form than substance.

What was good for England is not necessarily good for us. We should be emancipated from such colonial trappings. And we should put our minds to that – emancipate ourselves. Cultural emancipation will not really come without political emancipation.

The irony is that the PM himself seems to understand the dilemma when, explaining the inefficiencies of local government, he alludes to challenges of “mismanagement and the system.”

As several international and local expert reports have explained, the longer we take to fix the parliamentary and political system, the longer current problems will continue. They will likely get worse.

In 2000, an IDB report, with data-driven analyses and proposals, showed how improving state institutions and political accountability can inspire people-driven development, that is, “development beyond economics.” Our government got this report.

UNDP reports consistently advocate accountable and genuinely representative governments. One of its early reports (2002) stated: “Politics is as important as economics to successful development. It also requires that “poor people also have political power.”

Of course, that is controversial, but we should not have a political system with poor people perpetually begging, protesting, pleading.

The report concluded: “The overall result is an increasingly alienated and angry population.”

In other words, in this and subsequent reports, like those of the IDB and local ones, there were warnings and specific proposals to our government s