Out of Africa

Since independence, and actually even before, African countries have suffered in the department of good leadership. For the first two decades, and sometimes even more, “big men” have controlled the continent, caring more about filling their pockets than serving their citizens.In this opinion piece, Thandika Mkandawire looks at the theft of votes and the unethical ways these “big men” leaders take away real democracy from their countries’ people.

Democracy means rule of the demos, although it does not say exactly who the “demos” is. Many African leaders have exploited this lacuna, taking the prerogative to define the demos as that which ensures their re-election. This approach to choosing voters entails the introduction of criteria to exclude certain individuals or groups.

Giving examples from Zambia, Malawi, and Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo), it’s a well-written, and deep analysis of what’s wrong with democracy in Africa. In the end, her conclusion:

The problem in Africa is perhaps not so much how we choose our leaders, but what importance our leaders attach to the people’s choices.

 In Turkish Weekly, of all places, there is another opinion piece about “The Myth of the ‘Failed State’ in Africa.” 

Regional instability, armed conflict, ethnic/tribal/religious clashes, indebtedness, hunger, poverty, (reemerging) diseases, environmental degradation, underdevelopment… These are just a few references produced to ‘comprehend’ the current state of affairs in sub-Saharan Africa. They have been discursively presented and thus perceived as ‘natural’ and ‘internal’ problems or even ‘inherent’ characteristics of the continent.

The author see this definition of developing countries as simply a way, or an excuse, for non-developing countries to come in and intervene. “State failure” does not take into account historical and social conditions in these countries that “fail.” The writer really pushes the need to analyze the individual cases on the continent, instead of “mythically” representing them all as failed states.

Revealing this very mythical representation of failed states is a vital job in order to provide more substantial and enduring solutions for the ‘failures’ of those states.

The piece is a little “academic,” but is also a good analysis of the political situations in Africa and how we can look at them.

A lot of Africans are in support of Barack Obama, and I don’t doubt one of the factors is because he’s half-Kenyan. It’s what intrigued me about him. I loved how he has taken an invested interest in Africa and has not sought to distance himself from the continent, which usually garners negative attention from the rest of the world.

Here’s an editorial piece, or really excerpts from a speech Obama gave in Nairobi, about the issues facing his fatherland. He brings to surface the historical circumstances that count against Kenya (an argument I often make about all African countries and I feel many people discount), but he also holds the Kenyan government to some level of responsibility for the lack of progress (which is just as important – while the past may count against you, one must still be held accountable for the choices you make as one moves forward.) 

It’s the choices of the government, Obama says, that will break the despairing downward cycle African countries have found themselves in.

An accountable, transparent government can break this cycle. When people are judged by merit, not connections, then the best and brightest can lead the country, people will work hard, and the entire economy will grow – everyone will benefit and more resources will be available for all, not just select groups.  – Barack Obama

This speech given by Maina Kiai, Chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, in Ukraine earlier this week. On the same lines as Obama, he analyzes what “went wrong” in Kenya in light of their December 2007 elections. For Kiai, it comes down to the fact that Kenya lacks real democracy:

Clearly one of the most important lessons is that we need to look beyond the forms and façades of democracy to the substance of it. Democracy must mean more than having legislatures that sit and simply endorse the wishes of the Executive, or when they differ, it is to perpetuate their personal interests. It must mean more than having judges sitting all decked up on a raised bench but afraid to make decisions that upset the Executive. And it must mean more than holding periodic elections.

 

A wise man once said that democracy is more about what happens between elections than elections themselves. And on this cardinal principle, Kenya—and many other countries such as Zimbabwe–falls flat. Also failing are the international support programs that look at elections as an event, rather than a process.