GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

Week 3

Theme objectives• To discuss the concept of governance in Africa

• Discuss the following issues

Democratic transitionsPolitical inclusivenessVoice and accountability Economic management

• Discuss some major challenges to good governance in Africa

BackgroundOver the decade and recently, governance has become a

key concept in the international development debate and policy discourse.

There has a historical record of bad governance in Africa,

Improving the governance environment has been given a major focal point

New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) –

Is an initiative that represents the latest attempt by African leaders

Background…..(2)• This is an effort to steer the African continent on a path of

sustainable development,

• Which should embrace good governance and success with consolidation of peace, security, and Political stability.

Background…(3)The capable state deals head on with corruption, which

impedes development and minimizes the ability of governments to reduce poverty.

The Capable State builds an enabling environment for the private sector to generate economic growth, jobs and income.

At the core of this is political and policy stability and a fair and consistent application of the rule of law

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Key Focal Point for Governance

• NEPAD suggest the following keys for sustainable development:

proper adherence to good political, economic, and corporate governance.

IntroductionThe capable state creates an enabling political and legal environment for economic

growth and promotes the equitable distribution of the fruits of growth.

But growth must also be coupled with policies that deliberately attack poverty promote education, health, and social safety nets.

This requires sound macro-economic management, institutional reform, and investment in human resources development.

Sustained poverty reduction results when growth is equitable.

And the best way to achieve that is by building strong forms of democratic governance at all levels.

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Definition of Governance• Definition:

• We define Governance as actions that has to do with the manner in which responsibility is discharged.

• Such a responsibility may be acquired through • election; • appointment or delegation in the public domain or in the area of

commerce - corporate governance.

• Therefore, we say that Good governance would mean a condition whereby such responsibility is satisfied in • an effective, • transparent, and • accountable manner

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Good Governance

Good governance entails the existence of efficient and accountable institutions: Political, Judicial, Administrative, Economic, Corporate

Rules that will promote development, protects human rights, respects the rule of law, and ensures that people are free to participate in, and be heard on, decisions that

affect their lives.

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Good Governance….• It has been demonstrated that good governance can be positively

correlated with the achievement of better growth rates, and

• particularly through the building of institutions in support of markets.

• Recent empirical analysis suggests a positive correlation between

democratic governance and the levels of income, investment, human capital, economic liberalization, and distributive income growth in society.

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Quotes on Good governance… Kofi Anan-Former UN Secretary General said:

“good governance is perhaps the single most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development”

And a former Kenyan Vice-President also noted that “good political and economic governance underpins sustainable development”.

African leaders have recognized the prominent importance of good governance for achieving sustainable development

They have set out principles pertaining to the strengthening of democracy and political governance as well as economic and corporate governance (NEPAD, 2003).

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New partnership for African’s Development - NEPAD Emphasize is placed on

• democracy, • respect for human rights, • peace, and • good governance

Principles here is to contribute to the strengthening of the political and administrative framework of African countries

If this is the case, why do we continue to see negation in development and circles of poverty in SSA?

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NEPAD framework document• The institutional reforms to strengthen political

governance in Africa will need to focus on:

1) the administrative and civil services;

2) the strengthening of parliamentary oversight;

3) the promotion of participatory decision-making;

4) the adoption of effective measures to combat corruption and embezzlement; and

5) the undertaking of judicial reforms.

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Institution Performance• In post-independence Africa, African leaders themselves are

pointing to the shortcomings of the institutional structure over which they preside directly and/or have much say.

• Institutions, and public institutions in particular, have been a failure in Africa.

• Many of these institutions have been captured by the elite to serve narrow personal interests.

• The resultant effect has been the lack of the ability of the state to provide the requisite institutional framework to support good governance.

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Institution performance…..• In many African countries, both the public and private

sectors do not operate according to widely accepted rules that are transparent and enforced by accountable institutions, Why?

• We need to explore this further

Four Positive trends in Africa Democratic transitions,

Political inclusiveness,

Voice and accountability,

Economic management.

Democratic Transitions in AfricaSignificant strides have been made in many African

countries, evolving from authoritarian or military regimes to more democratic dispensations.

Where state institutions and processes are gradually being reconstructed to promote the values of good governance.

Indeed, elections have become the only acceptable basis for choosing and alternating leadership.

Democratic Transitions in Africa…(2)In 2004, Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal,

and Zambia, incumbent regimes have all been defeated in multi-party elections.

Last year, in Kenya, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, year before that Zimbabwe, there has been disputed elections which led to formation of multi-party government,

Democratic Transitions in Africa…(3)Constitutions are being rewritten all over Africa, involving widespread

consultation with civil society.

Examples are found in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

• Uganda has also gone through a similar process.

• Many African countries are increasingly seeking to ensure that the executive and legislative arms of government reflect the profile of their people in regional, ethnic, racial and religious terms.

Political inclusivenessNigeria has adopted the principle, which is enshrined in

the Constitution,

Which will be done to accommodate the country’s diversity in all state appointments.

Now it is more widely accepted in Africa that women’s perspectives are needed at all levels of decision-making

if we are to achieve our sustainable development goals

Political inclusiveness…..GenderMozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Uganda---

women occupy over 25% of national parliamentary seats,

The South African cabinet is composed of 30% women.

At the highest level of African governance, half of the Commissioners of the African Union (AU) are women.

Questions for discussion:1. In your own opinion, is this a good idea?

2. What are the benefits of having women involved in politics?

Political inclusiveness…Governments are monitoring their commitments and

improve their policies and programs to better close the ‘gender gap.’

Countries are making their national accounts and budgets more gender sensitive with a

view to aligning public expenditures with pro-poor--and pro-women--objectives.

Political inclusiveness and the YouthThe youth are still marginalized,

• both in terms of formal participation in politics and in influencing public policy in vital areas such as on HIV/AIDS, education, and job creation.

On average around 10 million new entrants come into Africa’s labor market each year

Many of these are young people, the majority in rural areas.

Solutions: • To make agriculture an attractive employment option for our youth, • To equip them educationally to be entrepreneurs, and • To create an environment for micro-enterprise to flourish.

Voice and AccountabilityAvenues are being created to allow citizens to participate

in the political process and express their demands, without fear of reprisal.

This is making the government more responsive to its constituents.

The process of democratization in Africa has induced the explosive growth of civil society groups who have emerged to

promote and defend various interests.

Political inclusivenessThe media is now widely acknowledged across the continent

• to have an important role to play as a public watchdog in exposing corruption and checking abuses of power.

The media has been prominent in defending • human rights and upholding democratic transparency through the effective

monitoring of elections.

Increasingly in Africa, governments are also putting into operation mechanisms and processes to check Executive power.

For example significant initiatives, are the creations of watchdog agencies like the Ombudsman and Inspector or Minister of Governance in some African countries

Corruption in Africa Other countries have established independent Auditor-

General offices, charged with enforcing leadership codes of conduct, investigating decisions that might involve fraud, and generally promoting good governance in the country.

But there are efforts on the ground to deal effectively with these critical challenges to good governance.

As an example, several governments have established Anti-corruption commissions- ACC.

Corruption in Africa….(2) Corruption flourishes in Africa because most of the regulatory institutions are

• still weak, • lack autonomy, or • are shady themselves.

Many people deem watchdog institutions to be totally controlled by the Executive branch.

People believe that, ‘‘big money’’ corruption flourishes in Africa due to deals struck in Paris, DC, or in Houston, London, Brussels or Zurich, How trues is this statement?

It is believed that these deals enrich a few Africans and their western partners,

but cheat millions of Africans out of the fruits of the continent’s resources, and particularly its oil.

Better Economic GovernanceThis focuses on public financial management and

accountability

Statistics shows that more countries are running smaller deficits, meeting their targets for:

revenue mobilization, managing their tax systems more effectively, improving fiscal transparency, and creating institutions and arrangements for better auditing of public

funds.

Better Economic governance…(2) On public expenditures,

• governments have declared a war on poverty and put policies in place,

• but tangible results have still eluded them.

Insufficient resource allocation, poor targeting, inefficiencies in program implementation, and lack of fiscal transparency are to blame.

• Most African countries are channeling a greater proportion of their GDP to social services as compared to the military.

Policy Performance StanceThe Expanded Policy Stance Index, featured in Annual

Economic Report on Africa measures policy performance in macroeconomics, poverty reduction, andinstitution building

The five worst performers according to these indices were either; in conflict, or recovering from recent conflict, and consumed by considerable debt andpolitical tensions

Policy performance Stance….(2)The top performers, are well-managed with solid reform agendas

and a record of political stability and good governance.

The top five:• Botswana,• South Africa, • Mauritius, • Namibia, and • Tunisia

These countries have maintained sound economic fundamentals with • lower foreign debt, • Lower budget deficits, • inflation, and • interest rates.

Top performers…These are countries that have

healthier institutions of policy analysis and coordination and more competent civil services.

Pro-poor policies and targeting are more effective.

• And laws and regulations are more predictable and transparent and applied more uniformly.

Corporate governance in Africa African countries recognizes the need to promote the

development of the private sector.

They accept that the public sector alone is unlikely to mobilize the resources required for economic development,

They know that foreign direct investments (FDIs) will play a decisive role in this process

Measures taken by African countries in this area are; • granting tax and other incentives, • creating institutions to facilitate the establishment and operation of

businesses.

Corporate governance in Africa….(2) Targeting the informal sector so that it can become part of the

formal sector,

Expanding and improving infrastructure facilities

We should take note that, despite these measures and an increase in the conviction of governments,

The overall environment is still not yet conducive enough to attract foreign investment, Why?

The procedures and costs of starting and operating businesses are still cumbersome and costly

Corporate governance in Africa…(3) World Bank study in 2006,

Mentioned that it takes an average of about 4 days to satisfy the regulatory requirements to start a business in North America,

While in Africa it takes about nearly 70 days, or 17 times as long. Is this a good thing?

Investment flows to Africa, especially foreign direct investment, lag behind investments in other regions of the developing world, because of the red tape (bureaucracies)!

People going through all the paper works, trying to identify loopholes for siphoning funds!

The continent attracts less than 1% of global capital flows and accounts for less than 1% of world trade – tiny value!

For interest sake, the stock of capital flight from Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated at $148 billion or 90 percent of the combined GDP.

Blueprint for Capital Flows to Africa The focal point should be on:

Trade liberalization, Capacity building,Debt, Development assistance, Privatization, and Infrastructure development

The US through USAID’s AGOA plan and OECD continue to push for improvement in Africa’s economic conditions and the climate for private sector investment.

Way forward In order to continue with the reform process,

governments and citizens have to believe that it is worthwhile and yields benefits.

Without tangible results, the citizenry is likely to be frustrated, resentful and ‘‘fatigued’’ by so-called democracy .

We saw and witnessed the regime change in North Africa

Whether it is in the process of going to court, paying a bill, opening a business, interacting with a Member of Parliament, or casting a vote,

People want to see improvements in efficiency, transparency, and accountability .

There is now a strong popular perception in Africa that upgrades in the delivery of the basics of education, health, sanitation, housing, electricity, and water

They are seen as the major dividends of democracy and good governance.

Way forward….(2)The capacity and autonomy of local governments, therefore, has to be

given due consideration in the governance agenda of African countries,

• because they are nearest to the rural communities where over 73% - 80% of Africa’s population lives.

Decentralized structure, community interests can be far better fielded.

Here we should note that, Capacity building is about identifying concrete gaps in the institutions and organizations that work together

to promote better outcomes, and providing the necessary policy and resources for enhancement.

Identifying deficits at all levels of government will be critical to getting the results that the African people are hoping for.

Way forward…(3)The revitalized Commission of the African Union (AU), and its priority of regional

integration is vital in that regard.

It provides a viable framework for addressing the challenges of growing African economies, protecting the environment, utilizing our natural resources, fighting disease, and resolving conflict.

Furthermore, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the AU, and the prospect of a Pan-African Parliament should continue to offer new promise on better governance.

The African Union’s conflict resolution efforts in several places including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Liberia.

Regional economic communities (RECs) have begun to create formal institutional frameworks for peacekeeping - SADC in Zimbabwe, DR Congo.

Challenges for Africa Collapsed statesOverburdened StatesNurturing DemocracyGender equityAlleviation of PovertyManagement of financial and natural resourcesOwnership of governance reformsHIV/AIDS

Challenge for AfricaThe implementation of the policies needed to meet the

MDGs.

WTO issues on market access• How can a cotton farmer from Burkina Faso compete on the world

market in the face of huge US cotton subsidies?

Battle against the HIV/AIDS pandemic

Any observations or Questions• How is good governance in the U.S?

Reflection questions: 126 points1. In your own words, how would you define good governance?[5 point]

2. What does NEPAD stands for?[5 points]

3. What do you understand by term “Capable States”?[5 points]

4. What are the tow most important aspects to consider when building an enabling environment for private sector to create jobs? [10 points]

5. There is a positive correlation between good governance and investment, human capital. True or false. [5 points]

6. List four focal points for NEPAD. [8 points]

7. List five things that NEPAD Framework document focuses on in Africa. [10 points]

8. Name the four major positive trends in Africa? [8 points]

9. Explain what you understand by the concept of democratic transitions? [5 points]

10. Give example of countries in which constitutions have been rewritten, and give reason why this was done? [10 points]

11. What you do understand by the following termsa. Political inclusiveness? [5 points]

b. Voice and accountability? [5 points]

12. What would you suggest are the major causes of corruption in Africa? [5 points]

13. What measures are some countries in Africa putting in place to combat corruption? [5 points]

14. What are the major facets for better economic governance in Africa? [10 points]

15. What are measures suggested by African governments to lure FDIs? [5 points]

16. What are blueprint for capital flow in Africa? [10 points]

17. What are the major challenges for good governance in Africa? [10 points]